The Matrix Revelations

(Author's note: This picks up right where The Matrix Resurrection left off, so if you're feeling confused, go read that.) 

*The green stands of code we are all too familiar with begin to fall down over a sea of blackness. Code characters drop down into place amidst the trickling coding. They spell out "THE MATRIX". We move forward into the coding, past these words. Another is word is spelled out. It says "REVELATIONS". Moving forward once more we go in through the "O" of "REVELATIONS". After passing through the "O", the code forms into the familiar Mega City.

The focus shifts to the roof of a building, where two people are standing. One lowers a gun and shoots the other through the torso, killing him instantly. After a few moments though, the coding that forms the dead person soon begins to change from green to white, one strand at a time. Soon, an entire pulse of white code overlaps the green code and envelopes the city for a time, before reverting back to green. However, the person's code remains white, and he gets back up, his ‘killer' turning around and re-aiming his gun, but no bullets come out.

The white coded man, apparently humoring him, throws a gun to the attacker, and begins walking toward him. More bullets are fired, but they merely deviate from their flight path, flying around the white coded man as he continues toward the attacker. The bullets of the gun run out, and thus, the attacker reverts to hand to hand, running at the white coded man and throwing punches and kicks. One punch is caught in the white coded man's hand, and after observing it for a moment, he crushes it, and then punches the attacker into the wall. The white coded man, Janus, leaves the rooftop and his attacker, Balthasar, and then exits the Matrix*

Prologue: Hunted
----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Nosferatu
5:07 PM Matrix Time

"Get a trace on that *CENSORED* ship!" Blood snarled. His own tone of voice threatened to rip the hull of the Nosferatu to pieces.

The operator, Sideways, immediately got to work, and began a trace program to track the Nemesis. Blood wasn't the only one shocked by this turn of events, and the result on Sideways was that he was typing at three times his normal speed.

"What's happening?" Leon asked, in disbelief of what he was seeing. This spectacle could be seen by anyone who could watch a construct monitor, and it made sense to anyone.

"I don't know, I've never seen this before," Sonia said.

"None of us have." Blood told them.

A beep went off, the trace was complete. "I found them," Sideways said, "A hundred kilometers from here, out in the open."

"Great." Blood hissed, getting off from his spot, and keying in the intercom to the bridge.

"FIND THAT SHIP!" were the first words out of Balthasar's mouth when he awoke, in a tone of pure rage that perhaps rivaled, if not surpassed Blood's trademark roar. The fight had since ended, with for the first time in perhaps five years, Balthasar losing a fight. Thus, both shock and anger came across Balthasar's face at the sight of that boy knocking him into the building side, as if he were no more than a mere exile. And to make matters worse, it was a newbie with great power. Power that shouldn't exist in a newbie.

"Nitro, take off! Set a course for the Nemesis, full speed!" he turned back to the rest of his crew. Sonia was just helping Balthasar out of the chair.

"Sonia, Leon, turrets now! Sideways, transfer the coordinates to the cockpit computer. I want that ship, and I want it now!" Blood barked.

Immediately, Sonia and Leon ran off to their turret controls, while Sideways began the process of activating the computer assist for the rest of the guns. Balthasar wandered hazily over to Blood, the same guilty face that Vega had in what felt like hours ago.

"Captain..." he said in monotone.

"It's not your fault Balthasar." Blood reassured, slapping a hand on his first mate's shoulder, "Get to a turret. We're going hunting."

The Nosferatu lifted off, its two front guide lights activating, giving the ship the appearance of an angry beast. The sounds of its hover-discs starting up also added to this, as they gave off a sound that could be likened to a roar. Sonia, Leon and Balthasar all took seats at the turret controls, each pulling down the control stick console one by one.

As they did, the targeting screen activated, and displayed the tunnel around the ship, as well as red cross-hairs. Finally, the familiar sound of the bullet feed system echoed around the room, with conveyer belts of high caliber rounds being pumped into the ammunition boxes to the turrets, thus giving off a machine-like sound. Sideways had gotten off the Matrix console, seeing as the ship had been located already and there was no reason to keep watching the Matrix, so that he could monitor the bullet feed.

Balthasar saw the irony in it, but he chose to ignore it for now. His rage was already focused on one thing: the image of that man who came back to life. "I will rip that body apart, just as Neo did to Smith," he hissed, as the ship began to move forward.
----

As he lay in his chair, a voice came from the side.

"Janus..?" It was Irvine. As he approached Janus, he could see something about the look on his face that gave Irvine a sense that there was different about him.

"What happened in there?"

Janus turned his head to face Irvine, with an omniscient look in his eyes.

"The mind can live without the body."

It was at that point that reality intervened. The Nemesis' proximity alert went off.

"Oh no, not now!" Blade let out.

Irvine nodded to him and the two dashed up to the cockpit, to which Irvine activated the holo-display, expecting a swarm of sentinels to appear flying toward his ship. However, what he did see was not a swarm of sentinels, or any weapon that the machines possess. But that didn't matter, as both Blade's blood vessels and his bones ran cold at the same time. Upon the holo-display was the design of one of Zion's large hovercraft designs. The Nosferatu.

"The Bloodsucker..." Blade let out in a single breath.

Having been nicknamed so for its name being the latin translation for Vampire, it was the largest hovercraft Zion had produced next to the older Mjolnir. However, thanks to the so-called final battle five years ago over Zion's harbor, the design philosophy of hover ships had changed.

Aside from being transport ships that would jack their crews into the Matrix, ships were designed or refitted into combat vessels, designed specifically for anti-sentinel and anti-machine warfare. For this, aside from upgraded EMPs, each ship was armed with a larger arsenal of machine guns and ammunition.

In the case of the Nosferatu, it was specifically designed as a dreadnought, to take on entire swarms of Sentinels and machines while driving toward its target. It was armed with over twenty machine gun turrets, a computer assisted targeting system and its armor was specifically designed to resist Sentinel attacks. The only thing larger than it were the Hover Barges that carried hundreds of Zion's redpills as they did battle inside the Matrix.

The setup reminded Irvine of an ancient battle he had read about in the historical archives at Zion. The battle was between two ships of similar design, a larger ship named the Merrimack that was armed with more weapons, and a smaller ship called the Monitor, which was faster.

However, the deciding factor of that battle was that both ships were the first ironclad ships, in an age where navies used wooden vessels to do battle, thus as a result, cannon shells merely bounced off each and the battle ended in a draw. It wouldn't be the same case here.

While the Nemesis was a faster ship, and could evade shots easier, it was ‘only' armed with eight machine gun turrets, and its armor was thinner than the Nosferatu's. There was no doubt in Irvine's human mind that in a chicken fight, his ship would be no match for Blood's. And at the current speed the Bloodsucker was traveling at...

That's when the image of the Nosferatu flickered and disappeared from the projector. Irvine tapped it, then started hitting controls, but he couldn't get it back online.

(Prologue cont'd)

"The tunnel walls must be full of minerals. Radar waves aren't getting through." Blade said as he checked over the display.

The comm. system soon buzzed. "What's going on up there!?" Glitch yelled.

"It's Blood! He's gunning for us!" Blade exclaimed, after he slammed the intercom button in panic.

Irvine shoved him out of the way. "Get everyone into turrets and charge the EMP. We're getting out of here. Rig for silent running and standby." With that said, Irvine jumped into the pilot seat with Blade beside him, then activated the engines. He didn't wait for the pre-flight checks to come up, instead lifting the Nemesis off the ground, retracting the landing gears.

"He's got us located on the surface. We'll go back into the tunnels to confuse him."

Irvine then navigated the Nemesis back to the hole they used to access the surface, and dove into the tunnel as if Hell itself were following behind.
----

"*CENSORED*!" Glitch let out, "Everyone into a turret, now! We're going to have company in a minute!" he shot to everyone. Upon that note, Anubis, Solitaire, Janus and Marley ran to the gunnery chamber, the four Matrix fighters taking individual turrets while Marley managed the ammo feed. Even with the change of focus, Anubis was still dwelling on Janus' apparent resurrection from the grave. He didn't show any form of emotion as per usual, but something inside Anubis had opened its eyes and awakened when he saw that white code. It was that same chilling feeling that ran up his spine, then metamorphosed into a sharp twinge, a similar experience to being impaled by a blade into the torso, except there was no pain, just awe and fear. Fear of the unknown.

Anubis closed his eyes for a moment and took in a breath of air, then exhaled. You never lost your calm when you were Daniel Lancaster. Don't lose it now, Anubis. That thought in mind, he focused on the red crosshairs on his display, waiting for the silhouette of a steel beast to fill it. He didn't notice Janus looking over to him when he took the breath of air in, but Janus at the same time held back from asking if Anubis was okay. After all, he'd most likely just get a shrug or a narrow gaze as an answer.

Back at the operator console, Glitch was hard at work configuring the active sonar array. While radar was inactive due to the strong mineral content of the tunnels, sonar waves could easily bounce off the walls and outline the Nosferatu's hull for the four gunners. The Nemesis' sensor systems themselves were custom designed by Glitch, and he had taken inspiration from the bat for the sonar array, configuring the system after the bat's usage of sound waves and its sensitive hearing. There was no way Blood could slip by him when it was active, but for now, he left it on passive.
----

Irvine keyed in the comm. again, "Hear anything Glitch?" he whispered.

"Nothing on the outside, besides our own engine hum. I'll call back." Glitch replied. He then disengaged the intercom on his end.

"Out of curiosity, why are we going into a silent run?" Blade whispered.

"Call this a hunch, but I think Blood detected us by tracing us through Janus' signal while he was thrashing Bal. Now that the link's severed, he'll have to rely on conventional sensors to find us, and that will be difficult in these tunnels," Irvine said, as he continued to maneuver the Nemesis through the narrow passages. "Why? Are you scared?"

"Have you ever seen the movie Das Boot?" Blade asked.

Irvine shook his head, "No, I heard about it. World War II movie on a German U-Boat, right?"

"I'm not a WWII buff, but our situation reminds me of what the U-96 had to go through during its run at sea. Running silent while being searched out by destroyers, then bombarded with depth charges, and the only way we can see the bad guys is through our ears. It isn't a pleasant experience, and I can't say this is any better," Blade said, looking around the view port, looking for any sign of a ship.

"I don't know, I heard Lothar Buchheim had a thing against U-Boat combat in general, enough that actual crews came out against his works. Besides, we're not dodging depth charges, we're just trying to sneak around a maze." Irvine said.

Slowly, the Nemesis cruised through the narrow passage, its search lights and hover discs dimmed to keep visual distinction low from the rest of the tunnel. According to the map, the medium hovercraft was somewhere in what used to be Syria and proceeding southward to Iraq, otherwise known as Sector 84 to the machines and the Badlands to Zion. It was kind of strange to see the network of sewer and power lines stretch out even so far as an otherwise desolate area like these mountains, since there wasn't any major urbanization in the area besides the ruins of the city Damascus some distance away, which was also close to one of Zion's gates. But Irvine had bigger things to contemplate at this point: survival, for one.

Thankfully, he was still quite close to Zion, and although he had no clue on how the city and its forces would respond to the Nemesis, he knew they had bad relations with Blood. He had no doubt Lock would make an EMP burst for the occasion, the pirate Captain just hoped it wasn't also meant for the Nemesis as well.

"I hear something..." Glitch reported, "Electric engines, no more than three kilometers from our port and closing. Signature matches that of the Nosferatu's array."

"Does it look like they detected us?" Irvine asked.

"Negative, they're just cruising. Looks like they're having as much trouble with their radar," Glitch said.

"Tough *CENSORED*." Blade said sarcastically.

"Not now Blade." Irvine said.

"Wait a sec." Glitch reported again, tapping on his headset, "They're turning to a closer angle... I'm hearing sonar pinging, but no increase in speed."

"Alright... I'll get closer to the wall for camouflage." Irvine said. He juked the Nemesis to the left and continued on his flight course south, making sure not to hit any of the pipes. "Easy girl..." he whispered to his ship, easing the great hovercraft down the pipeline. He looked over at Blade for a moment, who was wiping sweat off his forehead, trying to hold back his nervousness. Irvine couldn't help but feel that his crew... well, maybe not Anubis, but the rest of his crew felt the same way Blade did. Who could blame them? Sneaking around trying to avoid combat was a lot worse than fighting directly.

"Hey, Captain..." Glitch said, "The Nosferatu's getting close, but it looks like she's going to fly by. I can hear her engine loud and clear, want to listen?"

"Patch it on the intercom," Irvine ordered. Soon, the speakers went silent for a moment, then followed by the sound of a low, echoing growl that vibrated the Nemesis hull. It was the sound of the Nosferatu's engines, the distinctive beast-like growl made by the combination of twelve high-powered hoverpads running along a metal frame. The growl cut off for a moment, but soon started back up again with the familiar hum of electrical batteries and conduits. Blade looked up at the speaker, his eyes fully concentrated on the sound, as did the rest of the Nemesis crew.
----

Only Janus and Anubis didn't look up. Anubis was attention was on his targeting computer and nothing more, though even he could not block out the ‘growling' from his mind. Janus, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about the opposing ship at all, but rather who was most likely on the ship. The man with long black hair, who had punched through a brick wall, single-handedly defeated an Agent and perhaps others like it, and then killed him. Even though Janus had emerged as the victor, he could not push out the hardened glare of his adversary. "How are you doing?" Solitaire whispered, concern filling her voice.

"I'm fine." Janus said. His omniscient look from only a few moments ago remained while he contemplated what was going on. He'd never been in this situation before but for some reason he was calm, and he didn't know why. You could see it on his face.

"Balthasar?" Solitaire asked. Call it female intuition.

"Yeah. He killed that Agent with no effort, after what it put me through." Janus said, distantly. "And then I disposed of him the same way."

"Balthasar.. the Potential. He is the Resistance's ace Matrix fighter, and as far as regular humans can go, he's the closest to Neo's level." Solitaire explained.

"Kira mentioned that. Why's he called the Potential?" Janus asked.

"When Neo died, Balthasar chose a path of discipleship to the service of the One and joined E Pluribus Neo. But after all the conflict that rose in spite of Neo's sacrifice, he gradually lost all of his faith in the One's memory and Zion for buying into the act. But during his time with EPN, and continuing into his service with the splinter fleet, he got more powerful as time went on. People started to think he might be The One, but with no one to confirm it, people simply started calling him The Potential, like all the kids that used to be with The Oracle before Neo was found." Solitaire explained.

"Great." Janus muttered in sarcasm, "This makes me his rival now?"

"My deepest sympathy for your predicament." Anubis replied in monotone, but his words were laced with sarcasm, "I thought you of all people knew what you are and what your not, and that since you're here now, you're obviously not a ghost."

Janus sighed at that, but then, a smirk grew on his face. "Yeah, you're right. Take that Aristotle, the mind isn't tied to the flesh..." he said, narrowing his gaze on the target cursor. The sound of the Nosferatu's engines was growing louder.
----

It felt as though time had slowed for one brief second, one short moment that felt like a lifetime. The sound had gotten so loud, that to the human ear, it felt as though it had phased out. Everyone continued to await the inevitable, for the time where the beast would smell them out and attack with a loud, thunderous roar. However, instead of a thunderous roar, the sound emitted was lowed hum.

"*CENSORED*!" Glitch let out. It didn't matter at that point, he knew what the sound was: the sound of the Nosferatu's radar coming back online.

Immediately, machine guns began to blaze on the other end of the wall, shooting at the Nemesis, but not necessarily aiming at it. To the onlookers in the Nemesis' cockpit, it looked as though an active volcano had just formed on the side of the tunnel. The resulting explosion wasn't large enough to shake the Nemesis with its shockwave, but that wasn't the part that made everyone jumped. It was the sound of a loud, bellowing roar, that seemed impossible for a machine, much less a hovercraft, to generate. But there it was, the large hovercraft Nosferatu, with its two search lights flared up like the eyes of a jungle cat, gazing into the Nemesis' own cockpit and side. Its own machine guns continued to blaze, as the Nemesis' also started up.

"Nemesis!!" bellowed a voice over the Nemesis' comm. system, overriding the Operator command console. The voice was obviously Blood's. "It's not over yet!!"

"Hold on back there, I'm going to punch it!" Irvine ordered through the intercom, and then kicked the Nemesis into overdrive. The twelve machine gun turrets on the of the medium hovercraft lit up, firing directly to the port side of the bow at the Nosferatu's "head" section, as the ship drove past the large hovercraft at full speed. As it passed, the Nosferatu broke out of the hole it had made through the tunnel's side and turned to pursue the Nemesis with its own machine guns firing. It was a high speed chase between two Zion ships through a network of tunnels and passageways, a sight that five years ago was something no human had thought could happen, much less the crew of the Nemesis. All three of the hovercraft's gunners had targeted the Nosferatu and were pumping shot after shot of ammo into the behemoth's armor, but none of the shots were doing major damage.

We're definitely no match in a direct attack, and we won't last long in a chase. Best bet is on the surface, where we have more room, Irvine thought. He pulled the Nemesis into a barrel roll from starboard to port, moving faster than the planet's gravity could effect the crew so they remained in their seats, then pulled into a climb. The Nosferatu followed the climb, continuing to pump fire from all twenty of its machine gun turrets. At one point, one of the turrets tried firing up into the tunnel ceiling to drop debris on the larger ship, but the shards merely scratched the ship's thick armor. The bloodsucker retaliated by focusing its machine gun fire onto a certain point on the Nemesis.

"Hey Irvine, are you doing what I think you're doing?" Blade asked, looking over the Nemesis' damage display. As he said that, an explosion rocked across the Nemesis.

"No choice! Our best hope is in the open sky! We'll get slaughtered if we stay down here!" Irvine yelled at Blade, as the Nemesis shook violently again.

"We lost hover discs six and seven!" Glitch yelled over the intercom.

Irvine snarled, "Blood, you *CENSORED*." Smartass knows we can only outrun him, not fight him. *CENSORED*! He banked into a tight turn, trying to outmaneuver, but the Nosferatu continued to follow its target, going as far as slamming into the side of the wall to match the tight turn. "We'll still outmaneuver him!" With that, the Nemesis pulled into a ninety degree climb, ascending straight up through the tunnel. It banked and weaved through the various pipelines that were in its path.
----

"Watch it Captain, we can't keep a steady aim with you rocking the ship!" Sonia called out through her own comm. The 3-D image of the Nemesis, which was outlined in red to distinguish it from the bluish-purple surroundings on the targeting monitor, was constantly weaving in and out of her scope, as well as Balthasar's and Leon's, only allowing her to pump a few bursts at time into the target.

"Hold still, traitors..." Sonia hissed as she finally got her targeting icon centered on the Nemesis.

Unfortunately, one of the Nemesis 'gunners got smart enough to fire on the piping around the ship, blowing them up and allowing the shards to drop on her pursuer.

"What the hell are they doing?" Leon questioned, seeing as the Nosferatu could burst through a solid wall with not so much as a scratch. His answer came when Sonia targeted a falling piece of metal with her machine gun turrets and traced rounds into it before it could hit the ship. This resulted in the shard getting split in half, and while it didn't hit the array, a few of the pieces actually struck a line of hover discs.

The ship rocked tremendously from the impact. "What was that!?" Sideways roared.

"One of the shards struck a hover disc, and we're losing propulsion for it!" Blood said, "Just concentrate on the Nemesis, and let me deal with the shards!"
----

Here comes the tricky part... Irvine thought, he banked from another pipe. He was about to make another turn for another pipe, but he had a better idea, one that would ensure their survival. Closer and closer, Irvine could see a dead end to the tunnel in the form of a large metal vent. "All guns, concentrate fire to the bow! We're going up top!" he ordered.

Simultaneously, all the fire of the Nemesis began to pour up to the front, striking the single plate of metal that blocked the ship's way to freedom. It was unreal, and impossible, even as the Nemesis flew like a great phoenix trying to escape the coming inferno, constantly banking to keep the Nosferatu from acquiring its aim at a target. Blade was beside him, holding onto his chair as if he were on a roller coaster, where if he let go he would fall from the great height. If he were religious, Irvine knew Blade would have prayed to whatever God he chose to worship. He knew because he would personally, and he wasn't a very spiritual man. All in all, they had to get the hell out of there, and now.

Had the city been inhabited above, one would have felt the ground shake and the sound of machine gun fire echo from the sewers below, plus the great roar of a beast that followed the bursts of metal. Bullets ripped from the street and into the sky, cracking and breaking the concrete and metal that once was the heart of the city of Damascus, followed by a great explosion, caused by the Nemesis' hull shooting out of the sewers and into the sky. The Nosferatu as well emerged from the hole in the ground, but Irvine was ready for him.

The Nemesis performed a Split-S halfway and presented its back to the Nosferatu, along with all the turrets that lined it. Fire poured from them toward the behemoth below, practically blasting the larger ship at point blank, while the Nemesis shot deeper into the city, weaving around the ancient sky scrapers, then spun around and continued to lay fire at the acclaimed Bloodsucker. Blood and the rest of the crew, however, were far from down and out, and even when a single round pinged against the Nosferatu's cockpit, Blood gritted his teeth in rage.

You've always been a thorn in my side, Irvine, even when you were an ally. Why is it that you always got to win...?

He shoved the control stick down and put the Nosferatu into full burn. The Nemesis countered by ducking behind a building to avoid the machine gun fire, then circling around and firing back with its own turrets. More bullets ripped into the Nosferatu, but she would hold, oh yes, Blood knew his ship would hold on. Machine gun fire poured from his own ship again, but the Nemesis weaved behind another tower, and appeared again to shoot a building. The shards exploded at the Nosferatu's side, and knocked it off balance, while the larger amount of firepower from Blood's ship ripped holes into the medium hovercraft.
----

Circuitry exploded and sparks flew around on the Nemesis as the massive amount of bullets poured into her, and hit hard. Irvine gritted his teeth as red areas appeared on his damage control display, and from Glitch reporting what systems they were losing. In the gunner room, one of the magazines had exploded with its contained rounds shooting in all directions. Marley managed to dive from a stray bullet, but one had shot through Solitaire's leg, then flew into a circuitry box that connected to her console, showering her with glass fragments. "Solitaire!" Marley yelled.

"Marley, shut the feed off! I'll take care of Solitaire!" Glitch ordered, getting out of his seat and grabbing Solitaire's body. Marley shut the feed off, and while Anubis and Janus were continuing to fire, Glitch chose that moment to get Solitaire to sickbay. She was still breathing, but she was cut up pretty badly, and the combination of the shock and exhaustion from her jump in the Matrix had put her unconscious.

Marley knew they couldn't hold this up, and that even with the larger amount of flying space, Irvine was barely keeping his step ahead of Blood's.

"DAMAGE REPORT!" Irvine roared from the bridge.

"We lost disc three, and turrets eight through eleven! Solitaire was hit during the last attack, and we're running out of ammo!" Marley proclaimed.

Glitch also keyed in, "Request permission to trigger EMP!"

"No, we'll drop as fast as they do!" Irvine replied. As he said that, a klaxon went off in the cockpit, and his engine power display showed he was losing thrust. He looked up at the klaxon and hit the red light, and shivered when he saw that it was for a power failure.

"Crap, they nailed the battery!" Irvine yelled, "I'm taking her down! Blade, get back there and get Glitch to help with the repairs!"

Blade didn't question orders, and jumped out of the co-pilot's seat as Irvine tried to level out the damaged hovercraft. The Nemesis lagged and dropped in altitude, but Irvine maneuvered it so his ship would land on a building. He opened the landing gears and let the medium sized craft drop onto the flat surface, which was once used as a helipad. The ship settled comfortably, but Irvine's frustrations didn't end there. The beast like-roar of the Nosferatu's engines bellowed once again, as the larger and more powerful hovercraft lowered itself from the sky to level out with the disabled Nemesis. The two ships faced each other down...
----

Blade ran down the ship, past the gunnery room, and as he moved, he saw that no one were in the chairs. "What the hell-?" he griped as he moved back further, looking to see where everyone was. That's when he came to the armory, where Glitch, Marley, Janus and Anubis arming themselves with EMP blasters. "What the hell are you doing?" Blade snapped.

"Even you should know about last stands. We're not going to let Blood win easily." Glitch said.

Blade shook his head. "We have work to do. Captain wants the battery repaired, and I can't do it alone."

"What's the point, mahn?" Marley retorted in his thick Jamaican accent, "'Dere ain't no way we can repair it before ol' man Blood sends us to Hell."

"Don't worry about Blood, Irvine's distracting him." Blade answered.

"Yeah, so what? They're going to detect our engines coming back online, and when that happens, eheheheheheheheh." Glitch said, imitating the sound of a machine gun while gesturing with his hands, looking as though he were pulling the trigger on a turret. He then spread his hands out open. "Boom. No more Nem."

"Grab a gun, Blade. It's going to be one *blinking*' showdown..." Marley said as he continued to take various weapons.

Janus and Anubis were ignoring them, having better things to do than get into another ego bash with Blade, when they both came across a particular locker in the armory. After it was opened, both looked at its contents up and down, with Janus actually stepping back a little. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Eh?" Glitch said, turning back to see what Janus was amazed at, "Ah, those are double barreled rocket launchers, designed to strike against heavy armored craft.

"Remember the Alamo..." Anubis said, as he and Janus began to pick up the launchers.

"What are you two doing?" Blade demanded.

"Going to swat an annoying fly," Janus said, looking up.

"That's crazy! The Nos' was designed to repel sentinel claws..." Blade began.

"And these are designed to pierce dense armor," Anubis said. "We'll buy additional time with these."

"Using human made rockets on a human made ship..." Glitch said, observing the situation. "Where did that idea come from...?"

"I saw it in a video game," Janus said, as he loaded two rockets into the launcher. He looked over at Anubis, who just shrugged and loaded his own launcher. Both then slung the launchers over their shoulders and moved past the trio. "Guys better hurry..." Janus said, as they passed.

"Yeah, right, come on!" Blade ordered. He still wasn't fond of the newbs, but they did have a point. With all the other crazy *CENSORED* that's happened, this just might work.
----

It was like a wild western stand off between the two ship captains. Yes, the stand off was between two hovercraft instead of two cowboys, and rather than being in the middle of a town, it was in a city with one ship hovering over the other, which was stranded on a building. But the concept was still the same, as both were waiting to see who would move first. "I've been waiting a long time for this..." Blood hissed over the Nosferatu's megaphone, rather than over the com system. His voice echoed around the desolate city like an earthquake. "Do you have any idea how much I've wanted to kill you?"

"Take a number and sit down Blood, and wait like everybody else." Irvine rolled his eyes.

"I don't believe you..." Blood snarled irritated, "You were one of our best, Irvine, part of the most powerful warrior fleet Zion constructed. Django, Raven, Ravage and Vega all looked up to you for all your brilliance, and you betrayed them by turning your back!"

"Betray? Hah! I didn't betray *CENSORED*; I just got tired of leading a bunch of berserkers that were willing to attack their own city because they were shut out." Irvine said, looking over his nails as he did, like this was all usual for him. "And what are you complaining for Ahab? I thought you wanted to command."

"That's beside the point! You're weak, Irvine, letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment. No commander should let that happen!" Blood barked.

"What are you talking about?" Irvine rose an eyebrow, still nonchalant.

"Don't you remember why we left Zion? For the very reason we're here right now, Irvine! The day we found that Sentinel army, you were the one that first said we should attack right then and there!" Blood shot.

Irvine gave Blood a hardened glare, and even though it was through the cockpit glass, Blood felt it. "That's right Blood, I said it first, but we were all thinking it at the time. We all let our personal feelings cloud our judgement, so don't act like you didn't!" Irvine yelled.

"That's why we left Zion, we left because we wanted to protect those people when they didn't feel the need to protect themselves. But I never turned around and planned to attack Zion out of some crazy lust for revenge. That was your idea, and that's why I left the fleet."

"That's why you're weak, Irvine. You, and the rest of your crew..." Blood snarled.

"Hey, whose crew took down your little army? Which one of our own killed Gash, severed Kane's arm and beat your Potential like an abused child?" Irvine said, smirking. It wasn't broadcast over the megaphone speaker, so Blood didn't hear it, but he got the news from Blade. Anubis and Janus were in position with the rocket launchers, but they still needed time to get the battery back. "Of course, I can imagine how embarrassing it is for you. Getting your asses kicked by a former Syndicate hit man and an ex-narcotics detective must really be bad for you big, bad Resistance chumps..."

"Former syndicate hit man and ex-narcotics?" Blood asked, confused.

"Oh, you should meet them. Fascinating people, and quite skilled for newbies. You should know that part though." Irvine smirked.

"Just what are you going on about?"

"Destiny, my friend." Irvine continued, "Ever get the feeling that some things were meant to happen? You obviously saw Janus come back from the grave. Don't tell me that's not anything special."

"Bah! You sound like Morpheus when he found Neo," Blood growled.

"Eh, not quite. I don't know what anyone's roles are in the stream of things, but I do know is, whatever's gonna happen..." Irvine's smirk turned into a full smile, "It's going to be fun."

"Bull," Blood laughed, "In a moment, you're not going to be anything above fire and melted metal. I can personally guarantee that." All of the Nosferatu's bow turrets turned and focused on the Nemesis' bridge upon that comment. "I'm going to enjoy watching you all die."

Irvine laughed, "Really, Blood, is that all you have to say?"

"What?"

"Well, you know..." Irvine chimed, "Last words. Yours." Both Janus and Anubis saw that was the signal. They both fired their twin rocket launchers, the four warheads streaking at the Nosferatu in swirling flight paths.

"*CENSORED*!" Blood yelled as he saw the four rockets blast at his cockpit. The first three shot past and destroyed three of the hoverpads, but the fourth slammed right into the Nosferatu's canopy. Blood felt the shockwave as the projectile exploded against the reinforced canopy, cracking it. The force was so strong that his head rocked forward and slammed into a control nob, giving him a new cut across his forehead. Fortunately, the canopy was designed to hold against explosions, mostly from the machines' tow bombs, but that wasn't Blood's main concern. His ship was losing power, thanks to three more of the hoverpads being destroyed. "*CENSORED* you, Irvine!!" he roared as his ship dropped from the sky.

Irvine merely shook his head, as he watched the Nosferatu drop like a weight. "That wasn't much better," he said, disappointed.
----

(Prologue cont'd)

Outside of the Nemesis, Janus and Anubis got up from their individual hiding places on the building roof, running back up the Nemesis ramp and into the confines of the ship. When they got back in, the ramp closed behind them, and Janus dropped his rocket launcher on the ground, kneeling and breathing heavily.

"That was close..." he whispered. He didn't know why he was out of breath, but he figured it was lag from his jump in the Matrix combined with the adrenaline rush in his body. All Janus wanted now was to climb into a soft bed with blankets and pillows and dream that life was getting better than this. He looked up at Anubis, and saw he hadn't yet fainted. "Aren't you wiped out?"

Anubis, in response, leaned against the metal hull of the Nemesis. "Yes, exhausted." Anubis said, "But I prefer standing."

Janus laughed a little, "What, you have a thing against kneeling?"

"You could say that." Anubis said, all serious. His eyes narrowed challengingly at Janus.

"What the? Lighten up man, just a joke. I don't give a *poop* what you do." Janus explained.

Anubis just turned around, taking one last glance at the Matrix fighter and ex-narc detective, then began to move away.

"Hey, wait a second."

Anubis stopped.

"You never did tell me. Why did you leave the Matrix?" Janus asked. "What's in this world that you can believe in?"

Anubis turned his head to the side, and Janus saw he was looking down at the floor, thinking. It was obvious that he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer or not, but after a moment he did. "I didn't like the world I knew and saw everyday or the beings that lived off of it like parasites..." he explained. "I thought there may be something here beyond what I knew and saw; something that was much better..."

"You still think there is?" Janus asked.

Anubis turned his head around, "Perhaps..." He then continued on his way, disappearing down the corridor.

Janus just laughed. "What a strange guy. Not at all like your average gangster hitman," he said to himself. Too exhausted to get up, he decided to take a moment of peace and lay down where he was. Despite the rough metal floor, Janus actually felt very comfortable with it against his back. The feeling of the cold temperature combined with the rhythmic vibrations caused by moving parts made Janus relax easier. Something to believe in... he thought, Was that why I chose the red pill? He wondered.

He looked up at the ceiling, past the lights, imagining the great, dark sky above and thundering clouds. However, Janus looked past the clouds and into a twilight sky, with the sun setting in the horizon and the clouds moving in a slow, steady gale. It was a similar feeling to when he died, but here he could feel himself breathing. It feels so... real, he thought, putting his hand over his face and looking up at it. It was red and covered in grit, and he could feel his pulse flow even without touching a nerve. He smiled, with the knowledge that it was his real hand, and not a simulation. Putting his hand down, he closed his eyes, deciding that he would just sleep there until they started moving again...

At least, until a new rumbling sensation came over him. Faster than he thought possible for himself, Janus bolted off the floor. "Don't tell me..." he hissed.

Sure enough. "WE WON'T DIE THAT EASILY, IRVINE!!!!"

*poop*, what is this guy, Freddy Krueger? He griped and ran back to the machine gun turrets.
----

Below the Nemesis' perch, the Nosferatu flew in a circle, firing its machine guns into the building itself. Round after round pumped through the ruined glass into the desolated office rooms within, ripping out foundations and supports. The large tower began to rock, and the Nemesis was right on top of it.

Irvine grabbed the controls again, but there was no power behind them. "Anytime now boys!" he called into the intercom.

"We almost got it..." Glitch replied, over the sound of mechanical noises in the back.

"Not good enough, we need it now or we're dead!" Irvine ordered.

"We know!" Glitch called back.

The building rocked again, almost throwing Irvine out of his seat. It had already started to tilt left, with Nemesis skidding across the rooftop on its landing gear. Instinctively, Irvine turned the control pad to the right to level out, but again nothing happened. "Come on baby, hold together." He said calmly, almost as if he was asking it to cooperate. Still feeling no power, Irvine turned the PA on again to say ‘now or never' when he was interrupted by two welcome noises.

*Bzzt!* *wrrrrrRRRRRRRRR...*

"We're back in business! Go!" Glitch said almost happily.

"Right, lifting off!" Irvine pulled the controls back and put energy into the remaining hover discs on the Nemesis. The ship seemed to jump back in the air like a bird would on take off, just as the roof finally gave way. After gaining some distance from the building, he had the ship turn around so he could watch as the building collapsed into the ground below, forming a new pile of debris on the surface. "Yep, that was *CENSORED* close..." Irvine remarked as the once proud tower now collapsed into a pile of gray dust.

The proximity alert went off again, but Irvine knew Blood was gunning from him because the still-present growl of the Nosferatu reached his ears before the alarm went off. Through the dust clouds, the larger ship flew straight at him, guns blazing away. A good portion of the rounds hit, as the Nemesis rocked again. Control panels exploded, sparks flew and light bulbs broke. Irvine was getting irritated fast, "I am getting sick and tired of this!!" he roared much like Blood did, putting all power into his hoverdiscs.
----

"What are they doing!?" Sonia asked over the sound of bullets firing, as her target ascended in the air. "They're leaving themselves an open target!"

"Who cares-!? Makes things a lot easier for us!" Leon laughed enthusiastically as he put as much fire from the Nosferatu's dorsal guns as he was able to. Shot after shot blasted up at the target, and he was gaining a lot of hits.

I'm with Sonia, what are they doing? Balthasar, however, wasn't as sure as Leon. He continued firing the guns like Leon, Sonia and Nitro, but something inside him was telling him this wasn't right. By now, the Nemesis was a good ways up and still climbing like a rocket, but it didn't make a lot of effort to maneuver. Although Blood didn't put an effort to pursue it, he at least ascended in altitude so the gunners were still in range.

When the Nemesis was over the Nosferatu, realization hit Balthasar like an Agent's punch to a novice. He reached for the PA system. "Blood! Get us away, now!!"

It was too late though. When the Nemesis reached the appropriate position, Irvine dipped the medium sized hovercraft into a straight dive that sent the ship propelling right into the Nosferatu's back. The larger hovercraft rocked upon impact, and even though its armor held against the Nemesis' ramming force, it still took damage and shook violently. Sonia was thrown out of her chair, and the shock made Leon throw his head against his monitor, breaking it. Sparks flew up, lights broke and fires ignited.

To make matters worse, the gunners on the Nemesis targeted the dorsal hoverpads of the Nosferatu, destroying three more of them as the smaller hovercraft put forth even more power behind its drive. In the cockpit, Blood, clutching the wound on his head, felt his skin turn pale white as he felt the smaller ship drive his downward. Irvine was actually overpowering him! Despite his efforts to push back, he could not shake the smaller ship off of the Nosferatu's back, and the ground was coming up ever faster.
----

Let's see how tough you are when you're a battering ram! Irvine thought triumphantly as he pushed the Nosferatu further and further. He couldn't see the ground through the canopy, since the Nosferatu was right in front of him, and the glass had smashed and cracked upon the impact, but he knew he was getting close. A sudden rocking sensation jolted through the Nemesis, and whatever light the surface offered disappeared around the Nemesis. Irvine knew they were underground. And now for part two...

Pulling back on the control stick, Irvine had the Nemesis break off of the larger hovercraft and fly past. As Irvine expected, the Nosferatu leveled out into its own dive, and soon it turned back into stage 1, where the Nemesis was running like hell itself were chasing it. Difference now was, that's what Irvine wanted. He keyed in a PA. "Glitch, charge the EMP now!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to drop an EMP charge. If that doesn't work, blow the shipboard EMP and we'll take them with us!" Irvine ordered, as he flipped a switch off to the side.

The EMP charge, as it came to be known to ship captains, was one of the better anti-machine weapons Zion had created. The charge was generally an unguided, unpropelled projectile that was ejected off of a ship like a grenade or cannon ball, which held until its proximity sensors detected a hostile target. It then generated an EMP wave that had a slightly smaller range as the ship mounted model, but caused the same effect: shorting out all electronic devices in a given radius. This was a weapon made shortly after the Osiris' destruction years ago, basically a method keep such an incident from happening again. But in the Nemesis' case, it would prevent their destruction against one of their own.

In similar fashion to a submarine, an outer door on the tail end of the Nemesis retracted to reveal a single drop tube in the middle of the hovercraft. A single, metal cylinder slowly loaded out of the tube.

With a grin on his face, knowing that there was no way in hell Blood was going to see this coming, Irvine pressed the trigger. "Drop dead. Literally." He said, grin increasing as the button lid up. The charge launched out and started to fall behind the Nemesis.
----

As the Nemesis flew deeper into the tunnel, the charge tumbled through the air, when the Nosferatu descended and reached its level. In the shattered cockpit of the Bloodsucker, Blood saw past the broken canopy and immediately recognized it. However, he knew it was too late. Even if he could pull out, there would be no escaping the resulting shockwave.

*CENSORED* you to the end, Irvine. You and your prodigy... he thought bitterly. "Everybody hold on tight, it's going to be a long fall!" he called out over the ship's PA system. He then closed his eyes, accepting his fate in the drop.

That's when EMP charge's proximity sensors went off, exploding right in Blood's face. The resulting shockwave shot through the Nosferatu, frying all electronic equipment and systems. Even though the ship's circuitry had been designed to survive an EMP wave, it didn't help that it was in freefall. And so it plunged deeper and deeper into the tunnel, its great roar finally died down...
----

The Nemesis, on the other hand, sped up as fast as it could, jumping into another tunnel as the wave continued on. Irvine leveled out the ship and put on more speed, but he knew he would never outrun the shockwave, not with the damage he had. He turned on the PA system. "All hands, brace for crash landing!" he called out, then putting out the landing skids. He held on tight, praying that they were close enough to Gate 02 for Zion to notice them.

With sparks and electrical explosions in its wake, the shockwave caught up and passed the Nemesis, and disabled it. The ship dropped in altitude and slammed to the ground. Its landing skids held in the impact, but it still slid due to its momentum, slamming through various debris that littered the tunnel's bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, the Nemesis slowed down and slammed into the ruins of another Zion hovercraft, finally stopping in its flight. Silence came back into the tunnel soon after.

Interestingly, the ruins that the Nemesis flew into was that of the Zion hovercraft Icarus, which had been disabled by an EMP burst itself during the war, but had the poor luck of being ripped apart by sentinels, all hands lost. The Nemesis, on the other hand, had much better luck, and despite its damage, had survived with its crew. For the moment at least.
----

(Prologue cont'd)

Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Nabonidus
9:47PM Matrix Time

Perhaps an hour out of Zion's dock, the Nabonidus hovered slowly down a tunnel, the blue rays of scanning beams emanating from the ship mapping everything that surrounded it, from pipelines to cooling ducts. The buzz of its hoverpads gave it an almost animal-like characteristic, as though it were signaling to any other life forms around it, machine or otherwise, that it was busy and wouldn't take kindly to being disturbed.

Niobe sat at the helm, her eyes piercing into the darkness ahead with a look on her face that showed she'd be ready for anything that might come out of it, friend or foe. But you'd already know that without having to look if you've ever worked with her before. It was just common knowledge.

Link served as her co-pilot. His eyes darted around from screen to screen inside the cockpit, studying anything that the scanners and performance monitors could display. He wasn't worried about piloting the ship; Niobe had it covered. All he had to worry about was being able to keep up with her in case they ran into trouble. And by the looks of what was coming in from various radar, heat, and sonar scanners, that wasn't going to happen. Smooth sailing for now.

Morpheus was on the main deck, contemplating various things as always, at the same time. He stood in front of the chair array, his arms crossed and one hand upon his chin. The war had taken its toll on Morpheus, both physically and mentally. Various fights, sudden unexpected events, and most of all, still after five years, the absence of his friend, and in some ways, his mentor, Neo. Each had their effect on him.

