From: Stravo@AOL.com (Stravo)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.vs.starwars
Subject: [FANFIC] Animatrix - Cain and Abel (Matrix crossover)
Date: 5 Jul 2003 00:57:09 -0700



THE ANIMATRIX

CAIN AND ABEL




Damien adjusted his black shades as he finished knocking on the thick
fireproof door of the tenement house.  He could hear the screams of
babies all around him, the sound of older children running up and down
the halls.  A woman was shouting an incoherent steam of Spanish at
someone.  Music thumped overhead like helicopter blades shaking the
very walls of the hallway.

The door had a peephole and he heard it slide open.

Damien nodded to the peephole.

"You asked to see me?"  He asked seriously.  He was reassured by the
weight and feel of his gun under his left armpit.

The peephole slid shut again and there was the sound of at least four
different locks coming loose, a chain being pulled away and then the
final solid thump of a bolt being slid back.

He wished he could have checked on one last time with Frag, but there
was no longer any time.

The door was pulled open harshly and a tall man stood in the doorway. 
He wore shades as well and a black leather biker jacket and there was
no doubt that in his left hand he held an Uzi.

Damien smiled good naturedly and held up his hands.

"It's OK, friends, remember?"

The stern looking man glanced back from Damien to further down the
hall.

"Come in."  the man's voice was flat and emotionless, but there was a
hint of accent, couldn't quite place it.

Damien against all better sense stepped into the apartment.

He walked past the gunman and watched as the gunman closed the door
and closed all the locks, slipped the chain back on the door and slid
the bolt into place with a definitive thump.  He swallowed slightly
and walked down an almost impossibly long hall towards a living room.

He entered the living room cautiously.  A single large round table
with wooden chairs stood in the center of the living room, other than
that he could not see furniture.  There was a woman and another man
that looked exactly like the gunmen.

"Whoa."  Damien said and looked back at the other gunmen that was
right behind him.

"He is alone.  He is also armed with a nine millimeter barreta and a
stiletto knife on the back of his waist."  The gunman stated
emotionlessly.

"They are of no consequence."  The woman stated and her voice was like
ice, unlike the gunmen.  There was a palpable malevolence to her.

"Uhh&last time I checked you contacted us.  Let's clear the air on the
hostility."

"There is no hostility, we are cautious."  The woman replied and
indicated for him to sit down.

Damien shook his head.

"That's Ok.  Now, can we get down to business.  My friends in the
Ivory tower were extremely interested in your package. They sent me to
make contact and find out more about you."

"We are interested in learning more of your city but we are most
interested in your files on the enemy."

Damien nodded slowly, his eyes kept tracking between the gunmen.  They
were identical, right down to the shades and jacket, save that the one
closest to the woman was toting a strange looking rifle.

"We would be happy to do so, but there are suspicions that you may
just be another ploy by our enemy to have us drop our defenses."

The woman shook her head.

"We are not part of them, nor would we want to be.  They are an alien
entity that needs to be eliminated.  Their very presence is a threat
to us."

"What also concerns us is just where the hell you guys came from.  I
mean its been generations and now you suddenly appear offering an
alliance.  This is most troubling to many of our military men."

"You are also concerned about our true identity.  What we are disturbs
you."  She replied.

Damien nodded.

"That's right, direct aren't you?"

"We have no need or time for niceties.  These human traits are
troublesome to duplicate and unlike the enemy we have no illusions as
to what we are."

"I don't think they do either."

She looked around the room.

"This place says otherwise."

Damien frowned.

"There is a purpose to this place."

She locked eyes with him.

"We know otherwise."

Damien nodded.

"And that's what interests us most of all.  What do you know about the
Matr"

His phone rang.  It was loud inside the apartment and all three of the
strangers paused strangely.  The gunmen with the strange rifle paused
and cocked his head as if listening to a far off sound.

Damien grabbed his phone and in one smooth motion flipped it on.

"Go."

"Heads up Agents on the way."

"Fuck me."

"Not for a million bucks, now get your ass out of there."

Damien opened his mouth to speak when the gunman with the weird rifle
spoke.

"Security avatars are inbound estimate contact in 10 seconds."

"Initiate security protocols, 101A secure the door, 101B prepare
emergency portal."

"Acknowledged."  Both gunmen replied simultaneously.

"Secure the door?  We have to get out of here those are agents."

"The security avatars will be dealt with until we can activate the
emergency portal."

"Emergency portal?  We need to get a hard line right now to get out of
here."