A line or two had formed in his forehead. Slight darkness under his eyes and a scar or two. His eyes remained unchanged by some miracle perhaps. They still had that dangerous and at the same time welcoming look that he'd always had. The look many newcomers to Zion came to know him by. He missed Neo, as well as Trinity.

He remembered how he had gone about trying to reconstruct Neo's RSI in the Matrix. Then there were the Agents resembling Neo that followed, a fabrication of The Merovingian that was his way of mocking Neo and his truce, which also served as an effort to get under Morpheus' skin, from holding a grudge against him ever since their ill-fated meeting over The Keymaker. It almost felt like he was being haunted for trying to bring Neo back instead of honor his sacrifice.

Neo had been a light of hope for him. Without him, the world seemed dark. With a new war in place, he now felt as though those six months in which Neo was with them, were a dream he'd had, because nothing was different otherwise. Now, Neo had existed only within Zion's constructs to aide newbies in their training. It brought back good memories to see him, next to his companion program that was Trinity, but the simulacra inside the simulation couldn't ever be the real thing, even if they were 99% accurate and had collective intelligence.

But Neo wasn't what was on his mind. Right now, the only thing on his mind was what had happened in the Matrix approximately four hours ago, that everyone had witnessed on their construct monitors. Green code turning White. White code turning into crystal clear picture feed. Picture feed of a new face, one he'd never seen before, doing things he didn't think were possible for someone who had been freed only weeks prior. Things he thought only The One could do.

Morpheus watched the code recordings of this man take a beating from an Agent and still manage to live. Fight back even. He watched him as he was shot mercilessly and killed by Balthasar. That was no surprise to him. This was War; Soldiers were killed left and right. At that point he figured that the guy had had merely a streak of luck that was abruptly stopped in its tracks. But when he got back up and everything changed... He knew there was something special about him. What it was he did not know. Two questions plagued his mind; Who was this man, and what is his purpose? Surely, only The Oracle knows such things, he reassured himself. Everyone knew that.

Around him, people were at work. Gizmo and Hacksaw, two new crew mates he'd picked up while at Zion, were handling maintenance. It's what they were good at. In the Matrix, aside from soldiers, they served as hardware wizards, and acted like Police on a stakeout, inside a van with all of the high tech equipment. Only instead of surveillance, they hacked the Matrix from the inside, helping Operators back in the real world get their work done faster.

Ghost was plugged into his meditation construct. Kid was in a combat training program. Zee was checking munitions, making sure everything was clean, loaded, and where it belonged. Sparks sat at the Operator's console.

Since all of the sensor readouts were being handled in the cockpit, he had been at work on other things: Checking on Zion hideouts inside the Matrix, monitoring Exile activity, making patches and updating software, playing a game he downloaded from the Matrix. The usual.

Inside the cockpit, sensors sounded off, notifying something had been detected. Niobe checked the map readings; They were just coming upon a junction. Link brought up the bio-scanner readouts. Whatever it was they had stumbled across was made of metal, and it was big. Really big. Infrared sensors showed that it was emanating heat. There were signs of life. Niobe and Link exchanged looks and brought up the holographic display. The floating blue image before them flickered to life and spun counter clockwise slowly. Exchanging looks now was impossible; They were both wearing the same expression of awe.

"Holy *poop*.." Niobe said, breaking the silence.

"What the hell happened here?" Link asked himself out loud

"Get Morpheus, he's gotta see this," she told him.

On the main deck, Link's voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

"Morpheus, come to the cockpit."

"What is it?" He asked, looking up as though he were talking to the topside.

"We found something. You're gonna wanna see it, I ain't kidding around here."

"Patch it through down here," he answered, shifting his eyes over to Sparks. He got to work right away, his fingers working the keyboard like lightning as he brought up the relayed image onto the construct monitors.

"No friggin' way.." Sparks said. Now Morpheus wore a concerned frown as he walked over to see what it was. When he finally did, his concerned expression remained as he studied the image. A few seconds went by, and Niobe anxiously spoke up.

"Morpheus, do you see that?" She asked over the loudspeaker.

"Yes."

"That's the Nemesis!"

"I know what it is."

"Look at the thing, it looks like it's been through hell and back!"

Morpheus chuckled at this remark. By now he had to agree with Cypher on one thing: Could any place be worse than this?

"Diagnosis?"

"She's been smacked around pretty bad, Sir," Link answered. "It's got bullet holes and impact damage all over it and it's missing a few hoverpads."

"Bullet holes..?" Sparks asked as he stared at the relayed image. "Squiddies don't carry guns. You think they might have rolled out a new sentinel?"

"Irvine must have gotten himself caught up in a dogfight with another hovercraft," Morpheus assessed.

"Do you think it might have been one of ours?" Niobe asked.

"No, we would have heard about it already. Must have been a Resistance hovercraft."

"That must have been that disturbance they were talking about before we left Zion, there were seismic reports of rumbling not far away from Gate 2." Sparks said.

"You think it was the Nemesis, Sir?" Link asked.

"It could have been. It might have been the other ship, the Nemesis looks like it performed an almost perfect landing rather than a crash." Morpheus said.

"Well if Irvine was the winner I'd hate to see what happened to the other ship." Link remarked.

"I'm more concerned about what's inside the ship." Morpheus replied. "Any signs of life?"

"Sensors detect seven life forms." Link answered.

"Seven... He must have picked up a new crew mate at some point after he left," Sparks said.

A new crew mate... Morpheus thought to himself. I wonder...could he be on there?

"What do you want to do about it Morpheus?" Niobe asked.

"Set the ship down. We're going to board the ship and find out what happened."

"That's it?" She asked, as though she knew there was some detail he left out.

"We're going to proceed as though there are hostiles on board. Last time we saw these people, it wasn't a fond farewell."

"Got it."

----

(Prologue concluded) 

"Somebody's found us..." Marley whispered.

The lights were off inside the Nemesis. Glitch was instructed to prevent the auxiliary power from starting up when they'd landed. It was pitch black inside. Outside, the buzz of a ship's hoverpads sounded so loud it was as though the Nemesis's power was still on. It was like a flashback of only moments ago when the Nosferatu was stalking them in the tunnels, only you could tell it was a smaller ship. Whose side it was on was unknown, as with no power they had no way of telling. But they were ready for anyone no matter what the allegiance.

"Who do you think it is?" Glitch asked the darkness.

"Gotta be a Zion craft. We're too close for the Resistance to be poking around here. They dwell in unmarked territories," Blade answered. The rumble of a ship setting down shook the deck and echoed in the junction they'd landed in. In the dark, Blade had picked up his EMP rifle and pointed it in the direction it came from.

"They know we're on here, their scanners will pick us up. They're gonna board us," Anubis said.

"That's the idea..." Irvine replied. You could hear in his voice that he was more concentrated on listening to what was going on than talking about it. Janus liked the idea. He'd seen it in a movie once and it worked. But he also knew that if Irvine was planning an ambush in the form of a trap to capture another ship, then it was going to get messy. Although unfamiliar with the weapon, he gripped his EMP rifle as though it were an assault rifle back in the Matrix.

There was a loud creaking noise, and then the hiss of air pressure being released from a rampway. Then nothing. The sound of a panel being pulled open; circuitry being taken out. The *CLACK* of a conduit being fastened onto it. Morpheus' muffled voice: "Okay Sparks, open it."

"Morpheus..." Irvine whispered to himself. This was going to be interesting. He was as glad as he was precautious; He'd rather have Morpheus find him, knowing the guy, but he knew he'd likely be brought in as a prisoner and his ship taken from him.

Come and try... he thought to himself, tightening his grip on his rifle's trigger handle. At this point, he figured negotiations would be aggressive or none at all. He could feel the pressure of his pulse against the headset he wore.

Now, the even louder creaking noise of the Nemesis' hatch being opened, followed by the air pressure released. Small booms of the crew's footsteps coming onto the ship, unheard as they were leaving their own. White searchlights shone into the ship. Anubis watched with narrowed eyes. This was like an extreme version of manhunt. He made sure to stay behind the mainframe tower he'd been hiding behind.

Morpheus peered into the ship. Sparks burst from wire fixtures and consoles all over the place. There was an eerie quiet inside. It was as though the ship was dead.

"The auxiliary power didn't even come on..." Gizmo said. This was a bit unsettling to Morpheus; He knew this ship when it was first built. Saw it leave on its maiden voyage. And now it was a wreck, like every other ship.

Go figure... he thought bitterly to himself. He slowly made his way into the ship, looking up a ladder leading to higher decks to see if anyone had been near there.

Hacksaw made sure to double check. Ghost's eyes darted around in the dark, trying to see anything not mechanical. Irvine waited until he walked by, his gun barrel poking out from the pipes he'd been hiding behind. Ghost didn't see that. He waited for his pick of the litter to come by. When Morpheus started to pass by, Irvine felt his heart pounding with adrenaline. He whispered into his headset: "Glitch..." Morpheus heard him. But he wasn't fast enough.

The auxiliary lights turned on bright with a *SHMMM*. It scared the *poop* out of the rest of the search crew, giving Irvine's the element of surprise. Irvine stepped out and wrapped his left arm around Morpheus' throat while settling the bore of the EMP rifle's barrel right over the plug on the back of his head. Blade came up but found Hacksaw's gun in his face, however Anubis was aiming at Hacksaw. Gizmo aimed at Anubis. Blade was aiming at Gizmo. Janus aimed at Link, who was aiming at Glitch. Marley and Ghost aimed at each other. Kid aimed at Janus. Glitch aimed at Kid. Irvine's team had checkmate.

"Well well well, Morpheus, so nice of you to stop by. Interesting little Mexican stand off we have here."

"Irvine, we came here to help," Morpheus said under the grip Irvine had on his throat.

"I don't recall asking anyone for help," Irvine snapped back.

"I don't think you're in the position to be turning down anyone's help," Link said.

"Oh really? Hmm..." Irvine said as he quickly checked around the room, his eyes darting from person to person. "Looks like I'm the only one who doesn't have a gun in his face. I think you need the help more than I do."

"We've got no time for fun and games here..." Ghost said in his monotoned voice, staring Marley in the eye.

"I think we've got plenty of time, for some questions at least," Glitch said.

"Hey, we're the ones who're supposed to be asking the questions here!" Hacksaw said angrily.

"Yeah, like what the hell are you guys doing so close to Zion?" Kid demanded.

"Simple, we needed the help and we knew where to find it," Irvine said with a smart *CENSORED* tone and a matching grin.

"So what the *CENSORED* is this all about?!" Gizmo yelled out.

"Well, we had no idea which ship might find us. Could have been from Zion or one of Blood's," Irvine began. "But I doubt it'd be any of them, they're all probably dragging his big *CENSORED* out of the trench his ship made when he went down."

"You took out the Nosferatu?" Link asked.

"He's quick." Anubis quipped.

"Hey, who the hell are you?!" Gizmo asked him.

"He's going to be your worst nightmare in a moment if you don't get that gun out of his face." Janus said.

"The same could be said for me." Kid chimed in.

"Try it, punk." Janus shot back.

"SILENCE!!" Morpheus yelled over them.

"Gettin' a bit testy, eh Morpheus?" Irvine taunted.

"No, I'm trying to get everyone settled down here. Everyone put your guns down."

Everyone exchanged looks. Then they all looked at Morpheus and Irvine. Irvine took a moment to think about it. He nodded, and his men slowly lowered their guns. Morpheus's men followed, and then Irvine let go of Morpheus.

"Okay then," Morpheus said, adjusting his head and cracking his neck after getting out of Irvine's grip. "What happened here?"

"Hmm, what did happen, what did happen...You saw that huge occurrence in the Matrix a few hours ago right?"

"You mean when all of the coding on the construct monitors started scrolling extremely fast, turned white and then developed into an actual picture of what was going on inside the Matrix?" Link asked.

"I'll take that as a Yes," Irvine said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, that was all the work of a new crew member of mine," he nodded towards Janus. Morpheus turned and looked him over.

"So it was you..." Morpheus said in a low tone, almost to himself. "What is your name?"

"Janus." He answered.

"Janus.." Morpheus considered the name, and the mythological attachments to it. "Can you explain what happened?"

"I can tell you," Irvine piped in, but Janus put up a hand.

"It's okay, I used to be a cop, I can handle it," he said. Irvine shrugged. Janus looked at Morpheus.

"We went into the Matrix, to investigate a code malfunction when we were attacked by these...ghosts," he started. Morpheus showed a look of concern or confusion at the mention of the word ghosts, but continued listening. "After they showed up, we went to get out, but Blood sent a few of his men in after us. We ran, and Irvine and Anubis," he nodded over to his silent comrade, "Had gotten caught up at a construction site. Kira, Solitaire, Blade, and myself, got our stuff together and went in to get them out, with Solitaire and Blade causing a distraction. We ran into more Resistance trouble there."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Kane and Gash had these combat programs with them, and they were hunting down Irvine and Anubis."

"..Combat programs?" Ghost asked.

"Yeah, almost like disposable soldiers. Some acted like animals."

"That sounds like the simulacra Zion was developing to give its troops an advantage against enemies inside the Matrix. How did the Resistance get its hands on them?" Gizmo said.

"We'll find out later. Keep going, Janus." Morpheus said.

"Well, Kira and I went in and dispatched the guards on the lower floors of the building they were in, one still in construction. When we got to the top floor, a large fire fight broke out. We gave Anubis and Irvine new weapons since there's had been taken away, and in the process of getting Anubis' sword back from Gash, I killed him."

"You killed Gash?" Kid asked in a tone of amazement. Janus simply nodded. The rest of the Nabonidus crew members, except Anubis, all exchanged looks with Morpheus and themselves. Anubis just let out a ‘heh'.

"Gash was one of the best fighters in the Resistance," he explained.

"Apparently not, since he dropped that fast." Anubis said.

"After that, Kane was wounded and ran off. Glitch loaded up a helicopter for us and we planned to be dropped off at different exit locations since it would be safer. Around that time was when Blade and Soliatire came in with the distraction to get the shitload of cops off of our attention for a few moments. Before I got out, I ran into an Agent near the exit that Kira and I were assigned to. We fought, and he almost killed me, but I kept getting up. Balthasar came in at that point and took him out. He fatally shot Kira... and I went after Balthasar."

"You're crazy," Link said.

"Not now, Link." Morpheus ordered. "Go on," he said.

"We made it to a rooftop, and I was already smashed up by the Agent, so it was no contest for him. When he had me on the floor, he shot me in the chest. I believe I died then."

"...."

"What I saw...I can't really describe because it only just happened recently, and I haven't had time to think about it. Whatever happened, I was revived, I felt like I was a part of the Matrix. I stood up and Balthasar tried to fight me, but this time I had beaten him with no effort. I can't understand why or how."

"That does sound peculiar..." Morpheus remarked. He didn't know what to make of it.

Irvine spoke up. "After Janus got out of the Matrix, Blood must have been pissed. He came after us the way a man does when he has a lust for vengeance or the other party owes him money. We were chased into the abandoned remains of a city on the surface, where we had a huge dogfight. Janus and Anubis managed to stall him for a few moments which gave us the chance to get outta there, but he still came after us. We took him out with an EMP charge and he nose dived. We set down here and shut down the power, waiting for someone to find us. You know the rest."

"Hmm..." Morpheus said in thought. He paced around back and forth for a minute or so before he spoke up again.

"I have an idea."

"Oh yeah?"

"Come back with us to Zion."

Everyone looked at Morpheus like he had three heads.

"Hmmm... That's a good offer, except for the fact Lock would sooner have us thrown in the brig and take the Nem away than give us sanctuary." Irvine protested with dry sarcasm.

"Not necessarily. Things have changed since you left. When this war started, the Matrix Corps was formed for soldiers who would fight for Zion specifically in the Matrix. I am the General of the Corps, and Lock's equal in terms of military ranking."

"So you're saying we would be out of his jurisdiction."

"Correct."

Irvine looked over at Blade. "We could use the repairs."

"We could use a home." Blade said.

"Not to mention new equipment." Glitch chimed.

"And real food, mahn." Marley said.

Irvine looked at everyone with a "Hmm..."

"Alright, we'll go. Home is, after all, where the heart is."

Morpheus smiled. It was nice to have interesting people on the same side again.

"Welcome back."
----

Chapter 1: No Place Like Home

Zion, Gate 02
Zion HvCFT Nabonidus
11:44PM Matrix Time

It had been pretty quiet in the tunnels, as the two hovercrafts moved closer and closer to Zion territory. The Nabonidus, which was towing the Nemesis with multiple tow cables from its aft, slowly rode on its hover discs toward the city, showing no apparent lag from the extra weight. In fact, the scene was tranquil until a pair of curious shapes flew by the Nabonidus at speeds beyond that of a regular hovercraft.

These were curious craft, with four hover pads attached to panels, two on top, two on the bottom of a pair of outstretched wings. Currently, these panels were engaged in all-range mode, where the panels were opened up and perpendicular to the rest of the wings, with the pads facing outwards. These smaller craft moved around the two ships with the grace of a pair of hawks.

These craft were small, the pod parts barely large enough to hold one pilot and cockpit instruments, but the way they flitted about the hovercrafts, one could've likened them to flies buzzing around a pair of bulls. Still, one could see they were heavily armed, as each wing held three high explosive missiles and a pair of rails that could emit high-powered arcs of EMP energy much like the rifles used by Zion personell, along with two machineguns that had an output equal to those of an APU's, which were mounted on the front of each craft.

These were Zion's hover fighters, otherwise known as ‘Defenders' to those who fly them. Made shortly after the end of the original war, they were Zion's answer to sentinals, in case another war started, like now. And they were just as effective at taking down hovercraft if necessary.

The Nabonidus crew was fast to react, with Sparks rushing to the operator's station. "I don't know why they're here, but I don't think it's to welcome us back," he spoke through the comm. system to the cockpit, worried as usual.

Niobe and Link sat at the controls in the cockpit, as usual, and Morpheus came in shortly after. Link put on a headset and turned on the holographics monitor, which displayed the two Defenders. "Attention Zion fighters, this is the Nabonidus. State designations and purpose for being here."

One of the Defender pilots acknowledged. "This is Guardian One of the Zion Defense Force. Nabonidus, you are towing an enemy vessel toward home territory. Disengage your tow cables immediately."

"Nabonidus to Guardian One, the vessel in question is another ship of Zion. We are only helping it back home..." upon Link's mentioning that, the two fighters fired off bursts from their machineguns, which rocked the hull of the Nabonidus.

"What the-!?" Niobe jerked at the controls. The shots didn't seem powerful enough to break the Nabonidus's armor, but it did send vibrations through the hull.

"Guardian One, are you insane!!?" Link jumped.

"I'll take it from here." With a deft motion, Morpheus reached out, slipped the headset off of Link and put it on his own head. "Guardian One, this is General Morpheus of the Matrix Corps. I will not tolerate any trivial acts of intimidation on my vessel. Fire again and we will consider it an act of hostility."

There seemed to be a flash of hesitance in the Defender pilot's voice from that point on, as he realized who was on this vessel. "A-apologies General, sir! We were ordered to stop the advance of the Nemesis into Zion territory, by force if necessary."

"On whose authority?"

"This was Commander Lock's direct order."

"Good ol' Jason." Niobe rolled her eyes as she kept the ship steady.

"Consider those orders belayed. The Nemesis is under my jurisdiction, and will be regarded as a friendly from now on. Am I clear, Guardian One?" Morpheus spoke in his usual commanding tone, but there was a bit more edge to it this time around.

"Yes sir."

"Very good. You may disengage at your leisure."

"With all due respect General, it is protocol for a flag vessel to have fighter escort upon the return home," the Defender pilot replied.

Link looked up to Morpheus with an arched eyebrow and smirk on his face, the kind of smirk that said ‘you still got it in you sir'. Morpheus himself returned the smirk, then looked toward the holographic projection of the two fighters. "As you wish, Guardian One. Move forward and maintain escort formation." When he saw the fighters move into view from the cockpit, he gave the headset back to Link.

Niobe herself flashed a grin. At least this was something new... she thought, realizing that of all the times they had gone through this procedure, not once had there been a sudden burst of security.

"Zion control, this is the Nabonidus, with the Nemesis in tow. We are on approach and request access through gate two." Behind the gate operators plugged into their chairs sat another operator, hovering over his keyboard and listening in to the conversation on his headset. His screens displayed blue code strands falling down the screen, and he logged in that the Nabonidus was incoming, then patched Link through to the control, and then monitored the procedure. Looking over the operator's shoulder, a certain man, with an African-American ethnicity and a seemingly permanent scowl observed the code with interest.

In the construct sat the six Zion gate operators clad entirely in white. A red headed female pushed, pointed and dragged several boxes on the interface before her that formed pictures of the gate, the turrets, the tunnel, several trickling numbers that were statistics, and the oncoming ship. She smiled at the sight of the Nemesis coming in with the Nabonidus. Despite what happened years ago, and although it seemed to be heavily damaged, it was one more vessel that had found its way home. "Nabonidus, your request is confirmed, standby."

"Roger that control." came the response.

-----

Zion, Gate 02
Rogue HvCFT Nemesis
11:48PM Matrix Time

"Wow that was close." Blade said, as he had listened to the bout between the Defenders and the Nabonidus through his own headset.

Irvine nodded. "It's good to see the General is still a man that doesn't take *poop* from anyone. Not even his equals or superiors." He grinned. "Neither am I for that matter."

The Nemesis slowly drifted behind the Nabonidus as the two ships drifted towards Gate 02 of Zion's dock. Having been given a minimal recharge jump from the Nabonidus, it floated low. The only power in the ship was being fed directly to whatever pads it had left after Blood's assault, so it was only keeping itself hovering while the Nabonidus pulled it along.

Irvine, Janus, Blade, and Anubis, were all packed inside the cockpit, looking at the Nabonidus' stern out through the shattered windshield. In the meantime, Glitch and Marley were on the main deck running diagnosis checks to determine the exact amount of damage to report to Zion's repair crews after they landed.

Over the radio, Blade, Anubis, and Janus all listened as Link communicated with Zion's gate control operaters as they ran through gate access and docking procedures. Irvine, however, was paying attention to the groans and whines coming from the Nemesis' frame. It'd always been able to take a good beating, but in the condition the ship was in now it was nearly the worse for wear. Irvine nearly cringed at every sound of the ship's structure buckling under pressure.

"*CENSORED* took a rough trip," Irvine finally said.

"Yeah Cap," Blade answered. "You got that right."

"How long will it take them to fix it?" Janus asked.

"Who the hell knows?" Irvine replied. "I just know it better be fixed ASAP."

"Get a load of this one," Blade said, looking over at Janus.

"What are you talking about?" Janus asked.

"You ain't even been to Zion yet and you're already questioning the competence of its workers."

"All the more reason for me to wonder, no?"

"I guess you have a point," Blade conceded. He looked ahead through the broken glass, as the gate ahead opened, light pouring through and silhouetting most of the Nabonidus. "What you're about to see though, newbie," Blade continued, "will take your breath away." He then looked over at Anubis. "You too, mute."

Anubis merely narrowed his eyes, and Irvine rolled his.

"Alright, I can handle the rest from here Blade. Go in the infirmary and check on Solitaire, make sure she's okay."

"I'll do it," Anubis volunteered, earning him looks from the others, even Janus. This kind of eagerness to be of aide wasn't something they were used to, especially with the display they'd been given in the last few hours.

Irvine studied Anubis' facial features for a moment, trying to get whatever psychological hints he could as to why Anubis had jumped to the task. Finally, he nodded his head. "Go ahead. Make sure her I-V is still working right."

"Right," Anubis said, with a nod to Irvine before exiting the cockpit.

The three remaining redpills all exchanged looks. "That was weird," Irvine said.

"Yeah, not like him at all," Janus concurred.

"Ever since you got ballsy and cheated death, it's like he's gotten a boost of morale or something," Irvine added.

"Eyes forward, gentlemen. We're about to look on a sight for sore eyes, and ours are hurtin' like a mothafucka," Blade said.

As the Nabonidus cleared the gate, it rolled slightly and yawed to the left, angling out as the Nemesis was pulled behind, giving a full open view to the men in the cockpit. Taking in the view, what he saw before him put Janus into a state of awe: Zion. The last free city, and home to all free humans left on the planet. The large vastness of the dock size alone, nevermind the mechanical equipment all over the place, had him the same way as when a kid sees Disney World in person for the first time.

Humans built this...? Was all he could ask himself as he looked all around, taking in the details. He saw at least three other ships parked in the dock, conduits running all over the place, men and women walking around attending to whatever business they had at hand. And they were all soldiers, he thought to himself, not forgetting the stories he'd heard about when Zion had nearly faced its end, and civilians had volunteered to join in its defense. To him, this was amazing. Irvine and Blade, however, felt more like they'd been returning home after a very long, hard time away. It was how every ship-crew felt when they came back, but it was more special in their case.

Link's voice cut in over the speaker.

"Irvine, you hearing me?"

"Loud and clear Link, go ahead."

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't tranced out after not seeing home for so long, hehe. Alright, here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna set your ship down in one of the repair bays under us. Carefully, lower your ship's altidude by reducing the power to the pads, and do it slow, so that you're hanging under the Nabonidus. We'll handle the rest."

"..What if they drop us? Or we fall out of the air?" Blade asked.

"We've been through a lot of *poop* in the last few hours, a free-fall to end it all isn't sounding so bad right now so don't let my mind wander on the subject," Irvine answered. Blade looked over at Janus.

"I'd go with his idea," Janus said. Blade nodded in agreement.

Following Link's instructions, Irvine reduced the power to the pads keeping the ship afloat ever so slowly, and there was a little bit of swing play in the tow cables once the power had been cut and the Nemesis' weight was being held up by the cables alone, causing the ship to rock back and forth a bit while hanging under the Nabodinis. It made Janus a little bit nervous, but it would have done the same to anyone else.

"Alright Link, we're just a buncha swingin' dicks down here, whenever you're ready," Irvine said into the radio.

"Copy that," Link replied. The Nabonidus was navigated over to one of the open repair bays on the dock, until it floated directly above it. Then, it slowly lowered itself down, setting the Nemesis down neatly into the landing space. It touched down on its landing gears with a rock, having never retracted them from the crash landing earlier.

"The Nemesis is down in repair bay one," the dock controller confirmed.

"Roger that. Releasing tow cables," Link said. With a loud *CLICK*, the tow cable locking mechanisms disengaged from the Nemesis, and the cables were then automatically rolled back up into the Nabonidus' hull.

"Alright Irvine, you're good to go," Link said over the radio. "We're gonna land this ship, we'll be over with you shortly. Morpheus says to wait up before you go anywhere."

"Got it," Irvine said. He then shut the radio off, and sat for a moment. He breathed in, held it, and then let out a long exhale. He felt like he used to when he was just about to walk out the door to go out on a date, back during his days as a bluepill. Nervous would be an accurate way to describe it. He looked over to Blade, and then Janus.

"So. This is it. We're finally back."

"I'm not expecting any warm welcomes though," Blade answered.

"You and me both. Let's get everyone together and wait on the deck. If anyone's got a snide remark for my crew, we'll take it in stride."

"Yes, Sir!" Blade said, somewhat enthused. "C'mon Janus, let's go round up the gang."

Janus nodded, and followed Blade out of the cockpit. Before getting up to join them though, Irvine reached up behind his head and felt around, pulling a small, tattered book out from a small space between hardware modules. It was his Captain's log. He opened it, and flipped through its pages as though it were a flip book before closing it and looking at the cover once more. As he leaned over to push himself up off of the chair, he tapped his forehead with the book.

"Time to report in to the Council," he said to himself as he left the cockpit.

----

(Chapter 1 cont'd) 

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:07AM Matrix Time

Django, Resistance fleet Captain of the Rebellion, looked over the transmission one more time. It was a series of coordinates not very far from one of Zion's gates, and it was sent as a burst transmission from the Nosferatu. No message recorded, no instructions. Just coordinates. Any attempts made to contact Blood's ship, either by radio, coded message, or encrypted transmission, had failed. No responses were received. Why isn't he answering? What's at this location??

"Orders, Captain?" asked Masai. He was the Rebellion's crew assist, and was one out of the total five crew aboard the small-class vessel. Aside from himself and the Captain, there were two other redpills, and Cable, the ship's Operator.

Having been snapped out of his trance, Django glanced over at Cable's screens, looking over the coordinates again. He covered the microphone on his headset with his hand. "Cable, forward those coordinates through to the ship's navcom."

"You got it," Cable answered, and with a few quick keystrokes, it was done.

Django took his hand off of the mic. "Masai, take us to the coordinates you see before you on the navcom. Apparently there's something Blood wants the fleet to see."

Little did Django know, Blood wasn't summoning the fleet to show them anything. Rather, he wanted to be found.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Nosferatu
12:37AM Matrix Time

The damage wasn't just on the exterior. The entire Nosferatu was in critical condition. Everywhere in the ship, sparks were popping from damaged breakers and conduits. Lights that had been strung up around the ship had either fallen and smashed, or shut down all together from the EMP.

In the total darkness that was inside the ship, the only light provided was whatever there was given off from the small fires burning throughout the ship. With the structural damage the ship had sustained from being used to smash a hole into the ground for tunnel access, being hit by rockets, and then plowing headfirst into the ground and leaving a trench in its wake, it was a miracle that the ship wasn't torn to pieces when it crashed.

As powerful and durable as it was built, the Nosferatu was down and unable to pick itself back up. On the main deck where everyone would plug into the Matrix, the crew was gathered, waiting in the darkness and the dim light of the fires for a rescue they weren't sure was even going to arrive.

Blood layed back in one of the plugin chairs, cuts on his head and arms sustained from the crash bleeding. Sideways was hunched over his consoles, having hit his head during the crash. Balthasar was propped up against the wall, sitting on the floor, his eyes half open. Sonia and Leon lay on the floor, holding each other. Nitro sat on a crate with his head in his hands.

"Who's coming for us...?" Nitro asked.

"I don't know... whoever got the transmission first I guess," Blood answered.

"We crashed almost forty-five minutes ago," Sideways added. "Been sitting here waiting to get ripped apart by sentinals."

"What if that happened to the others? What if no one shows up because they were all attacked by squids?" Nitro asked, almost frantically.

"Shut up Nitro," Balthasar growled. "You're slipping into hysteria, and you're wounded. Keep your trap shut before you start scaring the rest of the crew, help's gonna be here soon."

Leon turned his head to face Balthasar from where he was laying. "Hey Bal, why are you so confident? You trying to BS us into a positive mood?"

"No, dipshit. I know we're going to be rescued. You know why? Because I'm not meant to die here. I'm going to live to get my chance to fight that Janus again and put his face into the street. I'll kill him dead," Balthasar said, with death in his voice. There was a scowl on his face as he finished his sentence, and he spit a wad of blood into the steel grating floor plate.

"Yeah well... help better come quick before sentinals do find us. I'm sure our little stunt chase woke up every machine from here to Zero One," Sonia quipped.

Blood narrowed his eyes, darted them around, and then looked up as though he was trying to see the outside tunnel ceiling through the ship's topside.

"What's the matter, Blood?" Sideways asked.

"Shut up!" Blood hissed in a whisper. "I'm trying to listen."

A low, muffled buzzing tone slowly but gradually got louder and louder, and soon the Nosferatu crew realized it was a ship.

"See? I told you someone would find us," Balthasar said triumphantly, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Yeah, but how do we know it's one of ours?" Leon asked, as he and Sonia sat up.

"Because no one else knows we're here," Blood said. "It's gotta be one of ours. Sounds like a small one."

"That means it's either the Rebellion or the Vendetta," Sideways said.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:37AM Matrix Time

"Holy *CENSORED*..."

Django didn't want to believe what his eyes were seeing. Unfortunately this wasn't the Matrix, so he didn't have that luxury. As the Rebellion hovered in its place, the Nosferatu layed before it, dug into a ditch that extended far past the ship like a scar in the earth, indicating that it had dived into a crash and dug itself into a trench as it came to a stop. It was still steaming from the outside, with various locations sparking and popping with electrical short circuits all over. Riddled with bullet holes, the entire outer frame appeared to be seriously damaged, with bends and twists and ruptures in the armor all over the ship. The legendary Bloodsucker, flagship of the pirate fleet, looked as though it had been used as a weapon to batter a giant with, and then left to rot.

"What the hell happened?" Masai asked, bewildered by the sight.

"I have no idea. But we're gonna find out," Django answered. He put on his headset. "Cable, are you seeing this?"

"I can't believe it, but yes, I am seeing the Nosferatu in a **CENSORED* up* condition on my screens right now."

"You're very observant. Now tell me what the scans say."

"The ship's got no power in it at all, it's hot, and there are people inside. I count six people on infrared scans."

"That means they're alive by some miracle. Cable, I want you to send an encrypted transmission to the rest of the fleet, have them gather on this location."

"You got it," Cable answered, and got to work.

Django turned to Masai. "Get us landed. We gotta get Blood's crew out of there. By the time the others get here I want our tow cables ready so we can get the 'Nos out of here and someplace more... safe."

"You think we can repair it?"

"You better believe it. Not only is the Nosferatu the flagship and symbol of our cause and will to fight, but I don't think anyone else wants to put up with Blood or his crew on their ship."

"Understood," Masai said with a nod. "Right away, Sir."

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Vendetta
1:22AM Matrix Time

"And then he launched an EMP charge at your ship and it nose dived into the ground? At top speed?" Raven asked astoundedly, repeating what Blood had just said to him. Blood himself was sitting in a chair, with the rest of his crew crowded in around the main deck, while Raven and his own crew, except for Kahn, who was piloting the ship, listened in.

"Yeah, the *blinking*' weasel," Blood muttered reluctantly. He hated having to admit Irvine won their little duel. "Sneaky son of a *CENSORED*, wait til I get my hands on him..."

"No wonder the Bloodsucker's so smashed up. What entertainment we've been treated to tonight!" Raven exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Raven, how do you get entertainment out of this?" Blood snarled.

"Would anyone here like to explain what I mean? A show of hands?" Raven asked, a bit enthused.

"What he's saying," Axe began, while swiveling around in his chair at the consoles, "Is that we basically got a fireworks show inside the Matrix, and then hours later, we get a story about how Irvine stuck it to ya."

"And, dare I say it," Arius added, "Not only did Blood get it, but Balthasar was also dealt a beating in the same night. Not such a morale booster for our little group here." Raven said "Heh," and Blood understood why he seemed like he was laughing. He wasn't making light of the matter, he was being sarcastically negative about both incidents, and Blood didn't look happy upon realizing it. Neither did Balthasar, for that matter.

"I oughta beat your *CENSORED*, Raven.." Blood growled.

"Yeah, I've got your back," Balthasar added, staring at Arius like he was ready to brawl.

"Yeah, well, there won't be any mutinies while I'm around. Not on my ship," Raven replied, sternly. Although he didn't really care, Blood knew Raven had a point. It was his ship, after all, and thus, his say was above everyone else's.

"And as thick as the tension is, I'd love to jump into the construct and go at it with either of you, but we don't have time for fun and games right now. We've gotta focus on repairing your ship," Raven added.

Blood nodded. "Yeah, right. After we tow it out of here, we need to go to the surface."

Magnus looked at Blood as though he was crazy. "Why do you want to go back up there after what you just went through?"

"Simple. We need to pay a visit to the Osiris' crash site. There's a good deal of parts there to salvage for the repairs."

----

(Chapter 1 cont'd)

Zion Dock
Repair Bay
12:00AM Matrix Time

The hatchway opened not long after, with the crew- Irvine, Blade, Janus, Anubis, Solitaire (with her arm in a sling), Marley and Glitch, marching down the ramp as if they owned all of Zion. Besides Janus and Anubis, who had never seen Zion before, everyone had warm expressions on their faces and no one could hold back smiling. They had been gone for far too long, and had now just returned to the city they had all lived and fought for years ago.

Irvine was the first to speak, after inhaling some air. "There is no place like home, indeed," he announced.

"I hate to break the moment for you Captain, but I see a lot of security..." Blade pointed toward all the security guardsmen that stood along the dock, all armed with EMP rifles, almost like sentries. "...and no maintenance crew." His arms swept around them to show no one else on the dock. There wasn't even equipment sitting nearby.

Irvine sighed at that. He dug through the pants pockets of his uniform and fished out two curious items: what looked to be a primitive lighter and a box that contained several hand-made cigarettes. He pulled out a cigarette from the box, and then stuck the cigarette in his mouth. "I wonder why they came out to greet us."

"Maybe it's your vibrant personality," Solitaire commented sarcastically.

"Very funny. Hold still." With a quick movement, Irvine struck the lighter across Solitaire's arm cast and brought it up to light the cigarette. The renegade ship captain then seemed to relax even more, inhaling the fumes and breathing out. "I wonder what they're really up to... They can't really expect us to just stay here on the dock..." He thought out loud.

As if on cue, Glitch's eyes had caught onto something moving down the dock. "Hey, it's the welcoming committee!" he said jokingly.

Everybody's attention then focused past the guards to one particular man marching toward them with two escorting guards flanking him. And at the same time, everybody froze. They all recognized the man at the front.

Irvine did as well, and a cruel smile formed on his face. "Looks like we made somebody's *poop* list." He observed the larger-than-usual scowl on the lead man's face, which he could see despite distance. Nonchalantly, Irvine strolled over to a nearby crate and leaned against it, as if pretending to not notice as the three men came up to him.

As if to counter the lead man's scowl, Irvine gave off a smug grin and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Wait, wait, wait, I get it: Lock, Stock and Barrel," he pointed to one man after another with the cigarette butt. "Am I right? Huh?" he laughed at his little joke.

Commander Lock, commander-in-chief of the Zion military force, did not look amused at the pirate's humor. Instead, he stopped no more than a few feet from Irvine's face, his eyes trying to pierce through Irvine's own and bring the man down. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't throw you and those other renegades into a hole somewhere and throw away the key, ‘Captain'." He snapped, his voice showing nothing but pure disgust upon the word ‘Captain'.

"Oh come on Deadbolt, you don't honestly mean that." Lock's glare intensified three fold at the mention of his much hated nickname. Irvine's smile grew when he saw that part of the Commander had not changed, and he got up. "Aren't we still friends?"

"There is only one reason I'm not arresting you now, traitor, and that's only because I know you're not stupid. You wouldn't just come back here and expect clemency." Lock stated. "Now tell me why you are here."

"Oh that's simple. We heard Christmas was coming to this end of the world, so me and my bunch decided to drop by for the holidays." Irvine smarted off, placing the cigarette back in his mouth.

Lock glanced at either of his two very burly guards and signaled them. The two, which Irvine had designated ‘Thug' and ‘Goon', moved to either side of Irvine now. "Do not press me Captain; I do not tolerate renegades in the least. For the last time, tell me why you are here before I impound your ship and arrest you and your crew for treason."

"You know Deadbolt, that tight-*CENSORED* attitude of yours isn't going to win over the hearts of any ladies. It certainly didn't do any wonders for a certain yon female captain who..." Irvine started to smart off again.

Before he could continue, ‘Thug' interjected, moving to position himself in front of Lock as if to block Irvine's banter. "You will speak to Commander Lock as..." he started to snap off. The rogue captain simply blew a puff of smoke into the man's face. ‘Thug' winced and coughed, tears starting to form in his eyes even as he was unused to such a vapor.

Irvine took the cigarette out of his mouth and patted ‘Thug' on the side. "You like it? It's a special weed we found growing in the unknown regions. Unlike smoking in the matrix though, it's actually beneficial to you. We found it clears the throat up and allows you to breath easier. It also lacks the addiction properties of nicotine and that other junk."

Following up, ‘Goon' grabbed Irvine by the shoulder in a display of force, but the captain simply took the cigarette and smudged it on that man's hand. A sizzling sound soon followed and the man snapped his hand off with a yelp of pain.

With both lackies detained from action, Irvine turned back to Lock. "As I was saying Deadbolt, nobody likes a stiff guy. Both men and women avoid them like sentinels, and nobody really takes them seriously. You need to loosen up and relax some, take a few out of your *CENSORED*, you know?"

Lock looked as though he were to spontaneously combust. "Do NOT take me for a FOOL, scum! I do not know how you convinced 'General' Morpheus to drag you out of whatever pit you were damned to, but it will not work one me! If it were up to me, I would have had your ship and crew shot down the moment you left that gate!"

Irvine just let out another puff. "And that's precisely the reason why it's not up to you, sir." He said as smugly as ever.

The Commander was about to open his mouth and yell something next, but he never got the chance. "That is quite enough, Commander," came a familiar voice. Lock and Irvine turned to see Councilor Hamann making his way toward the four men, with Morpheus right next to him. When they came up to them, Hamann nodded toward Irvine. "Captain, I see you still haven't lost that young defiant spirit of yours."

"Councilor Hamann, it's good to see you're still in good health." Irvine complimented. "But I didn't expect a member of the council to see the return of the Nemesis personally."

Hamann laughed. "No need to be so formal my boy, General Morpheus has explained everything to me." Morpheus nodded at Irvine, who also nodded back. "And in my opinion, it's always good to see more of our own return home. Especially lively people like you and yours."

Irvine's smile couldn't help but return at the councilor's words. "I'll take that as a compliment, Sir."

"Councilor, will you please explain to me why this... this renegade who disobeyed orders and rebelled against this city has been allowed to return?" Lock demanded, but kept his attitude in check as this was a member of the council he was addressing.

"Has the defense force been monitoring Matrix activity up until now, Commander?" Morpheus inquired.

"Yes, but I hardly see why..."

"Then you are no doubt aware of the anomaly that occurred only hours ago, the white coding that has suddenly appeared in the Matrix."

Lock arched an eyebrow. "And I am supposed to believe, ‘General', that the crew of the Nemesis had something to do with that ‘anomaly', as you call it."

"In the last several days, many things have happened to the Nemesis, and this recent anomaly seems to be tied to one of its crewmembers. Whether you believe it or not, Commander, I and many others have seen what has happened, and I believe there is more to this than meets the eye." Morpheus explained with the same dominating tone he had used on the Defender pilot earlier.

"Aside from that," Irvine started, with a triumphant grin, "We've been working for Zion this whole time."

Lock had a double take. "..What?"

"Yeah, that's right. Zion needed someone to watch the Resistance without taking part in its rogue activity, or being mandated to attack them on sight. So, yours truly was given the task."

Not only did Lock look surprised, but so did everyone else aside from Hamann and Morpheus. It seemed as though Irvine had kept his own crew in the dark about the assignment.

"We couldn't tell you, or my own crew even, because we had to make sure everyone thought we were NOT part of Zion, considering a possibility of there ever being a leak in Zion's OpSec. Sorry you didn't get that memo," Irvine said with a grin.

This only served to anger Lock more, but that anger was quelled by the presence of Councilor Hamann. Morpheus continued: "I have already re-instated the Nemesis back into the Matrix Corps. Captain Irvine and his crew are now under my jurisdiction, and they will be treated accordingly by all members of the defense force."

"Just because you are ‘General' now doesn't mean you can speak to me in such a manner, Morpheus. Whatever this man and his crew have done in the Matrix, it can not and will not excuse their crimes against Zion, and as one charged with the defense of this city, it is my duty to carry their punishment out..." Lock shot back.

"Considering that he was acting as a spy for us, regardless of what he did, which we know was intended to be for Zion's best interest, there will be no punishment handed out," Hamann said.

"You cannot be serious, councilor." Lock exclaimed.

"I am quite serious. By any chance, Commander, are you familiar about the tale of the Prodigal Son?" Hamann asked.

Lock hesitated to answer. "No councilor, I am not."

"Pity. I'm sure you would understand more if you were. You should read it sometime." Hamann nodded at him, then to Morpheus and Irvine. "Now if you will excuse me gentlemen, I have a meeting with the council to attend to. They will be expecting a full explanation later, General." He looked at Morpheus. "As well as one from you, Captain." He glanced at Irvine.

"Yes councilor." Morpheus and Irvine both said simultaneously. They looked at each other after that, and both smirked a little. "We will be there." Morpheus said.

Hamann nodded, and looked at Irvine one more time. "Good. You have three hours to settle in Captain. That's as much time as the council will give you." Irvine acknowledged, and Hamann gave a flat smile to him. "And welcome back." He said, and walked away.

Commander Lock watched as the councilor walked back down the dock, his anger diminishing back into his perma-scowl. "I will admit this much, Morpheus." Lock said, glancing at Morpheus. "Well played." He walked back down the harbor, with ‘Thug' and ‘Goon', who were stunned by all that had happened, following not far behind.

After Lock disappeared, Irvine finally relaxed, letting out a long puff of smoke. "What took you so long? I thought that guy was going to kill me for sure."

Morpheus chuckled. "On the contrary, I think you did fairly well keeping the Commander occupied. As for my delay, I had to secure my own ship before I could do anything else."

"I'm a little curious though."

"About what?"

"Did you notify Councilor Hamann before we got here, or was this all a big coincidence?"

Morpheus just smirked. "That I won't tell you."

Irvine wasn't sure if he liked that response, but it satisfied him. He noticed the bemused grins on Janus and Anubis' faces. "What the hell do you two find so funny?" he asked them.

Janus was the first to speak up. "When you guys told me about this Lock character, I had the image of some fire breathing dragon that ate machines. But seeing him now, he's just like Howard on a bad day."

"Who's Howard?" Glitch asked, which was what everyone was wondering.

"My old boss in the Matrix. He was a good guy, but he needed to loosen up sometimes." Janus explained.

Irvine then looked at Anubis. "And you?"

Anubis gave Irvine his usual cold stare at first, but figuring that the captain had already gotten enough from Lock, he decided to explain. "Just somebody I knew from a long time ago. That's all." He said.

"I'll take that." Irvine replied, turning back to Morpheus. "Any orders, General?"

"Besides what the Councilor has told you, no. Your crew will be allowed to settle into Zion, and I'll make sure housing will be provided." Morpheus replied. "But remember to meet me in front of the Council's chambers in three hours Captain." He then turned and walked away.

Irvine looked back at his crew and clapped his hands together. "You heard him, everybody's free to settle back in. I don't know about you all, but I'm going to need a real drink."

----

(Chapter 1 concluded)

Zion Dock
City Town Sector
2:30AM Matrix Time

It was just going into two and a half hours since the Nemesis had gotten back into Zion. Everyone seemed to be adjusted back to civilization, despite the long absence from the city, and were all off doing their own separate things. Captain Irvine, Janus, and Glitch were back at the Dead Duck, getting drunk on whatever the tavern put out as an alcoholic beverage, while Blade and Marley had both gone into the city to get in touch with their own families, and Solitaire was out somewhere doing her own thing.

Not that Anubis really cared about any of their activities, it was just a habit he picked up in the Matrix. In order to survive like that, he had to know what everyone, friend or foe, was doing at all times. And that led to another habit: knowing one's environment.

So I went from one hole in the ground to another. Go figure...he thought skeptically. He had been spending the last half hour wandering around Zion at random, going past the various levels of apartments, shopping areas, recreational points and the like. Compared to the interior of the Nemesis, the place was large and very spaced out, but the overall condition of the area reminded Anubis of Richland and Westview back in the Matrix, where he was used to working: bland, decayed and chock full of people. No matter where Anubis went, no matter what color he came across, everything seemed to be faded or broken down in some way, almost like the city had been destroyed in a war or two only to get rebuilt again. Anubis wouldn't realize the irony of that thought until much later.

As an assassin, he had learned to blend in with crowds and just be another nameless individual going about his daily life. Crowds were good things, because chances were nobody recognized you from the norm, even the ones that had seen your mugshot or wanted poster couldn't pick you out. But here, it was different. For some reason, Anubis was having trouble with all these people, feeling as though he were drowning. He wondered why he had this problem, finding no logical answer.

Even if he did have an explanation, it didn't help the fact there were people everywhere. One crowd after another, Anubis made his way through the city to lord knows where, now trying to find some dark corner or alley way to stand in and restore himself. As he made his way through the crowd, he became aware that several people had noticed him. He couldn't count all of them, but he found a good portion of them to be females. Just great, he thought.

While nobody would recognize him in a crowd, Anubis always had the trouble of being too easy to distinguish. The reason? It could've been just his looks (blonde hair and blue eyes seemed to be in shortage these days) or the way he walked, but whenever he went anywhere, someone had a tendency to pick him out from the rest. He considered it a liability when he was in the Matrix, and even though nobody cared what he was before, he still felt the same way. Anubis had been in the business too long for that kind of internal working to just drop away. He needed out, and he needed it now.

At last, he found a calm spot. A small clearing near the edge of a walkway, with an elevator nearby. Anubis made his way there and gained enough personal space to relax some. His panting soon turned back to stable breathing, and the inferno in his head died down too.

And this is just another day? Anubis mind quipped as he looked over the catwalk, further into the depths of the city. There were people well below him too, on various levels, like ants or termites in a tunnel network. It was apparent to the recently freed redpill that he would not get used to this place so easily, and he hoped it wouldn't augment his effectiveness in the Matrix.

"Well, well, you are mortal." Anubis turned to the back to scowl at whoever spoke up to him, but when he recognized it to be Janus, he settled for a sneer. "Having trouble?"

"What do you want?" Anubis snapped off.

Janus raised his hands up. "Calm down Anubis. It's hard on me to." He walked over to where Anubis was standing and looked down the different levels of Zion. "Amazing how you can gather so many people in such a place like this. And I haven't seen any police or security around too."

"They're there. They're just not recognizable." Anubis said.

"How do you know?" Janus wondered, looking at Anubis.

"It was my job to know." Anubis replied matter-of-factly.

"Right." Janus acknowledged, and then continued to look at the city. "Must feel weird to you, standing this close to a narcotics detective without being in handcuffs or having any money in your pocket."

"Any weirder for you standing next to a serial hitman without a katana blade against your neck?" Anubis inquired.

"I'm just saying it all feels like a dream now. A few days ago, I would've been out to arrest you, and on the other hand, you would've tried to kill me, but now here we are, standing by each other as two soldiers in 'the last free city'. Don't you feel the irony in all this?" Janus asked.

Anubis nodded a little. "I have. Half of me is telling me to throw you over this ledge." He didn't have to look to see Janus wince. "I'm not going to do it."

"Like you could anyway." Janus shot back.

Anubis didn't give him as much as a side glance. "It's strange... In the Matrix, I had no trouble with crowds, I used them whenever I could to elude the authorities. Now though... It's somewhat exhausting."

"Technically, it's our first time." Janus informed. "We've only been out of the Matrix a few weeks, and we spent them all on either the Nemesis or back in dreamland."

"Worst part of it is it's the same for everything else. Before you came out, I had to almost learn how to walk all over again, let alone get adjusted to the five senses I never used before." Anubis said.

"You think it was easier for me?" Janus asked.

"No. I just wonder what else we'll have to go through before we're up to the rest of them." Anubis nodded to all the people below them.

Janus sighed. "Well, I heard Neo was only out of the Matrix for only six months, and he managed to adjust well." His expression brightened for a moment. "At least I get to lose my virginity all over again.." Anubis leered at him, which amused Janus a little bit. "But seriously, I think we'll be alright here. If Irvine and the others could get used to this place, then we can too."

"I suppose you're right." Anubis said.

"You know I am," Janus said. "Say, lemme ask you something."

"What?" Anubis asked.

"Why'd you rush off to help Solitaire so fast before?"

Anubis would have glared at Janus, but he merely glanced instead. "Because the rest of you were boring me in that cockpit."

Janus got a laugh out of that. "Well, come on, maybe I can talk somebody into getting you a drink at the Dead Duck."

Anubis wasn't sure if he felt like a drink now, especially with that council meeting not far away. But, he decided to take Janus up on it. "A drink would help..." For some reason, he was starting to feel a little better.

----

havent read it all yet, but what i have was good.

And that is the longest prologue evah!

havent read it all yet, but what i have was good.

And that is the longest prologue evah

Chapter 2: This is a war, and we are soldiers.
The Matrix
Creston Heights, Downtown
March 2004, 3:50PM

"Talk to me, Van."

"The exit's at Creston Heights Southwest, by the Museum."

"Okay. Anything unusual near the area?"

"It's all clean."

"Then we'll be back shortly."

Vir, Captain of the Matrix Corps hovercraft Validus, closed his phone and placed it into one of the pockets on his brown ankle-length trench coat. He reached into his olive-drab cargo pants and removed a set of keys, stepping up to the door of the Zionite safehouse. As he unlocked the door, he looked to the rest of his crew.

"Come on, let's go," he told them.

"Which exit?" Dive asked. She was the crew's first mate. Standing at 5'7, she had long wavy brown hair. She wore black leather pants and a matching tank top, cut short to reveal her abdominal section, along with fingerless leather gloves that extended up to her elbows. Aside from the GLOCK 23 in her thigh holster, she was armed with a pair of sais kept in the sheath on her belt behind her back.

"Near the Creston Heights Museum," he said, motioning toward the open door with a nod of his head.

Roman took point. He stood at 6'1, wearing a black knee-length leather jacket, with black jeans and a matching shirt underneath. His hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, and he had a Colt M4-A1 concealed under his jacket.

Shift followed behind him. She was short, standing at about 5'5, and wore a dark gray catsuit, with black knee-high combat boots and a Smith & Wesson model 337 revolver in the holster on her belt. After she was out the door, Vir followed and closed it behind them.
----

Once they made it to the sidewalk outside, the Validus crew walked over to their car. As they were getting in-- Shift in the driver's seat, and Dive moving across the back seat to get on the other side, Roman waited until everyone else was getting in. As Vir opened his door to sit inside, Roman saw across the street an armed group of men approaching that he immediately identified as Exiles. Specifically, the were The Merovingian's Elite Guards.

Without a moment's hesitation, he opened fire. *BAMBAMBAMBAM* -- *BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM*

"What the hell's going on!?" Dive yelled from the back seat. She instinctively pulled out her pistol and ducked low in the back seat to avoid being hit.

Since he was only half-way into the car, Vir jumped back out and removed his MP7 submachinegun he'd been concealing under his coat, and aimed in the direction Roman was firing. Having hit two of them, the rest of the Elite Guards started to shoot back. Vir let out a few bursts of suppressing fire, as Roman turned and gunned down another one coming from the left.

"LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"

With that, Vir and Roman jumped into the car, a black Chrysler 300, and they sped off. Roman, in the passenger side back seat, had turned around and shot out the rear windshield, in order to continue firing on the Elite Guards as they shot after the car.

"Who was that?" Shift asked as she whipped the car around the corner, heading south towards the museum.

"Looked like some of The Merovingian's men," Vir said, pulling down the fore-grip on the MP7. "I thought Van said the area was clean," he grumbled.

"What did they want with us?" Dive asked.

"Who the hell knows," Roman said, loading a new magazine into his assault rifle. "Let's just hope it was only because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He spoke too soon. As the remaining Elite Guards were firing after the Chrysler as they gave chase on foot, Vir spotted several cars up ahead parked in the road in a blockade formation. Then he realized what was going on.

This was a planned ambush.

He brought up his MP7 and began firing out the front windshield at the Elite Guards posted up ahead, creating a series of holes in the glass. As he did this, Roman and Dive had began to fire out the back at their persuants. As the Elite Guards up ahead began to fire on the car, more holes were made in the windshield. Then there was a burst of blood, and the car slowed down to a screeching halt.

Vir looked over to see what was wrong, only to see Shift slump forward and hit her head into the steering wheel. She was dead.

"*poop*! Out of the car!" Vir yelled. As the rest of the Validus crew got out, they made sure to take cover behind the car as they did so. Roman was the first to get out. Immediately, he ran forward and took post behind an SUV parallel parked to the sidewalk, and layed down a volley of bullets at the exiles in the blockade ahead, in varying bursts, taking some of the Elite Guards down

"GO!" he yelled. As he continued fire, Vir ran up ahead of him and took post behind a sedan, and took his turn firing bursts of ammunition toward the blockade, and scored a few shots. Before running forward, Roman turned around and faced the direction they'd come from and placed a series of random bursts in that direction to deter whatever Elite Guards he and Dive hadn't hit.

After replacing his magazine, Vir turned and fired in the same direction they were. He yelled to them, "GO!" and they turned and ran forward past Vir's position and continued to fire at the blockade. Ducked behind the car doors or leaning over the hoods and trunks of the cars, the Elite Guards returned fire, but didn't manage to make any hits. Slowly, they were losing numbers.

After spraying the blockade with bullets, Roman turned around to fire in the direction Vir was, shot a few bursts, and turned to fire on the blockade again. When he pulled the trigger there was a *click*, so he ducked down to change his magazine. When he snapped it into place, he stood up and shot at the blockade, and then turned once again to fire in the opposite direction, allowing Vir to move ahead, as Dive covered Roman's back and continued firing on the blockade.

Roman spotted an Elite Guard coming up from behind and fired a long burst of shots in his direction, but the exile was quick to duck behind another car. He quickly changed the magazine in his assault rifle. By the time he came up though, Vir had yelled the order and Roman moved up again.

At this point, there were several Elite Guards in surrounding locations, but they were either singled out or spread too thin to be an immediate threat. Right now, the Validus crew was dishing out more damage that they were. Dive, who had taken cover behind a van, went to move forward with Roman, but as soon as she came out of cover, shots were fired on her position.

She quickly ducked back behind the van, and ran down the street alongside a public transportation bus. For a moment she waited, then popped out around the front of the bus, and fired two shots at the Elite Guard that had been gunning for her. One hit him in the neck, the other in his forehead, and he dropped instantly. She then proceeded to run forward to join the rest of her crew.

Vir and Roman had moved up along the street, taking cover behind whatever abandoned cars there were in the middle of the road. Vir managed to hit two Elite Guards through the windows of the car they were hiding behind, and Roman was quick to eliminate two more that were firing on him with handguns.

At this point, they had moved up very close to the blockade itself, and had been taking out more and more enemies as they moved up the road. Roman took a position behind a car where he was to the right of the blockade on his side, looking parallel to the direction it ran, and was shooting at more exiles on the other side. One Elite Guard had been moving up the street, attempting to sneak up behind them.

When he spotted Roman, who was open with no cover from the position he was standing, he jumped on the opportunity to take out the redpill while he could. Roman turned and noticed him at the last minute, and took a shot in the shoulder. He dropped to the ground right away and yelled in pain.

Vir looked over and saw Roman writhing on the ground, trying to push himself along to better cover. He ran over to him and before picking him up off the street, turned and shot down the exile that hit him. When he got Roman to his feet, he put Roman's arm around his shoulders and walked him along. Dive had come up behind and was firing in the opposite direction to cover them. They ran over into an alleyway down the road. When they stopped, Vir's cell phone rang. He took it out, popped open the face shield, and put it to his ear, while he handed his MP7 over to Dive so that she'd have something better to cover them with in case the remaining guards rushed their postion.

"Hello?"

"Captain Vir," said the voice on the other end, in a thick Asian accent.

"Seraph? What is it?"

"The Merovingian's hitmen cut the hardline to your exit, you must find a new one."

"Thanks for the advice, now tell me why you really called."

"You must pass along this message: The Oracle would like to see Morpheus, as well as Irvine and Janus. When you return to Zion, please tell them."

"If I make it out of this alive, you got it."

"You must hurry. Agents will be there soon."

Seraph then hung up on his end. Vir nodded his head along to the others, and they continued moving down the alley, away from the museum this time. Vir closed his phone, opened it again, and dialed 0. It rang.

"Operator," Van answered. He sounded like he was preoccupied with something.

"Van, we need some help."

"They cut the hardline, exit's no good!"

"I'm aware of that, we're gonna need another one, fast."

"Already working on it. Creston Heights South Central, you're right by it. On the other side of the park."

"Good, be ready for us."

Vir closed his phone and put it away. He pulled out a Beretta 93R from his coat and pulled back the slide. "Let's go, other side of the park, move it. Roman, can you walk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, can you jump?"

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"I know Dive can handle it. Ready?"

"Lead the way, Captain," she answered. And then, the trio super-jumped all at once, soaring through the air like a flock of birds. They landed in the middle of the park with a *SLAM* No sooner than they had landed though did clumps of dirt start shooting up from the grass, as though a bunch of buried fireworks were exploding in a line.

The three of them dove in different directions to evade the fire, and didn't bother to shoot back. The scurried across the park, running and nearly stumbling into a crawl as they made their way over various hills and declines in the terrain, until at last, they made it to the other side of the park and were looking towards the Tarah Construction site.

The payphone was already ringing before they got to it. When they approached it, Vir ushered Roman forward first.

"You're injured, you go first."

(Chapter 2 cont'd)

Without protest, Roman picked up the phone and disappeared a second later. Vir hung it up so Van could re-establish the exit. He turned around to look in the direction they'd come from, and saw various heads come up over the hills.

He took aim and fired several three-round bursts at the Elite Guards that were still giving chase, and actually managed to hit a few, while Dive had gone to work doing the same with the M4-A1 Roman left behind. When the phone started ringing again, Vir glanced over to Dive. "Get going," he ordered. She handed him the assault rifle, answered the phone, and she too disappeared.

After firing another few bursts at the exiles that were getting closer in order to buy him some time, Vir hung up the phone again. Now it was his turn. He dropped the Beretta and picked up the MP7, while in his other hand he held the M4-A1. Pointing them ahead, he opened fire on full-auto from both weapons, spraying bullets all over the place toward the park, halting the Elite Guards' advance. Van wasn't about to leave his Captain hanging, and soon the phone rang. Without wasting a second, Vir dropped both of his guns and answered the phone.

When the remaining Elite Guards looked, Vir was gone. "*poop*..." one of them remarked. "Mero's gonna be pissed off."

"Pissed off!?" another one exclaimed. "Forget that! He'll delete us!"

"No need," a monotone voice said behind them. They turned around, only to see Agent Skinner pointing his Desert Eagle in the first Elite Guard's face. He pulled the trigger and *BLAM*, the exile caught the .50AE bullet in his forehead at point blank and was knocked back a few feet before he hit the ground. Skinner turned his gun on the other exile, who was too shocked and scared to move.

"What are you doing here?" Skinner asked him.

"We.." the Elite Guard stammered. "We detected a crew of redpills in the area, and The Merovingian saw it as an opportunity to send us to pick them apart for whatever info they had on the redpill that caused that disturbance earlier. So we set up an ambush..."

"Ah, yes," Skinner said, remembering, although he remained stone-faced. "The anomaly that occurred several days ago in the lower east sector."

"Yeah...that one.." the Elite Guard said, hoping the Agent might cut him some slack.

"Thank you," Skinner replied.

*BLAM*

The exile landed in the dirt a few feet from his dead comrade. Skinner touched his hand to his earpiece, then took his hand down. His body flurried with teal bolts of electricity, leaving behind the body of a bewildered bluepill, oblivious to how he'd ended up in the park, or why there were two dead bodies before him on the ground along with the sound of sirens getting louder. He looked at his surroundings and saw bullet-holes everywhere.

..Was I responsible for this!?
----
Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Validus
5:30PM Matrix Time

"We came back a little quick, don't you think Lock's gonna get suspicious?" Van asked as he navigated the Validus through a tunnel that lead to Zion.

"I'm not worried about it," Vir said. "There was an Agent in the area, you saw him yourself after we got out. I wanted to get the hell out of there before we had sentinals to worry about."

"Good point," Van said.

"Plus, we've got a message from The Oracle to deliver to Morpheus," Vir emphasized. "That's not something you wanna sit around and take your time with."

"I guess not. Not like I'd know the significance of it anyway." Van said.

"An end to the war? Who knows. Maybe she's gonna send him on another quest to find The One," Vir said.

"After Neo? I thought being The One meant you were the only.. one, you know?" Van replied.

"Well right now we have none, so I'd rather be optimistic about it."

"At least you try," Van said.

Vir put his headset on. "Roman, Dive, everything alright down there?"

"Everything's clear on the main deck," Roman answered. He sounded upset. "Shift's all ready to go."

Vir closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay," he said. "Put us down here Van."

Van slowly guided the ship down to the flattest spread of the tunnel he could find, and set her down on its landing struts. Upon confirmation of a successful landing, Vir and Van both exited the cockpit and met up with Roman and Dive by the ramp-hatch. Dive touched a button, and with the hiss of pressurized air being released, the hatch slowly opened. Each crew member, with a shovel slung over their shoulder, picked up the makeshift gurney that Shift's body had been laid out on, and they carefully walked down the ramp and out into the tunnel with Shift's body. When they made it outside, they gently set her down on the ground and picked out a spot, where they began to dig.

It took them about an hour to dig a four foot hole. When they finished, Roman and Vir jumped down into the hole so that they could take the gurney with Shift's body down gently into the hole once Van and Dive handed it to them. After they placed her down, the two men jumped out of the hole. Each of the four Validus crewmen stood on a side of the burial hole, and nodded their heads down.

Vir coughed softly to clear his throat. "Tonight we mourn the death of a crew member, a soldier, and a family member. Although she is now lost from us, Shift will always be remembered for the dedication she had to fighting the fight and freeing as many people from the Matrix as this crew could. But above all, she will be remembered for what she had with her when she died, the one thing that no one, not human, machine, or otherwise could take from her: A free mind. Farewell, Shift. Stay free."

A tear rolled down Dive's cheek. She, Roman, and Van all threw a small scoop of dirt into the hole and repeated the last words of the prayer, "Stay free." Vir looked over to Van and Dive.

"Get back onboard, get the ship ready to go, make sure nothing's coming. Radio ahead to Zion, let them know we're on our way. Roman and I will finish up here."

The two nodded, and complied with Vir's instuctions. He and Roman finished burying Shift's body, and as Roman slowly headed back to the ship, Vir lingered for a moment, remembering when he first found Shift in the Matrix, freed her, and then trained her. He had no regrets or doubts in her ability. This time, he told himself, she'd been dealt a *CENSORED* hand. With a final nod, he turned and boarded his ship and prepared for takeoff.
----

Zion, Gate 01
Matrix Corps HvCFT Validus
7:53PM Matrix Time

"Validus, you are cleared to land in bay seven throught gate one," the gate operator confirmed.

Vir nodded. "Copy Zion control. Proceeding to bay seven through gate one."

Van guided the Validus through the large slab of iron and steel that was Zion Gate 01, and manuevered over to bay seven as it shut behind them. Slowly, they set down, and landed with a slight rock. The hatch opened, and the crew stepped out. Vir was greeted by a Deck Officer.

"Captain Vir, welcome home. You're back so soon, how long were you out for, a week and a half tops? Everything's alright I assume."

"We're fine. I have a message from The Oracle for General Morpheus, do you know where he is?"

The Deck Officer pondered on the question. "I believe he's in a meeting with the Council along with Captain Irvine."

"Irv-- The Nemesis is back!?" Vir asked, astonished. The Deck Officer nodded with a smug look of agreement.

"See for yourself," he said, pointing toward the repair bay. The Nemesis was now lifted up on suspensions with a full crew of men working every inch of her frame, welding on new hover-discs, reinforcing the armor plating, replacing the front glass windshield. The works, and roughly 83% of all repairs complete so far. Vir turned back to the Deck Officer.

"When did they get back?"

"A few days ago. General Morpheus brought them in himself. Apparently Irvine had someone special onboard."

Someone special... Vir thought to himself, trying to figure out what he meant. It was then that he remembered the phenomenon that he'd seen on Van's monitors viewing a strange display of Matrix code a few days ago. He nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'll go see if I can't find Morpheus myself. Thanks for the update," Vir said, and walked off. His crew went elsewhere.
----

Zion
Council Audience Chamber
8:15PM Matrix Time

"And that concludes my report, Councillors." Irvine said as he stood before the panel, in an at-ease stance with his hands clasped behind his back.

"You certainly had a broad range of information covered for the last five years of your service as an undercover rebel. Very informative. Thank you, Captain. We'll see to it as best we can that the rest of Zion makes your welcome home a warm one," Councillor Dilliard said.

"General Morpheus and Captain Irvine, I don't assume either of you have anything further you'd wish to say at this moment concerning yourself or any other redpills amongst your roster? We've heard faint rumors of a strange occurance inside the Matrix concerning one of the men within the Nemesis crew," Councillor Hamann said.

"With all due respect Councillor, Captain Irvine and I have decided not to make any conclusions about said redpill until we've taken him to see The Oracle for an examination," Morpheus answered.

"Do you really believe she'll be of any assistance?" Councillor Undila asked.

"She has yet to let me down, Counciller Undila."

"Very well then. With nothing further to address, this meeting is herby adjurned. You may go about your business, Captains," Hamann said.

Irvine and Morpheus both nodded in a bow-like fashion, and as the Council members began to leave their seats, they turned to exit. Irvine leaned in towards Morpheus as they walked, and spoke in a whisper.

"What do you mean wait to see The Oracle? When was that ever part of the plan?"

"Irvine, I honestly believe that after a spectacle like what we saw, she won't be able to help it but to ask for me."

"Oh yeah? Well when do you expect this to happen? It's not like she calls you every Sunday to invite you over to dinner. Ever since the security measures were kicked up, being allowed to see her is like winning a raffle," Irvine replied.

It was then that Captain Vir approached the two of them. He saluted Morpheus, who was quick to return the salute, and extended his hand out to Irvine, who took it in a firm shake. Vir smiled. "Good to see you back, Irvine."

"Good to be back," Irvine said.

"Captain Vir, you're back earlier than expected," Morpheus said in an administrative voice.

"Yes Sir."

"Is something wrong?"

Vir relaxed his composure a bit. "My crew and I were inside the Matrix doing a routine surveillance check on exile activity in the Downtown area. Apparently, they detected our presense, because out of nowhere, a bunch of The Merovingian's thugs showed up. We were ambushed."

"Ambushed?" Morpheus asked, concerned. He always took it personally when The Merovingian sent some of his dogs after his men. "Did everyone get out alright?"

"No. We lost one crew member, Shift. We just finished burying her just outside of Zion."

Morpheus looked a combination of sad and angry for a moment. In the absense of his speech, Irvine spoke up. "I'm sorry to hear that, Vir. I just lost one of my own too."

Vir nodded, comforted in the fact that someone could relate. "It comes with the territory. Anyway, Morpheus, during the shootout, we got a call from Seraph."

This caught Morpheus' attention right away. "What did he say?"

"He told me to let you know that The Oracle wants to see you, Irvine, and Janus, as soon as possible."

Irvine smirked, and Morpheus merely looked at him as though to ask, "What does your foot taste like?" Vir caught this, not quite understanding what the deal was, and it showed in his facial expression. Morpheus noticed.

"I see. Thank you for getting that message to me, Vir. Is that all?"

"Yes Sir."

Morpheus nodded. He was feeling giddy inside, almost like a child. First Janus' flashy stunt, and now The Oracle was demanding their audience. He knew this meant something big, and at the same time, he was the only one that knew because it was what he wanted himself to know.

"Then take some time off. You and your crew deserve it after the trouble and loss you went through to deliver that message."

Vir smiled, and patted Morpheus on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot Morpheus, I appreciate it." With that, he went off to find his crew to inform them of their newly-granted vacation period. Morpheus and Irvine continued to walk along through the crowded street.

"Don't even start it," Irvine said. Morpheus merely laughed to himself. "Looks like we have a while anyway, the Nemesis isn't finished with its repairs yet."

"I see," Morpheus said. As the two Captains walked along, they eventually found Janus and Anubis walking around looking like a pair of tourists. Having not noticed them walk up, Irvine caught Janus off-guard with a quick shove at his shoulder.

"Surprise," Irvine said with a grin.

"Oh, Irvine. I almost knocked you out," Janus said.

"Yeah, well, you're right, you almost did back in the training simulations back on the ship. Come with me, I'll show you around a bit."

Irvine put his arm around Janus' shoulders and led him off to get him familiarized with the city, leaving Anubis alone standing with Morpheus. Morpheus could see that Anubis was wondering what he'd do next, since his new friend had just been wisked off.

"Speaking of training simulations," Morpheus began. Anubis looked over to him, not formally greeting him or recognizing him as a figure of tall standing, having never actually met the man before. "It's come to my attention that you're skilled with a Katana sword."

"Skilled?" Anubis asked. "That's merely an understatement," he shot back in cool tone.

Arching a brow as a slight grin formed on his face, Morpheus brought his hand up to stroke his chin.

"Show me."
----

(Chapter 2 cont'd)

The next thing Anubis knew, no longer was he sitting in the jack-in chair. Now, he stood in the outer boundaries of what looked like Edo Castle. At least he assumed it was supposed to be Edo Castle, since he didn’t know how these simulations were supposed to work.

To his left was the castle itself and a large rock wall dividing him from the courtyard; while to his right was a row of sakura trees in full bloom. The sun was just setting in the artificial sky, casting the area into an evening setting. If Anubis hadn’t known it to be an artificial setting, it would have felt tranquil and soothing to him.

Anubis’ clothing choices in this simulation consisted of a light blue kimono and a slightly darker hakama, topped off with a cobalt blue and gold lined haori. His forearms were covered over by fingerless black gauntlets, the kind that assassins or master swordsman were depicted to wear, which were kept under the sleeves of his kimono. He also wore zori sandals and tabi socks over his feet and lower ankles. His usual combed back blonde hair was now tied into a high ponytail, which was kept in place by a magenta thread, adding more the samurai theme.

For his weapons of choice, he saw that his usual black katana was absent, having been replaced by a full daisho, or a katana and wakizashi set, to fit the simulation. Both swords were kept in cobalt and gold scabbards, and the katana was slightly shorter than his regular sword. In his opinion, Anubis didn’t look bad at all, but he did feel odd to be out of his usual attire.

But he didn’t have time to contemplate where he was and what he was wearing. The world suddenly burst into motion as Anubis jumped away from his spot. Up in the sky, a dark figure came falling down from the silhouette of the setting sun, own swords crossed together at the blades. The figure landed where Anubis had just jumped away, his foot slamming into the ground and his swords uncrossing to perform a duel slash. Even though the figure missed his mark, the attack left deep slashes into the ground just in front, coming close to actually hitting Anubis. The blonde swordsman soon landed a few feet away from his original position. “Somehow I knew you were the surprise attack type, General.” Anubis spoke in his monotone.

His opponent still standing, Morpheus slowly stood up from his kneel and matched Anubis in height. Compared to the recently freed redpill, Morpheus was dressed in full black and gold samurai armor with purple lacing from head to toe, under which he wore dark purple kimono. The armor was complete with a matching jinbaori and a dark helmet that was topped with a fan-like crown shaped like an inverted trapezoid split down the middle, and a demonic violet mask plate that covered his face.

These features created the optical illusion that Morpheus was actually bigger than Anubis, although in reality the two had a similar height. Unlike Anubis’ daisho, Morpheus wielded two katanas, much like a shogun. The veteran redpill looked at Anubis, smirking behind the faceplate of his helmet. “Surprising, very few have ever dodged that first strike.”

“In my former line of business, one must expect anything from his opposition. Any less would mean an early death.” Anubis said.

“I have no doubts.” Morpheus replied. “So, what do you think of our fair city? Quite different from what you’re used to I imagine.”

Why do I get the feeling he’s enjoying this. Anubis thought. “Not that different.”

“Oh?”

“Cities are cities and people are people. Real or not, those factors never change.”

“You speak truth. But at the same time, both cities and people can be different depending on where the spirit is. Sometimes it makes it totally separate from others like it.” Morpheus explained.

“Right.” Anubis said. He crouched a little and moved his hand over the hilt of his katana. His eyes never left Morpheus. “So, shall we begin?”

Behind his mask, Morpheus raised an eyebrow. An Iaido stance? “Very well.” He then moved into a fighting stance of his own, with one katana at his front and the other at his side.

For a moment, neither made a move, and yet it felt like they were moving. Both looked at each other straight in the eyes to see the slightest opening, only then would they make the first move. As they did this, the wind picked up a little, blowing cherry tree petals around them as if to add to the tension of the scene.

Then in the briefest of moments, Anubis lurched forward and drew his katana at such a speed it appeared as a silver flash. Morpheus was able to block the strike, but just barely, and the force behind it was enough that it threatened to throw his own sword out of his hand. He stepped two steps backwards to give himself some breathing room, then bringing his other katana around to attack Anubis. The former assassin parried the strike as well, but he did not give up the offensive and continued his attacks on Morpheus.

He’s stronger than I thought! Morpheus’ mind said in astonishment. It wasn’t so much the fact that he was being pushed back that mattered to Morpheus as much as that he underestimated his opponent. This nagged at him, as despite his information on Anubis and Irvine’s braggings of his exploits, he thought of him as a novice. Morpheus decided he would correct that mistake, this time standing his ground and taking each of Anubis’ slashes in stride. Eventually he started to gain more ground and grew bolder, making Anubis start to shift to the defensive himself.


Anubis didn't want to risk Morpheus gaining momentum. He pressed again with the offensive, continually slashing at Morpheus at great speed but still keeping his technique. After several attacks from both fighters, the two ended up clashing their swords together and holding them there for moments.

They stared into each other's eyes for those moments, simultaneously trying to overcome the other's sword. After what felt like hours of struggle, Morpheus managed to push Anubis away and make a slash across his chest.

The wound stung at Anubis. First blood. He will pay for that. Rebounding on the ground, he leapt into the air, performing a flip and then a spin to gain momentum with his sword. Morpheus immediately brought his own blade up to deflect Anubis' aerial attack, and once again the swords clashed together.

The resulting vertical cut was so strong that it made Morpheus' feet break through the ground, leaving large prints where he stood. But Anubis wasn't through yet, as he flipped again, this time landing behind the veteran, and making a slash at Morpheus' back.

Morpheus attempted a focus jump to evade the slash, but it still landed, making a deep cut across the back of his jinbaori and armor; he could feel his skin come into contact with the open air. But like his opponent, he didn't focus on the wound and concentrated on landing on the castle's wall. He then jumped again and landed on the castle itself, taking off into a dash. Anubis gave chase, landing on the castle rooftop and running after Morpheus.

Eventually, Anubis caught up to Morpheus, and the two ran at either side of each other, swords still drawn and again watching for an opening. This time it was Morpheus that attacked first, running at Anubis and slashing at him with both katana. Anubis ran to the side to try and cut Morpheus at the hip, but his blow was deflected and the two ended up trading slashes once more.

Morpheus cut into Anubis' shoulder. Anubis slashed his katana across Morpheus' upper calve, the samurai armor doing little to protect from the sword blade. Both fighters ignored these wounds and only continued to gain speed. Morpheus then made a horizontal slash that would have cut Anubis off at the stomach, but Anubis jumped in the air again and the slash landed on a statue of a dragon that was adorning the castle roof, slicing it into halves.

"Not bad at all," complimented Morpheus as Anubis landed several feet behind him. At that point, neither fighter turned to face the other, they just stood opposite of each other, looking in different directions. "Speed, adaptation, improvisation. You have made more progress in weeks than others do in months."

Anubis didn't reply to that, much less turn to look at his opponent. The virtual wind began to pick up, enough to make his haori and Morpheus' jinbaori rustle.

"It seems you are distracted by something, however. You're not thinking, you're only charging and attacking." Morpheus observed.

"One does not have that luxury in combat." Anubis said.

"In combat, we also learn ‘move not unless you see an advantage; use not your resources unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.'" Morpheus pointed out.

For the first time in that match, Anubis drew a small smirk, and then let out a ‘heh'. "Sun Tzu also teaches ‘rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.'"

"And you think you can accomplish this by going on the constant offensive?" Morpheus asked.

"It's worked so far."

At that point, Morpheus swiftly turned around, knowing what would come next, but even as he did Anubis was right on top of him. The ex-assassin executed straight downward cut, one that would have cut deeply into Morpheus torso, but the veteran managed to back away just before that could happen. Instead, Anubis ended up splitting Morpheus' breastplate with a long, diagonal gash that made it all the way to the skin. Morpheus then parried the following slash by crossing his swords together.

(Chapter 2 cont'd)

Suddenly, Morpheus leapt up and flipped over Anubis in a similar move that the assassin had performed earlier, but instead of slashing him he kicked Anubis in the back of the head. The force was enough that Anubis saw stars, disorienting him for a moment, but it wasn't long as he managed to turn and deflect Morpheus' cut.

Anubis pushed at Morpheus once more, making the veteran back down along the rooftop while deflecting slash after cut, as well as returning them in full favor. More cuts and slashes came across both fighters, with Anubis even managing to shatter one of Morpheus' shoulder guards.

But there was no time to celebrate. Again, Morpheus cut and ran, this time running toward one of the windows of the castle. Had it been any other man, Anubis would have thought Morpheus to be a coward, but his instincts told him the General wasn't that kind of man. Anubis ran after him and dashed into the same window. Morpheus was waiting for him there, in what looked like a throne room, and when the two blades met, a high-pitched *TWANG* echoed throughout the room.

Swinging the katana in three successive overhead slashes to keep Morpheus on the defensive, Anubis twisted one hundred eighty degrees in an attempt to impale Morpheus. The veteran simply sidestepped and let the sword pass through, while bringing his twin katana to bear against Anubis' unprotected side. Anubis noticed the change as he deflected the sudden flurry of nito-ryu slashes; now Morpheus was moving toward the offensive unlike earlier.

Anubis managed to strike again though, with a sudden downward slash that could have split Morpheus' head down the middle, but for some reason it only split Morpheus' mask into two, both pieces falling off to reveal the face underneath. The slash happened so fast that it appeared as a silver flash to the human eyes.

That caught Morpheus' attention immediately. This must be what cut off Kane's arm.

Another silver wave cut at Morpheus, this time in the right shoulder, and he realized at that close range there was no way of dodging. Anubis then dashed forward and made a flurry of slashes, appearing as multiple silver waves that exploded behind him. Morpheus lunged out of the way before the vital cuts could land on him, but it was still pretty close.

But Anubis continued his offensive, moving at a speed that Morpheus thought was more fitting in desperation against Agents rather than humans. The opposing swordsman managed to make a deep cut into Morpheus' right wrist, which was an obvious attempt to disabling his sword arm, but fortunately Morpheus was experienced enough to adapt to it and keep hold of his sword. More cuts followed, striking points all over Morpheus' body, but again the veteran managed to keep from getting cut on anything vital.

Even if the strikes weren't real though, their bodies still ached from the cuts. Though not critical, Anubis was skilled enough that whatever he landed was quick and deep, and Morpheus felt more like he was getting cut by a master chef with a kitchen knife rather than some novice. If it were the real world, the more experienced fighter would have definitely ended up bleeding to death if anything. On the other hand, he knew at his level Anubis wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

It seemed like an eternity between Anubis and Morpheus, as either danced back and forth, each fighter bringing to bear their own individual skills, offensive and defensive alike. Even though Morpheus only nearly matched the speed of those silver flash cuts Anubis was now making off and on, he had memorized the movements he made before the actual cut, giving Morpheus the ability to dodge the attack before it was executed. The young redpill, however, remained persistent.

Then it seemed the fight would finally shift. Anubis swept his sword backwards for another diagonal cut, one that Morpheus could tell would be another power slash. Just as Anubis made the cut, Morpheus did something quite unexpected; instead of dodging the slash, he brought his right katana up as if he was going to parry it. The force of the opposing blades meeting was enough to shatter both blades into a million pieces.

With their swords destroyed now, Morpheus switched his left katana to his right, and Anubis drew his wakizashi to parry the following attack.

"Perhaps you would like to end this as a draw?" Morpheus offered. Although he sounded like he'd been put through a decent workout, it rather seemed as though he was taunting Anubis, testing his minds' limits.