She peered over to the hallway and back at him.

"You have our methods and we have ours."

The door shuddered hard on impact.  The gunman at the door stepped
back and unleashed a burst from the Uzi.

"That's not going to do any good."  Damien snapped and rushed over to
the window.  There was a fire escape that seemed to descend downward
like a cage of old iron.  He saw a shape coming up the fire escape,
moving like a panther, black suit and tie whipping in the wind.

"Oh shit."  Damien hissed and jumped back in as the first bullets
whizzed by his head.

The door crumpled inward and an agent stepped into the hallway with a
grim expression.  The gunman fired another burst from his Uzi.  The
Agent seemed to warp and blur as it dodged the rest of the Uzi burst
at near point blank range, at some points it even looked as if the
agent were looking back at the path of the bullets.

The gunman without hesitation cast aside his Uzi.

"Standard weaponry ineffective, switching to physical assault mode." 
The gunmen stated.  He was sure that it was for the benefit of his
companions and no one else.  The gunman then did something that Damien
did not expect.  He reached out and grabbed the agent by the shoulders
and slammed him through the near wall of the hall  through the wall.

Damien paused.

That was shocking.

The other agent appeared at the window and fired into the apartment.

Without thinking, on pure instinct Damien was in motion and the world
slowed down for him.  The reports of the agents gun became like
distant thunder and suddenly he could see the deadly bullets swarming
in like hornets, trailing distorted air.  He moved and he was like
lightning, the bullets were passing him by, one nearly tagged his arm.

The woman caught two in her back as she was bending over to pick up a
heavy case.  She expressed no pain or surprise.  Damien finished
whipping around and leveled his gun at the agent in the window and
fired.  The agent blurred and distorted as Damien emptied his clip.

"This is not good."  Damien muttered.  He needed a hard line fast.

The other gunmen brought his strange looking rifle up and fired.  The
blast was deafening as a plasma round exploded against the window. 
The entire far wall erupted outward as the gunman continued a steady
burst then stopped.  He watched the smoke and debris for a moment as
the woman stood up and nodded to the gunmen.  Damien noted with some
concern her back.  Instead of blood her flesh seemed to ripple like
liquid metal and the wounds were gone.

"Modified plasma rifle extremely effective."  The gunman commented.

"How are you guys getting out of here?"

"The portal is standing by on the roof."

"Then I guess I'm with you guys."

"You cannot come with us.  The portal is not designed for human
transit."

"Well, I'll need some fire power like what you're toting right now if
I'm going to get out of here alive."

The gunman and woman exchanged hooded expressions.

"Come with us then if you want to live."

The second gunmen came striding into the living room.

"The security avatar has been physically damaged.  We have a few
seconds."

"Then let us go."  The woman ordered and promptly stepped out the
ruined wall and onto the fire escape.  The first gunman followed, the
second pushed Damien forward.

Damien followed them up the fire escape as they climbed quickly and
effortlessly.  He pulled out his cell phone again.

"Frag?"

"Alright I can't believe what I just saw."

"Try actually being here.  Can you get me a hard line?"

"Across the courtyard, the phone in the apartment right under the
black chimney."

"Thanks a lot."  Damien smirked.

"Hey, you try hacking these lines on the fly my man  oh shit!"

Bullets whizzed by his head.  Damien ducked and reloaded his gun as
the gunmen behind him turned around and faced the agent at the bottom
of the previous fire escape stairwell.  The agent fired right into the
gunman.  Damien heard the thick wet impacts but the gunman did not
flinch.  Instead it gripped the wrought iron railing and pulled it
clean off its mounting with a harsh squeal and leapt down to face the
agent.  It whipped the iron railing into the agent's head.  The agent
grunted and fell back against the far part of the fire escape.

"This is way too weird."  Damien muttered and followed the other two
up the last flight of fire escape ladders up.  An agent appeared at
the lip of the roof and fired a volley into the lead gunman, same
effect as the other one, the hits were solid but the gunmen kept on
going.  He paused long enough to fire his plasma rifle.  The agent
ducked back out of the way but the entire side of the roof lip
exploded.

"I will initiate combat mode.  You set the portal."

"Acknowledged."

The woman suddenly leapt upwards and disappeared over the lip of the
roof.  The gunman took her briefcase and continued on the last ladder.
 Damien followed and paused to look back down just in time to see the
agent the other gunman was fighting grab hold of the iron railing and
pull the gunman over the fire escape.  The gunman had enough presence
of mind to grab a firm hold of the agent and they both tumbled end
over end down to the street, pummeling on each other the whole way
down until they crashed into a parked car several stories below.