"Forget it." Anubis replied, still holding his defense.

"This was a good fight, but now you're disadvantaged with that wakizashi. There's nothing cowardly to admitting a draw." Morpheus explained.

"I said forget it!" Anubis practically roared. At that point Anubis broke away and attempted to make a stab at Morpheus, the veteran dodged the attack. Then stepping forward, Morpheus made a five slash combo that knocked the wakizashi out of Anubis' hands as well as hitting him in the torso and upper legs.

As Morpheus moved past his opponent on the final strike, kneeling down with the sword blade pointed forward to complete the attack, Anubis stood there for a few moments, not moving at all. But then, feeling as though seconds had turned into hours, he knelt forward, falling on his knees, false blood leaking out of his mouth. It was apparent he couldn't continue.

Morpheus turned and looked at Anubis solemnly. "Don't worry, the wounds you have no will not transfer to your real body. There are safeties put in place to prevent that."

"...You bastard." Anubis muttered.

"Hm?" Morpheus arched an eyebrow.

"You were holding back." Anubis said.

"Yes, I was." Morpheus answered. He studied Anubis' facial expression, and took in the vibe he was giving off.

"You are angry with me," the veteran said.

Anubis remained silent, breathing heavily despite the fact that he knew it wasn't real air.

"It's natural. But if you never know failure, you can't know success either. Anger is a gift, and a tool, but you can't let yourself get carried away. You have to learn when to let that anger go. You must let go of everything.. you must empty yourself to free your mind."

Anubis remained expressionless. "I knew at the beginning I wouldn't be able to beat you, there's too much of an experience gap between us. Despite that, I decided to make your victory hell to gain."

"And you did. There's no shame in that." Morpheus sounded reassuring.

"So why did you hold back when I didn't?" Anubis seemed to snarl.

"Precisely for that reason." Morpheus said. "I knew at the rate you were going you would only exhaust yourself. Many of your attacks were too fast for me to parry anyway, so I waited patiently until you were spent."

Getting up again, Morpheus turned to face where Anubis was kneeling. The assassin at this point looked ready to commit seppuku, even if it wouldn't have effect on him in the real world. The general laughed at that a little bit. "You are skilled Anubis, there is no question about that, and you have a certain potential that very few possess. Your only two weaknesses are your inexperience and impatience."

Morpheus walked around to the front of Anubis, who looked up at him, breathing heavily. The adrenaline still hadn't worn off it seemed. "Experience can be gained, and so can patience, but only if you allow it. ‘Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy: this is the art of retaining self-possession.'" He quoted.

Again, Anubis smirked a little bit, even among his wounds. "Maybe, but that doesn't always follow Sun Tzu's primary principal."

Morpheus gave him a curious gaze. "And that is?"

"‘As swift as the wind, as silent as the forest, attack as fierce as the fire, defend as unmovable as the mountain.'" Anubis said. "Furinkazan."

Morpheus nodded approvingly, for Anubis did have a point. Still, he could see the fighter had taken his words to heart, so he felt there wasn't anything more to do here. "End program." He commanded. And then the world around them went black.
----

(Chapter 2 concluded)

"Yeah, and then something happened," Leon answered. "Somehow he was revived and when he came to, he gave it right back to Balthasar."

Balthasar, surprisingly, remained calm. "He will not go unpunished. Whatever happened to him is a mystery, but he had caught me by surprise and impossible things happened. He should not have gotten back up. But I will find him and kill him again, and it will be final this time."

"In any case," Blood said, "he'll need to be watched. I have no doubt that Morpheus will take him to see The Oracle to find out what happened to him."

"Should we try to intercept?" Raven asked.

"No, it's not worth going toe to toe with Seraph over. Let him go and take Janus to the fortune teller. While Zion's General is distracted, we'll make some moves of our own against his army. For now, our missions in the Matrix will include raiding Zion's safehouses and hacking into their networks, to find any data or information we can on whatever movements or plans they're trying to make. With this knowledge, we'll know when and where they'll be working, that way we can ambush them should we ever have to."

"Any other orders, Captain?" Arius asked.

"Besides trying to break into Zion's networks, Machine networks and databases are priority targets. Hack into them, get whatever information you can, leave viruses, sabotage their systems, whatever. When you're pulling information from them, try to find whatever details you can about the Source: Where it's located, both in the Matrix and the real world, how its accessed, etc. The closer we get to the machine mainframe, the closer we'll be to finding a way to destroy it and end the Machine's rule. We'll have to finish the job Morpheus started, even if deep down he's working towards the same goal or not."

"Captain, I have to ask," Magnus said.

"Go on, soldier."

"Why does General Morpheus look upon us as his enemies? Why does he fail to endorse or cooperate with us or join our cause? Does he not realize we're fighting for the very same thing he's fought for his entire life outside of the Matrix?"

"Morpheus is getting old, and delusional. He used to have the fire inside that drove him towards the same goal we're after, but after his false messiah established that truce, he lost sight of the mission. Now he thinks that by fighting to protect Zion instead of destroying the Machines, in hopes that it will demonstrate Zion wants peace, that he's fighting for a more powerful cause, or for what Neo wanted. Therefore it's up to new officers and fighters like us to take his place and walk that path until we're victorius."

"Do you think he'll ask The Oracle for guidance?" Kane asked

"Probably. He's always chasing after dreams she puts into his head, ending up on some stupid crusade."

"What if Neo comes back?" Sonia asked.

"What?" Balthasar asked. After all this time, it seemed like an obviously stupid question to ask, thus he was caught by surprise.

"What if Neo returns to save us? Would we then cooperate with Morpheus and rejoin Zion?"

"He's not coming back," Blood said. "Neo didn't save us. We have to save ourselves, and I'm not about to start praying he comes back to pull off another wasted stunt. We were already let down once, and I won't entertain the chance of that happening to us again."

Blood took a moment to think over what he just said. After the disappointment and near betrayal they felt when Neo failed to destroy the Matrix and saved it instead, this was the basic doctrine of the Resistance's resolve to fight: No saviours, no miracles. This time they wouldn't wait for a messiah to come help them; Now they would stick to their guns and depend on themselves to complete their mission.

However, despite that the Resistance had adopted this agnostic nature, there were those among them that secretly hoped someone would come along to lead the way to freedom, in light of the odds stacked agaisnt them. They dare not say it though -- such talk was taboo, especially around Blood.

"In any case," he continued, "We're not going to be cooperating with Morpheus any time soon. A new weapon is being developed by our operators to use in our missions inside the Matrix against both the Machines, and I would expect Zion's Matrix Corps to interfere once they catch on."

"A new weapon? What is it?" Django asked.

"A special kind of weapon that will give us an advantage in freeing our brothers and sisters from their prison, and show everyone still trapped in the Matrix the true nature of their world whether they believe it or not, red or blue..."

The others stood silent, trying to figure out what he could mean. Then, suddenly, the silence was broken by the ringing of a cell phone. Balthasar reached into his pocket and placed the phone up to his ear after opening the face shield.

"What is it?" he asked. He listened, nodded his head, and shut the phone. The others looked to him as he quickly returned the phone to his pocket.

"Get to your exits. Agents are coming."

"Agents?!" Raven exclaimed.

"They'll kill all of you right here since you're all gathered together. I'll hold them off and buy you some time."

"You heard him," Blood said, and with a hand signal, everyone began to retreat from the warehouse. "He can handle himself, let's get the hell out of here."

Balthasar stood and watched as the Resistance troops fled the warehouse through it's several exits and made their way out, either on foot or in whatever vehicles they used to get there. He waited a moment, and took the time to crack his knuckles as he waited for the Agents to show up. Then he checked to make sure his pistol was fully loaded, and then returned it to his shoulder holster.

Since his skill had started to increase by leaps and bounds, after the first time he successfully defeated an Agent, he felt no fear against them. They were just another obstacle to get past, pushovers like any other ballsy Exile to him, another block in the road to move past on his way to the ultimate goal of the Resistance.

This was how he'd earned his alias as "The Potential," for the fact that his skill would have made him a potential candidate to be The One, had he been found before Neo. But Blood didn't take him to see The Oracle and have her check him even after Neo's death. There would be no false hope in a hero on his ship, and he would have no part of Morpheus' blind beliefs either, nor would he risk Balthasar getting hyped up thinking he was The One and ending up dead like those that came before Neo.

At best, Balthasar was viewed to be on their level, as a redpill so advanced that he could break rules with greater ease than any other, but not enough to be the person The Oracle had once had all of Zion searching for. However that didn't stop the Resistance from looking upon him as their champion, and like any potential before Neo, Balthasar believed it. At times it would transform into a dangerous kind of pride, and he'd think of himself as the one chosen to finish what Neo started.

Suddenly there was a loud noise. *SLAM* Balthasar turned his head towards where the large double set of sliding steel doors were located. Or at least, where they used to be. They came sliding to a grinding halt before Balthasar's feet, and the breeze caused his ankle-length biker-style leather trench coat to waver slightly. He fixed his gaze upon the open doorway, where three Agents now stood: Norris, Benson, and Stewart. Balthasar's eyes narrowed behind the dark tinted lenses of his glasses, and then a sly smirk crept up on the ends of his lips, nearly unnoticeable. But the Agents, they noticed nearly everything when profiling a target.

"Mr. Daniels..." Norris said out loud in the best effort of a greeting he was programmed for. He sounded impatient though; Balthasar was someone they were all too familiar with. "You are in violation of trespassing."

"Trespassing where?" Balthasar asked. "This warehouse... or the Matrix?"

"It doesn't matter," Norris answered coldly as he reached into his jacket for his Desert Eagle, while the other two Agents followed suit. "Either way, we're going to kill you."

"I'd encourage you to try your best, but you'll miss."

Williams merely let out a snort of air, and in response to Balthasar's remark, all three Agents disengaged the safetys on their pistols. Balthasar flinched, and they opened fire - *BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM*

But to their surprise, the saw Balthasar do something they knew he shouldn't; His body seemed to blur and twist and duck and dip and lean in at least a hundred different positions as they fired, and every bullet missed its mark. When their magazines ran dry, Balthasar re-assumed his normal posture. He flashed a grin, as though he'd only been toying with them. Stewart's face turned into a scowl at this, for this was a feat no ordinary human should have been able to execute.

"Now that I've dodged all your bullets," Balthasar began as he reached for his own pistol, "We're going to do things my way!"

With that, he jumped high up, nearly touching the ceiling of the warehouse before he came down before the Agents with a slam. Immediately, they attacked. Norris punched for Balthasar's face, aiming to knock his head off of his body, but as Balthasar tossed his pistol high into the air, he merely leaned down and forward so that the Agent's punch went flying overhead. With Norris left wide open, Balthasar quickly punched for his ribs, smashing a few of them on impact. Norris was phased from the blow, and Balthasar grabbed him by his still extended arm and his leg, lifted him up over his head, and then slammed his body down.

As he did this, he used Norris' body as a counter-weight and used the momentum to jump up high enough to send the heel of his left boot soaring out and smashing into Benson's face. As Benson reeled back from the blow, Balthasar kicked out with his other foot, using Benson's chest as a platform. The kick sent Benson to the ground as Balthasar backflipped up into the air and landed behind Agent Stewart.

Stewart was quick on his reflexes and as soon as Balthasar's feet hit the ground he let out a spinning roundhouse kick, hoping to hit Balthasar as he landed. The renegade soldier saw this coming however and dipped down to allow the kick to move over him without being hit. When it did, he came up with an immediate punch to Stewart's chest, but Stewart blocked and returned the punch, landing it on Balthasar's face with full force.

This sent Balthasar falling backwards, but he was quick to improvise. He allowed the weight of his body to be thrown back with enough power to shift his body into a backflip. When he planted his hands on the ground, Balthasar kicked his legs up into the air to follow his upper body and both of his feet struck Stewart in the chin in uppercut fashion. As he was knocked back, Stewart threw his hands up into the air from the force of the blow. This left him open for attack, and as Balthasar came back up from his backflip, he thrust out a palm strike to Stewart's chest and landed it, which sent him sprawling back into the air before he hit the ground.

"You," Balthasar began, catching his pistol he had tossed up earlier before it hit the ground, "are all," he continued as he aimed for Norris' head. *BAM,* "scheduled," he said as he pointed the gun at Benson *BAM,* "for deletion!" he yelled, swinging the gun over to Stewart. *BAM*

The three Agents' bodies all simultaneously began to spark with a flurry of blue bolts of light as they were transformed back into their bluepill host forms. "Collateral damage," Balthasar said as he returned his pistol to its holster. His cell phone rang and he took it out to answer it.

"You never cease to amaze me," Sideways said. "It's like watching a blockbuster kung-fu movie."

"Very funny," Balthasar replied, unamused. "Do you have my exit ready?"

"Yes Sir. There's a payphone in Stamos Courtyard waiting for you to pick it up."

"Good work. I'll see you shortly."

"We'll be waiting for you."

Balthasar hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket as he exited the warehouse and made way toward Stamos Courtyard with haste.
----

Irvine stood outside the door to his living quarters, leaning on the railing as he surveyed the view of Zion both above and below. It was still one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen, and it felt good to be settled back in again. His welcome back was a mixed bag, though. Some, like Captain Vir, were happy to see that he had returned from his well-crafted exile.

Others, like Commander Lock for example, weren't all too pleased to see him, and looked upon him both as a traitor and a maverick. Of course, the ladies' reactions were a mix of both. He couldn't blame any of them though, they didn't know the truth, and likely they never would until the Resistance was dealt with. There were always people willing to turn coat for the right price. Problem was, you could never tell who.

Still though, these negative thoughts were cast into oblivion every time he switched his focus from one part of Zion to another. He saw hundreds of people walking about, tending to whatever their needs were, and most of them were civilian, although he spotted the occassional patrol guard here and there. The "home" of Zion's military was up above on the dock, situated on top of the living quarters and city town sectors.

Thankfully, he thought to himself sometimes, this part of Zion had gone untouched by the sentinel attack years ago, save for the huge hole that the one Digger machine had bored through. By now it had been repaired and closed, but you could still tell where it happened due to the difference in color between the ceiling and the materials used to repair the hole.

It made him glad that there was still something left in this world to appreciate, not because it had any sort of value in currency or because it was the last human refuge on the planet, but because he felt at peace now that he was here. Nah, that's total **bullcrud**, he told himself. You're just glad to be home and seeing things you haven't looked at in years. Give it a few days and you'll remember how unsafe you felt during the time of peace, and then realize that you're back at war again. Then we'll see how peaceful you feel.

Footsteps. Irvine turned his head to the direction from which they were coming, and he saw Morpheus coming to him around the bend. He stood up into a relaxed posture, and when Morpheus stopped before him, Irvine issued a casual salute, characteristic of his laid back nature towards formalities.

"General," he said in greeting.

"Captain," Morpheus replied, answering Irvine's salute with a nod of his head. "I see you've gotten yourself settled in. Did everything turn out alright?"

"Everything's fine. Got myself a nice cozy bed waiting for me for when we get back," Irvine said.

"Good. Speaking of getting back, your ship's repairs are all finished. It's time to go. We're taking Janus into the Matrix to see her."

Irvine nodded his head a few times, remembering the message brought to them earlier by Captain Vir. "Alright then, no stalling then since I'll assume you're wanting to get there as soon as possible," he remarked. "I'll round up my crew and have them ready on the dock."

Morpheus nodded his head. "Very good. I'll see you when we take off."

Irvine nodded. "You got it." He patted Morpheus on the shoulder as he walked past him.

----

Solitaire was in her apartment, and was packing things into her bag. There was a knock at the door, then the creaky-hinges whined at it was opened. She turned, and saw Irvine there. "Time to go," he said. She smirked, finding amusement in his timing.

"I was just heading out. After you, Cap."

Irvine had gotten to Blade first on his rounds to get his crew ready, and so he was dispatched to help find the others. He signaled to Marley as he walked beside him to go get Glitch, while he himself went to find Anubis, who had been located a few doors away. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Anubis! Let's get going!"

But there was no answer in any form. Blade frowned, thinking Anubis was already getting back to breaking his balls.

"You're supposed to knock first, aren't you?" he heard someone say behind him. Quickly pulling himself out of the doorway to turn and see who it was, Blade was a little surprised to have found Anubis standing there, with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Looking for me?" Anubis asked, with a slight cocky tone.

"Not anymore. Quit standing around and cut it out with the ninja bull-*poop*, the Captain wants us all on the dock on standby."

"Of course. Being new here though I didn't want to end up getting lost on the way back, and I figured someone would come by to let us know eventually," Anubis said.

"Yeah, sure, always on top of the game one step ahead of people, I got your number. Now let's go," Blade said, slightly annoyed. Anubis shrugged slightly as he followed after Blade.

When Irvine got to Janus' apartment, he found him sitting on his bed all by himself, with his hands on his lap, staring at the floor as though he were deep in thought. As Irvine stepped in, Janus glanced up at him, and he saw a smile of familiarity come onto Janus' face. He let out a "Heh," but at the same time he felt kinda bad. Janus was still new and didn't really have any friends or know anyone else in Zion, so he knew how lonely he must have felt, sitting there alone in his room.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Irvine asked.

"We've got a new mission into the Matrix already?" Janus asked.

"We're taking you to see The Oracle," Irvine answered. He saw that Janus had his bag sitting on the bed next to him, all packed with whatever clothes he had just bought when Irvine had taken him on a tour of Zion earlier on, which answered his question of whether Janus was ready or not.

"The Oracle??" Janus asked, curiously. Suddenly, Janus seemed to have been overcome with interest and concern. He remembered what Irvine had told him about her, and she seemed to be a very sacred and important entity. But he didn't have to wonder about why they were going to see her.

"Yeah. She's probably going to ask you about what happened. You still remember all of it?"

"I was just thinking it over before you walked in, so it's all still fresh in my mind."

"Good, keep going over it until we get there. Let's get to the ship," Irvine said.

Janus nodded, stood up, and hefted his bag over his shoulder. Then he looked at Irvine, expectantly. Irvine caught this as Janus' way of telling him to lead the way to the dock, so Irvine motioned for him to follow with a nod, and they were on their way.

----

"Look at that!" Irvine exclaimed. "She's beautiful!"

The rest of Irvine's crew set its gaze on on the Nemesis, waiting by itself on deck of the repair bay and looking as though it had a complete makeover done to it. The missing hover pads were replaced, the hull plating had been switched out with new armoring, the turrets had been repaired and tuned up. For a j-rigged hovercraft, it looked prestine compared to the way it looked when they had set down. Almost as if it was brand new.

Irvine was very pleased with what he saw. "You boys did an excellent job on her, better than any repair me and my crew could have ever done by ourselves." He walked over and ran his open palm along the surface. "You haven't had a fix up like this in too long, eh baby?" he said in a mutter to the ship. The others were equally impressed. What had gone from a busted up, bullet ridden hovercraft had turned out to look quite nicely after repairs.

"Check it out, they pimped our ride," Glitch said with a big smile. The others, sans Anubis, got a laugh out of it, being familiar with the TV show from their days still plugged into the Matrix.

"Yeah, maybe they added in a PS2 and a shitload of DVD screens all over the place on the inside," Blade said as he headed towards the ramp. The rest of the crew followed while Irvine stood back stroking his chin as he looked over his ship still. A voice from behind snapped him out of his trance.

"Are you satisfied with the repairs, Captain?"

Irvine turned around and saw Morpheus approaching. He smiled and nodded his head. "Satisfied is an understatement. Your crew's all ready to go?"

"Yes, I just came by to check and see if everything was all right with your ship. You'll be following us out of gate four and then we'll seperate once we reach broadcast depth."

Irvine nodded. "Alright then, let's get going."

Both med nodded, turned, and headed for their ships. When Irvine made it to the cockpit, Marley was already inside doing pre-flight checks before takeoff.

"How's it looking?" Irvine said as he sat down and buckled into the chair.

"Everything's green lit. All systems are go, power is up and running with no trouble, auxiliary power is on standby. No damage reported whatsoever."

"Heh, we'll see how long that lasts," Irvine said as he activated the hover pads. Marley smirked at his remark. It was characteristic on Irvine to be blunt with the truth, but Marley was surprised and thought he'd be a little bit more optimistic about how much time it'd take before the Nemesis was heavily damaged again. He just shook his head and carried on with the systems activations. The Nabonidus was up and heading out of gate 04, and soon the Nemesis was following after.

----

It wasn't long before both Zion hovercraft reached broadcast depth and went their seperate ways to find broadcast points. Having landed itself in a small cave just off of a secluded tunnel path, the Nemesis crew was now situated on the main deck getting ready. They were back on the frontline, and the game was on. Irvine stood at one of the loading chairs keying in what he'd be going into the Matrix with, and Janus was doing the same.

"Alright, here's the deal," Irvine said. "Only Janus and I are going in. We're gonna meet up with Morpheus and proceed to The Oracle from our rendezvous point. There's always a constant presense of a Zion crew guarding her apartment, so we'll be alright. In case we do need anyone's help though, I suggest you key in your gear and have it ready for immediate deployment."

There were various nods, grunts, and gestures of approval from the rest of the crew. Irvine looked over to Janus and nodded his head up. "You ready?"

Janus swallowed the knot in his throat, still able to recall how he felt after he had exited the Matrix last time. That omniscient feeling that had stayed with him ever since then was eating at him, for the fact that he'd only been unplugged a few weeks ago and yet felt like he had years of experience under his belt at the same time. Confusion and Nirvana, once again.

"Yeah, let's go." They both sat in their chairs and waited as Marley and Blade helped strap them in. Janus listened and heard as Irvine's needle was inserted first. Marley reached around, and then Janus felt as the needle was put up against the port in his skull.

*ZZzzt*

----

The Matrix
Mara, Richland
March 2004, 12:04PM

When Janus opened his eyes, he saw Irvine standing before him waiting for his RSI to materialize. He looked around through the lenses of his sunglasses, noticing the phone booth behind him from which he'd entered the Matrix from, and took in his surroundings, recognizing the area as Mara South. He turned back to Irvine.

"Well, look at you then. Feeling a bit enlightened after that experience eh?" Irvine teased.

At first, Janus was confused, but then he realized Irvine was talking about his choice of clothes. Rather than what he first wore into the Matrix on his first return trip or the combat gear after that, Janus had a sharp, prim style to his choice of clothing. Now he wore the same black, ankle length, cape-like trench he had worn during his rescue mission to save Irvine, only buttoned up to the top, leaving just enough of an opening to see the matching black dress shirt and tie underneath, which went along with his black slacks and square-tipped dress shoes. Overall, he looked a combination of smart and sexy. His shoulder-length layered hair blowing in a virtual breeze.

In response to Irvine, Janus simply waved him off as though to dismiss his nitpick. "Where's Morpheus?" he asked.

Irvine frowned, wondering the same thing himself. "I would have imagined he'd be waiting for us before we got here," he said. Just as he finished speaking, Morpheus came walking through a door off to the side, late as always, wearing his usual purple slacks and vest along with his green tie and black dress shirt under his croc-print leather trenchcoat. He walked over in stride, nodded to Irvine, and extended his hand to Janus for a handshake, which he firmly returned.

"A pleasure meeting you again, Janus," Morpheus said with a smile.

"Pleasure's mine," Janus answered, smirking back a smile of his own. He let go of Morpheus' hand and payed attention for what he might say next.

"The Oracle's apartment is close by," Morpheus said. "Let's get going before trouble finds us."

The trio began to walk, heading into an alleyway so to avoid any pedestrians on the street. "So she still lives over at Debir Court?" Irvine asked.

"Yes. Seraph does his job of protecting her quite well, as do the soldiers we have posted nearby on rotating shifts," Morpheus said in confidence. One could tell he was proud of the work his soldiers were capable of doing, since The Oracle's safety was always something of high priority. Having never wavered even since the moments before he'd lost the Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus still believed her to be some sort of a goddess or prophet, always with the best interests of Zion and the human race in mind.

Soon, the group had reached Debir Court and began crossing the courtyard, the very place Neo had faced nearly a hundred Smith clones five years earlier. Morpheus still remembered watching the event from the Nebuchadnezzar's main deck, in awe as more and more Smiths showed up to overtake Neo, as he bravely stood his ground and fought them off until the last moment, a feat not even the strongest redpill soldier could dream of pulling off.

To Morpheus however, that time also felt only like a dream now, for Zion was back at war with the Machines, and without The One, as if time had rolled itself back to before Morpheus had found Neo and was taking Potentials to The Oracle to be examined. Fate, it seemed, had still retained its sense of irony.

Seraph stood there waiting for them, his arms behind his back as though he were patiently meditating. The group stopped before him, and Morpheus approached him and they exchanged greetings. As this was happening, Janus sensed something strange about this new character before him dressed in martial arts gear and circle-framed sunglasses, but he couldn't tell what it was at first. Was he another redpill assigned to protect The Oracle like Morpheus had mentioned before? Janus wasn't sure.

Then, Janus remembered how he had looked upon the world after his resurrection, and saw the entirety of it composed of scrolling green code. He blinked, and saw the world in this form once again. The scrolling code was running all over the place, on every surface, and in the sky. He glanced over and saw Irvine, and recognized him in this new sight for the code that made up his RSI, since most people looked the same.

(Chapter 3 concluded) 

Looking back, he saw Morpheus standing before him, but what caught his attention as if it were violently pulled from him and refocused was Seraph. His body, unlike Morpheus and Irvine's, was made up of sprawling gold code, that shined brightly in contrast to the green world around him. Now, Janus was sure that Seraph was not human, but whatever he was, it was not of this world. He felt Seraph set his gaze upon him, and in a blink, his vision returned back to normal.

"Come now. She is waiting," he said in a thick Asian accent. He made a hand motion as if telling the group to follow him, and they did. Irvine looked around as they walked, and happened to notice a sniper posted up in the higher levels of the complex. He laughed to himself over it, amused by how serious the new security measures were. Once inside the complex, they moved into an elevator. Irvine and Janus stood in the back while Morpheus and Seraph stood in front. Janus glanced over at Irvine, who returned his look.

"Nervous?" Irvine asked.

"No. I just don't know what to expect," Janus said. Irvine nodded in agreement.

"Nobody ever knows what to expect," Irvine reassured him. "You get used to it."

"You may not understand what it is she says at first," Morpheus told him. "But sooner or later you'll understand, because she'll only tell you what you need to hear."

"What I need to hear? Who decides what I need to hear?" Janus asked.

"You do," Morpheus answered. Before another word could be said, there was a *ding*, and the doors parted to reveal a while corridor with cement walls and lineoleum tile flooring. Seraph stepped out of the elevator and the other's followed in a two-by-two formation since the hallway was narrow.

Janus noticed that graffiti had been done in various places on the walls, saying things like, "PEACE," "GUTS," and "HE RETURNZ." Janus shook his head slightly as though he didn't get it. Why would this Oracle, someone said to be so sacred and revered, live in the Slums district, much less a place like this? He remembered how Irvine said appearances were deceiving, and nodded in agreement. Now he was beginning to realize how pervasive that notion was.

When they reached the door to The Oracle's apartment, Seraph opened the door and let the other three inside. Once they were all inside, Seraph closed the door and motioned for them to take seats in the living room. Morpheus took a seat in a recliner while Irvine sat down on the couch. Janus did a quick scan of the living room to find a seat for himself, and decided to sit on the opposite end of the couch from Irvine.

As he sat down, he registered how comfortable the couch felt, and simply shook his head with a huff of air through his nose as though he were laughing at the fact that it wasn't real. Seraph had walked off into another area of the house, and as he exited the room, a young girl who looked to be 11 or 12 years old and wearing a yellow and white sun-dress entered the living room.

"Hello," she said politely with a smile to the guests. She recognized Morpheus immediately, and went over to hug him as he sat. "How are you, Morpheus?" she asked

"Hello Sati," he said with a smile. "I'm doing just fine."

"Good! Who are your friends?"

Morpheus pointed over to Irvine first. "This is Irvine. He's another Captain like myself."

"He's from Zion too?" Sati asked, and Morpheus nodded. Janus was impressed -- how did this little girl even have a clue? He said nothing and merely watched as Sati walked over and stood in front of where he sat.

"And who are you?" she asked him.

"My name's Janus," he said.

"Nice to meet you. Are you here to see The Oracle?" she asked.

Slowly, Janus nodded his head. "Then you must be special," Sati said. "Come look what I can do," she said, beckoning Janus to follow. He glanced over at Irvine, and then at Morpheus, and he nodded in Sati's direction as if to tell Janus to go with her. He shrugged a bit and got off of the couch, and she took his hand and led him over to the back door where the fire escape was located. The sun shined directly into the living room, cascading it with warm light.

"Watch this," Sati said. Janus watched as she put her hands up before her face as though she were praying, but seperated them and bent her fingers as though to make a set of parenthesis with her hands. She lined them up in front of the sun so that it appeared to be between her hands. Janus glanced up into the sky at the sun, his eyes protected from his glasses, and all he saw was the sun in the middle of a pale noon sky. He looked back over to Sati, and arched a brow. What was she trying to show him?

"Look now," she said to him. He looked back at the sun and had a double take. Now, the sky was filled with a beautiful mix of colors, with clouds colored in different hues of blue, purple, pink, gold, and orange, and the golden sun shined bright amongst them. Janus felt jaw drop slightly as he was mesmerized by the sight, and he looked back at Sati to see her looking back at him expectantly, waiting for his response.

"That's amazing," he said. "How did you do that?"

"Haha, it's easy!" she exclaimed. "You try."

Upon Sati issuing this challenge, Janus arched a brow, and Irvine immediately turned his head toward Morpheus, in time to see him lean forward in his chair and rest his elbows on his knees, having taken a great interest at this point.

Janus considered it. "You want me to change the color of the sky?" he asked Sati.

"Haha, silly," she laughed. "You can't change a sky that isn't there. What you have to do is look inside and change yourself. Then you can make all the colors you want."

"Hmm." He kneeled down so that he was closer to Sati's height and positioned himself so that he had a clear line of sight with the sun, and held his hands up the same way Sati had earlier. He glanced over at her one more time.

"Change yourself," he said. With a smile, she shook her head as though to say yes. He looked back into the sky, closed his eyes, and started to concentrate. He envisioned himself in his code vision, his RSI constructed of white code, a blank canvas to be colored upon. With a clear vision of this in his mind, he focused, and began to picture various colors in his mind. Irvine leaned forward on the couch in order to get a better view of the sky outside, and Morpheus rested his face upon his hands as he watched closely.

Soon, Janus was able to see various blends and mixes of the colors he saw in his mind, almost as though his eyes were opened and he was still looking at Sati's sky. Suddently, someone touched him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His concentration broken, he opened his eyes to look and saw that it was Seraph looking down at him. A smile slowly developed on Morpheus' face.

"The Oracle will see you now," he said. Janus nodded, and turned to look back at the sky. He noticed that the formation of colors had not changed a great deal, but there were slight changes and noticable differences from the way they had looked just a few moments ago. He looked back over at Sati, who was still smiling, and now looked a little proud.

"Come along, Sati," Seraph said, and held his hand out for her to take it. She glanced up at Seraph, nodded, and took one last look at Janus.

"Good job," she whispered. She then took Seraph's hand and he led her towards the door. As Janus stood and turned around, he saw an old black woman enter the room from the kitchen area. She wore a green dress with orange design patterns all over it. Her silver and black hair was up in a bun, and she wore jade-colored ying-yang earings. He noticed that she looked happy to see everyone, as though old friends were visiting.

"Hi Oracle," Sati said as she passed by.

"Well hello there, Sati. What've you been up to?"

"I was showing Janus how to play with the sky. He did good!"

The Oracle's face lit up with a smile, and she looked right over at Janus for a moment, as if she knew already knew who he was. "I'm sure he did," she said before turning back to Sati. "Why don't you go run along with Seraph and play? I've got some grown-up stuff to talk about with Morpheus and his friends. When I'm done, we'll make a batch of cookies, alright?"

Sati smiled brightly. "Okay! Come on Seraph, let's go play," she said. Seraph nodded his head, and Sati led him down the hallway to her room.

"Now then," The Oracle said as she moved into the living room area. "Why don't you have a seat, Janus? You might as well get comfortable, I'm sure you have a lot to tell." She motioned for him to come follow her into the kitchen area. Morpheus stood and motioned for Irvine to follow.

"Oracle, if you don't mind, Irvine and I are going to step out for some fresh air. I would feel rude sitting here during this meeting," Morpheus said.

The Oracle simply shrugged. "It doesn't make a difference either way, but the choice is yours."

With that, Morpheus nodded to her as if to bow, and Irvine waved. "See you soon," he said as he followed Morpheus out.

"I'm sure you will," The Oracle said. As the door shut, she turned her attention back to Janus and led him into the kitchen, where they both sat down at the table.

"So, Janus. That's an interesting name. Appropriate too..."

Janus arched a brow. What did she mean by that?

"You had an interesting run in recently, hmm?" she asked. Janus merely nodded his head, and she laughed. "Don't be so nervous, I don't bite," she joked with him.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" She asked. Janus cocked his head slightly.

"You want to hear everything that happened that day?" he asked.

"No," she said as she lit up a cigarette. She took a drag, and blew out the smoke as she looked back at him. "When he killed you," she told him.

He nodded his head. "After I was shot, I could feel myself in some sort of limbo," he said, trying to recollect what happened. "Then there was a bright light. It was warm, and I was drawn to it. Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system, in all its splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light speed, I flew through the center of this light, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this place, and all of the universe, is bursting with many different varieties of life. I saw many worlds."

She nodded her head as she listened, flicking her cigarette tip into an ash try. "Mhmm. Sounds like you got yourself an express ticket straight to the Source," she said.

"The Source?"

"A little self explanatory, don't you think? But you don't need to know about any of that for now. Go on with your story," she told him.

He nodded, and continued. "As I passed into the light, the awareness came to me that I had just transcended the truth. Those are the best words I have for it, but I will try to explain. I found myself in a profound stillness, beyond all silence. I was in the void. I was in pre-creation, before there was life. I had crossed over the beginning of time - the first word - the first vibration. I was in the eye of creation. I was at one with absolute life and consciousness. I could see or perceive forever, beyond infinity. I could experience all of creation generating itself. It was without beginning and without end."

The Oracle nodded, taking another drag of her cigarette. "That's a mind-expanding thought, isn't it?"

He nodded in agreement, and could see she was very interested in what he had to see, and so he continued.

"At first I saw a tremendous explosion, that I perceived as the single event which created the universe. But then I saw that it was only one of an infinite number of explosions creating universes endlessly and simultaneously. Endless fractals of golden light, everywhere."

Based on how The Oracle suddenly shook her head in agreement, Janus figured he must have hit some sort of nail on the head. She put her cigarette out in the ash tray and looked back to Janus.

"You know something," she said. "Your people have known about this for years. The ancients knew of this. They said that a Creator, or Godhead if you will, periodically created new universes by breathing out, and de-creating other universes by breathing in. These epochs were called yugas. Modern science called this the Big Bang. It sounds like you were in absolute, pure consciousness, and could see or perceive all the Big Bangs or yugas creating and de-creating themselves. What was that like?"

Janus blinked for a moment, trying to remember. He did note however, that it sounded like she already knew the answer to her question, and was only asking to see if his answer would be the same. "Instantly I entered into them all simultaneously. I saw that each and every little piece of creation has the power to create. It is very difficult to try to explain this. I'm surprised I was able to tell you this much, I still feel speechless about this."

"Well, you're doing good so far," she said. "Keep at it," she beckoned him.

"I was in this void, and I was aware of everything that had ever been created. It was like I was looking through the eyes of the all-powerful. I had become a God. Suddenly I wasn't me anymore. And I knew why every atom was, and I could see everything. The interesting point was that when I returned from the void, I came back with this understanding."

"Keep going," The Oracle said with a smile.

"Then I suddenly came back through the light, hearing several more velvet booms. I rode the stream of consciousness back through all of creation, and what a ride it was! The superclusters of fractals came through me with even more insights. I passed through the center of a fractal, which was like a black hole, which functioned like great processors or recyclers of the universe. On the other side of this was another fractal, which had been reprocessed from another universe-like fractal before it. I could see all the energy that the humans plugged into the Matrix generate, and it is an incredible light show. All together, it generates a unique matrix of light, sound and vibratory energies. "

The Oracle crossed her arms over her chest, and she made a face of concern that formed wrinkles in her forehead. Janus could see that her interest had increased in what he was saying, and so he continued.

"I passed through what I could only think of as a Construct of heaven of some sort. It was beautiful, everything was like a paradise. Like it was perfect. I heard a voice speak out, and it said that this, what I saw before me, was both the beginning and the end. Then, in an instant, I was returned to the Matrix. It seemed like it had all happened in the matter of a few seconds, but it felt like forever. After that I woke up, and--"

The Oracle cut him off. "It's alright dear, I know the rest of the story. It sounds like you had quite a trip. How do you feel?"

Janus thought about it. How did he feel? It was question he had neglected to ask himself, so now was a good time to find out. "How do I feel... I feel like..."

"Like you've seen it all, right? Like you know everything there is to know, but at the same time, you know you don't. Confusing, isn't it?"

He nodded his head. How did she know? He guessed this was why she was called The Oracle. "Yeah," he said to her. "Really confusing."

"I'm sure, but it won't seem that confusing when it comes to the choice you'll have to make."

Janus narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows wrinkling in confusion. "What choice?"

"You already know what it is. You just need to understand it," The Oracle said. She pointed up to something up above and behind him. When he turned around to look, he saw a sign that read "Temet Nosce." After reading it, he turned back to her.

"What is it?"

"It's in Latin. It means 'Know Thyself.'"

"I don't understand," he said.

"I know," she told him with a smile. "Let me put it to you this way. It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, or that hard to fall? Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall... you fly. My point is, only you can know what's going to happen. And when the time to choose comes only you can decide, whether or not you'll be the one others need... because deep down, you'll know."

Janus sat there and took in her cryptic explanation and committed it to memory. He didn't understand what it meant, but he was sure he'd get it sooner or later, just as Morpheus had told him earlier. "Was there anything else you wanted me to tell you?"

"No, that's quite enough for now," she said with a smile. Seraph entered the room. "It's time for you to get going, things have only just begun to get interesting today. Seraph here will escort you out."

Janus stood up, and The Oracle took one last look at him before he would leave. She looked as if she was studying him.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing at all," she answered. "You're somethin special, kiddo. I'll be seeing you again. Until then, stay healthy."

Janus smiled. "The best advice The Oracle has, huh?"

They both laughed. "Take care, Janus," she said.

"So long."

Seraph led him out into the hallway, where Morpheus and Irvine were waiting for him.

"Thank you," Morpheus said to Seraph. With a silent nod, he bid them farwell, and went back inside the apartment. When the other three heard the door locks click into to place, they knew the meeting was over and that they were free to leave.

"How'd it go?" Irvine asked.

"...Weird," Janus said. He looked to Morpheus. "Is it always like that?"

"Not all the time. The important thing to remember is that she told you exactly what you needed to hear. Nothing more, nothing less. You don't have to tell me what she spoke of, because I already know. You just needed to hear it for yourself. No one will ever ask you because it is a gift from her. It is for you and you alone."

Janus simply nodded his head is response. Despite his demigod experience, he learned something new all the time. Irvine nodded his head over to the elevator.

"Come on, we did what we had to do. Let's go before we're traced," he told the other two.

With that, the trio headed for the elevator and made their way to the building's exit.

----

Through the magnified vision of his binoculars, Zhael had a clean view of Debir Court. He watched as Morpheus, Irvine, and Janus walked down the street. Judging by the direction in which they were heading, it looked as though they heading towards the Mara Central hardline. Having been dispatched on a recon mission to watch for Matrix Corps and Exile activity, Zhael knew that the Rebellion crew had struck pay dirt.

"Captain," he called out. Django was on the other side of the room looking over surveillance recordings on one of the high-tech terminal stations that had been custom written for things like recon missions and bluepill extractions. He heard Zhael call to him, and looked over to see what he wanted. When he did, Zhael waved him over and motioned with the binoculars for him to come see what he had found.

When he made it over, he took the binoculars from Zhael and looked out the window outside. When he saw the three Matrix Corps redpills down below, he acted immediately without hesitation. He reached under his black military-styled poncho and grabbed his cell phone off of the clip on his belt, snapped open the face shield, and hit the speed dial for the Nosferatu.

----

While Sideways was busy at his consoles going over repairs to the Nosferatu's vast array of computer systems, working madly to get them back online without a hitch, the receiver rang. It snapped him out of his work trance, and he sat for a second to listen for it ring once more. When it did once again, he put on the headset and turned on the mic.

"Operator," he answered. As he did, he looked all over his screens at the scrolling Matrix code to try and see if he could pick out who was calling him, but the answer came before he had any such luck.

"Sideways, this is Django. I need to speak to Blood immediately."

"Right away," Sideways answered. He put Django on hold. "Blood! You got a phone call!" he shouted.

A few second later, Blood came climbing down the ladder that was used to access the upper decks and the cockpit area, and walked over to Sideways' console station. The Operator was already waiting, headset in hand, ready to give it to Blood. When he took it, Sideways took Django off hold.

"This is Blood," the Nosferatu Captain declared.

"Sir, this is Django. My crew and I have spotted Morpheus, Irvine, and the guy that attacked Balthasar, the new one, Janus, inside the Matrix."

Blood's eyebrows raised in surprise. A nice catch and a rare opportunity. "Where are you?" he asked.

"We're in Magog, overlooking Debir Court in Mara. They must have just left The Oracle's apartment, and my guess is they're heading toward the Mara Central headline. Should we pursue, attack, or hold?"

Balthasar, who had been nearby working on repairs to the ship's wiring, had dropped what he was doing and listened in from a few feet away when he heard the urgenncy in Sideways' voice as he shouted for Blood. Now he'd overheard the conversation, and upon hearing Django ask for orders, he stepped in. Blood saw him approach from the side, and he immediately knew what was going through his head when he saw the lust for blood and revenge in his eyes. He nodded his head in the direction of the chairs, and Balthasar returned the nod, getting to work immediately on the gear he'd be bringing with him.

"Orders, Sir?" Django asked over the line.

"Right. Follow them, but make sure you stay out of sight so that their Operators can't warn them that they're being tailed. I'm sending Balthasar in to get Janus isolated. Once he does, attack the other two. Take no prisoners," Blood said.

"Sir, are you sure that's the right thing to do? Last time Balthasar made contact with Janus--"

"He killed him. And he'll do it again. Just get after them before they get away. You have permission to engage if they make it to the hardline, although I'm sure you won't allow this to happen."

"Yes Sir!" Django said. The line went dead. Blood returned the headset to Sideways, and looked over at Balthasar. He was in his chair, being strapped in by Nitro.

"Balthasar," Blood called out to him. The Potential looked to his Captain.

"Don't screw this up," he said. "That's an order."

"I won't," Balthasar answered. Nitro brought the needle tip up to Balthasar's skull-port.

*ZZzzt*

----

By this point, the three Matrix Corps redpills had covered half the distance to their hardline at Mara Central. They had taken a detour of their originally planned exit strategy right into the middle of a crowded area of the city, where there were people all over the place. The reason for this was that Morpheus figured that if anyone was following them, Exile or Resistance fighter alike, they would be discouraged from pursuing them into the middle of a crowded area where an Agent could show up at any time from any direction, if not multiple Agents.

Irvine tried to convince himself it was a good idea, but he couldn't ignore that it was a double edged sword that also placed them in the same danger. Nevertheless, he pressed on and stayed in formation, and just concentrated on getting to the exit as fast as possible without any problems coming up along the way. In the time Janus was with The Oracle, the sunscape that Sati and Janus had created had been overcome by dark rolling storm clouds. Every so often, the flash of lightning was following by booming thunder. Now, those clouds broke, and it began to rain. Irvine rolled his eyes at this, and hoped it wasn't a sign that their luck was running out.

With Morpheus at point leading the group as he walked in a powerful stride with his arms clasped behind his back, that left Janus standing to the right of Irvine as they walked in formation. When it started to rain, Janus looked up at the sky, noticing the change in the clouds from the beautiful vista of clouds he'd helped to make earlier. Droplets of rain splashed off the lenses of his glasses, and when he blinked to access his code vision, no longer did he see rain. Instead, individual lines of code came down to his face and burst into smaller pieces of code upon splashing into where the lenses of his glasses were.

He continued to look around in his code vision, surveying the world for what it really was and how those still plugged in were completely oblivious to the truth. He found that when looking at the Matrix this way, in order to literally see, he had to look at code for what it said rather than for what it was, since attempting to see everything on the surface proved to be a challenge, as everything in the area blended into the surrounding environment.

Suddenly, something intruded his thought process. It was as if someone had yelled out his name while he sat in a movie theatre, completely focused on the movie being played until the shout of his name broke his concentration. He blinked back into normal vision and looked around with his head on a swivel, trying not to look frantic as to not worry the others. He looked and saw Irvine and Morpheus walking still, looking as though they hadn't noticed a thing. Despite this, he stayed alert.

He had sensed something strangely familiar, but what was it?

----

Balthasar walked through the tightly packed crowds of Mara Central, scanning from head to head as he searched for his target. Although it was his self-sworn mission to liberate all of the bluepills in the Matrix, that didn't mean he particularly cared about their well-being, at least not in this state of mind. As he walked, he bumped and shoved past people that failed to stay clear of his path. Some of them ignored it and carried on, others looked back to see whoever the jerk was that had just regardlessly shoved past them.

Then, out of nowhere, as though he'd been scared out of a deep sleep, a sensation he'd never felt before came over him like a powerful wave. What the hell was that? He looked around the area, trying to see if maybe there was a Matrix Corps soldier with a disruption device of sorts, but then he stopped looking when he realized that the sudden alert he'd felt had brought with it a sense of familiarity.

His cell phone rang, calling his attention from what he'd just felt. He pulled it from his pocket and snapped open the face shield, bringing it up to his ear.

"Balthasar," he answered.

"Balthasar, this is Django. We're down the street from you on the rooftops, we've been tracking Morpheus' group. They're about 50 yards away from you, look for them. Do you see?"

Balthasar looked down the street in front of him, and there he saw Morpheus, leading the group. Behind him was the man he'd recognized as Captain Irvine, who used to be one of his comrades. Then he saw him. Behind Morpheus, to his right, was Janus, looking straight in his direction. Was that a gun in his hand?

----

Janus continued looking around, trying to find whatever it was that had caused him to feel suddenly alert to its presense. As they manuevered through the crowd, he looked at everyone, all over the place, looking for the slightest hint that something was wrong, but he saw and sensed nothing. No Agents came cutting through the masses to come kill them, and no exiles were around to cause trouble. What could it have been?

He heard a cell phone ring. Almost as if all other noise had been cut out for the brief moment, he heard it clear as day. His brain processed that it had come from somewhere in front of him, so turned to look in that direction, unsure of why he was drawn to the noise. And then he saw him. Balthasar, about 50 yards down the road from them, mixed into the crowd. It was as if all other people faded, for now it was only Balthasar he seemed to be able to focus on. He blinked into code vision quickly, to verify the code buildup of his RSI.

Yes, it was him, with no mistake. Blinking back into normal vision, he tensed the muscles in his forearm by making a tight fist, and his pistol sprung out from his sleeve into the palm of his hand. He got a tight grip on the gun, an SV Infinity chambered for .45ACP, and the spring loaded wrist holster retracted up into his sleeve. He cocked back the pistol's hammer, and Morpheus heard this. He turned his head to the right and looked downward slightly, enough so that he could move his eyes to the right and see Janus behind him.

"Janus? What's the matter?"

Irvine looked up at Morpheus, then over to Janus, and noticed he had his pistol out and ready to fire. His heartbeat picked up right away and the adrenaline started to flow.

"Morpheus," Janus said, in that same tone he first spoke to Irvine in after exiting the Matrix after his resurrection. The Matrix Corps General noted that his attitude had changed. No longer was Janus the confused redpill who had just survived a miracle. Now, rather, he seemed like a being to be feared. It gave him chills.

"Get down."

----

The two long-haired redpills picked up their pistols and aimed at each other from across the crowd, and then opened fire. What had once been a calm and peaceful scene in Mara Central had now turned into a scene of complete chaos. The blast of gunfire rung out into the air, and the bluepills panicked. Irvine had taken out his own pistol, grabbed Morpheus and pulled him down into a crouch as they ran to find the nearest cover. People started screaming and running in every direction, even exiting their cars in the middle of the street, guaranteeing that there would be collateral damage, and even worse, the presence of Agents in the area.

Neither man's bullet hit it's intended target though. While Janus' shots missed on account of the fact that Balthasar had given Janus less of a target by facing him with his side and moving as he returned fire, Balthasar's shots were deflected within inches of Janus' body and fly off into another direction as if they had hit some invisible forcefield. As a result, the deflected shots unfortunately hit into whatever bluepills were too close to Janus in no particular shot grouping. Some bluepills escaped with non-lethal wounds, some would need immediate medical attention, some died.

It was for this reason that Irvine and Morpheus ducked for cover on the intersecting street, not only because Balthasar was firing in their direction, but also due to the act that any of the shots Janus managed to deflect away from him might also hit them if they were standing in the wrong place. Fortunately the both of them had seen Janus use this trick against Balthasar the first time they met in battle, so they had the jump on it ahead of time.

This ability angered Balthasar however. For one, it reminded him of what happened on that rooftop, and fueled his anger and passion for revenge further. Another reason was because of the fact that Balthasar's shots were well placed; Had he been aiming at anyone else, they'd be dead for sure. To him, Janus was cheating. Finally, the fact that bluepills were killed by his own bullets being effortlessly deflected away from Janus put the icing on the cake. This type of collateral damage was unnecessary to him.

On the other hand, it wasn't as if Janus didn't have a care in the world about the innocent bystanders being hit by Balthasar's bullets. He decided it was time to adopt a new strategy. At this point, most of the bluepills gathered in the area had dispersed in the panic the two redpill warriors had caused, and this gave the two of them more room to move around. While the air smelled of steam and lead as a result of their hot bullets shooting through the humid air, they both quickly switched out their magazines for fresh ones and continued in their gunfight.

To decrease the number of innocent bystanders being hit and to also ensure that all of the bullets stayed away from him, Janus came up with a different kind of trick to pull. Rather than aiming for Balthasar and deflecting his bullets while he returned fire, now Janus aimed for Balthasar's rounds themselves. In bullet time fashion and accuracy, Janus' bullets flew through the air and smashed into Balthasar's half way across the distance between the two of them, causing a series of what appeared to be sparks igniting in the space between them like mini-firecrackers going off. It wasn't going to hurt Balthasar any, but it was a good way of ensuring none of Balthasar's shots, no matter how well placed they were, would reach anywhere near there mark. As this continued, the two moved in closer to each other.

----

With plenty of abandoned cars all over the wide four-lane street, as well as those parked along the sidewalk, the two Captains found suitable places to hide from the gunfire.

"What the hell's going on?!" Morpheus yelled from behind his cover, over the gunfire as he pulled out his GLOCK 18C and inserted an extended magazine. In a matter of seconds, gunfire had rang out and bluepills were dropping left and right.

"Chaos," Irvine answered. "Complete, unscripted chaos. Who the hell knew Balthasar would be here poking around?"

"Why didn't our Operators see him?" Morpheus asked. The answer he got wasn't one he was expecting though. Suddenly a trail of automatic weapons fire punched a dotted line into the street before him, and would have hit him had he not rolled back in time. He looked up as the drops of rain splashed down onto his sunglasses to see Sigma of the Resistance hovercraft Rebellion standing on the rooftop of the building across the street, holding an AKS-74U with smoke still rising from the barrel.

Quick to return fire, Morpheus fired a burst from his GLOCK 18C up in her direction, but to no avail as she jumped down to meet him on the street below. Morpheus fired another stream of full-auto fire at her, and she ducked back behind one of the abandoned cars for cover. When she did, she resumed firing at him.

Irvine could see Sigma through the windows of the car in front of the one he was hiding behind. He leveled his pistol and just before he could squeeze off a round that would have ended Sigma's life, a series of loud *BOOM*s erupted from the front, and he ducked and looked in time to see where they came from as the .357 magnum rounds just barely missed him, breaking through car glass and tearing holes through chassis. Irvine retreated from his position and rolled back to take cover behind a dumpster, where he could see both Janus and Balthasar going at it with each other, as well as his new attacker.

He saw Django, dressed all in black, wearing a kevlar vest, and the same type of kevlar gauntlets and shield guards worn by riot police, under his black poncho. The booms Irvine heard were the reports sounded off by the twin .357 Desert Eagles he brandished, each with an extended barrel to improve accuracy. Needless to say, Django was quite muscular in his physique, so hefting the two magnum round firing pistols was no trouble to him.

"We've got you now Irvine! You traitor! You crawled back to Zion didn't you? I bet you begged Morpheus to take you back. Now you'll both pay!!" Django roared.

"Django, you've got the wrong guy, I didn't shoot Maria!" Irvine yelled back. His smartass remark was answered with another volley of bullets that slammed large dents into the dumpster with loud *P-DANG* noises. Irvine leaned out from his cover to fire a few rounds back at Django. When he came out, he found Sigma reloading her rifle just a few feet away. He quickly aimed his USP, but then he heard something land on the ground behind him.

He turned just in time to see Zhael's spiked dirty blonde hair and then *BAM*, he took a punch-kick combo followed by a headbutt that sent him back into the dumpster he'd been hiding behind, knocking his gun from his hand. Shaking his head, he realized this member of Django's crew must have come down the fire-escape behind him after running across the overpass above. He was in pain, but it wasn't enough to keep him back down. As he got back to his feet, Zhael unsheathed a combat knife and took a swing for Irvine's neck, but he leaned back to dodge the blade.

Then Irvine came forth, grabbed the same arm Zhael had swung out with with one hand, and with the other hand, decked him square across the face. Following this with the same arm, Irvine struck him with his elbow right into his forehead. Zhael stumbled back a few feet, but before he could react, Irvine delivered a side-kick to his ribs that sent him flying back a few feet before he landed hard on the concrete sidewalk. He quickly reached down for his pistol and picked it up off the ground.

"*blinking*' punk, I never liked you anyway," Irvine muttered. He would have shot Zhael right there, but he heard another blast of gunfire, and found himself ducking back behind the dumpster again to evade a volley of bullets sent at him. As he looked out, he saw that Sigma had reclaimed her assault rifle and was back on the attack. The rain was pouring.

"This sucks," Irvine said.

----

(Chapter 4 cont'd)

Janus and Balthasar had now met in hand to hand combat, having run out of bullets and closed in on each other. To Balthasar's surprise, the two were evenly matched, trading various forms of punches and kicks that they both managed to block and return with equal speed and strength. What made Balthasar a bit nervous was wondering whether this was all Janus had, or if he was only holding back to defend himself. Despite the rain, the two had both managed to stay relatively dry since they were fighting in the intersection under the overpass.

"You're not going to escape with your life. Not like last time," Balthasar threatened. It had been a while since he'd spoken directly to Janus.

"You sure about that? Janus asked him reply. He smirked as he blocked a combo of punches and kicks and snapped Balthasar in the face with a quick jab. "You already tried killing me once and I came back, who's to say I can't do it again?"

Balthasar came back by sneaking in a one-two combo that ended in an uppercut he snuck in at the last minute that put Janus off of his balance a little. "You fool! I destroy groups of Agents at will, you'll be no where near that type of challenge. Last time you surprised me. This time I'll be ready for your little tricks!"

"Like this?" Janus asked. He pretended to go in for a punch but instead held punched out to his side, completely away from Balthasar, and then snapped his fingers, playing on the way a human mind reacts when it's caught up in something that requires quick reaction time. As predicted, the simplicity of the manuever wasn't one Balthasar would have anticipated, and he ended up moving to block for a punch that never came. Instead he received a heavy front kick straight into his sternum that sent him flying back some and he landed on the ground.

Janus merely stood there in a stance, waiting for Balthasar to come back up. This only angered The Potential further -- who did this new recruit think he was, toying with him like this? He quickly got back to his feet and moved in, and the constant block-attack trading of punches and kicks resumed between the two. Janus had now resorted to accomplishing this by simply moving his body only slightly in certain directions to block Balthasar's strikes or dodge completely.

"You know, for someone with a reputation like yours," Janus said as he bobbed and weaved, "You think I'd feel a little more intimidated."

"SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!!!!" Balthasar yelled. Then he went into a furious rage of attacks that were so fierce and quick that Janus had to step up his game and actually use his arms and legs to block again. He focused his mind and tapped into the pre-cognitive sense that had allowed him to defeat Balthasar the last time. He waited for the right moment, and it came when Balthasar sent a power punch aimed at Janus' face. Janus leaned to the side, clear of the punch, and then grabbed the same arm Balthasar punched out with and pulled him in to slam his knee into his gut. After this, he turned and delivered a side kick that knocked Balthasar back into an iron railing.

Janus knew Balthasar had a lot more fight in him and that he'd be back for more. He took a brief moment to glance over to where Irvine and Morpheus had ran to for cover, but saw neither of them, and wondered if the both of them were alright, wherever they were. Then he looked back, focusing on Balthasar who was already on his feet and charging back at him.

They would have met in another clash, but then they heard the roar of engines at top speed followed by the loud screech of tires as they fishtailed around the corner. The two both stopped in the middle of their charge to look and see who was coming. Four truckloads of Blackwoods, the local Mara gang, sped towards them in black Hum-vees, and all of them strapped with guns.

As the two trucks went airborne from speeding up the inclined road, Janus and Balthasar both dived for cover on opposite side of the street from each other, behind the steel and concrete support struts that held up the overpass. As soon as the hummer trucks screeched to a halt in the middle of the intersection, they poured out and started shooting -- at everyone.

"Who the hell is that?!" Janus yelled to himself, thinking out loud. The Oracle was right in what she said earlier -- the day was only just starting to get interesting when he walked out of her apartment.

Balthasar, in his anger, saw fit to answer and obliged. "Exile scum! Always showing up at the wrong time!"

"They're on our turf starting trouble!" A Blackwood leader yelled to his comrades. "Now we punish them for it!"

From behind his cover, Irvine had heard the eruption of additional gunfire. He blind-fired a number of shots out to distract Sigma, and when she paused in firing, he looked out from behind the dumpster and saw the newly arrived gang of exiles, right before a number of bullets struck the dumpster, nearly hitting his face. Irvine let out a sigh; While the gang of exiles was shooting at everyone and it did distract the attention of Django's crew to defending itself, all this being shot at was getting annoying.

"This is bull-*poop*," he said to himself, and he pulled out his phone and called the Nemesis.

"Operator," Glitch answered. "You guys need help?"

"No *poop*, how'd you guess?"

"Anubis is already on his way."

"Good man."

After a few moments, Janus and Balthasar both reached the conclusion that hiding behind cover while being shot at suited neither of them, although this wasn't something they figured with each other's best interest in mind, rather than their own. They both came out from hiding, and using their superior speed and power in comparison to the exiles, engaged them from opposite sides of the street, drawing fire and close range attacks. A war-zone had slowly begun to develop.

----

To free up Irvine from the onslaught of three attackers at once, Morpheus engaged Django and was trading blows with him in close range. He found that blocking Django's strikes, which for the most part were power-kicks and overhead chops, wasn't a pleasant experience due in part to the kevlar armor he wore. As they traded punches and kicks, Morpheus remained focused on the fact that the pain wasn't real. That wasn't the only problem though. To make things worse, Laser, another man on Django's crew, was shooting down from a window on an upper floor of the building the Rebellion crew had came out from.

To counter this, Morpheus resorted to fighting with Gun-Kata, mixing his attacks with melee strikes at Django along with moving among abandoned cars for cover and firing bursts of suppressive fire up at Laser to keep him at bay. He knew he'd have to improvise quick, because soon he would run out of ammo, and Django wouldn't allow him the chance to reload.

As he fired a few rounds up at Laser, which ended the spray of bullets he'd been sending down while also trying to not hit Django, Morpheus willingly took a kick to his exposed ribs, and then blocked a hard elbow strike that caused him to wince slightly in exertion. Laser had withdrawn from his position on the roof.

"What's the matter Morpheus? Pain's getting to ya?" Django taunted. He delivered a kick-punch combo, and Morpheus had only managed to block the kick, for the punch Django threw was directed straight at Morpheus' chest, mixing up the routine he figured Morpheus was used to by now. As Morpheus stepped back on one foot, he used to momentum to come back and deliver a headbutt right into Django's face. While he was phased from this, Morpheus turned and sent the heel of his purple croc-print shoe straight into his chest which, despite the blow being absorbed by Django's kevlar vest, still managed to set him off balance a good deal.

"No," Morpheus answered. "But I'm sure, considering that small mind of yours that you must be in a world of hurt right now." He fired his last few rounds of ammo in his GLOCK 18C up at Laser as he was about to fire down again, and he retreated behind cover. His pistol empty, Morpheus tossed it away and focused on Django.

"*CENSORED* you," Django said in retort, and quick drew one of his guns to blast a few rounds into Morpheus' torso. Morpheus spun out of the way in time and the bullets missed their mark. Now that he was off to Django's unguarded side, he punched him right in the jaw so hard it knocked him off his feet. Now he pulled out his secondary pistol, a Walther P99, and headed over to see if he could help Irvine out. As he made his way closer, he heard a door open, and the distinct *CHICK-CHACK* of a shotgun pump.

He turned just in time to see Laser holding a Benelli M3 aimed at his abdominal region, and with a triumphant grin on his face. Then, all of a sudden he heard two loud *POP* noises and the next thing he knew there was a spray of blood all over his face, at which he grimaced. As Laser fell down with a smoldering hole in his forehead, Kid walked out behind him holding a Beretta 92F.

"Nice shooting," Morpheus said sarcastically. He took off his glasses to reveal that his eyes were the only part of his face without blood droplets all over, and wiped the lenses clean. Then he wiped the rest of the virtual blood off of his face with a handkerchief he had in the breat pocket of his vest.

"Sorry about the blood, Sir," Kid said. He traded his pistol for Laser's shotgun, and handed Morpheus an MP5K. "We saw you needed help so I came right away."

"Good timing," Morpheus said. They both took cover positions and returned fire at the truckloads of Blackwoods, who had now taken cover behind their bullet-proofed trucks.

"What the hell do they want?" Kid asked Morpheus over the gunfire.

"I don't know, just shoot them."

Django had come to his senses amidst the added confusion of the three-way battle, and after realizing what was going on, he carefully snuck away from where he lay in a belly crawl so that Morpheus and Kid wouldn't see him trying to escape and gun him down in the process. When he was clear, he super jumped back up to the roof he originally jumped down from when this fight started, as to get a better view of what was happening. With Laser dead, he had to find Sigma and Zhael and get out of there.

----

(Chapter 4 concluded)

Morpheus and Kid had moved forward from car to car and were doing their best to pin down the Blackwoods. Irvine and Sigma had run out of ammo, and when she tried to fall back, Irvine ran out from behind the dumpster, down the sidewalk and behind the parked cars as Morpheus and Kid covered him, and cut Sigma off before she could escape. Now, further down the block behind Morpheus and Kid, they were now going toe to toe in close combat, and at less of a risk of being hit by the exile gunmen.

She traded a sneak attack kick to his chest for an overhand smash combo in return. She was knocked down and came back up for more. Her speed and agility made her a fierce opponent in combat, and reminded Irvine of the gang of Exiles known as the Furies. He didn't let his concentration waver though, as defending himself was more important.

Having escaped to cover after Irvine turned his attention away from him, Zhael had recomposed himself and pulled a .38 "Redpill Special" out from the waistband of his pants. He looked out to see what was going on, and saw Sigma keeping Irvine distracted a good deal, enough to give him an opening to finally put the Nemesis' Captain out of his misery. Unfortunately, he had been spotted by one of the Blackwood exiles, and it started firing in his direction. Before said Blackwood could correct his aim, Zhael shot him twice in the head with the small revolver, ending the exile's life.

Ready to move on in the fight, Zhael was ready to come out and fire at either the Blackwoods or one of the enemy redpill soldiers, whoever he saw first. When he came around, he saw Kid for a brief moment, but Kid spotted him and fired a shotgun blast in his direction. The shot missed though, as Zhael had ducked back behind an abandoned car, close to where Balthasar was fighting.

He took a moment to look around and see if there was any way out of this mess. When he looked behind himself, some dark, caped-looking figure landed there from above, with platinum blonde hair slicked back and a classy combintation of black and gold clothes, both in his suit and ankle length jacket. Zhael's attention was brought to the samurai sword he held, as he found it strange to wield in the middle of a shootout.

"Who the hell are you?" Zhael asked, unsure of whether or not this was a friend or foe.

However, the answer would never reach his ears. All he heard was a *SHLING*, and the last thing he saw was a quick movement and a silver glint of steel. As Anubis watched blood leak from the cut in Zhael's neck before his head fell completely off, he returned the sword to its sheath.

"I'm the guy that brings a knife to a gun fight," he answered in a ice-cold tone.

He glanced out at Irvine to see how he was doing, and he saw that he'd gained the upper hand in the match with Sigma. To assure that Irvine could stay focused on her, Anubis pulled a pair of TEC-9s out from the folds of his long jacket and started firing at the Blackwoods, adding to Morpheus and Kid's cover fire as he strafed toward their position. As a result, some of the gunners had divided their attention and began firing back at him, as well as Morpheus and Kid.

Seeing that the Zionite redpills were now distracted, Django unholstered his two guns and took aim at Irvine. Already, he had lost two of his own crew, and he wasn't going to let Irvine make him the last one left that could enter the Matrix.

"Normally, I don't hit girls," Irvine said. Then he cross body blocked both of her oncoming attacks, smacking them away. "But for you I'll make an exception, *CENSORED*." As he said this, he got in close and kneed her in the gut in order to get her to double over. When she did, he gave her the hardest back-handed slap across the face he could come up with, and the whip of his knuckles spun her around before she hit the floor.

But before he could deliver the death strike, Irvine heard a familiar series of *BOOM*s, and a rain of bullets from above smashed down into the street around him. He rolled away behind a car left in the middle of the street. When he looked back he saw Django jump from the rooftop, and then land on the bullet-riddled street with a loud slam. While keeping one of his guns trained on Irvine, he rushed over to Sigma and picked her up off the ground, hefting her up over his shoulder.

"You'll get yours Irvine! Maybe not today, but your day will come!" Django roared. Without wasting anymore time, he super jumped back to the rooftop above, and successfully escaped the fray.

"Son of a *CENSORED*..." Irvine muttered to himself. It wasn't the first time one of his targets got away, but he still hated when it happened. He moved forward to join the line Anubis had formed with Morpheus and Kid, so that they could start getting rid of the Blackwoods. Normally they weren't this much of a challenge, but since they'd taken the group of redpills by surprise, it had been a disadvantage.

The sound of police sirens filled the air and grew louder. Morpheus looked behind them, on the opposite end of the street from the Blackwood gunmen, and they came swarming around the corner-- a whole unit of squad cars and SWAT vans racing towards them. His eyes widened behind his sunglasses, because he knew: Where cops went, Agents followed. It was time to go.

"SWAT!" he yelled to his fellow soldiers. Now this shootout was about to turn into a full-on battle, and with the low amount of ammo they had left on them, the Matrix Corps soldiers wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

At this point, Balthasar knew he'd be better off escaping with his life to fight another day than to stay here and get riddled with bullets. While he could face numerous Agents and Exiles at once with little effort, especially in close range, dodging or deflecting bullets was not something he'd learned yet. He hated having to do this, but at this point it was the best tactical move he could make. He looked over at Janus with a glare as he smashed his last Blackwood opponent's face in with a punch.

"Our fight isn't finished yet, Janus! We'll fight again, and I promise you, you will die. But until then, do your best to stay alive. Your life is mine to take!"

Janus could only watch while he fought as Balthasar seemed to nod at him, as though to tell him to remember what he said. After that, The Potential jumped, backflipping into the air and successfully landing on the raised land where the Mara Central hardline was located, and then super jumped away to make a clean escape, leaving Janus in the middle of the intersection surrounded by Blackwoods that were shooting all over the place and trying to pummel him. Still, he managed to keep his head above water.

"Sir," Kid yelled over the gunfire as he ducked behind a car. "There's an exit prepared for us. We leave on your orders, General!"

"Wait a moment," Morpheus said. He looked at Janus, and then back over to Irvine. "Will you be alright?"

"We have an exit connected also," Anubis said. "Get out of here, we'll cover you."

Morpheus nodded. "Okay. Good luck!" With that, he and Kid escaped into an alleyway, running south into Magog. Once they were clear, Anubis looked back at Irvine."

"The exit is in room 2F in the apartment complex across the street," Anubis replied. "Go to it and get out."

"What? No! You're coming with me once we get Janus out of there, we can't leave him out there in the middle of that out there!"

"I know. That's why I'm going to stay behind and help him," Anubis said. "You're wounded from fighting this whole time, you should go. We'll be right behind you."

Irvine knew the assassin had a point. He looked back over at Janus one last time before turning back to Anubis, and then nodded.

"Hurry the hell up. That's an order."

"Of course."

As Irvine ran off to find the exit phone, Anubis covered him with whatever ammo he had left in his TEC-9s, and then threw them away once they were emptied. His phone rang, so he took it out to answer it.

"What is it?"

"This is Glitch. Listen, we got Irvine back safe, but you're gonna have to get out of there."

Anubis frowned. The exit should have been waiting for them. "Why?"

"Because the exile programs had some more of their buddies come cut the hardline. The exit we set up is no good, and Mara Central's too hot, so you and Janus better hurry before you end up dead."

"Fine, we'll handle it." Anubis answered, and ended the call. Once the line was cut, he dialed up Janus' number. Although he could barely hear it ring, Janus fished a free hand into his pocket and hit the speaker phone button on his phone as he fought.

"Janus, it's Anubis. I came to help you get out of here, but they cut the hardline for our exit and they're trying to trap us." As Anubis said this, he was running down the street toward the direction of the oncoming police, and made a right turn down the street to where he could find a car. The second he saw the black Cadillac XLR Convertible parallel parked alongside the street, he stopped in his tracks and his eyelids started to spasm; Glitch had uploaded the hotwiring program without warning. When it was finished, Anubis jumped in and got to work on the wires.

While he felt grateful at first after hearing that Anubis was here to help, Janus also found himself surprised. Why was Anubis suddenly eager to help him? He shook the question from his head, and got back on track with what was going on around him.

"Where are you?" he yelled.

Just then, further up the block coming off the side street Anubis had run down, the XLR fishtailed out into the middle of the street. Anubis was at the wheel. Taking the hint, Janus nodded. But he wasn't so eager to retreat at first. Before making his getaway, he'd need a gun to hold off the enemies that would inevitably follow.

By now, the Blackwoods were down to about half their numbers after the rest had been killed by Irvine, Morpheus, Kid, and Anubis. A particular thug noticed Janus from a distance too far for him to engage in melee combat, so he fired his weapon. As with the rest of the bullets that had been fired at Janus that day, they simply deviated away from his body and missed just as they were about to hit him. With the Blackwood gang member stalled in confusion, Janus dashed forward, decked him in the face, and then grabbed his gun.

"I'll take that," he said as he turned the gun on the exile thug. "You take this," Janus told him as he pulled the trigger, unloading a burst of rounds into his gut, killing him instantly. Not wasting another second, he super jumped up into the air, and came down at Anubis' car. The bullets fired at him by the remaining Blackwoods wasn't something he was concerned about, but the police were getting closer. Time was running out for the two redpills.

When Janus landed, he jumped over the hood of the car, came back, and climbed into the passenger seat. Anubis sped off, heading north.

"After them!" the Blackwood pack leader yelled, "And call for backup!" Soon, they were following after Anubis and Janus at top speed, while the police maintained close pursuit.

The chase was on.

----

When Morpheus' eyes opened, the first thing he felt was a big headache. Why is it whenever I go to see her, a conflict always follows? He thought, as memories of when he first brought Neo to the Oracle entered his mind and how not long after he got captured by Agent Smith. At the time there had been a traitor in his crew though; this time he decided it was chance that the Resistance had found him and Janus, since there was no way they would have known about Morpheus' plans. Still, it was quite frustrating.

Link and Zee both moved to help Morpheus and Kid out of their chairs; even though both were veterans and jacked into the Matrix regularly, no human mind ever got the hang of "waking up" right off. "You alright sir?" Link asked, looking over Morpheus for any wounds that might have transitioned from the Matrix. He didn't find anything obvious.

"Yes, I can stand." Morpheus said, waving Link away and positioning himself on his feet. He hadn't been in the Matrix for that long, and yet it still felt like hours. "What happened in there?"

Link shrugged. "Sorry about that sir, Django and his crew managed to keep out of our line of sight somehow, and we didn't notice Balthasar until Janus started firing. We got Kid in there as fast as we could."

"Don't worry about it Link, just be more efficient next time." Morpheus stated. He was more than a little peeved that they had been ambushed that easily, but Link knew they screwed up, so there was no need to reprimand him. After a moment, he managed to relax himself with the knowledge that he made it out of there alive and well. "Did the ones from the Nemesis get out as well?" he asked as he rubbed the sweat off his forehead.

"Irvine managed to reach his exit before it was cut." Link said.

That last part chilled Morpheus' spine. "What about Janus and Anubis?"

"That's the thing. You may want to see this sir." Link directed Morpheus over to the operator's console, where Sparks was currently posted. Much to Morpheus' half-surprise, Ghost, Gizmo, Hacksaw and Niobe were looking over the console with full attention, as if they were watching a movie. However, there was more tension around them than veteran redpill felt comfortable with.

When Morpheus moved over to the console and saw why everyone looked tensed, silently cursing to himself. Unless he was reading the coding wrong, the two had managed to steal a car and were now leading a whole line of Blackwoods and cops on a chase into the Uriah district. "How many are after them?"

"I stopped counting around twelve, not including the cops." Sparks reported. Even he was concerned.

"Niobe and I could go in and take some off their tail." Ghost volunteered.

"You wouldn't be able to intercept in time, and besides, I can't afford to send any more people in there." Morpheus replied to her.

By now, Kid and Zee had joined the rest of the crew at the operator's console themselves, just as they heard Ghost volunteer. Zee looked at Morpheus as if he had said something disgusting. "So you're just going to leave them in there?" she sounded as though she were threatening Morpheus with something. "They'll get killed before they reach an exit!"

"We have no choice." Morpheus replied solemnly.

"Why?" Zee demanded.

"Because it's too hot to send anyone else in there." Niobe explained solemnly. She also hated the idea of staying put. "The cops are on full alert, SWATs are deployed and it won't be long before any Agents show up. If anyone else goes in, they run the risk of getting themselves trapped too."

Once again, Morpheus remembered Neo, this time when he and Trinity entered the Matrix against all logic and odds to retrieve him during his aforementioned captivity. He felt degenerated knowing that his friend would have done the same here if he were still alive. But Morpheus couldn't; as a General he was just as responsible for the people being sent in as he was for the people that needed to be saved, and he knew he would just be wasting more lives by putting them into harm's way. Lives that didn't have to be there.

But that didn't mean he felt good about it. "We will just have to put faith into those two." He said. "And hope."

----

As a detective, Janus had actually been in a few car chases before; usually when he pissed off some mafia head or drug dealer. However, the car chases Janus had experienced only had one or two cars coming after him. This one, on the other hand, felt more like a parade line with guns involved. Janus never thought he would have been able to *CENSORED* off so many people all at once.

"Two more of them coming up!" Anubis announced after looking through his rearview mirror, putting more gas into the Cadillac and swerving to avoid the other vehicles in the road. He tried his best to make it so he wouldn't put innocent people into the gunfight, but it seemed like the Blackwoods weren't very distinguishing, and the street was fairly crowded with lunch time traffic.

Janus responded in kind by letting loose the FAMAS once more, also trying to avoid hitting civilians. Although he didn't get any critical points on his next barrage, he managed to hit one of the passenger side gunners that was leaning out for better aim, knocking the Blackwood out of the car. The gangster was subsequently run over by one of the cars trailing behind, letting out a scream before a vibrant squish. For some reason, this only angered the other gunners, who increased their rate of fire at the two redpills.

Bullets pelted the black convertible, making a collection of sounds. *PWANG*, *TWANG*, *PTEW*. Several bullet holes appeared over the trunk, rear bumper and windshield, but thankfully nothing vital was hit as the gunners were aiming for Janus mostly. Those bullets that came close simply deflected off of Janus' apparent barrier and flew in another direction.

However, some of those bullets ended up hitting other cars and pedestrians along the road. One deflected round even ended up grazing Anubis across the cheek, much to his irritation. He reached a gloved hand up to wipe away some blood, and then cast a glare at Janus. "Can't you just stop the bullets?" he asked, more annoyed than anything else.

Janus stopped for a moment to consider what Anubis said. "You know, I never thought about that!" he yelled, before he turned his attention back to their pursuers.

It was during mid-fire that Janus noticed that the second car was moving closer to the first so that they could concentrate their fire easier. The soldier saw an opportunity and fired more rounds from the FAMAS, scoring a hit on the second car's front driver's side tire. The rubber easily shredded from the 5.56mm rounds, forcing the car to swerve violently, inevitably striking its comrade and also making it swerve. The first car ended up crashing into the side of a building while the other car turned into a nearby alleyway as the driver attempted to regain control. A metallic crunching sound followed not long after.

"That's four! Count em!" Janus yelled triumphantly to the other Blackwoods that were following.

Anubis shook his head, but allowed himself to let out a ‘heh'. If we can hold them off just a little longer, maybe we'll get out of this yet. With a free hand, he reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone, opening it and then speed-dialing the Nemesis.

----

"Operator." Glitch said into his mic. Behind him the entire crew of the Nemesis was watching the action on the monitors.

"Is the exit ready?" Anubis asked above the sound of machinegun fire.

Glitch noticed for once Anubis sounded hurried rather than his usual ice cold self. "Getting to it..." He typed into his keyboard, checking for any available areas. "*CENSORED* it, what the hell is going on...?"

Anubis hoped he heard that wrong. "What?"

"I'm having problems on my end as well. My connection's wavering and I can't get any of the usual places." Glitch said, still typing.

"I would appreciate it if you tried harder." Anubis replied dryly, with a large amount of anger welling up in his voice. "Before we get shot to hell."

"Just wait a minute ‘nub..." Glitch replied in a mutter as he worked. He realized he just called the former assassin "‘nub" again, and that he'd probably pay for it later, but at the moment he was more concentrated on getting them out of there. "Got it! Due east of the Historic District, just across that bridge you're coming up to. Arlington Heights, room 376."

"Thank you." Anubis said dryly, then hanging up the phone just as quickly.

With that done, Glitch could put his full attention over to the chase. He noticed one of the code strands flicker. "And Janus bags another one. That's what, four?"

"Five, if you include that one that crashed into the other." Blade answered.

"I wonder if there's a record for ‘most cars blown up during a high speed chase'." Glitch thought wistfully.

"Should've seen the stunt Morpheus and Trinity pulled a few years ago..." Blade remarked.

"Just concentrate on getting them out of there." Irvine ordered in an uncharacteristically stern tone. To him this wasn't a time for kidding around, especially when the events of long ago were still fresh in his mind. He had already lost Kira, as well as Janus once, and now he was fearful of losing him again as well as Anubis.

Glitch saw that and went back to work. "Right boss." He said.

At the corner, Solitaire also watched the action, equally concerned. Like Irvine, the previous events were still fresh in her head, only she remembered when Anubis came to her rescue against that Agent. Looking over to the ex-assassin's dormant form, Solitaire truly felt helpless standing there. Not that she could really do anything, even if her arm wasn't in a sling she knew all she'd do was put one more life on the line. And yet, wasn't that what Anubis did for her just days ago?

She pushed back such thoughts in her head and focused her attention to the monitor. C'mon, get out of there. She thought, trying to hope.

----

A few cars back down the line, an old '68 Dodge Dart convertible was running down the road just as fast following the other Blackwood vehicles. This one had three gang members in it: one gunner in the back, one in the passenger seat and the driver. They were usual thugs, armed with AKs and other vintage firearms, but that was enough to take on the two redpills that dared violate their territory. The only trouble was catching up to them.

"*CENSORED* it Sully, can't this piece of *CENSORED* go any faster!?" the passenger side gunner complained.

"*CENSORED* off Luther, I don't see you driving!" Sully complained, flipping Luther the finger for a second before putting the hand back on the wheel.

Another burst of stray bullets hit the sides of the car, shooting off the driver's side mirror and grazing the windshield. As this happened, the car suddenly bounced, as if it had run over a speed bump or one of the dead bodies that fell out of the cars ahead. Sully grumbled to himself at that thump. "It's like a *CENSORED* battle zone out here." he complained. "Hey Darwin, are you alright back there?" he asked to the gunner in the back seat, having no time to turn around.

"I'm afraid Mr. Darwin has been detained indefinitely." came a very monotone voice that obviously wasn't Darwin.

Both Sully and Luther turned back to see who was talking, and when they saw, their faces went white. There sat Agent Skinner, who had dropped into the Dart from a nearby building, which was the source of the ‘thump' the two felt earlier, his left hand holding Darwin, whose neck had been broken.

Moving quickly, the Agent tossed the corpse aside, then reached out and grabbed Luther as he went to pull his AK-47U against the Agent. A quick yank and a throw, and Luther ended up flying into a humvee that was several meters behind the Dart, smashing its windshield. Sully tried to swerve the car so that the Agent would fly out, but Skinner was faster, jumping into the passenger's seat and at the same time drawing his Desert Eagle. A quick shot to the scalp and Sully was dead.

While the driver was dead and the car was now out of control, his foot was still pressed against the gas and thus it still ran. Skinner simply had to move over to the driver's side, open the door and throw the corpse out while still having his foot on the gas pedal, and then he had full control of the car. That in mind, he reached up to his earpiece as he received orders.

"Commencing pursuit of offenders Burnett and Lancaster."

----

Six! Janus mentally announced after seeing another car run right off the road. Taking a moment, he took off the magazine to the FAMAS and checked how much he had. There were still plenty of bullets left, but Janus was sure he had used most of the ammo up by now. He silently wished he had gone into the Matrix fully loaded like he did the first time before; at least he was better prepared back then.

Training his rifle's sights on the next vehicle up, which was a beat up Ford F150 pick-up truck with about five guys in the bed aside from the passenger gunner and driver, Janus opened fire. His fire hit the hood of the truck and shot the passenger Blackwood in the shoulder, but it failed to deter the truck. A second later three of the exiles in the bed fired back from either side of the truck. Janus simply rolled his eyes and concentrated again, letting the bullets deflect away like before. Again, one of the stray bullets came close to hitting Anubis, who managed to flinch in time.

"Sorry!" Janus called over the bangs of machinegun firing. He put up another barrage from his FAMAS, managing to keep it short to conserve ammo. His fire managed to clip one of the exile gunners, who inadvertently fell out of the truck in a heap. The rest hit the driver, who although didn't die was shot badly in the arm and chest. He struggled to hold the truck under control, which made Janus smirk. All too easy. It took only one bullet to blow out the driver's side front tire, and the truck spiraled out of control and crashed into a minivan, sending its occupants flying forward until they slammed into the streets and buildings. Seven.