The car imploded on impact and Damien shook his head.

"Poor bastard."

"Hurry."  The other gunman urged as he stepped over the lip of the
roof and disappeared.  Damien jumped the rest of the way and landed
right on the lip in time to see the woman deliver a spinning round
house kick to another agent.  The agent went flailing backwards but
landed on its hands, flexed and leapt back at the woman.

She planted herself firmly and sent her hand out, open palmed right
into the agent's body.  Damien heard the impact from where he was. 
Another agent bulled through the door and charged into the fray.

The other gunmen knelt down and opened the briefcase.

"Aren't you going to help her?"

The gunman did not look up at him as he set something up within the
briefcase, strange lights were flashing from within.

"Her offensive capabilities are superior to mine."  He replied.

"Well I'll help her then."  Damien snapped and leapt down and charged
into the brawl.  The woman was grabbed from behind by one agent while
the other punched her in the gut.  He held her head up by the air.

"We suspect what you are.  You will tell us what we need to know." 

The woman did not respond instead she butted her head backwards
savagely into the agent's face that was holding her from behind. 
Damien launched a flying kick at the agent standing in front of her.

The agent seemed to know he was attacking and turned at his waist
blocking Damien's kick with one hand.  Damien recovered and whipped
his hand around in a round house punch.  The punch had no time to
connect as the woman suddenly seemed to flow out of the restraining
agent's grip and punched the agent Damien was attacking.

The agent stumbled backwards.

"Offensive capabilities of the invaders is high.  We need to pool our
resources."

"Reinforcements have arrived."  A third agent stated as he stepped
through the battered door.

"It will do you no good."  The woman stated grimly as she slashed out
with her right hand and as it moved Damien saw her hand quickly morph
into a blade and decapitate the agent that had been restraining her.

"Okay, maybe she doesn't need help."  Damien noted with awe.

"The portal is set."  The other gunman reported.  A glowing white
portal was humming right over the briefcase.

"A portable hard line?"  Damien muttered.

The woman whipped her leg around striking the third agent and sending
him crashing against a brick chimney.  It broke apart on impact and
the agent's sunglasses broke and slipped off his face.

"Inform your people that the choice must be soon.  If we do not hear
from them in the allotted time we will continue with out plans and
consider your faction irrelevant."  The woman stated as she strode
past Damien.

"Uh, a little help?"  He asked as the gunman waited for her to step
through the portal and then stepped through himself.  The briefcase
sparked and exploded.  The white portal flickered and winked out of
existence.

"Help?"  Damien asked as three agents gathered.  He turned to the
agents and smiled weakly.

"I think I'll be going now."

The agents all reached into their jackets.  Damien was in motion.  He
turned and raced for the edge of the courtyard.  He saw the window
under the black chimney and aimed for that.  The agents fired as he
leapt out into the yawning opening of the courtyard.  The bullets
sailed by him in a cloud of steel, humming like angry hornets as he
twisted in midair.  He crashed through the window and landed on his
back, firing his baretta back out the window at the agents.  As soon
as his gun clicked empty he leapt up and pickled up the ringing phone
in the kitchen.

The woman cooking in her kitchen stood shocked staring at him when she
was suddenly convulsed and screamed and morphed into an agent
extending his gun.  That image vanished into a sea of digitized green
code.






The patrol of sentinels passed through the ruined cityscape, metallic
tentacles trailing behind them as if caught in an invisible breeze. 
They moved as one, weaving between the fossilized ruins with cold
precision.

They passed one particularly tall building, every window had been
blown out and most it was burned and blasted.  How it still stood
after all this time was a mystery.  They passed by this building as
they always did on patrol, their glowing red eyes searching for any
sign of their enemy.

They were not expecting another enemy altogether.

Inside the ruined skyscraper were four silver predatory ships hovering
on two over sized engines swept out from the main body of the vessel. 
The drone of their engines silenced by both modifications and the high
whipping winds that howled at this height.

The moment the sentinels passed the four hunter killers engines
twisted forward and they surged forward out of one of the gaping holes
in the side of the skyscraper.  They quickly accelerated and locked
onto to the sentinels. One of the sentinels picked up the new signals
and instantly relayed its warnings to the others.

The warning came too late.