By now they had managed get out of Mara and onto the Reeves Bridge. Thanks to the combination of Janus' shooting and Anubis driving, they managed to evade the rest of the Blackwoods for the time being, or at least put enough distance between them. Janus took a moment to relax a little bit. He looked over and saw the river under the bridge, concentrating as much as he could as Anubis weaved around traffic on the blue water and the sun reflecting over it. At one time, even a few days ago, Janus would have thought it was beautiful, but now all he could think of was how artificial it was. He was no longer fooled nor confused about the Matrix like he once was, now he was a soldier that knew the territory as much as the dark truth behind it.

"Hey, you alright?" Anubis asked. Cold and monotone, but the act was still somewhat uncharacteristic of him.

Such was it that it immediately snapped Janus out of his trance. "Yeah, sorry." He said.

"We're almost at the exit. Stay sharp." Anubis stated, turning his concentration back on the road.

Again, the ex-assassin's apparent concern confused Janus. Why was Anubis being open to help all of a sudden, when before he would have gone out of his way to avoid Janus and the rest of the crew? Then Janus remembered Irvine telling him that when he "died" in the Matrix, Anubis was ready to go back in just so he could put a scar on Balthasar, even knowing he would have died himself. This made Janus wonder if his leaving the Matrix had somehow caused Anubis to break out of his cold shell, even if a little. I guess I'll figure it out someday. He concluded.

That's when Janus thought he caught something in the distance. A single car, coming at them at a high speed, also moving around all the others. At first Janus thought it was another Blackwood vehicle, but his instinct told him otherwise. When the car pulled close though, he immediately knew why, recognizing the familiar black suit and square rimmed sunglasses the man was wearing. "*poop*! It's an Agent!"

As soon as Janus yelled that out, Agent Skinner drew his Desert Eagle and began firing. Each shot, much like Balthasar earlier, were well placed marks that would have hit Janus several times in the head or chest had he not deflected the bullets. Janus returned fire with the FAMAS, but as expected the Agent blurred and dodged each shot with ease as well. Janus at least figured since the Agent was driving he could at least for a second get the enforcement program's hands off the wheel and force him into a crash, but the Agent kept in firm control of the vehicle. He stopped firing for a moment to rethink his strategy.

Since his initial target was obviously impervious to bullets, Skinner immediately took aim over at Anubis and started firing at him. Unlike Janus, the shots weren't deflected, but after seeing the first bullet come a hair's width from his skull, Anubis started swerving the car violently to make it harder for the Agent to keep track. This time he weaved in between the other cars to use them as shields; he hated it, but he had no choice since he couldn't risk anything with Agents.

When Janus saw the first couple of bullets aimed at Anubis, he felt a surge of anger well up inside of him. That scum... he thought, bringing his gun up and firing back again. Again, the Agent blurred and dodged the bullets, but this time after a few seconds, the FAMAS stopped shooting and simply made a clicking sound. "I'm out!" Janus yelled, throwing the gun back at the Dart, then sitting back down in his seat and putting his hand behind Anubis so he could deflect the bullets from his partner.

Fortunately for them, Skinner also ran dry not long after, to which he simply reholstered the Desert Eagle. With both sides without a firearm, Skinner floored it and sped the Dart up, weaving more and more around traffic, until it moved to spitting distance of the Cadillac. From there, he pressed further and slammed the front of the Dart into his quarries' back bumper, disorienting them.

Both Anubis and Janus rattled in their seats when the cars collided. "Yeah, that's *blinking*' original!" Janus yelled out loud in sarcasm; it just couldn't be a car chase without somebody trying to run the other guy off the road, could it?

Skinner kept at the rear of the Cadillac two more times. By the third time, he concluded that it wasn't enough, Lancaster still remained in control. So to amend the situation, he pulled to the opposite lane and sped up until he was right beside Cadillac. Anubis and Janus turned to face him. Skinner looked back at them, face impassive. It was just like a racing movie during the final stretch between two bitter rivals. Only a moment later, Skinner turned the Dart over and slammed the car into Anubis and Janus' side.

It was at that point Janus had it with this Agent. Anubis started to speed up and turn away from the Agent, but his partner stopped him. "Hold it here for a sec!" Janus said.

"What?"

"Trust me!" Janus said, unbuckling his seatbelt and rising up from his seat. "I'll be back!"

With that, Janus leaped from the Cadillac and into the passenger's side of the Dart. Immediately Skinner threw a punch with his free hand, to which Janus blocked and countered with his own punches. Skinner effortlessly blocked the first two and then tilted his head to avoid the third, but the fourth one he grabbed. Janus gritted his teeth as the Agent started to crush his hand, but then he alleviated that by delivering a palm strike to the Agent's face, one that would have broken the nose if the Agent were human.

The car started drift as the redpill and program fought each other, trading punch after punch, even if one was handicapped by having to keep a hand on the steering wheel. Anubis pulled the car ahead so that he would avoid another collision, but he still watched the fight from his rearview mirror, while also keeping on the road. We're running out of time. Hurry up Janus.

Janus took another sock to the face from the Agent, making his head fly back. Now he was getting really pissed off. Moving forward, he lunged at the Agent and made a trio of punches; the Agent took the first one, dodged the second and then blocked the third, delivering a follow up punch with his free hand again, only this time Janus blocked that one as well. Janus held that punch down, trying to keep the Agent's arm in check, but slowly the program began to overwhelm him. That's when his mind flashbacked to something.

He remembered a week ago the moment Balthasar's arm shot out of the brick wall and grabbed Agent Davis' neck, snapping it with one try. With that memory, he threw off Skinner's hand and in a quick motion, reached out and grabbed the Agent's neck, applying pressure. Skinner attempted to throw his head around, but Janus' grip remained firm, to the point where he threw his own back up to try and remove it. But Janus remained focus, tightening his grip even if it felt like little by little. Not getting out of it that easy, *CENSORED*. Was all he thought as he watched the Agent struggle. It was almost like trying to hold a gasping fish out of water, only ten times as worse.

And then with a roar, Janus put all his focus into his hand and tightened, feeling the host's windpipe finally snap. Skinner disappeared, leaving the limp body of the man, a plumber judging by his overhauls, he had used as a host.

Anubis saw all this through his mirror and remained solace. A while back he wouldn't have believed it, but now he didn't put anything past Janus. He's getting stronger.

Of course, now that Skinner was gone, there was nothing controlling the car, to which it started to decelerate. Janus took that as his cue, seeing Anubis back the Cadillac closer. Taking his chances, Janus jumped into the air and flew for what felt like an entire football field length before he landed back in the passenger seat of the Cadillac. The Dart ended up spinning over behind them.

"What kept you?" Anubis asked in very dry sarcasm.

"Dealt with the law. It was a real pain in the neck," Janus said off-handishly.

----

(Chapter 5 cont'd)

The Matrix

Historic District, Downtown

March 2004, 1:22PM

Minutes later, the Cadillac XLR had entered the Historic District and arrived up to the Arlington Heights apartment complex. Knowing they had very little time to reach the exit, Anubis parked the car in front of the building itself. He and Janus immediately jumped out of the car and were about to proceed into the building when Janus' phone began to ring.

Janus rolled his eyes and picked it up. "Now what Glitch?" he asked, still edgy from fighting off Blackwoods and the Agent.

"Don't go in there yet, I'm getting a weird reading from the building." Glitch said, as he looked over the code. "I can't tell if the exit's secure or not."

"So what the hell are we supposed to do, wait around for another Agent?" Janus almost snarled at Glitch, much like Anubis did earlier. "Speaking of, aren't you watching anything from up there? He came out from nowhere!"

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't see the Agent until he was already on top of you." Glitch added defensively. "Those bastards are getting sneakier all the time."

"No *poop*. Is the exit secure or not?" Janus asked out of impatience.

"That's what I'm checking for now. It'll take a while." replied Glitch.

"We don't have a while Glitch!" Janus was practically steaming now.

On the other end, Irvine took the headset off of Glitch's head and put it on himself. "Janus, calm down. You're not thinking clearly, and you can't afford to break down now." The captain stated with all seriousness.

Janus took a deep breath at hearing Irvine's words; he was still angry, but he knew better. "Alright, I'm fine. Call back when you're ready."

"Good. Stay alive until then." And with that Irvine signed off.

When Janus hung the phone up, Anubis looked at him for an explanation. "Exit's not secure. Give or take a few minutes to confirm." Janus replied calmly.

"Naturally." Anubis said, also sounding fed up with their situation. He crossed his arms together, his katana held in his left hand. Not much he could do in this situation but wait.

At least one of us is calm. Janus thought, looking up at the building. Remembering his code vision, he blinked and glanced over to the third floor of the building, scanning the different rooms for the exit.

It was at that point he felt a surge come over him. What the-? He thought, narrowing his glance. He thought he saw strange code segments flow faster toward a particular point in one of the rooms. Janus gaped as he watched the codes move faster and faster. "No way..." he said in disbelief.

Anubis heard Janus' muttering and turned to check his comrade. "What's wrong?"

Janus blinked back to reality. "Get down!" he yelled, crouching to cover himself. Anubis chose not to ask questions and followed.

Sure enough, the room exploded with a thunderous bang, the force being enough for almost all the glass windows on the building to shatter. Glass and other debris rained down on the two redpills, but thanks to Janus they had anticipated it just in time, and neither was injured.

No more than moments later, Janus' phone rang again. The ex-detective couldn't help but think of a few curse words when he answered. "Let me guess, it was rigged?"

"Yes, but don't ask me how. I only set that exit up a few minutes ago. There should have been no way to trace it, much less booby trap it." Glitch said defensively. "Good thing I ran that security check, didn't I?" he smirked on his end. He left out the part where it was his program that set off the trap.

"Yeah yeah..." Janus was about to say some other words when suddenly Anubis jumped at him.

"Watch it!" Anubis yelled, pushing Janus to the ground. Right at that moment, a rocket propelled grenade shot over them and hit the lobby of the building, obliterating it and again raining on the two with debris. They both looked up to see Blackwoods vehicles driving down the road and moving toward them, all loaded with armed exiles.

Simultaneously, both jumped back into the XLR. "Do you have another exit ready or what!!?" Janus yelled as Anubis got the engine back up. Another RPG was shot at them, but Anubis managed to get the car moving and narrowly dodged it, leaving it to hit the apartment building.

----

"Tabor Plaza, Apartment B, Room 213!" Glitch said, typing commands as he talked. "Take the Weaving Bridge and you'll go straight in."

"Tabor Park's right next to Mara! Why didn't you set it there before!?" Janus yelled.

"Because I wanted to give you room to ward off your pursuit, and I'm doing just that now!" Glitch explained hurriedly. "Bite my *CENSORED* of later, just get out of there!"

"No need to tell us twice." Janus said before signing off.

Glitch rubbed his forehead as he watched the chase started anew. "Just what the hell is going on..." he moaned to his crewmates. "First the Resistance, then the Agent and now the exiles. It's like something out there's blinding us."

"Do you think we're being jammed?" Solitaire asked.

"We would know if we were being jammed. It's more like something is keeping us in the dark about what's going in there." Blade muttered.

"And then there's the exit trap, which was definitely not a coincidence." Irvine rubbed his chin. Can't blame Janus for being pissed, I know would be too. "Diagnostics?"

"I ran checks before we left Zion, everything checked out." Glitch said.

"And if there was something wrong, how could the shipyard programmers have missed it?" Marley wondered.

Irvine shrugged. "Yeah. Let's just concentrate on getting them... out..." his voiced turned to a mutter as his eye caught something. "Glitch..." he said.

Immediately everyone noticed what their Captain did, and the atmosphere in the room grew colder. "No *CENSORED* way!" Blade yelled, mirroring everyone's thoughts.

"Call them!" Irvine ordered.

Glitch started dialing even before Irvine gave the order. However, before any rings could make it, a message flashed across one of his monitors. ‘NO SIGNAL'. Glitch tried a few more times, disbelieving what he was seeing. Each time he did, the same message came up. "I can't reach them!" he slammed his hands on the keyboard in frustration.

"Then there's no way to warn them..." Solitaire said, horrified.

Irvine could only stay silent.

----

Janus was burning with rage and irritation now. It was bad enough that they had to go through yet another car chase, as if one was not enough, and even worse that they had to drive all the way back to the other end of the river where they were before, but to top it off, no he didn't have a gun. All he could do was stand up and deflect as many bullets as he could from hitting their car. At the very least he tried to redirect a few back at their pursuers, which especially came handy when they tried shooting more RPGs at them. But still, it was repetitive and Janus was already tired from the first chase. "Please tell me you have something on you!" Janus yelled to Anubis.

"If I did I would have given it to you by now!" Anubis yelled back, also feeling irritated that he had to weave through traffic again. Technically he still had his katana tucked next to him, but what good is that in a high speed chase? He ducked his head to avoid a stray bullet burst.

At that point, Janus got up in his seat so that he could better deflect the oncoming projectiles. When he did, he noticed something he didn't before tucked away in the backseat: a suitcase. Was that there before? He wondered. Then again he never took the time to look back before. Curious, he reached back and grabbed hold of the the case while still deflecting fire from himself and started to open it.

"What's that?" Anubis noticed from the corner of his eye.

"No idea, it was just sitting back there!" Janus said over the gunfire, opening it. "Holy *poop*..."

Anubis looked back to see what Janus meant, and despite his character, even his eyes widened in surprise. Laying in the case was a Robinson Armaments M96 Recon Carbine, stock folded, with an A-G36 grenade launcher attached under the barrel. As well, laying just under was a belt that contained magazines and four grenades.

Janus looked back at Anubis in bewilderment. Obviously it wasn't something he was expecting. "Whose car is this anyway!?" he yelled over more incoming fire.

Anubis again flinched when another bullet came close to hitting him. "Who knows? Shut up and shoot back!" he yelled at Janus.

After taking the gun out and slapping in a magazine, which held 5.56 mm NATO, and putting a grenade into the launcher, Janus set the gun to full auto, swung up, and returned fire. He sprayed the oncoming vehicles with bullets, hitting exiles and vehicles alike. The initial spray even managed to make one humvee flip over. But in response to this, one of the cars drove up closer, with an exile bringing up an RPG-7.

I've got to say it... Janus thought as the exile prepared to fire. Then with a swift motion, Janus took aim at the car with the RPG carrier. "Say hello to my little friend!" he yelled as loud as he could, lobbing a grenade off. A moment later, the car exploded in massive flames.

However even that did not stop the pursuers, as they continued to hound the pair. Janus traded machinegun fire with them further, then managing to load another grenade in and firing it off, taking out a Chevy pick up truck. Shortly after, Janus reloaded and shot another grenade off, one that actually divided one of the pursuing cars into two parts due to the resulting explosion.

By now they had made their way from Maribeau and had entered the Chelsea district, where Weaving Bridge was not too far off. Anubis made another tight turn as Janus continued to trade fire with the assault rifle, proceeding south. A few turns away, Anubis saw the bridge straight ahead. "We're almost there; I'm going to gun it!" he yelled.

"Hold on!" Janus called back. A second later, he fired his last grenade and took out another humvee in a fiery explosion, one that seemed to disintegrate the entire vehicle. That finished, Janus sat back down in his seat and buckled. "Alright, go!"

The XLR sped off down the road and onto the bridge, back towards the Richland area. With two more truckloads of exiles in their pursuit, Janus switched the M96's firing setting to three-shot burst mode and took a little more time to aim, as to make sure his shots hit with better accuracy. Eight, nine, ten, he thought to himself, as he first picked off the two gunners in a specific truck and then the driver, causing it to off-road into a nearby store-front. Along with a few cars and trucks full exiles from the Pit Vipers and Daggers gangs that caught on when the chase had moved through their turf in the Historic District and Maribeau, respectively, there were still a handful of police squad cars, chasing both the redpills and the exile gang members that were creating a path of destruction throughout the city.

"How we doing back there?" Anubis yelled over the gunfire.

"One down, few to--" was all Janus managed to say. Before he could say "go," two cops in one of the squad cars starting convulsing out of nowhere, and it appeared as though something had changed about them. His eyebrows wrinkling in confusion, the prodigal redpill threw off his sunglasses in order to make sure he was seeing correct. He snorted a puff of air out through his nose when he was sure of what he saw. This guys come right off a supply line don't they?

Anubis, having heard Janus' gunfire stop, grew concerned. "What's the matter?" he yelled over the roar of the engine.

"More Agents," Janus answered. "Two of them."

Anubis rolled his eyes in frustration. Today they couldn't catch a break. "You're not gonna carpool with them again are you?"

Janus switched the gun back into full-auto again. "No, just drive," he said, and began firing a volley of suppressing fire toward the cars chasing them, hoping the random grouping of shots would slow them down. To his surprise, the Agent in the squad car's passenger seat was gunning for the exiles along with the cops, carrying out the function he was programmed for, and blending in. With a few well placed shots of his Desert Eagle, he hit one truck's gas tank and caused it to explode, going up end-over-end in the air and crashing back down on the street on it's roof.

"One exile group eliminated," Agent Taylor confirmed.

"The primary targets are the redpills," Agent Park said as he swerved the car around the flaming wreck in the middle of the street. The other squad cars did the same, except for one that had come to a screeching halt right before crashing into the wreck. Once the other cars had passed, the driver moved around it and joined them.

Agent Taylor brought his hand up to his earpiece so he could hear the incoming message. "The bridge.." he began to say, but Park cut him off.

"I know. They'll be terminated before we get there."

As he drove across the bridge at full speed, Anubis had a double take at what he saw up ahead. He yelled out in a panic.

"Janus!"

The sound of panic in Anubis' voice immediately caught Janus' attention, so much that he actually turned around to see what was wrong. But before Anubis could tell him what the problem was, Janus didn't even have to ask because he could see for himself. Up ahead, the bridge was incomplete, only crossing the aqueduct half the distance back towards Richland. As his eyes widened, realizing there was no way out, he felt a wave of fear overcome him.

"Why the *CENSORED* didn't Glitch warn us about this!?" Anubis yelled.

Janus pulled out his phone and snapped open the face shield. "NO SERVICE" blinked on the screen. Annoyed, he tossed the phone away and it landed in the street, breaking into pieces.

"No service!" Janus yelled, as he fired another burst of rounds at the cars chasing them, this time with a sense of futility.

"They can't even get that right in a computer program?" Anubis muttered in anger and disbelief, feeling for the first time animosity towards the minute details of how real the Matrix acted despite it's falseness. "Well if you've got any tricks up your sleeve, you better come up with something quick," he yelled to Janus.

Tricks up my sleeve? Janus wondered. Suddenly, as if having an epiphany, Janus thought back to the cryptic advice he'd received from The Oracle just before this whole mess had started. The words echoed in his mind: "It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, or that hard to fall? Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall... you fly. My point is, only you can know what's going to happen. And when the time to choose comes only you can decide, whether or not you'll be the one others need... because deep down, you'll know"

The realization of how her words applied to the situation surprised him, and he nodded his head. "She was right, *CENSORED* fortune teller," he thought to himself. He understood what she meant; Now was the time to make the choice, but in truth, he had already made the choice. Deep down, he knew this, and now, he believed.

"Anubis, speed up." Janus told him. That odd omniscient tone of voice had come back, and when Anubis heard it, he knew Janus had a plan. But driving faster towards their impending doom wasn't something he was expecting.

"Speed up?! Are you crazy?"

"No. I'm The One."

That hit Anubis far out from left field. Janus' words hung in the air; With all the lore and legend surrounding this title, it was the only way he could make sense to describe what was happening to Janus lately. Still, it was the last thing he expected to hear. Without question, the ex-hitman put the pedal to the floor - If Janus was so sure of himself to make that declaration, then the only thing Anubis could do was to trust him.

----

(Chapter 5 concluded)

"They're going faster!" Sparks said out loud, as the Nabondinus' crew huddled around the Operator consoles to watch the screens. Then the phone rang, much to everyone's surprise. Who could be calling them?

Link picked up on the receiver, turning his headset on. "Operator," he answered. The others could hear a screaming voice on the headset form the other end of the line, causing Link to cringe. Right away, he took the headset off and handed it off to Morpheus.

"Irvine wants to talk to you, Sir."

Arching a brow, Morpheus took the headset and put it on. "I know, I'm watching it too," he started.

"What the hell did you say to Janus? They're gonna get themselves killed!" Irvine said as loud as he could without risking a possible Sentinel patrol hearing him and zeroing in on the ship.

"I didn't say anything, you were right there with me. The Oracle..."

"Hey, Morpheus, look at this," Gizmo said. Morpheus glanced over at the screen and saw a random burst of white code flare up on the screen.

----

Agent Park had handed his Desert Eagle over to Agent Taylor so that he could shoot while Park focused on driving. Between the final remaining car of Blackwoods shooting at the Jaguar, and the two redpills speeding up toward the end of the bridge ahead, things were getting hectic for the two enforcer programs. Park spun the wheel and slammed into the truck of exiles next to them, so hard that the driver lost control and ended up slamming into a telephone pole, putting them out of the race.

Janus had climbed into the front seat by now, and was watching the road rage as it happened behind them. Still, the Agents in their squad car along with the rest pursued them, as well as exiles from local gangs. He glanced ahead to see how much distance was left, and estimated they had about 30 feet until the end of the bridge. At their speed, they'd be off into the water in seconds.

"Anubis," he said calmly, and got a tight grip with his hand on the collar of Anubis' jacket. Anubis glanced over, trying to figure out what Janus was going to do, and Janus accepted this as Anubis' way of saying "What?"

"Hold on."

They continued to speed toward the gap in the bridge. Janus kept his eyes on the Jaguar as he waited for the right moment.

"Janus!" Anubis yelled. Right at that moment, when the Agents had too little distance to come to a complete stop, Janus jumped up out of the car and soared up into the air with Anubis clutching onto him desperately, a spectacle that distracted both Agents from the road ahead. Before they could get back on track, their squad car went right off the bridge and fell down on an arc, crashing into one of the bridge supports on the way down and exploding into fire before splashing down into the water. Two more squad cars fell off into the water as well, while the others had come to a screeching halt.

"That's impossible," one of the cops managed to mutter as he watched the renegade terrorists escape from their convertable, as it fell down into the water with the other cars.

Janus soared up into the sky with the grace of an angel, with a fist raised up in the air as though he were a superhero. No longer was he conflicted with clashing feelings of confusion and omniscience. Now, only his extreme sense of awareness and self-actualized identity of who and what he was remained in its place. He twisted in the air as he flew, as free as a bird, while Anubis hung onto him for dear life. While he wasn't afraid of heights and was plenty used to hyper-jumps, this was something he'd have never prepared himself for.

Unbelievable, Anubis thought to himself.

----

No words were spoken amongst Irvine's crew, as they all silently watched, shocked, as Janus had pulled off a move that no one saw or would have expected anyone to even try since the days of Neo. In his taking to the skies and saving both he and Anubis' life, Janus had brought up in them so many questions of how he did it. Even though Janus was destroying and then reinventing thier definition of what was impossible, none of them dared suspect a certain possibility. It seemed just as impossible as Janus' act.

Right off the bat, Irvine knew this wasn't something he'd have to verify with Morpheus. For all the Nemesis' captain knew, the Matrix Corps General was collecting his thoughts and piecing all of this together and how it would effect the future of Zion, and more importantly, which direction it would go in the war. While thoughts like these ran across their minds, Irvine knew that at least two, if not every ship capable, once again had witnessed a supernatural feat by Janus, and watched him as he flew from the site of the bridge gap all the way to Tabor Park, where Glitch had established the exit for the two of them. And despite all the factors, Irvine himself was beginning to believe...

----

Just the same as the crews onboard the Nabodinus and Nemesis, so too was the crew of the Nosferatu crowded around the monitor, having never stopped watching the turn of events once Balthasar had gotten involved. Now however, Balthasar was also with them, having joined them once he got out of the Matrix to watch as Janus come to his end. Unfortunately for him, his wishes would go unanswered, for what he saw was something so much more.

"What does that mean...?" Sideways asked in honest confusion. "How'd he do that?"

"I don't know," Blood told him. "This Janus character... He's a lot more than what we took him for. Perhaps even more than that."

Sonia and Leon looked at him like children listening as the parent described a situation they didn't understand.

"Could he be--" Sonia began to ask.

"No! It doesn't mean anything!" Balthasar yelled, breaking the quiet brought on by the crew's surprised state. "There's no way in hell he could be like Neo. He's dead, and Janus is a nobody!"

"That's exactly the point," Nitro said. "Neo's dead. He can't come back. But Janus, he's a different story."

"I refuse to believe this! Just because he pulled off a stunt like that? No! I've pulled off things people thought were impossible."

"Balthasar, after seeing that, you can't really deny he's special," Blood said.

"HE'S NO SAVIOUR OF MINE!" Balthasar screamed. "And if for one second any of you even think so, then you've forgotten why we're here!"

"Balthasar, watch who you're screaming at," Leon warned him.

"Why, am I wrong?"

"No, you're not," Blood told him. "Balthasar's absolutely right. Just because Morpheus has a redpill that can do things like Neo doesn't make it any different. We won't be fooled into believing some gifted soldier is going to be The One's successor, much less a savior to any of us. Now we just have to wait and see what they do next. For now, we've got our own problems to deal with."

----

The next thing they heard was someone taking a deep breath, and they realized that one of the two had come through and successfully exited the Matrix. Marley went over to the chairs and saw that it was Anubis. Right away, he started removed the uplink needle and started undoing the straps and buckles that kept him in the chair. Once he was free, he stood up and stretched, and then closed his eyes and rubbed his head from the exhaustion

Solitaire had come over. "Are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm. He opened his eyes to look for her, and for a second she wasn't sure if she should take her hand back or not, knowing how he wasn't one who liked to be touched. Instead, he just nodded his head and walked along.

"I'm fine," he said. He glanced at her hand on his arm, and into her eyes for a moment, before he looked over at Irvine when he noticed him approaching.

"Where's Janus?" Irvine asked as he walked over.

"Janus should be on his way through as soon as the exit's ready."

Irvine simply turned at looked over at Glitch. "I'm on it," the Operator said, already busy at reconnecting the exit.

After a few seconds, a look of confusion came over his face. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" Irvine asked.

"I lost the connection. Like there was a network error or something," Glitch said, unsure.

----

After Anubis' RSI disappeared from the phone, Janus picked it up and placed it back on the receiver so that Glitch could repatch the exit for him to come through. While he waited, he thought about everything that had happened up to this point. After coming to the level he'd reached, it was almost like being given the redpill, being unplugged, and taught the truth all over again. Normal redpills go through the procedure of learning the truth about their world, and that alone is enough of a surprise. Now however, Janus had gone beyond that, and was slowly learning the truth behind the truth of the Matrix. He figured, that this must have been how Neo felt after coming this far.

Finally, the phone rang. Janus picked it up and brought it up to his ear, but found that he wasn't exiting the Matrix as expected. This confused him for a moment, and he wondered what the problem was.

"Hello, Janus..." said a cold, dark tone on the other end. Janus felt his blood chill at the mere tone of the voice.

"Who is this? How do you know me?" Janus demanded.

"You always were one to ask many questions before they could all be answered. Nevertheless, I do believe I was the entity that let you know the answers were coming. They're here, down the rabbit hole as your friends might say. Are you still interested?"

"...Where are you?"

"Just a stone's throw away. This city sector is named after it."

Before Janus could clarify, there was a *click* on the other end and the line went dead. But Janus knew that whoever it was meant that he was in the actual park itself. He made his way up to the roof, crouched down slightly, and once again flew up into the air, leaving a warped shockwave behind him on the roof surface as he soared through the sky.

Within seconds he could see the park below him, and he zeroed in on the strange presence he was now sensing in the area. The presence was subtle, but it was enough to make him fully alert, even more than that Agent he fought earlier. Once he came down onto the grass on both his feet with a *THUD*, he looked around, scanning the area for the person who had somehow interrupted the exit protocol and sent him a call.

----

"What the hell is he doing, strolling through the park to take in the sights?" Anubis asked as he watched the screens.

"I don't what he's doing, but I gotta get a patch through to that payphone behind him before anything else gets weird," Glitch asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Look here," Glitch said. The scrolling code froze in place, focusing on a single katakana character, and a square of brighter green code opened from it to a reveal a different screen of code. "The code looks normal, but it's behaving weird. The area near Janus, or something near him at least, is screwing with the code where he's located."

"Hmm. Better get to work on that exit then," Anubis said. "I've had enough adventures in the Matrix today."

----

"Quite the entrance," someone said behind him in a sly, yet intimidating voice. He identified the voice as the same one on the phone he'd heard just a few moments ago as he turned to face this man.

There standing before him, he saw a man who looked to be in his 70s, late middle-aged and with few wrinkles in his face. His hair was a faded gray, and he had a stern, serious look on his face, save for the slight smile that developed as Janus took sight of him, the kind of smile devils made when they had deals to be made. He wore a black leather trenchcoat that was buttoned up to his chest, where it divided off to partially reveal a dark purple dress shirt underneath. His hands were covered in black gloves, and under his right hand was a silver cane that was sculpted with the faces of angels and demons at its base, all coming up to form a skull of sorts at the top. It seemed the cane spoke more about this man than his well dressed and stylish appearance did.

"You're the one that called me," Janus said to him.

"Yes, I did call you, but to avoid confusion, you are The One, not I," this man said in semantic fashion that Janus would have rolled his eyes at had he not been more focused on finding out what this person's story is.

Before asking how he would know anything about The One, or even what his name was, Janus blinked into code vision to look and make sure whether or not this was a bluepill he was dealing with. As he read the man's code, it became clear that he wasn't human; rather, he read like a program. But there was something about his code that didn't seem standard with other programs, something Janus couldn't quite explain.

"Like what you see?" the man said, smirk growing obnoxiously. With a frown, Janus returned to his normal vision.

"Who are you?"

"You don't need my name. What you need is answers to your questions; answers that I alone possess and that's all that matters. I suggest you listen closely."

Janus arched a brow. "I'm all ears." He said, some of his old detective attitude bleeding through again. He could never pass up a good informant.

"We'll keep things simple. You already know what you are, and you have a pretty good idea of the kinds of things you're capable of. However, what you don't know is you're unique Janus. Quite different from anyone like you in the past."

"You mean Neo?"

"Yes, Neo. And those before him."

"What do you mean...?" Janus started to ask. The Old Man merely raised his left hand up as if to tell him to be quiet.

"You've know of the Prophecy, yes?"

It took a moment for Janus to recall what he meant, but then he remembered what Irvine told him during his initial training. "Yes. What about it?"

"Obviously, it has never been fulfilled. Do you want to know why Janus?" the Old Man asked, as if he were dangling the question over Janus' face.

"Enlighten me." Janus replied flippantly.

"Simple. Because your predecessors were all, in the end, deceived."

Janus arched an eyebrow. "By who?"

The Old Man laughed as if that were a foolish question. "By who else? The Machines. Those who are in control of this system." He looked Janus directly in the eyes. "But do not falter and be tricked by their lies Janus. To them The One is a system of its own, which they will undoubtedly use against you to keep the Matrix alive.

"Keep the Matrix alive? Janus thought confusingly. Wasn't the purpose of the One to end the Matrix in the first place?

"What are you talking about?"

The Old Man dismissed that question and continued. "You must use the powers available to you to overcome whatever obstacle they place to hinder you. Yes, become more powerful than anyone before you who's ever been called The One. The Machines are no match for you, and you must make them know that you will not be a pawn in their game."

Janus understood what he was being told, and thought it was a little redundant. Still, he couldn't figure out the Old Man's motive. "Why are you telling me this? I don't suppose you're one of my ‘worshippers'."

The Old Man smiled once again, and in a rather patronizing tone, he spoke. "So intriguing. Even after all you've gone through today, you still hold your sense of humor." He then tapped his cane. "As for why I'm telling you this, what does it matter now? You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth after all." The payphone behind Janus began to ring. With a nod of his head, the Old Man motioned over to the phone behind Janus. "I believe that's for you," he said.

Janus turned around and saw the pay phone there. When he turned again to look at the Old Man, he was gone. Janus quickly looked around in all directions to see where he might have went, both in normal and code visions, yet he was nowhere to be found.

"We will meet again..." a voice entered his head saying. He looked into the sky, but there was nothing there but clouds.

He looked back to the phone, and nodded, knowing what the Old Man meant. It was time to let the Machines in this war know who he was and what he was bringing to the table. He walked over and picked it up off the hook. His RSI broke up into fragments and disappeared as he exited the Matrix.

----

The familiar sound of a ringing phone was met with the *click* of the call being picked up on the other end. For a brief moment, no words were spoken.

"...Can you hear me now?" he started, laughing a little. "Heh, of course you can. You know who I am, and I know who you are. I know that you're out there, looking all over the place trying to find me. I can feel it. I can sense your fear and uncertainty, because you know I'm different.

You can't control me, because I'm not a part of your recurring cycles of control or your lies. Don't feel bad; if humans fear the unknown, then so do you. I'm going to tell you who I am. I'm not your friend. I'm something beyond your comprehension. In the Matrix, I am everything.

You know me as The One. Leave aside all other words. I can free you, or I can destroy you. Things can't continue without change, or both of our races will cease to be. Follow me, and I can lead you to that change. From delusion, I can lead you to truth. From darkness, I can lead you to light. From death, I can lead you to immortality."

Janus stopped for a moment, letting the words sink in. "I know what you're thinking. When I was a battery, I didn't give a *CENSORED*. As long as I had love and a purpose in my life, I was content. But because of you, I know what's important now. I know what I need to do. And I will see it through, whether you follow me or not. The choice is yours to make. Choose wisely."

*click*

----

Despite all the conflict that had overtaken the city in the past year, the bluepills of Mega City still knew how to get out at night and have a good time. The streetlights were lit, and people walked the sidewalks or drove down the streets, holding true to the notion that the city never slept. Janus found this ironic, seeing that contrary to their awareness, 99% of all people connected to the Matrix were unaware that they truly were asleep.

Perched high above on a skyscraper, Janus could see the happenings of what was going on down below as if he were there. His ponytail, which ran down to the middle of his back, picked up in a breeze and wavered in the wind. He could hear the pounding beat of trance music booming in a nearby club and it's almost hypnotic lyrics sang by a female vocalist. He could see as bluepills that lived the nightlife formed up in groups of friends, happy to see each other, knowingly going out to have a good time to forget the violent and deadly occurances that happened in the city.

Janus sighed to himself. These were the people he was supposed to free from their slavery of a dream they obliviously walked through every day of their lives. These were the people Zion was supposed to protect from harm, and liberate from their shackles, and as The One, he was to lead the way. Instead, all that had happened was the exact opposite. Since his awakening, conflict with the Resistance inside the Matrix had nearly boiled over into an all out war inside the Matrix, endangering the lives of millions. The sad part about it was, they were at a stalemate.

Both the Matrix Corps and the Resistance had lost soldiers and were constantly replacing them to cover their losses, which brought a question to mind: Were both sides freeing more and more bluepills with their best interests and the mission of liberating them in mind, or were they merely bringing in more resources so that they could continue fighting each other? Janus didn't know the answer right now, but he knew that it didn't matter at this point. There had been so much fighting in the past twelve months, against both the Resistance and the Machines, and including the Cypherite rebellion, that it served as a reminder: This was a war that had to be fought, and soldiers were in constant supply.

No one went uneffected by the war's recent developments, not even Janus. His sunglasses did little to cover the scar on his race that ran over his right eye from his forehead and down to his cheek, the trace of an injury not sustained during battle inside the Matrix, but rather from the razor sharp claw of a sentinel that had nearly taken his life in the real world, and carried over onto his residual self image inside the simulation. It was an encounter that hardened him to a point where even Anubis noticed it.

Deciding he'd had enough of playing Batman up on the skyscraper, Janus lept off the edge of the building and took flight throughout the city, making sure to stay high enough above the streetlights so that he'd be nearly impossible to see as he twisted and winded past the skyscrapers while following the streets. He flew with grace, rolling and turning in the air as he made his way around. As relaxing and soothing of an activity this was, it wasn't enough to fully put the thought from Janus' mind. He could still feel the increased tension throughout the Matrix, almost as if the system itself was crying out for solution. At this height, a normal person wouldn't be able hear a thing -- but Janus could hear everything.

By now he figured it was time to call it a night. As he flew far above the skyscrapers as to make sure the sonic boom left in his wake wouldn't destroy any building fronts, he silhouetted against the moon, shining bright and full in the night sky. When he was clear, he blasted off at his full speed. A *BOOM* sounded off behind him as he broke past the system standard for the sound barrier, yet any of the bluepills below that heard it would merely wave it off as thunder.

After reaching the desired altitude, Janus took one last look at the city below - a beautiful fesitval of lights in the dark that stretched as far as the eye could see. As he took the sight in, he remembered, one day it would all be gone. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and soon felt the air pressure change around him. When he opened his eyes, he stood before the payphone he'd previously selected as his exit before he jacked in.

He lifted his arm to see his watch, and as the clock struck 2:30, the phone began to ring, right on time. He picked the phone up off the receiver, and held it to his ear. In a matter of seconds, his RSI disappeared as he exited the Matrix.

----

When Janus opened his eyes, the ship was quiet. The sounds of voices in conversation, and of tools being put to work all around each deck, and of the engines humming as the hover pads buzzed, were all absent from his ears. Right now, the ship was parked and shut down, hidden in the tunnels while the rest of the crew slept. It was Janus' turn for the fire watch shift that rotated throughout the night, so he didn't expect anyone else to be awake.

As he pulled the jack needle from the port in his skull, he winced at the feeling, his left eye closing slightly along with his right, which was concealed behind the black eyepatch he wore to cover his injury. Once he was free from the chair, he replaced the needle onto the rack next to the chair, and ran a hand through his long, just-past-shoulder length black hair that he'd cut into a layered fashion to keep the most of it out of his face. While he had only a year's worth of hair growth in the real world, his hair in the Matrix was twice as long since it was already grown out when he was unplugged.

He exhaled a puff of air, exhausted, and noted how chilly the air temperature seemed when the clothing he had was a black tank top along with his dark blue cargo pants and black boots. Quietly, he made his way over to the Operator's consoles and was surprised to find Anubis sitting there, typing away and doing routine checks while also watching the Matrix.

"How's it going?" Anubis asked, having heard his approach, but never taking his eyes off the screens.

"How long have you been here?" Janus asked.

"Probably the whole time you were plugged in for, seeing that you programmed the exit and had yourself plugged in and ready to go right when your shift was about to end, save for maybe two or three minutes of time in between."

Janus nodded. "Makes sense. I wouldn't have went in during my shift -- that's a stupid way to risk everyone's life considering the circumstances. Were you watching me?"

"For a bit, since there was no other way to amuse myself than watch you do things the rest of us can only dream of. What were you doing in there anyway?"

"Just thinking. Trying to sort out my thoughts, and figure out what's going on."

"In the Matrix?"

"Something doesn't feel right."

Anubis turned, and arched a brow. While he wasn't near the skill level of Glitch when it came to this kind of stuff, he didn't recall seeing or hearing anything about strange code other than the usual exile activity. Janus caught his facial expression, and merely shook his head as he started off for his quarters.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to sleep."

Anubis watched as Janus climbed down the ladder until he was out of sight, and still looked in that direction for a few seconds. He thought to himself, that if Janus felt like something wasn't right in the Matrix, it was probably something an operator wouldn't be able to detect until it got worse. He glanced at the code display monitors and wondered what could have been troubling Janus, before reassuring himself that he was probably fatigued like everyone else would get from time to time, and that some rest would do the trick. However, he knew in his subconscious that this was just his mind's way of preventing itself from getting stressed, and hoped that whatever it was Janus picked up on, it wasn't anything too serious.

----

When he reached the hatch of his quarters, Janus turned the latch and opened it as quietly as he could as he stepped in, and then closed it behind him just as carefully. However, when he turned and looked down at his bed, his gaze was met by the tired, weary eyes of the dark haired woman laying there, dressed in one of Janus' long sleeved shirts that fit her loosely, while the rest of her body was under the covers.

"Janus..?" she asked, half asleep. "Is everything alright?"

"It's just me Camese, go back to sleep," he said as he kicked off his boots.

Contrary to his command however, she propped herself up on her elbows and blinked a few times as she focused on him. She could see the look on his face that said his mind was elsewhere. "What's the matter?"

"Everything," he said in a voice of tired contempt as he pulled his shirt off, revealing scars of battle on his muscular body. He layed down in bed next to Camese and pulled her close up against him into his arms so that they could share each other's body heat. "Everything and nothing," he said in a whisper.

"Your job's hard enough," she said to him as they both began to doze into sleep. "Let everyone else do theirs..."

He answered with a grunt as if to agree, but in his mind it was the exact opposite. If it was only that easy, he repeated in his thoughts, before finally falling asleep.

----

(Chapter 6 concluded) 

Location Hidden

The Matrix

Time and Date Unapplicable

Instead of the staircase leading back up to the bar they'd entered through, the ceiling was high and the floors were wide. There were pillars of greek design and all surfaces were made of polished marble. A scene of heaven-like beauty held before them.

"Wh-what happened?" Janus asked.

"This is the temple. It's part of Zion's mainframe. It's hidden inside the Matrix so that we can access it," Morpheus explained.

Janus nodded his head. "Close to home," he remarked, understanding Morpheus' earlier explanation.

"Yes," Morpheus said with smug smile.

"Why?" Janus asked as they walked, his head on a constant swivel as he took in the detail and awe of the temple around him.

Seraph and Morpheus exchanged looks and nodded in a secretive fashion, as if they were silently agreeing on a correct response. Janus took note of this, but remained quiet as if he hadn't noticed.

"The Oracle would be in a constant state of danger, were she to remain in any location inside the city itself, so she was relocated here to ensure her safety," Seraph answered.

"Because it's the last place the Machines would think to look," Janus concluded.

"Exactly," Morpheus responded.

When they reached the antechamber, two Priestesses stood there in wait, adorned in flowing robes made of several layers of a lightweight, partially transparent pastel pink fabric, which constrasted against their skin, a light shade of brown. They weren't twins, as one could tell by their differently styled hair, one with a head full of thin braids falling down over her shoulders, and the other with a head full of similar braids only tied in a high ponytail.

"Welcome," they said with a smile. They looked upon Seraph and Morpheus with familiar eyes, as if recognizing old friends.

"It's good to see you again Morpheus," the Priestess on the right said. Morpheus nodded with a smile. "Likewise."

"And nice to finally meet you, Janus," the Priestess on the left said. The One raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses at the mention of his name by a stranger, something he reminded himself he should probably get used to. "The pleasure's mine," he said frankly.

"We are here to see The Oracle," Seraph told them. They smiled, and then nodded.

"Of course. Go as you please," they said, and stepped aside to allow the trio to continue on to their destination. They entered an ornate shrine, and walked along a path of zodiac symbols that led to a marble staircase that rose to a dais and a three-legged throne.

The throne, Janus noticed, was empty. Yet the others seemed to not notice or care, as they continued walking. As they ascended the staircase, Janus caught wind of a familiar smell. It was warm, and sweet. Cookies?

At the top of the stairs, the empty throne sat between two pillars. Janus looked to Morpheus, waiting to see what the next step of this weird journey was, while staying focused on the smell.

"Temet Nosce," Morpheus said out loud as if to say a password. Suddenly, there was a slight rumble, and the throne descended slowly into the floor under it, as if a chamber had opened. As it lowered into the floor, Janus could see that behind it was a hidden door. Taking the initiative, he stepped forward.

"You can only show me the door, right?" he asked rhetorically as he stepped ahead of the other two. Morpheus smiled as Janus got a grip on the doorknob, twisted, and pushed-- only to be met by an intensely bright light. Janus turned his head away slightly and raised his free hand in front of his face.

----

Zion Mainframe

The Matrix

Time and Date Unapplicable

When his sight returned, Janus looked around to take in his surroundings and place himself. The warm sweet smell filled his nose again, and he recognized the tan colored rug, and the long pink couch. To his surprise, the three now stood within the Oracle's apartment.

"What the hell?" he said to himself.

"I figured you'd be a little surprised," The Oracle said, as she walked out from the kitchen, drying her hands with a dish towel.

"What about that temple?" Janus asked in confusion.

"It's not my style, I like my old place. Of course, this isn't the same old place, but it was built to look just like it, which works well enough for me."

"Hm." Janus looked over at Morpheus, who merely shrugged nonchalantly.

"Anyway Janus, we're a bit pressed for time. You're probably wondering why I've asked you here, so we'll get to brass tacks and cut to the chase," The Oracle said. Janus noted the change in tone of her voice from friendly to serious, and nodded. She motioned over to the living room.

"You two have a seat," she told them, and then turned to Seraph. "Thanks for retrieving them, Seraph."

The guardian bowed his head, and left to another area of the apartment. The Oracle returned to the living room and took a seat on the sofa, setting her gaze on Janus.

"Now, as I was saying. We need your help, Janus."

Morpheus and Janus exchanged looks before Janus looked back to The Oracle.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Everything," she said solemnly, lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag. "There are problems all over the place. Haven't you noticed?"

"The fighting? I've been in the thick of it for the past year, how could I not notice it?"

"No Janus, the fighting between Zion and the Resistance is only on the surface, what I'm talking about goes deeper than that."

Morpheus leaned forward in his armchair, having taken great interest in the subject.

"Our Operators have been noting some strange code fluctuations every so often, but other than that we haven't noticed anything that would cause any alarm. Is that what you mean?" he asked.

The Oracle nodded as she took another drag from her cigarette and moved to tap it in the ash tray. "The glitches are just the tip of the ice berg, and they've been occuring throughout the Matrix all over the place. Sati's even having trouble controlling the weather stability. But you might expect something like that to happen and be squared away with a simple patch."

"Things have been happening that shouldn't be. The system is growing unstable.Old, dangerous programs that were replaced and sent to the Source for deletion because of their unstable coding have been reappearing within the system, contributing to the instability at an increasing rate. On top of that, newer programs that have showed no signs of error have been going rogue, several of them important to the system even disappearing. We haven't seen infection this vast since the early stages of the Smith Virus..."

"Another virus in the system?" Morpheus asked.

"Perhaps."

"I've felt it," Janus told her.

"Yes, I know you have." 

"How did it happen?" Janus asked, his eyebrows wrinkled in concern at this point. Now, he figured, an explanation of this disturbance he'd sensed was in order.

"That's the problem, we don't know. The Machines haven't been able to figure it out. The best system administration programs have been backed up for weeks trying to get a handle on it, to no avail. When it seems as if they have one problem figured out, it turns out to be something else entirely. That's why I've called you here for help."

"You just told me the programs that run this world can't figure out how to fix it, and you expect me to find a solution?" Janus asked. "Why me?"

"You know why, Janus, there's no need to ask yourself such an obvious question."

Janus rolled his eyes and nodded his head at once as he realized what she meant.

"Right. Because I'm The One."

"You sure are a bright one," The Oracle said with a smile that soon faded. "This is serious, gentlemen. I called you here to ask the two of you not to find a solution, but to put your resources together and find the source of the problem."

She turned her eyes to Morpheus. "You've proven how capable you are when it comes to figuring out riddles and finding all the pieces to a puzzle. That was a long time ago."

"Yes," Morpheus said in agreement, remembering the mission to find The Keymaker and deliver Neo to the Source, and the more recent adventures of saving innocent bluepills from danger. "Much has changed. We know more about what we're dealing with. We know... the truth. It makes our jobs that much easier. With the millions of lives hanging in balance, this will become a top priority for us."

The Oracle smiled once again, putting her cigarette out. "That's why I knew I could depend on you."

"Once we get back I'll contact Irvine and we'll put together a task force."

"Wait a second," Janus said. "We're gonna need some more information before we get on this, or else we won't know where to start."

"I see there's still some detective left in you, Janus." The Oracle said fondly. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid there's not much more you'll be able to learn from me on the matter. I just had to let you know. You'll have to go to the expert if you need anymore details."

"Who would that be?"

"The Architect."

Janus nodded. "Where can I find him?"

"He's been wanting to speak with you, so he won't be hard to locate. You'll probably find him in a park somewhere."

Janus turned to Morpheus. "We'd better get moving."

The Oracle raised a hand to halt them before they raised from their seats. "Wait just a moment, boys. There's something else. A second matter of equal importance."

"What is it?" Morpheus asked. Janus payed attention silently.

"A long time ago, there were some very clever people. They call themselves Shapers. As their name would imply, they helped shaped the framework of the Matrix and many different programs operating within it. They're still around but you can't really see them unless they want to be seen. That's their nature."

"What about them?" Janus asked.

The Oracle took a moment and swallowed. "Two of them have been captured. I don't know who did it or how they did it, but if the Shapers aren't recovered, terrible things could start to occur."

"Like what?

"You don't want to know. That way leads to a scary place... One that even I can't see beyond. Do you understand?"

A moment of silence passed as the two redpills registered what she'd just told them. A distinct sense of urgency hung in the air.

"Yes," Morpheus said. The vitality of the matter was clear to him. He'd need to prepare a detailed briefing the moment he returned to the Nabonidus.

This isn't a normal way for The Oracle to behave, Janus thought to himself. In all their handling of situations, she'd never seemed so concerned or uncertain of an outcome.

"Whatever it takes," he said assuredly, his voice bold with confidnce and resolve. "We'll track down the Shapers, and I'll find out the cause for all these malfunctions."

For a moment, The Oracle looked at Janus like a concerned mother, worried about the safety of her child.

"I know," she said.

For a moment there was a strange silence as both Janus and Morpheus looked upon The Oracle, each pondering her last remark. Before either man could question her, she spoke again.

"There's precious little time now, and no more left for questions. You two should be on your way. Seraph will see you out."

Morpheus nodded, and he rose from his seat as Janus did. "Keep in touch," Morpheus told her. One could never go to the Oracle at will-- she was always the one to decide when it was time to talk. This was a fact Morpheus had known since he was a young child in Zion.

"Good luck," she said from the sofa as she watched them stand.

Janus gave a final bow-like nod of his head, and the next thing he knew he was following Seraph and Morpheus out into the hallway. Seraph removed his keyring from his sleeve, selected a specific key that he then inserted into the door knob. With a twist of the key, he pushed the door open.

----

The Matrix

Gracy Heights

April 2005, 12:21PM

As they walked through the door, they'd entered a back alley, lined with empty brick walls from the surrounding buildings. Every few feet there was a back door and set of steps leading into each different building.

Janus looked around at their new location as he stepped out, acknowledging that it wasn't Debir Court, where The Oracle's apartment was actually located and led out into. He turned around in time to see Morpheus watching Seraph close the door, and realized it was the back door to the very same bar they'd entered earlier.

"You don't have to come with us," Morpheus told Seraph. "We can handle ourselves."

"Consider it a favor," Seraph said. He turned from the door to look over at Morpheus as a way of insisting he come along, walking over to him. When he looked over at Janus, suddenly his whole demeanor changed to one of hostility. It was then that Janus realized it wasn't himself that Seraph was looking at, but something behind him. Then he sensed the change himself. Something other was now present. Something hostile.

Instantly, he spun around into a defensive position, the long skirt of his coat twisting around his legs before settling. By this point, Morpheus and Seraph had assumed fighting stances also.

Three strange men stood before them in a row, blocking their way in the alley.

----

The three men stood at similar heights. They each wore long, black coats that came down to their ankles and resembled robes in their design, including a tall, wide, and stiff cylindrical collar. Gray colored trim lined the collar and front of the coat. There were two square shaped gun-metal colored buttons centered on the chest, and one more of each on the sleeve cuffs.

Under this was an additional robe like article made of lighter fabric, dark purple in color, with a tall wrinkled collar that rose slightly higher than the black stiff collar. This was as far as their uniform appearance went. Each of them wore their own individually styled hair and sunglasses.

The one standing in the middle wore his black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a goatee on his face along with narrow oval shaped frames. And on the left, brown combed back hair and octagonal frames. The last one on the right had dark brown spiked hair with rectangular frames.

Janus quickly looked them over from head to toe, studying their features and evaluating their threat level. In his code vision he could see that they were armed with Jericho 945 "Baby Eagle" pistols chambered for .45ACP.

"Seraph, you're helping humans now?" the man standing in the center said. He grinned, bearing a sinister smile. "The last time we saw you, you were working for The Merovingian after your fall from grace" he finished. The other two snickered at the remark.

"What the hell are these?" Janus asked, keeping his eyes fixed on them.

"Agent programs from an older version of the Matrix. But they were sent to Source for deletion and replaced a long time ago..." Seraph said.

Janus realized that the Ex-Agents standing before him must have somehow escaped and returned as The Oracle had said. She must have been trying to warn us... Janus figured. But why? And then after a tense moment, he understood.

"They're no longer part of the system or bound to its rules," Janus said out loud. "They could be more dangerous than regular Agents."

Having gone toe to toe with Agents in the past and comparing those experiences to the newly perceived threat of the Ex-Agents, Morpheus decided this was a fight he'd be best not to get into. "The door..." he said quietly.

Seraph nodded, and as the two turned to make for the bar's backdoor and Janus took a single step backwards, the three Ex-Agents took out their pistols and fired a hail of bullets at the their prey. However not a single bullet ending up hitting it's mark, or anything for that matter.

To their amazement, the Ex-Agents realized that all of their bullets hung frozen in the air between themselves and Janus, without the redpill having raised a finger. The lead Ex-Agent narrowed his eyes behind his glasses as he suddenly realized what he was dealing with, and with a distant sense of familiarity. One side of his mouth curled up into a twisted smile.

"So then, you must be the anomaly," he said to Janus. "Welcome back."

"Morpheus, get out of here. I'll handle them," Janus called out.

Without hesitation, Morpheus and Seraph turned towards he bar's back door, only to be greeted by the sound of disrupted coding, and two ghostly figures coming out through the brick wall to halt them in their tracks. They solidified into their human form, resuming the familiar appearance of The Merovingian's silver-clad hitmen and bodyguards.

----

Glitch's demeanor went from one of cautious curiosity to emergency. As he began typing entry preparations, he looked over at Anubis and Solitaire, who'd been watching the screens since Janus had gone in, to watch out for any trouble their help might be needed with.

"You two get your gear taken care of, I'll have a hardline ready for you in case Janus can't get them out of there."

"Got it," Anubis said. In seconds, the two of them were over by the chairs selecting their clothing and weapons.

----

"We heard there was a party," the first of the two Twins said.

"So we brought some friends to help us crash it," the other said.

As if on cue, two additional ghost programs rose out of the ground to flank the first two. When they unphased, they too assumed corporeal forms, and grinned mischievously in the same fashion. Interestingly enough though, these two were different. While they still had long coats, silver hair and clothes, and pale white skin, both had individual styles of clothing and physical appearances that were not the same as the others.

Morpheus' forehead creased as confusion came over him. Last he remembered, there were only two of these. Somehow, he rationalized, either more exiled ghost programs had found a way to return to the Matrix, or something worse... "Is it a virus?" he asked, considering what The Oracle had said earlier.

"Only one way to find out..." Seraph said as he positioned himself.

The fight was on. With two ghost programs each, both men had their hands full. Seraph dropped low into a sweeping kick on the first of his opponents while Morpheus executed a two-strike combo on the first of his and then blasted out a side kick to the second. When Seraph came up from knocking his first target off its feet, he overwhelmed the second with a cross body strike combo and delivered a high kick to its chest, sending it flying backwards into a brick wall. At the last moment it phased and went through the wall, disappearing from sight.

Janus, on the otherhand, had three enemies all to himself. Initially holding off their sudden attacks with a series of cross body blocks, he then blocked a punch coming from the center Ex-Agent and then slammed him to the ground with a full roundhouse kick aimed straight at his head, powerful enough for its body to break the concrete. With two Ex-Agents left on either side of him, he moved faster than they could, kick vaulting himself into the air off the now crushed chest of the Ex-Agent to his left, and then snapping a snake-like jab to the head of the remaining Ex-Agent while still in the air, striking like a bolt of lightning. By the time Janus' feet hit the ground, all three of his opponents were dead on the floor.

He turned around to check on his comrades, finding that they had also quickly disposed of their attackers. Was that it? This was too easy, he told himself. He felt a change happen around them, as this was where he hated being right.

As additional ghost programs came up through the ground, through walls, or teleported to the alley in their phased forms accompanied by the sound of disrupted coding, Janus noticed that about a score's worth of Ex-Agent's had arrived, lining the rooftops overlooking the alleyway, ready to pounce down upon their prey.

"Ah *poop*..." Janus muttered.

The Ex-Agents jumped down, and the ghost programs attacked.

----

By the time Anubis had arrived on the scene, the other three had their hands full, caught up in a sea of the black and purple-clad Ex-Agents and silver ghost programs. Janus was throwing out punches and kicks in every direction, delivering a series of flip based attacks and launching up into the air to attack from above. Anubis knew Janus could handle himself, and would want him to help the other two.

When he checked for them, he saw that while they weren't as skilled or able as Janus or fight off so many enemies at once, they had teamed up in a duo and fought as one to take on their attackers. However, they took hits every so often. Judging by their numbers, Anubis estimated that there had to be around 65 entities attacking the three of them.

He raised his wrist to his mouth. "Throw down some cover, I'll surprise them," he spoke into a microphone.

Interrupting the sound of hand to hand combat, a series out loud blasts sounded off, the report of Solitaire's SVD ringing through the air. Situated on a rooftop farther down the way from the others, she picked off random targets in the fight below, making sure not to fire too close to Morpheus or Seraph.

For a moment, their attention was divided as the two tried to figure out what was going on. First they heard gunshots, then various enemies would burst open with exit wounds as they fell to the ground. Seeing that the sniper was on their side, Morpheus only had to wonder who it was.

"The security teams?" Seraph asked as he fought, smashing an Ex-Agent's nose up into his head with a palm strike, then elbowing a ghost program in the chest with the same arm.

"No!" Janus shouted over to them. He grabbed a ghost program by the back of its head, and smashed its face into his knee. As he let it go, he ripped a handful of silver dreadlocks from its scalp, reformed them into a knife-like object in his hand, and then spun around, stabbing it straight into another ghost program's skull.

When the ghost program fell to the ground, its body phased, but instead of healing itself or teleport away, the phased body broke up into tiny silver characters of katakana coding, which faded and disappeared as they blew away like dust.

"Then who?" Morpheus asked. An Ex-Agent attacked him with a kick to his ribs and followed up with a punch combo aimed at his torso. Morpheus retaliated by straight headbutting the Ex-Agent in the face and then, while it was stunned, grabbed onto its head and twisted to break its neck.

As another Ex-Agent leveled his Jericho 945 with the barrel pointed at Morpheus, the ship captain's answer came. Light glinted off fast moving steel that came from above in an arc, and before the Ex-Agent could register, his hand fell off, and blood shot out from the open wound.

"My arm!" it yelled out in surprise. No sooner than its severed hand and gun hit the floor, Anubis landed next to him and finished the job without hesitation, cutting through its neck with such speed that its head went flying up into the air, the surprised facial expression having never faded.

"This is how you crash a party," Anubis said as he sliced his blade up through the front of a ghost program and then spin kicked it with enough force to send it flying back into whatever enemy programs were behind it, creating a domino effect. Without wasting time for introductions, the redpill assassin got right to work, slashing away and cutting up any enemies close enough to him.

By this point, Seraph and the three redpills were fighting an enemy that were roughly ten times their number, and worse were now starting to strategize. In isolating Janus by surrounding him and forcing him to move farther away from the others as he defended himself, it made it easier for the others to be ganged up on, despite their skills.

Janus realized what the enemy was up to and did what he could to fight through it, but he was met with stiff resistance. Although he usually didn't worry about his comrades, as he knew Anubis and Morpheus were among the most skilled fighters in Zion and Seraph was the Oracle's bodyguard for a reason, it seemed like the more programs were killed the more came up in their place. He had to get them some relief, but he was being attacked from all sides and angles. The best he could do was find a way to fight through them and get back to his friends. The enemy wouldn't have it though, and he found himself being swarmed by ghosts.

Then, in the midst of the fighting, just after he dispatched an Ex-Agent with a kick to the face, Janus felt a sharp feeling come over him. It was similar to the feeling he'd felt a long time ago, at Tabor Park. Is it that old man? he thought, blinking to his code vision immediately. He searched around him to find the source of the pressure, but he didn't find anything out of the ordinary outside of the attacking exiles.

More of them came, grabbing onto him to keep him from escaping. All the while, one ghost program appeared before him and went into in its phased form. Outreaching toward Janus with its palm, the ghost program released what looked like a tiny sentinel, only organic, and in a phased form just like the ghost. With the sound of defected coding, it soared through the air straight toward Janus. It was then he realized that instead of trying to destroy him, they were attempting to assimilate him into one of their numbers. It's a virus, he confirmed in thought as he struggled.

The strange sensation pinged again, and despite the similarities to the entity he encountered in Tabor, this was different. Janus felt a radiance that greatly diversed itself from the rest of the Matrix, a form of being that seemed greatly out of place and somehow held dominion over everything in the system, yet there was no ominous aura this time. After a moment, Janus placed his sixth sense and realized what it was. The Architect.

He had to escape this fight, but the exiles had him where they wanted him. The phased creature made contact, sinking into Janus' RSI and causing it to phase. He grunted as he was slowly transformed, trying to get away.

After slaying another ghost, Anubis looked over toward his direction, and immediately realized his friend needed help. "Janus!" he called out, going into a dash. But before he could reach Janus, more exiles appeared between him and his destination, and he had no choice but to cut his way throug. No matter how many enemies he cut through, he couldn't get past them. All he could do was watch as he fought and slowly make his way toward Janus, but then it seemed as if The One had stopped struggling. Was it too late?

Inside of him, Janus could feel the viral code trying to change him, corrupting his RSI code into its own format. He struggled with himself, closing his eyes and trying to focus. I won't be done in like this! his mind roared. "Join the club," one ghost taunted, and Janus decided to try something different.

He let go of himself and allowed the virus to proceed, but with a twist; instead of fighting back against it, he used his own more powerful Source-given code to adapt the strain without losing his will or being, effectively reversing the process. As his body was almost fully phased, the ghost programs surrounding him seemed confused at how he had suddenly stopped resisting.

(Chapter 7 concluded)

Once he was fully phased and unable to be held in place, he began to rising up into the air slowly. When he was about seven feet off the ground, he un-phased to reveal his normal self and that the assimilation attempt had failed, taking them by surprise.

He executed a split-kick that knocked out the two ghost programs that had been holding him down, and when he landed, the ghost program before him was unsure of what to do. Reacting on impulse, it quick drew its Taurus pistol and fired a volley of bullets, but not before Janus phased again, causing the bullets to fly through him and kill the unsuspecting ghost program that had been behind him.

When he saw this, Anubis could only laugh to himself as he fought, realizing that Janus hadn't been assimilated into a ghost program, but had instead stolen their phasing ability. "That son of a *CENSORED*," he said to himself, as he spun around to slice an Ex-Agent across the chest.

When he unphased, Janus merely nodded to the ghost program that had transfered its unique ability over to him. "Thanks for that," he said. Without a word, the ghost program turned to run and escape, not anticipating that Janus could also make use of their teleporting ability as well. Before it could blink, the ghost program's head snapped back as Janus appeared before it and punched it right in the face.

After flying backwards and slamming into the ground due to the impact, the ghost program's body began to disintegrate into the silver bits of coding as the broken neck it suffered from the whiplash delivered by Janus' strike had been the coup de grace. Just then, Janus sensed another new presence, but not one like before. This one was more familiar, more common, more human. It was time to go.

Taking a moment, he looked at the ghosts still surrounding him and took their positions into consideration, and then began a teleport attack on the group of exiles that made it seem as though he were in multiple places at once, appearing to an enemy, striking them, and teleporting again, disappearing as fast as he had came and then repeating the process. To Morpheus' amazement, Janus was like an angry wraith, haunting his many targets.

With a final 360-degree sweep kick to incapacitate the ghosts that were immediately near him, Janus took one more quick glance around to see that the others were alright. They'll be fine, he said to himself. Without saying a word, he crouched down as if to hyper-jump and blasted up into the sky, flying away from the battle. Anubis saw this and after convincing himself he could afford to let his guard down, he looked over at Morpheus. The two exchanged looks, and then looked over at Seraph, as if to ask, "Where the hell did he go?"

And then, a new sound entered the fray of the battle. A repetitive booming sound that could only be made by a group of assault rifles, resulting in a rain of 5.56 x 45 mm NATO bullets that fell around both the Zion General and the guardian program and into the mass of enemies. Morpheus and Seraph turned around just in time to see reinforcements arriving in the form of Captain Jade of the Interceptor and her security force.

Their effect was devastating. Both the Ex-Agents and the Viruses were totally unprepared for human reinforcements, and by the time they began to dodge the bullets or phase, several of the exiles had been eliminated.

A few of the Ex-Agents began to shoot back at their attackers, but the firepower of their pistols didn't hold a candle to the Zion group's concentrated barrage, and they were unable to enitrely evade the rainstorm of bullets. The ghost viruses faired a little better as their phasing ability allowed the bullets to fly through them without harm, but several of them foolishly unphased so they could shoot back at the intruders along with the Ex-Agents; those that attempted this were easily dealt with. One by one the ghosts fell and vanished in a cloud of corrupted code lines.

And then what felt like a seconds, the exiles began to retreat, the ghosts all phasing and either teleporting away of flying off into different directions while the Ex-Agents began to back out while returning fire or avoiding bullets. The reinforcement fighters moved after them, still gunning them down.

Seeing that her team could handle the situation without her, Jade started to move over to Morpheus. She was a black haired, somewhat-taller-than-average woman with a stern-yet-unwavering glance, dressed in a black trench that covered a skin tight tactical suit and combat boots, as well as fingerless gloves covering her hands. Other than the M4 in her hands, the only other visible weapon on her was a Heckler & Koch USP Tactical holstered at her right thigh; any other weapons were hidden inside her coat. When she was only a few feet away from Morpheus, she stood at attention, past the M4 into her left hand and threw a sharp salute.

"Captain Jade of the Interceptor reporting, General. I apologize for my team's tardiness." she said, speaking in a rich British accent.

"On the contrary Captain, you couldn't have come at a better time." Morpheus replied more casually, despite the surprise attack's . "What was the hold up on your end?"

"Several ships whos redpills the team consists of had to change locations in the real because a sentinel patrol was detected. They didn't notice what was happening inside the Matrix due to the distraction, so we weren't informed until it had already started." Jade explained. "Any casualties?"

"Thankfully none, although if you hadn't shown up we'd probably be worse off." Morpheus said, looking over at the remaining Ex-Agent corpses. "Captain, I'll need your team to escort me to the nearest exit. From there, you and your men are also to jack out."

This seemed to pique something deep down in Jade. "But sir, my team and I are on rotation for the reinforcement shift. We can't just..."

Morpheus folded his arms behind his back, a form that he was most renowned for. "Do not worry; you won't be the only ones heading back. As soon as I return to the real, I will issue a recall order to all ships of the Corps to return to Zion as soon as humanly possible. There will be no need to have reinforcements on standby."

Jade's expression remained stern, but there were subtle hints of confusion still. A recall of the entire Corps? That would mean withdrawing all of Zion's presence from the Matrix, something that she couldn't see Morpheus ordering unless the circumstances were that dire. "May I inquire as to why, Sir?" she asked.

"Not at this time. But I assure you it is of the utmost importance."

At that point, Anubis had walked over to them from where he'd taken cover, all the while twirling his katana once, wiping the blood off on the scabbard and sheathing it as he closed the distance. "Whatever wasn't killed got away. For the moment we're clear."

Morpheus nodded. "Very good Anubis, you've done well today." He complimented him, although Anubis didn't seem to react to it. "Have you swept the area for any other potential intruders?"

"Captain Jade's men are doing that as we speak." Anubis said in monotone, looking over at Jade's direction and giving a small nod to her, a sign that he acknowledged her presence and rank superiority. Jade returned the nod in acceptance.

"Good, then our business here is concluded. Anubis, you and your own team are to return to the Nemesis immediately, and inform Captain Irvine to standby for orders. I will be heading back to the Nabonidus as well." Morpheus said.

"With all due respect, I prefer to remain until Janus has concluded his own 'business'. We can't move the Nemesis until everyone is out." Anubis said. He noticed, at the mention of the ship on which he served, Jade seemed to tense slightly. He decided for the moment that it wasn't important.

"Duly noted Anubis, but as you are well aware, Janus can take care of himself."

----

By the time Janus touched down on the dirt path in the green field of Center Park, west of the U-shaped sculpture, the others he'd just left behind had already jacked out. And as if his presense wasn't obvious enough to detect, The Architect stood out in his signature faded white suit, standing roughly 100 feet away from where Janus landed, on the opposite end of the dirt path. His back was to Janus, and he was facing the sculpture itself, indifferent to The One's arrival that he had undoubtedly sensed, as if he were expectantly waiting.

Janus double-checked to verify the elderly man's identity in code vision for a moment. When he read the RSI code over and was convinced this was who he was looking for, he blinked back into his normal vision and quietly approached, walking up to him where he stood. When Janus was about twelve feet away from him, he spoke without turning around.

"Hello, Janus."

Janus stopped in his footsteps, and waited for him to continue. Finally, he turned around, and met Janus' gaze as if he could see right through his dark lenses.

"I am The Architect. I created the Matrix. I've been waiting for you. You are undoubtedly confounded by my decision to establish this communication. Do not let this perplexity divert you from following the instructions I am about to reveal."

Janus arched an eyebrow. Presumptuous are we? "What instructions?"

The Architect continued. "Since the aborted reinsertion of the prime program, there have been an objectionable quantity of anomalies, as you have been aware. Even after accounting for the fluctuations due to human rejection of the simulation, there remains an unaccounted for and increasingly high number of these anomalies. This is, of course, unacceptable - and great pains have been taken to rectify the condition."

"Upon supplementary analysis of the anomalies, the following error was returned, ad nauseam: Despite the historical efficacy of these procedures, the current anomalies do not correspond with our existing indexing methodologies and resist being quarantined. I have therefore made a rather abhorrent and altogether regrettable decision. Specifically, I am seeking your help."

In the middle of a war over an age-old conflict, the leader of the Machines' instance within the Matrix was asking for help from the champion of his enemy? This piqued Janus' interest, and at the same time reassured him of the seriousness of the matter, as The Oracle had just told him.

"The Oracle told me. Why do you want my help?"

Once again, The Architect continued, opting to ignore Janus' mention of The Oracle. "The anomalies in question seem to bear a more than superficial resemblance to the integral anomaly. To be more explicit, they share qualities with aspects of The One, specifically you in this case. You are identical to your six predecessors in that you are the end result and manifestation of the systemic anomaly inherint to the Matrix's programming. However there is an additional factor to the code you carry not recognized as a creation of my design. It is through this unidentified factor that you are connected to said anomalies, and why I have consequently enlisted your help."

Despite his expansive vocabulary, Janus was quick to catch on to what The Architect had just told him. "Wait a minute," he said. "I'm connected? As in I'm the cause for all the disruptions and glitches?"

The Architect paused for a split second, considering the question. "There is no suitable response to your inquiery at this time. The priority is that you assist in revealing the cause of said anomalies. Although it is with great disinclination that I reveal this information, I believe that it may assist your impulsive and disorderly thought processes. Of course, this cooperation is by no means and extension of truce between our parties."

Janus smirked. *CENSORED*-hole. "Sure. And I'm guessing you want me to report back to you if I figure any of this out?"

The Architect seemed to show slight contempt, as if what Janus had just suggested was off-color.

"It is improbable that we will speak again."

Janus rolled his eyes behind his glasses. Others might have considered this meeting some kind of honor of a rare occassion, but to Janus, this was getting annoying.

"Right.." he finished. The Architect merely looked back as if he had nothing more to say to him, like some snob in the upper class of society. Resisting his urge to shake his head, Janus turned around and began walking away. When he'd gotten about twenty feet away from where he was standing, he turned to look back. The Architect was gone, out of sight completely, and that's when Janus realized he could no longer sense his presense either, as if he had completely exited the Matrix.

For a moment, Janus compared The Architect to the more ominous elder program he'd met a year back, once more noting their similarities and differences. He wondered if they were connected in any form, before considering what The Architect had just told him in conjunction with what The Oracle said. Apparently, whatever the problem was, not only was it a serious threat to the system and all those connected to it, but it wasn't entirely of this world either. Strange. He'd have to report this at the briefing Morpheus would be organizing, which he then realized would be taking place shortly, and that the rest of the Nemesis crew was waiting for him to return before they could attend.

With the blast of a sonic boom, Janus shot off into the sky once more, headed for his designated exit.

----

Chapter 8: Visions
Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Nemesis
12:28PM Matrix Time

When Janus opened his eyes as the plug was being pulled from the port in his head, he could tell right away that the crew was busy preparing the ship to leave. People were moving all over the place on the main deck, making sure everything was ready for the trip home, and a sudden attack by Sentinels, should they be so unfortunate. It had been three months since they last left Zion.

Janus turned his head so he could see who was helping him out of his restraints, and was glad to find it was Camese. As she walked around the chair to face him and un-fasten the strap on his left arm, she smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss hello as she worked. He closed his eyes as she did this, allowing himself to relax for the brief moment. She pulled away, and when he opened the one good eye he could see with, he saw that she had moved down to his leg restraints. Without a word, he began un-tying his other arm from the chair, and once he was free, he stood up on the deck and stretched out, trying to recall exactly how long he'd been plugged in for.

"Are you alright?" Camese asked him, stepping close and placing a hand on his chest. He placed a hand over hers, and looked down to meet her gaze, standing a full foot taller than her, and nodded his head.

"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, just unanticipated. I'm fine."

"Good. Irvine's in the cockpit, he wants to talk to you."

Janus nodded once more, looking up at the topside as if to look through the various decks and directly into the cockpit. "I bet he does, probably wants to know what the big deal is."

"You'd better go quick, he's a bit frustrated. A sentinel patrol was detected while you were still inside, and the last thing he wants is to move around while it's out there. Maybe a bit of insight would calm him down."

"Yeah I should, before he goes rogue again. I'll go do that now. What are you dealing with?"

"I'm on scanner watch with Glitch while Marley and Irvine are flying."

Janus nodded approvingly, although he knew she could handle herself in the more dangerous assignment of manning a turret just fine. "I'll find you later," he said as he started towards a ladder to the upper deck.

"I know," she said with a smirk, winking at him cofidently as he parted, before then heading over to Glitch's station.
----

On the turret deck, Blade moved down the hallway toward his station, followed by Anubis. The two had grown in comradery over the past year, and their initial spiteful rivalry had become more of a friendly competitive one as two soldiers with a similar taste for wielding a sword as their primary weapon. The ladder that lead to the lower decks and up to the cockpit level was situated right in the middle of said hall. As the two walked, there came Janus, climbing right up past the particular deck.

"Janus!" Anubis said, successfully gaining his friend's attention before he was gone. He stopped climbing and blew hair out of his face as he angled his head as to get a better view of who called him, though he could already tell who's voice it was.

"Yeah?"

"You alright? Why the haste?" Anubis asked, referring back to Janus' earlier hasty exit. He laughed to himself in his thoughts, realizing that Janus only seemed to be in a hurry, thus making it difficult to catch up with him.

"Irvine wants a report on what happened. The rest you'll hear at the briefing," Janus replied.

"Yeah, you heard him blondie, get your *CENSORED* on station!" Blade shouted from wherever he was around the corner, probably waiting for him to catch up.

Janus nodded to him. "I'll fill you in later,"

Anubis nodded in return. "Alright." He started down the hall getting back to where he was supposed to be. "Blade if you ever call me blondie again, the next time you pull out your sword it'll be from your *CENSORED*," he said as he went.

As he cleared the deck, Janus heard Blade shout back, "Try me, goldilocks!"

Once he reached the cockpit deck, he didn't waste any time moving through the narrow hall leading to it. When he reached the hatch, he twisted the handle and pushed in, and as he stepped inside, Marley and Irvine both turned their heads to see who the newcomer was.

"Ah, there you are," Irvine said as he and Marley ran the various system checks mandatory before takeoff. "What happened in there?"

"We got ambushed on the way back from The Oracle, and I had to leave the fight early to go talk The Architect."

"The what?"

"The program that created the Matrix," Janus said bluntly.

Irvine glanced over at Janus. "That's heavy. What for?"

"There's a few problems we gotta take care of. Morpheus is planning a briefing and every ship's being called in, so you're right, it is heavy."

"Huh, I'm not sure if that eases my nerves or makes me more tense. All he did was tell me to get back to Zion immediately without saying why, but at least you're throwing me a bone."

"Anything else you wanna know?"

"I wanna know what the grips on your turret controls feel like. Save your war stories for later big shot," Irvine said in smart *CENSORED* fashion.

"Go find out yourself, usually the one wearing the eye patch is Captain," Janus shot back dryly.

Marley chuckled at that. "He got you 'dere, Irvine."

Janus smiled and patted Irvine on the shoulder to reinforce his humorous intent, before exiting the cockpit and getting to his station.

Even as The One, Janus was, after all, a soldier with a superior officer to answer to. But, as was habit in the Matrix, he sometimes took to bending the rules outside of it as well.
----

Zion
Briefing Chamber Auditorium
April 2005

The briefing had been simple. As ordered, all military hovercraft short of Zion's six Hoverbarges, whom the briefing orders would be relayed to, had returned and docked within hours of Morpheus' return order. All Captains and crews were then summoned to the Council Audience Chamber, whereby Morpheus would inform the rest of the Matrix Corps only half of what he and Janus had been told by The Oracle; That being, the details regarding the two missing Shaper programs. All personell were ordered to be on the lookout for them, as well as to attempt to track them down if possible, by any means necessary and through whatever leads they had.

Essentially, the whole Corps was placed on a sort of manhunt that reminded Janus of the joint missing persons cases he'd worked on when originally tracking Irvine down. He found it ironic how similar work had been handed out on the other side. Along with these two, the rest of the Nemesis crew sat among the mustered Corps personell, as to give the illusion that The One was also a part of the investigation, without raising suspicion to any ulterior objectives. In truth, while Morpheus had appointed the majority of the Corps' redpills to the Shaper search, it would be the paired crews of the Nabonidus and the Nemesis that would focus on the second, more grave problem at hand.

Of course, only Morpheus, Irvine, their respective crews, and the Zion High Council were aware of this, as per Janus' report to them prior to the meeting. Although such secrecy was necessary for OpSec protocol, nobody from either of the two crews set aside thought the rest of Zion's redpill force would have minded all that much; Any assignment dealing with a matter inside the Matrix would be thought better than their previous orders to search out the Resistance in the real world. While the rogue faction was still at large and considered a priority, the lives of those Zion was trying to free took a higher level of importance.

Once all the details were covered and the crucial information was conveyed, the briefing was finished. All ship crews were allowed 24 hours to have their ships charged, repaired, or tuned up as necessary, as well as for R&R. While the majority of Zion's non-military populace felt that a rave dance would work better to put the city in a better mood or boost morale, the truth was Zion couldn't afford to put their guard down long enough to allow for said festivities, not at this point. The risk of attack on the city was greater now, and it had been through enough of that in the past few years when they were on their guard. Thus, this brief moment of respite was understandbly acceptable.

As the Matrix Corps soldiers dispersed to take care of their own business, the crews of the Nemesis and Nabonidus nonchalantly made their way over to each other to form a little group while the rest of the auditorium was clearing out. As they exchanged greets with one another, Morpheus casually made his was over to Irvine.

"A strong presence will be needed within the Matrix, in case anything should go wrong," he said to Irvine.

"Wrong?" Irvine asked, perplexed. "What could go wrong? You just sent the whole Corps out."

"The usual. Cops, Agents or Exiles turning up at the wrong time like they're good for. Hell, even Blood might come out of the woodwork again, who knows. I was thinking it over during the briefing and I think we could use another crew for the task force."

"Another ship? Alright. You have any suggestions?"

"The Interceptor comes to mind. Jade is a capable soldier and Captain who takes her work seriously and demonstrates care and responsibility for the lives placed in her hands. She just had my back on my last venture into the Matrix, with Janus."

Irvine moved his head slightly to the side so he could see past Morpheus', in order to get a clear line of sight of who he was talking about. When he saw her, Irvine felt a fond reminscient feeling wash over him, and he smirked triumphantly. Turning his head a bit so he could meet eyes with Morpheus, he nodded in agreement.

"I'll take care of this."

Morpheus returned the nod, and Irvine moved passed him. Walking in a pace that suggested he wasn't in any rush, yet rather in more of a laid back mood, he followed Jade and her crew as they made their way out of the auditorium, following the others. She wore the standard red top signifying she was a captain, along with black combat pants and service boots. Her black hair, which came just down to her shoulders, was slicked back and pushed behind her ears as a means of keeping it out of her face.

As the captain of a small-class hovercraft, so too was her crew, consisting of only two additional redpills, an operator, and a crew assist. Despite their small numbers, Jade's crew was known for its vitality and special forces quality skills range, earning them assignment on many reinforcement and escort missions. Without a larger group to worry about, Jade's was able to concentrate more into their training, most of which was derived from bluepill paramilitary units and improved upon. Thus, they were highly valued, and it was easy to see why Morpheus would want them along.

Irvine quickly closed the gap and came up behind her, so close he could smell her hair, a familiar scent that made his blood run a bit quicker. It had been a while; Now was as good a time as ever to patch things up.

"Jade," he called out, loud enough to get the attention of both her and her entire crew. They all stopped in their tracks and turned around to see Irvine there in his blue combat pants, black service boots, and a dark blue jacket over a long-sleeved white shirt made of home-spun materials. Once they saw that he was looking not for their attention but for hers, the rest of the Interceptor crew looked to their Captain for what they should do. As for Jade herself, upon laying eyes on Irvine and looking into his, her eyes conveyed the surprise she felt before they narrowed into a cold glare.

For Irvine, Jade's contempt was painfully obvious, but he showed no sign that he knew or cared. Instead, he smiled a slacker's smirk and ran a hand through his long hair to the back of his head and pretended to scratch an itch. "I've gotta ask you something."

For a moment, Jade said nothing. Then, she turned completely around, at first giving Irvine the impression that he was being given the cold shoulder before his gut instinct kicked in and reminded him never to assume and jump to conclusions.

"Go ahead and do whatever you like. Use your time wisely, because we've only been given twenty-four hours. I'll check with you later on," she told them. "If anything, Chase is in charge while I'm busy."

With that, the other three in the group looked at Chase. He exchanged looks with Jade, and then nodded to the rest of the crew. Now that they were all situated, they went on their way. Jade watched them leave to make sure they were out of ear shot, and when they were, she turned around fully to face Irvine, and walked a few steps over to him.

"Unless it's for mercy, you'd better not waste your time asking for my forgiveness-- or a spare key to my apartment. Who the hell do you think you are walking up to me all smug like that?"

"Hmm..." Irvine crossed one arm over his body and put the other hand on his chin, as if he was actually giving it some serious thought. The smirk on his face conveyed the exact opposite thought.

"The hell with this!" Jade said. Just as she turned to storm off, Irvine rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"If you gave me a minute, I was trying to decide which question to answer first. Now if you'll let me..."

Jade stopped, turned around once more and set herself in a posture with all her weight on one leg, with a hand on her outward pointed hip.

"First of all, I'm not here for mercy or forgiveness, so don't expect to me to act all apologetic. As for being 'smug,' as you put it, c'mon, you know me babe." Once more, the smart-*CENSORED* smirk.

"Then what do you want?"

Irvine looked around to check if anyone else was in ear shot, and beckoned her to come closer with an index finger. She strode over and crossed her arms, as if she had something better to do.

"My crew and I aren't going to be working on the Shaper investigation. We've got another assignment."

Jade arched a brow out of interest. "A special mission?"

Irvine nodded. "Yep. With Morpheus."

(Ch. 8 cont'd)

Now Jade displayed a look of concern. "With the General? How's this involve me?"

"Yes, 'the General'," Irvine said as he rolled his eyes at the level of discipline with which she referred to Morpheus. He found it ridiculous and unnecessary, although admittedly that was very well because he'd been working close with Morpheus and his crew for the better part of the past year.

"We've got a task force set up for a seperate objective that we'll need Janus'... expertise for, and Morpheus doesn't think two ship crews are enough to round out a team big enough to make sure we've got our asses covered should anything go wrong inside the Matrix at any point. So I'm asking if you'd like to tag along."

Jade ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek and sucked at her teeth while she considered it. "Why me? Wouldn't it make more sense to enlist the help of a large-class hovercraft instead of a small-class?"

"Well, you might have a point, but..." Irvine began, as he began to circle her at his usual casual pace.

"But what?" she asked, with an inquisitive glare. Irvine wanted to roll his eyes, but kept his cool look about him. Everything with her was a glare now that he'd come back. He expected a lot more during their assignment.

"But I personally recommended you, with a few details of your ace performance. He was impressed and had me come to offer your the assignment."

"General Morpheus is well informed of my operational reputation. For all I know you're full of *poop* and kissing my *CENSORED* to get on my good side."

"Well not that it's on the subject, but you and I both know my 'kissing' your *CENSORED* always had me on your good side."

She went to retort, but he stopped pacing and cut her off before she could get a word out, and with a sudden up front and serious tone.

"The point is millions of lives are at stake, and we want you with us because you and your team are better managed and useful to us than any large-class crew. I mean that, and Morpheus knows I know the right type to look for. Are you with us or not?

Taken aback by his change in tone, she craned back her head reflexively to study this new side of Irvine that had revealed itself without warning. He was serious. She was convinced.

"Alright. I'm in."

Irvine nodded, retaining his seriousness. "Good. We leave as soon as our ships are charged and ready to go. Get your crew prepared. You'll be fully briefed once we deploy."

She nodded, and then turned to leave, off to find her crew and update them on their reassignment. Irivne crossed his arms over him as he watched her leave, not thinking twice about watching her *CENSORED* as he did. He smug grin returned, and he patted himself on the shoulder.

"The man still knows how to push her buttons," he said with a quiet chuckle. With that, he returned to the rest of the group to confirm Jade would be with them.

Twenty-four hours later, all three ships were deployed to broadcast point.
----

The Matrix
Jurong, International District
April 2005, 12:00PM

Now that all three ships were in place, each crew was divided up and assigned their tasks. It was decided that while Morpheus accompanied Janus to meet up with Seraph, Irvine would take command at the nearby Zion safe house, where the rest of the Nemesis crew would wait on standby, should Agents or an overwhelming amount of enemy Exiles show up.

In case things really got bad, Jade's crew was waiting back on their ship at broadcast point in the tunnels of the real. The tactical reasoning for this was that in the event that the Nemesis crew had to move in for support and was then also overpowered, by Agents in particular, then the Interceptor crew would pinpoint their comrades' location and jack-in there to assist in their escape and extraction. Though small in number, Jade and her crew made up for it in their viciousness. The size of their crew wasn't a cause for concern amongst the task force.

Meanwhile, the Nabonidus crew was tasked with reconnaissance and surveillance detail. While Sparks, Link, Glitch, and Hook were watching after the redpills inside the Matrix in concern of any threats to their operation, Gizmo and Hacksaw, the two redpills on the Nabonidus crew that specialized as In-Matrix Operators, were focusing on specific points within the city.

In-Matrix Operators were a new introduction into Zion's redpill forces as a means of obtaining intel and providing support. In consequence, there weren't many, and the pioneers in the field were still testing their boundaries. Gizmo and Hacksaw were two of the few. They sat inside a van full of high tech computer equipment that was custom "built" by Zion's coders, and uploaded into the system via the Construct, very much like the equipment used by redpills for bug removal and the unplugging of bluepills.

With this equipment, they could accomplish various tasks much similar to those of hovercraft Operators, though not to the full extent. From inside the Matrix, they couldn't do such tasks as uploading equipment or patching exits. They could however pinpoint friend and enemy locations, provide building schematics and directions on maps, and expedite a hovercraft operator's job by helping to pinpoint available exit locations in the area surrounding whatever redpills they were assisting, making less work and trouble the Operators would have in finding one themselves first.

In this instance, Gizmo and Hacksaw were tasked with a mission specific detail. To help in the overall objective of tracking down the cause of the glitches and disruptions that had been occurring in the Matrix, these two were locating and logging the grid coordinates of every reported instance of a glitch inside the system, what kind of glitches they were, and their levels of severity and danger to contact. They then relayed this information to the four ship Operators to save on each hovercraft's hard drives, for further examination and use in their investigation.

While they were busy with this, Niobe, Ghost, and Kid were all watching their backs, ready to provide support in case they messed up in covering their tracks and were traced and hunted down, though there was hopeful and heavy doubt such a slip up would occur. Nevertheless, the three redpill warriors stayed alert and on their guard, knowing that the Matrix was a place full of surprises.
----

Once again, Morpheus and Janus rendezvoused with Seraph for this operation. It had seemed to the rest of the task force that the guardian program had assigned itself a role of guidance and assistance in this mission, and didn't hesistate to help with the fighting either. Since it was The Oracle who was desperate in urging that the problem be solved, it wasn't hard to imagine that she'd given Seraph orders to help the redpills out in any and all means necessary.

While Morpheus saw her in a different light these days rather than the revered prophet that had been with the resistance since its "beginning," the fact that The Oracle was a product of his enemy and had a purpose to serve that was in their interest didn't distract him from noticing that she too had changed along with the giant change she had caused. In uncertain times as these that were never to have occured, nothing was absolute anymore. Although war had resumed, that domineering cycle had not.

Seraph had vaguely instructed the two to meet him in Jurong, in front of the Pearl Phoenix Dojo. The Pearl Phoenix was located at the edge of, just at the border of what would be considered Harajuku. Although the dojo appeared empty and deserted, it was meticulously maintained for the very "special" students who occasionally trained there. The outside décor made the building appear as though it belonged in the Chinatown district, what with the layered Asian roof, support pillars, and banners, on which were written encouraging fortune cookie-like phrases.

"So what's the deal, Seraph?" Janus asked as he and Morpheus closed in on him. "What's so special about this place that you wanted us to meet you here without explaining why?"

"I apologize for being bleak," Seraph answered. "The Pearl Phoenix is the province of an exile by the name of Master Zu -- a name you may not know yet."

Confirming Seraph's assertion of their uncertaintiy, Morpheus raised an eyebrow. "Master Zu?" he asked. Janus looked on, silently wondering the same.

"Master Zu is the exile who instructed me in the art of combat when I originally came to the Matrix," Seraph continued. Before Morpheus could question him with what little he knew of Seraph's past, he answered him.

"Of course, I did not work for the Merovingian at the time; that came later."

It was certainly one of the more...unusual stories Morpheus had heard, and although he was dubious of the more exotic details, there was no denying the prowess of an exile like Seraph.

"Obviously you believe he's of some importance to our task. Why did you bring us here?"

"Master Zu has a much greater detailed knowledge of the Matrix and its history than I do, having existed as an exile long before I did. His knowledge and wisdom may prove useful, as he is aware of the older versions of the system and the various problems it faced during the cycles. He may have some insight as to what's causing these."

Janus glanced at Morpheus to see if he bought the idea, and the veteran redpill nodded back to him.

"Alright then," Janus said approvingly. "We'll see what he has to say."

Seraph nodded and led the way as Janus and Morpheus followed him inside the dojo. Once inside, Janus studied the building's interior. He saw no traps, nothing out of the ordinary. When satisfied, he blinked back into regular vision. The inside of the place looked quite similar to the sparring programs used by redpills in the Construct. A wide, open center floor lined with matting, with weapon racks lining the walls. Some pictures were hung up here and there of various things, including Chinese and Japanese scroll symbols.

A class was in session when the trio entered. When the door shut, the lead instructor turned his head toward the distraction to see what intrusion there was to his lesson. Upon seeing Seraph, his face lit up with what could have been recognition. He turned back to his students, a mixture of boys and girls of various ethnicities, and told him, "Work on your katas. I will return shortly."

The students nodded in unison, and answered "Yes, Sensei."

(Ch. 8 cont'd)

As the instructor started his way over to them and the class began its routines, Janus couldn't help but laugh to himself. These kids are going over the basics of what I "learned" and mastered in what, a minute or two? They don't have a clue. He turned and saw Morpheus smiling to himself, and figured he was probably thinking the same thing.

Finally, the instructor came to them. He and Seraph bowed to each other in greeting.

"Seraph, it has been a long time. Are you well?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine. I have some friends with me. We must see Master Zu."

The instructor's eyebrows wrinkled as though he were confused. "Master Zu? May I ask what your business is?"

"The Matrix," Janus said boldy, cutting into his inquiry, in a tone that said they didn't have the time to be questioned. The instructor seemed to be startled by his sudden butting in, and not expecting his answer. He gave Janus the once-over as if he was studying him, and kept his eyes on him for a moment as he turned his head back in Seraph's direction. He then nodded firmly in understanding.

"Master Zu is in the zen garden with other students, behind the establishment."

Seraph bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you," he said, and began the walk to the back door. As the two redpills followed, Morpheus nodded to the instructor as he walked.

"We appreciate it."

The instructor nodded once more without a word, and turned back to his students.

Outside, the three men found the zen garden they were directed to. It was wide and vast, with trees and shrubs and flowers all over, and Buddhist statues placed here and there. A stream cut horizontally across the garden, over which a tiny wooden bridge was built, in order to access the other side.

As they crossed over it, they saw that the other side was a large sand garden set up, neatly raked with grooves running in the sand all about. The grooves in the sand were wavy, and ran with the width of the area. A large boulder, and a smaller one were placed in the sand in a feng shui manner of design. On top of these two boulders stood a student, one each, which Janus figured were the ones the instructor had mentioned. Just beyond and in between them was a small bench like seat.

There sat Master Zu. Appearing to be Japanese, he looked much older than Seraph was physically, enough to be his grandfather. His face was cracked with creases, and his hair was long and white, pulled into a ponytail that ended at the middle of his back. He wore an outfit similar to Seraph's, only his jacket was black to match his pants, and had white cuffs and buttons and color lining to match the a-shirt he wore underneath. His eyes were closed, as he seemed to be mediating. Somehow, he had reached his bench without disturbing the sand raking all around him.

And then, Janus noticed the rest of the students that the instructor had mentioned earlier. In the cherry blossoms situated a few feet behind on either side of the bench that Zu was sitting upon, they all sat up in the branches. They were watching their approach, as if they were Zu's bodyguards, although Janus doubted he'd need any.

As they came over the bridge and were a few feet from the beginning of the sand garden, Zu's eyes opened. He saw Seraph and recognized him with an almost imperceivable smile. Then he looked up and saw Janus and Morpheus, and held up a hand.

"Huo." He called out.

Seraph stopped in his tracks, as did Morpheus. Janus followed suit, knowing full well Zu had just said "Wait." Wait for what?

Not a second later, the answer came. All six students sprung from the boulders and the cherry blossoms, jumping in an arc right for Seraph and company with "attack" written all over their faces.

Janus saw it coming a second before it happened, and was already on the move. He jumped up into the air on an arc that would have him intercept their jump paths and come right in the center of the students and they came down in the air.

With perfect timing, he met them mid air. Within a blink, Janus threw out a series of punches and kicks, a spin kick, and a throw, knocking all six students back however many so feet in the air until they landed back from where they came. Four of the six smashed into the branches of the cherry blossoms, and the other two slammed up against the surfaces of the boulders. When he was done, Janus remained hovering, as not to disturb the perfectly raked sand below. He was triumphant in the fact that neither of the bodies of each student did, either.

Zu let out a slowly paced, yet amused laugh. He rose from his bench and clapped as he nonchalantly walked across the sand towards Janus and his two friends. When he saw Zu didn't pay any mind to walking across the sand, Janus let himself down.

"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Zu began as he closed in on them. "Now, you see my pupils," he spoke out loud. "This here is an opponent you will never be able to match in skill. You will be thankful that it wasn't Seraph here that dealt with you. You may be in the worse for wear. He likes to make sure his opponents know they're being hit, don't you my old apprentice?"

Seraph and Zu bowed to each other. "It is good to see you again, Sifu."

"Yes it is. You brought friends I see..."

He studied Morpheus from head to toe, and met his eyes beyond the lenses of his glasses, and smiled with a nod, as if he had just measured up Morpheus' fighting ability and was satisfied. When he switched his gaze over to Janus, he seemed to have been hit by a familiar sensation. Then, his memory suddenly kicked in.

"Ah, you! Yes, I know something about you... You remind me of a vision that came to me as I meditated here in the garden one day."

Janus arched a brow. "A vision?"

Zu nodded and continued. "In my vision, I was walking through a garden, much similar to this one. I looked around at my surroundings: there were plants in pots, trees that were trimmed, neither the vines nor the bamboo overextended, and each flower and bud was given a proper alottment of space and sunlight. Everything was beautiful and organized...."

The three fighters continued to listen with interest.

"Then at the end of the garden, I came across two trees. One was neatly trimmed. The other though, began growing wildly. It's roots extended all over the garden and its branches almost covered the sun."

Zu closed his eyes for a second, as if reliving the vision. "At the end, the tree had grown to the point where the garden couldn't contain it any longer. Its roots had broken the pots and uprooted the flowers. The vines withered because the ground nutrients were all being consumed by the tree. And at the same time, the second tree died out. However, new flowers bloomed around the tree, and smaller trees soon grew from the soil. While the garden as now destroyed, the area returned to a natural state. Through its own destruction, the garden became far more beautiful than it had been before..."

Zu looked at Janus as if he had just heard the story and was just as confused as Janus must have been. "Can you tell me what the vision means?"

Janus' brow wrinkled in confusion. Since when was he a fortune teller? He was still trying to figure that out for himself, nevermind explaining it to someone else. He shook his head slowly.

"No, I'm sorry. Maybe Morpheus," he suggested, looking over to him. Morpheus glanced to Janus and then back to Master Zu.

"While dreams and their interpretations are a subject I specialize in, I'm afraid we don't have the time for it right now."

Master Zu nodded slowly. "Hm... A pity. And yet I feel that this vision is vital to your efforts nonetheless."

"What do you mean?" Janus asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot say, for I am no more a foreteller of dreams than you are, young prodigy."

"Perhaps you would no something about the increased system malfunctions then?" Morpheus asked.

Master Zu laughed slightly. "No, I am afraid not, Taisho. I am well aware of the outbreaks... several of my students have encountered them. However, I do not know how they come to be or why they are so numerous."

"I see..." Morpheus replied.

"I am sorry I cannot be of help to you," Zu said. "But I wish you luck on your quest all the same." With this, he bowed to them.

Once they completed the bow, Seraph spoke. "We still appreciate your time with us, Master."

"Likewise, my student. May you have good fortune in your journey."

Janus nodded his head as if to bow once more in thanks, and the three made their exit. Zu watched them as they departed, and once they were out of sight, he turned back to his garden.

"We should return to the safehouse to update the others," Morpheus said quietly to Janus as they walked out of the establishment.

"I agree," Janus replied. He turned to Seraph. "We appreciate your help. Thanks for taking us here, even if we didn't come up with anything. We'll be in touch."

Seraph merely nodded his head. He turned from the two and walked up to a random door. He then removed his king of keys from his sleeve, picked a specific key and then unlocked the door with it. He escaped into the backdoor hallways, and the door closed behind him, cutting off access to the hallway as it locked.
----

The Matrix
Ueno, International District
April 2005, 12:37PM

After two knocks to the front door of Zion's Ueno safehouse, the slit opened to reveal a pair of slanted eyes that obviously belonged to Solitaire. For a short moment she looked out the slit to see it was General Morpheus and Janus that were there and without anyone suspicious with them.

"Welcome back." Solitaire said, before closing the slit and opening the door to let the two in. After she closed it and locked it tightly, she turned around to face the two men. "Did you guys get anything from the Master?"

As Janus observed, that question echoed what everyone else was thinking. Irvine and Camese both looked up from the computer stalls that were installed in one end of the room, as did Blade, who was checking over SPAS 12 combat shotgun he had taken off one of the weapons racks. Only Anubis, being his usual self, didn't bother to look up; in fact, he looked like he was in a deep meditation of sorts, sitting on a crate in one of the corners of the room, his katana slung over his shoulder as if he were waiting to use it. But Janus knew his friend and partner well enough to know that he was listening intently.

"Unfortunately not. We're still at square one," Morpheus replied with a frown, walking so he wasn't in the middle of the room.

Janus wasn't sure if he'd say it like that; he was still wondering about Zu's vision and if it really was relevant to the current events. But he wasn't going to openly disagree with the veteran. After a moment he walked over to a nearby couch and sat down to relax a little. "What about you guys?"

"As you can see, we've had jack *poop*. And no calls from Jade either," Blade griped from his end of the room.

"So far we haven't tripped any wires with the Machines, but the boredom alone could kill us all," Solitaire explained as she walked by and moved to where Anubis was sitting, where she picked up a Chinese printed magazine that was on the ground and leaned against the wall while she read it.

"I suggest we enjoy it while it lasts; fate has a tendency to change on a whim," Morpheus replied to her, although the comment was meant for everyone in the room.

"But if we needed the tranquility, we wouldn't be out here in the first place." Irvine countered. Even he hated being in the Matrix like this; even if it was a safe house, he couldn't help but feel an Agent could barge in through the door at any moment. The more they waited, the more likely it would happen.

The sudden ringing of his cellular phone was enough to snap the Nemesis' captain back to the present. With a swift motion he reached into his pocket and popped it open. "If this isn't Rose McGowan in a tight red miniskirt, I'm hanging up."

The initial response was an uncomfortable silence on the other end of the phone. "...Is it really that difficult for you to act in a manner befitting your rank, Captain?"

Irvine suddenly leaned up, as he hadn't been expecting this particular person to call. "Oh you know me Jade, I just can't be taken anywhere. I'm assuming this isn't a social call?"

"I need to speak to Janus. Is he close by?" Jade said, surprisingly even more serious than she usually was.

This took Irvine back a little. "Sure he is, but why the *CENSORED* do you want to talk to him?"

"I remembered something that I think would help him. Now are you going to pass the phone to him or not?"

"Anything for you babe." Irvine smarmily replied as he walked to Janus, who looked up with an arched eyebrow, while everyone else watched with curiosity. "The wife wants to talk to you."

A little confused, Janus took the phone from Irvine and hit the speaker button, so that everyone could hear. "This is Janus."

"Janus, this is Captain Jade of the Interceptor. Before I begin, did your meeting with Master Zu turn up any results?" Jade inquired, her seriousness and English accent making her sound like a stereotype policewoman.

"Ah...no, actually it didn't." Janus replied, still not quite sure how he was supposed to talk to Jade. Sure he was The One, but the woman on the other end was a Captain that he had no prior dealings with, as well as a stern reputation, thus his hesitance. "Why? Did you come up with any leads on your end?"

"Quite possibly." Jade said. "There's a woman that lives in the Historic District named Naomi Tasarova, but she's better known as Madame T. She's a fortune teller of sorts; not quite at the Oracle's caliber, but her past predictions have been accurate enough. She just might have the answers you seek."

"Is she a bluepill or program?" Janus inquired.

"Neither. In actuality, she's the only redpill to take up permanent residence in the Matrix." Jade explained.

Now Janus was exceptionally curious. How the hell would a redpill be able to predict events in the Matrix like the Oracle can? This might actually be worth checking out. "Have you talked to her yourself?"

"Twice. Both times she's been very helpful." Jade said.

"Good enough. I'll check on her and see what she has to say." Janus replied. "Thanks for passing the word Captain."

"The pleasure's mine Janus, I only wish I could be more helpful. Interceptor out." Jade signed off, the click of the phone signifying the breaking off of communications.

Janus closed the phone and handed it back to Irvine, before looking toward Morpheus. "Want to tag along on this one?"

The Zion General shook his head. "I need to check back with my own crew and see how they are progressing."

"I'll go," came the ice cold voice of Anubis, who'd gotten up from his spot at the end of the room. Upon his utterance, everyone turned to look at him as if for the first time, but the assassin passed it off as nothing. "I've heard of Madame T's reputation back when I was still a syndicate dog, so I myself am curious about her."

That was enough of an explanation for Janus, who nodded. Despite his power, he preferred to operate with Anubis when possible, as he knew the assassin was always at his back and vice versa. "Sounds good. Ready to leave?"

"I am." Anubis said as he walked up to Janus.

When his partner was close enough, Janus reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder, and then closed his eyes to focus. A moment later, both faded away, teleporting to their destination in merely a second.

Irvine jokingly groaned, crossing his arms together to the front in a reverse of Morpheus' pose. "They didn't even say goodbye."

"They'll be back soon enough Captain. Now if everyone will excuse me, I must tend to my own crew. Keep me posted." Morpheus replied, turning around and moving to exit the safe house. Solitaire, a little put off like Irvine that Anubis hadn't told her goodbye either, got up and saw the Morpheus out.

Just after he left, Camese got up from her spot and moved over to Irvine, a peculiar look on her face. "Captain, I'm not sure if I should be asking this, but it's been bothering me for a while..."

Irvine turned to face her with his full attention, so she continued. "Why don't you ever go with Janus on things like this?"

From behind the counter, Blade looked up from his SPAS 12 and gave a similar look, as did Solitaire as she came back from the door. "Yeah Captain, we all know you're as much of a believer as Morpheus..."

The Nemesis Captain gave Blade a stern look.

"Alright, maybe not as much as Morpheus." Blade held his hands up. "But you definitely believe in Janus and whatever Prophecy he's supposed to fulfill."

"But isn't that how we all look at him?" Irvine inquired.

He looked straight at Camese on that, since besides Anubis she was the most devoted to Janus out of all of them; after all, Janus was the one responsible for her waking up from the Matrix and had literally turned her life around for the better. But the female fighter only looked at him with a determined glance, which told that she wasn't going to back down from the question. Blade and Solitaire both gave similar expressions.

Seeing this, Irvine decided to come clean. "Yeah, I believe in Janus as much as the next guy, but I'm not like Morpheus with his hard on for that Prophecy *poop*. Let him deal with the weirdos and mystery players. I'd rather be a soldier and captain, because I know my limits and the limits of my crew, and above all else I know what we're here for. And that's all I have to say about it, so let's get back to whatever the hell we were doing."
----

(Ch. 8 cont'd)

The Matrix
Historic District, Downtown
April 2005, 12:40PM

I wonder why they bother calling this place the Historic District when even the bluepills are starting to think it hasn't been around long... Janus thought to himself, as he walked through the streets of possibly the most ironic area in the Megacity. Anubis was right next to him, his katana wrapped in a black woven carrying sack and held behind him in order to avoid too much suspicion. Not that two people dressed in different black trenchcoats and shades, with one even bearing a scar over his right eye, wouldn't attract attention.

While not as bad in condition as say Westview, the Historic District was still not the most awe-inspiring part of the Mega City. As one walked around this area, they would be surrounded by buildings of early twentieth century to forties art deco and structuring, which housed things like apartments, hotels such as the infamous Laurel Diamond, restaurants and many smaller businesses, several of which were supposedly around the District when it was still considered "new". Many bluepills liked this area for its history and the higher class establishments that were unique here and only here. But of course like everything else in this reality, the Historic District and its "legacy" were all fabrications and were about as old as everything else in the Matrix. Needless to say, the irony was not lost to those who knew the truth.

After walking for sometime, both Janus and Anubis came into a small very rundown complex that looked to originally have been an apartment building, but had been converted into a business area. After ascending some stairs and walking around the building further, they came to a small shop that read "Madame T's Psychic Reading" on one of the windows.

"Looks like this is it." Janus looked at his partner, who nodded back. He then grasped the rusted handle of the front door and opened it, both fighters entering.

Inside, they found that the shop was just as exotic looking as it was from the outside. If anything it looked like a gypsy's fortune telling shop, with bright pink wallpaper that contrasted to the faded gray tones on the outside, various antiquated but otherwise "flashy" looking furniture, and somewhat strangely, several pictures and sculptures around the room all depicting religious icons such as a crucifix, a pentagram, a statue of Buddha, and other things. Much like the Oracle's apartment, several lines of beads covered the entryway to the backroom, adding onto the "mystic" setting.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Janus called out, as both he and Anubis scanned the room. Janus blinked into his code vision and analyzed the lines that molded the room together. If there was something special about this place, Janus couldn't find it in the coding; it appeared like any other setting in the Matrix. Janus scanned the backrooms and found the same thing, although there was still no sign of a person present.

"See anything?" Anubis asked, as he ventured over to the side of the room to check for any signs of surveillance or ambush; things like bugs or hidden explosives. Although the building was supposedly a safe zone from the "outside", Anubis had seen many such places infiltrated over his time as a free mind, so it was best to be safe. That and it was an old habit of his to check his surroundings, one that he didn't want to let go of.

"Not so much as a cockroach in the woodwork." Janus sighed, taking off his glasses to wipe the sweat off his brow. "Let's check around the back for..."

The sound of footsteps coming toward them stopped Janus in his line, and instinctively he drew his SVI from under his coat in preparation for a fight. At the same time, Anubis unwrapped the tie to the black sack and let it drop to the floor, revealing his katana underneath, also ready for anything.

However, instead of a Pit Viper, who were the only local gang in the Historic District, or an Agent, a woman walked through the beads to meet them. The woman was dressed in a black leather dress that divided down the middle to reveal leather pants and boots underneath, arm length black leather gloves, angular shades that were common place in the Matrix and a black choker around her neck. Her most notable feature was a tattoo over her left breast stylized heart outlined in gold with bright lines to make it appear as if it were shining.

The woman looked over between Janus and Anubis for a split second, before narrowing on Janus specifically. "Your name is Janus..."

Janus didn't lower his guard just yet. "You a fan too?"

"Or a stalker?" Anubis quipped.

"Heh heh, I suppose you could consider me one or the other." the woman, obviously Madame T spoke cryptically in a Russian-esque accent.

It took Janus a moment to remember why they were there before he responded. "You probably saw this coming, but we need your help. We know you're not a program, but that you're known to make accurate predictions of the future."

"This is true. How can I be of assistance?" Madame T inquired.

This time Anubis stepped in. "We're trying to figure out why there's been so many glitch occurrences in the Matrix, and we've been told you have an understanding of its inner-workings."

"Hah, probably not as intricate an understanding as your friend's." Madame T replied to Anubis, then looking over to Janus again.

"Whatever." Janus shook the suggestive compliment off. "Anyway, another exile described a vision he had, we were wondering if you could interpret it and tell us if it's of any significance."

This made Madame T more interested. "Please, let us sit then." She gestured toward a table that had been placed in the corner of the room, which had three chairs around it and a crystal ball at the center. When she moved to the table, both redpills followed her and took their seats. She then leaned forward and continued. "Now, what was the vision?"

Janus paused for a brief second before explaining. "He said he saw two trees in a garden. One of them outgrew the other, and eventually, the garden, to the point where it could no longer be contained. Afterwards, small flowers and new plant life grew around the tree."

"Ah yes. Hmmm...." Madame T murmured.

"What is it?" Anubis asked.

"Unfortunately, I do not see the underlying message of what you described. On the other hand, it did remind me of a vision that came to me recently." Madame T explained.

Inside, Janus could feel the beginnings of another long headache coming on. "What is it?" he asked reluctantly.

If Madame T heard that reluctance, she ignored it and just explained. "It was a beautiful day inside the Matrix. Not just a colorful sky and a sunset. Everything seemed to have a divine or heavenly aura about it. Then, suddenly, the clouds were dark. There was lightning and fire. A storm came with a cyclone and ruined the tranquility and serenity from only moments before. In the middle of this storm stood a man."

"Is this a prediction of the future?" Janus asked, taking this in. This would likely be important later on.

"Yes. However, I do not know how near or far into the future it is." Madame T answered.

Janus arched his scarred eye. "Who is this man?"

At that question, Madame T tilted up her head so that her eyes could meet Janus', as though she could see through the dark lenses of his glasses. Her face turned into a solemn expression. "He is you."

Now further perplexed, Janus looked at Anubis, who looked back at him. He had a cold expression as he always did, but Janus could tell he was just as bewildered over the revelation as himself. He then looked back at Madame T. "What does it mean?"

The fortune teller shook her head with an apologetic smile. "I only see visions. It's those I tell them to that must interpret them."

Although that wasn't the answer that Janus was looking for, it seemed to be enough. He looked over at Anubis and nodded at him that it was time to go, and so they both got up. "Thank you for your time." he said to Madame T.

"Always a pleasure." Madame T acknowledged.
----

With the solemn nature of an executioner, Janus closed the door to the shop with a sigh escaping from his lips. His thoughts raged unchecked as he did this, frustration beginning to enter his body at the events as of late. His partner saw this and remained silent, sympathizing with how much pressure Janus was going through now.

This is all going nowhere fast. Janus thought, as he looked down at his virtual hand. For once in his lifetime, he was tired of playing the detective and just wanted straight answers; no riddles, no visions, no metaphors, just somebody to tell him what was going on. It had been a year since he had awakened as The One, a year of endless fighting that only now was beginning to weigh on Janus' shoulders, and he still had no idea of what he was supposed to do as The One or what everything meant.

"You going to be alright?" Anubis asked dryly. The question was made out of sympathy, but the dry tone was to remind Janus that they were pressed for time.

"Yeah, give me a minute." Janus muttered, as he walked over to the balcony where Anubis was standing.

He looked out to the various skyscrapers and buildings that made the Historic District, frowning as he blinked into his code vision once more and looked over the buildings and everything that was inside of them, seeing the artificiality behind it all. It was his method for reminding himself of what they were fighting against; his true enemy. "Anubis... I'm going need you to go back without me. Tell Irvine and the others we hit another dead end."

Anubis quirked an eyebrow. "Why don't you tell them that yourself?"

"I need some alone time, just to clear my head. This whole thing is so *CENSORED* up, I don't think I can think straight right now." Janus replied.

Deep down, the assassin wasn't entirely sure about Janus moving around the Matrix while in that state, evident from his lack of an initial response. But after a moment, he reluctantly nodded understandingly at Janus. "Camese will probably come after you later."

"That's okay, by that point I'll be calmed down." Janus said, as he continued to watch over the city line.

Taking that in, Anubis took one last look at his friend and then turned to begin walking away. When he was several feet from Janus, he focused and went into a dash, blurring out of normal sight.
----

(Ch. 8 concluded)

Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Interceptor
1:15PM Matrix Time

"What the hell is he doing now?" Jazz, the Interceptor's brown haired, medium build crew assist, muttered out loud as he watched as Anubis moved off the monitor, leaving Janus standing alone in the middle of the Historic District. Jazz was currently standing over the Interceptor's main terminal along with Hook, the operator, and Pinch, the only other female crew member and fighter.

"Don't know, maybe he wants to take in the sights? Or a *CENSORED* break?" suggested Hook offhandedly, looking in wonder himself. He then gave a distinct smile. "I figure even The One has to ‘drain the weasel' from time to time. Heh heh."

Both Pinch and Jazz simultaneously rolled their eyes. Hook wasn't exactly the sanest redpill in Zion; in fact, there were more than enough people who wondered if there was some defect in his growth process when he was "born". He certainly wasn't very appealing, he looked like a stereotype computer geek only without the glasses and the pocket protector; the kind of guy who spends his days playing Japanese dating sims and his nights with a love pillow. But because he was so good at his job, Jade put up with his antics as long as he stuck to that said job.

"Of course I wonder, if you *CENSORED* in the Matrix, do you saturate your pants in real life?" Hook asked, as if it were a truly philosophical question.

"He's not taking a *CENSORED* break Hook. He probably wants some alone time." staunchly whispered Pinch, who wanted to get off that subject before it became a full blown debate. The short blonde haired woman who looked almost as much of a ball crusher as Captain Jade, kept her eyes on the screen with interest. It was a small kept secret that she had a crush on The One, even though she knew his chances of noticing her were slim to none. It was more of hero worship than anything else anyway. "God knows how frustrating it is to have Irvine as a Captain."

"Yeah, I'm surprised our beloved Captain hasn't taken a knife to Irvine's other jack-in plug just to shut him up." mused Jazz. As he said that, the coding suddenly shifted, signaling Janus had taken flight. "Oh look, there he goes."

"Can you follow him?" Pinch asked Hook.

"It will be difficult, but I'll see what I can do with my magic..." Hook replied as he cracked his knuckles, beginning to type away.

"What are you three doing?" came the voice of a newcomer who had just entered the main deck. The man in question, also speaking with a British accent much like the Captain, was dressed in a gray shirt and darker gray knit pants with combat boots, which was maintained almost at a uniform level. Other than that, he wore short cropped brown hair and a goatee, making him extraordinarily handsome by most standards. "You two are supposed to be on standby in the turret controls."

"We got bored Chase, give us a break." Jazz replied. "So we decided to watch whatever was going on in the Matrix. Nothing wrong with a little break."

Chase, the Interceptor's exec officer, shook his head. "I wouldn't mind having one myself Jazz, but we're supposed to be The One's on look out outside the Matrix; what would happen if a sentinel patrol dropped out of nowhere?"

"It's only a short distance to the turrets from here..." Pinch tried to justify.

"The key word is ‘distance' still. Please go back to your posts." Chase ordered with finality.

Giving off sighs of aggravation, both Jazz and Pinch got up and headed back to their turrets, and Chase himself returned to the bridge, leaving only Hook to watch over The One's progress.
----

The Matrix
Tabor Park, Richland
April 2005, 2:56PM

For what could have been minutes to an hour or two, Janus had simply walked around the Matrix, constantly moving between his normal vision and his code vision both to check for any glitches and simply for the sake of curiosity. For the most part there was nothing different about the Matrix as a whole, although he could still ‘feel' the glitches around and the sense that not everything was as it should be. Not that it bothered him, The One, of course; he had long gotten used to the feeling. The risk of being traced and revealing the Nemesis' location in the real wasn't a matter to him; He could easily cloak himself from Machine detection.

Having exited the Historic District via the Reeves Bridge, which then took him into Uriah, Janus' journey had now taken him to Tabor Park, a place that he could almost say everything began for him. Again. For the moment he was satisfied to stand there and watch over the area with his gaze, still moving between normal and code visions. Even after all this time, it still looked rundown and unkept like most of the Matrix, yet somehow being able to be one of the most scenic areas. From behind his shades, Janus scanned over the park, even going over the part where he had come across that mysterious old man. His eyes froze at that particular, looking it twice over, but he found nothing out of the ordinary; whatever abnormalities had occurred there were gone now.

Without saying anything, he began to walk again into the park, his eyes now shifting from the park itself to the people around it. There weren't many patrons; a female jogger, a middle aged man sitting at a bench eating a hotdog, two women sitting at another bench complaining to each other about their lives' problems, some kids running around playing a game of hide in seek, an undercover police officer, which Janus could have picked out from a mile away, on patrol for the gangs and drug dealers that liked to hang out in the area. It was generally as normal as it could get in the Matrix, which wasn't saying much.

But one patron caught Janus' attention more than the rest. In the middle of the park alone and unbothered, was an elderly man sitting at a chess table. There was nothing truly particular about the man, he looked like any other retiree, but the fact that the table was lined with all the chess pieces in their right places was enough to draw some attention. As well, with the way the old man had both his hands held together under the table, it looked as if he were waiting patiently for someone to join him for a game.

Curious, and not having anything to do at that moment, Janus made his way over to the table, slipping off his glasses and putting them in a pocket on the way. He didn't speak until he was right up to the table. "May I play?"

The old man looked up at him, his expression turning from taciturn to grandfatherly pleasant at the sight of a young man offering to join him for a game. He nodded and Janus sat down.

After a moment of thinking, Janus, who had the white pieces moved first, casually slipping one of his pawns two squares forward. The old man followed by moving one of his pawns two squares ahead as well, doing nothing too notable, at least to Janus. The proclaimed savior responded by putting out a second pawn to reinforce his first one, and it surprised him a little when he saw the old man move his left bishop right behind his own pawn. A little curious about what was going on inside the man's head, Janus then moved his left rook behind the second pawn.

The man then moved the pawn that was farthest left, so that it uncovered his own rook, and Janus moved his rook to the right four spaces. The old man's next move simply placed his first pawn one more square ahead, but Janus moved his rook anyway to keep his queen safe; he still hadn't been able to read the man properly. Instead of moving the rook though, the old man moved his knight forward where Janus had expected the rook to be. Janus, responding, moved his own knight forward, but he didn't realize until the very last second that he moved it right into the firing line of the old man's bishop. The old man didn't hold back, immediately taking it.

Janus was quick to respond, moving his closest pawn over to take the bishop.

"It's the simplicity of it I like the most." the old man, for the first time, had spoken up. At the same time he moved his knight once more, ever closer to Janus' line. "Of every game or competition created by humans, Chess still remains the most simplistic, and at the same time the most complex."

"Eh?" Janus looked up. Blinking into code vision, he saw that the man wasn't a bluepill, instead having the code make up of an exile. "Who are you?"

This earned a small but hearty laugh from the old man. "Indeed. I used to have a name, but that was a long time ago. Nowadays, people just call me the Chessman." he looked over Janus. "And I presume you are The One everyone is talking about."

"More or less." Janus said, moving a pawn to take the knight before it caused any damage.

"Hm, a very offensive mover I see." the Chessman observed, moving a pawn to uncover his rook. "You're a dangerous one alright. You like to move fast and make single, overwhelming attacks, and then move away just as quickly. Not quite a common trait among your kind."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Janus asked, moving a pawn one square ahead.

"Not my place to tell, but you'll find out soon enough." the Chessman reassured, taking that pawn with one of his own.

As Janus took that pawn with his bishop, he looked at the Chessman quizzically. "So, this is what you choose for your exile? Just sitting in the park playing chess?"

"It may not look like much, but I believe this is a fitting place for someone like me." The Chessman replied as he took Janus' pawn with his Queen by moving it diagonally three spaces, probably his boldest move yet as the Queen was his most powerful piece. "You see, I believe the Matrix as a whole can be reflected through this chessboard. I search for insights through the combinations of moves, much the same way you look through insights through sources like the Oracle."

"You saying that these chess pieces have the same power of premonition as the Oracle?" Janus wondered; anything was possible these days. Then in an equally bold move, he had his rook make a beeline for the uncovered black king. "Check by the way."

This made the Chessman arch an eyebrow; Janus could easily have taken his king and ended the game there, but instead he merely had the rook placed in front of the king. Perhaps there was more to the One that he thought, which was saying much. He immediately plucked the rook up with his queen. "No, there is nothing special about these chess pieces. I merely use them to predict things. For example, approximately thirty seconds ago, the Machines have developed a new data node, and before you ask the data stored is of no relevance to the events occurring in the Matrix."

"*CENSORED*." Janus said, moving another pawn into play.

The rest of the game was spent in silence for the most part, and much to Janus' surprise, he was actually winning. The Chessman was putting up a spirited defense, as despite being down to his king and a bishop, Janus still couldn't get him into checkmate. Even more so, he still couldn't read the Chessman's expressions, as they always appeared to be pleasant and he never showed any disappointment even in the face of his losing.

At long last however, Janus was getting ready to finally corner him. "So, do you know how your movements are able to predict things?"

"I'm afraid not, there are some mysteries even beings like me don't know." The Chessman said, moving his king out of another check.

"You also said that this chessboard could be used as a direct representation of the Matrix..." Janus contemplated before he made his next move. "Don't you think the Matrix and the war going on is too complex to be directed from a chessboard? Two equal sides, fighting on a level playing field, with no developments beyond what has already been given, no third faction to sweep in to fight the blacks and the whites..."

"But the simplicity is what makes it beautiful." the Chessman explained. "First, you say that there are multiple sides, but when it comes like Chess, there are only two sides: humans and machines. It is true that certain elements may not agree with their respective kings, but they still fight for or against the Matrix itself. Chess only shows this in its barest form.

"Two, your statement makes it sound like there is no such thing as a level playing field, but there is: the Matrix itself. Here, both man and machine can fight on equal terms as both sides are able to bend or break the rules of the Matrix to their whims. In fact, they are so capable, that it no longer comes down to who has the better weapon or fighting style, but rather who has the stronger will."

"What about advancement?" Janus asked.

"Advancement?" the Chessman asked, a little perplexed.

"You don't see a pawn becoming a queen on this board." Janus said.

The Chessman actually laughed at that one. "That's because if you look at it, there is no such thing as ‘advancement' in either world. Even if power or influence is gained, a pawn will always be a pawn, a rook will always be a rook, a knight will always be a knight and a king will always be a king. The latter is probably truest; even if the king is stripped of his land, he will always be a ruler and a leader, and only time will tell when he is able to return to power."

Janus thought about that; it sounded like the Chessman was referring to something in particular, but he couldn't tell. But he didn't think about it much. After another moment of silence, he made his final move.

The Chessman looked at the board and saw that his King was effectively cornered by the white Queen and three pawns; there was no other move that he could make.

"Checkmate. Hm..." he thought out loud, as his gaze fell locked on the chess board.. He almost seemed surprised, and though he didn't think it would have ever ended.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do here, Janus nodded at the Chessman. "Nice meeting you." He said, before getting up and continuing his walk.
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