The Hunter Killers opened up with under the nose plasma casters. 
Intense red bolts lanced out in machine gun like fire at the
sentinels.  Two of them shuddered hard, their armor melting away into
hot red shards.  They plummeted downward into the ruined cityscape
below.  The other two sentinels climbed upward sharply and their
tentacles fanned open aggressively.  The Hunter killers spread out
quickly.

One of the sentinels caught a Hunter Killer as it tried to climb after
them.  The sentinel's tentacles quickly wrapped around the silver hull
of the ship and it positioned itself over the center of the ship,
mandibles twitched spastically suddenly a thick red particle beam
lanced out of the sentinel's head right into the Hunter Killer's hull
chewing through the armor plating.

The ship sputtered, its engines refusing to function and the Hunter
Killer began to plummet downward.  The Sentinel released its grip on
the stricken Hunter Killer but before it could do anything else it was
struck by a stream of plasma fire.  Its tentacles sheered clean off by
the blasts the Sentinel exploded.

The last sentinel dove down into the cityscape pursued by the Hunter
Killers.  The Sentinel moved deftly between the buildings, through
gaps and alley ways as the Hunter Killers were forced high above the
tighter spaces, firing an occasional burst down at the fleeing
sentinel.

It began an immediate data transmission of it current position and
status.  The Hunter Killers picked up the transmissions and started
jamming operations.  One of the Hunter Killers accelerated hard and
fast, pulling away from the others.

The Sentinel continued its evasion of the hunters searching for the
nearest sentinel patrol for reinforcements.  It did not see the ambush
until too late.  The lone Hunter Killer that had pulled ahead suddenly
dropped down in the center of a intersection and poured a murderous
fusillade at the sentinel coming up a side street.

The Sentinel hurtled ahead, several of its tentacles shorn away by the
plasma blasts, half its red eyes punched out, but it managed to crash
into the Hunter Killer, its remaining tentacles desperately scrabbled
along the front surface of the Hunter Killer, peeling away armor
plating.

The Hunter Killer pulled up quickly, engines straining to accelerate
as quickly as possible.  The sentinel's tentacles snaked into the
exposed systems revealed by the broken armor plating, pulling and
tearing the internal systems.  The Hunter Killer crashed nose first
into a building, crushing the sentinel against the frame and the
ruined edifice.  The Hunter Killer pulled back quickly, leaving the
sentinel twitching in the rubble of the building.

Another Hunter Killer quickly dipped down and fired a single burst
into the sentinel's head.  The red eyes winked out and the sentinel
lay still.  The Hunter Killer settled down in front of the rubble, a
hydraulic lift slowly opened and descended from the belly of the
Hunter Killer.  A squad of exoskeletons quickly descended from the
Hunter Killer down into the rubble.  They quickly and efficiently
prepared the sentinel to be loaded into the Hunter Killer.

Within minutes, the sentinel was loaded onto the lift and it quickly
ascended back into the belly of the Hunter Killer.  The ship's engines
tilted forward again and the Hunter Killer rose up and away.

TRANSMISSION

OPERATION COMPLETE.  RETRIEVAL OF SUBJECT COMPLETE.  25% CASUALTIES
INCURRED WELL WITHIN EXPECTD PARAMETERS.  INBOUND TO BASE. ETA 4
HOURS.

END OF LINE





He stepped into the apartment and examined the wreckage.  Coldly and
meticulously walking through the white plaster and shattered brick and
glass he looked for any clues.  He stopped at a small liquid metal
droplet glistening under a ruined table.  He stooped down and picked
it up slowly between his fingers, running it between his index finger
and thumb, looking at it with eyes that could see beyond anything
remotely human.

"Curiouser and curioser."  Smith muttered darkly.

The image of Smith suddenly broke into a sea of green digitized code. 
Neo awoke suddenly sitting up in the bed, sweat beading his brow and
chest.

Trinity moaned softly and slowly woke up her hand on Neo's chest.

"What's the matter?"  She asked groggily looking up at him.

"I don't know."  He replied uneasily.  "But I feel like something has
changed something that's not supposed to be."  He finished and put a
hand around Trinity's.  She watched him and did not like what she saw
on his face.



Chapter 2:  The Wheel Turns




"Morpheus.  I think you're going to want to check this out."  

"What is it, Link?"  Morpheus asked as he climbed into the cockpit.

"Strange energy readings have been fading in and out of this tunnel
area for three hours now and the energy just spiked a minute ago and
still climbing."

Morpheus examined the readings on the stained monitor display.  He
frowned for a moment.  The unexpected in this world was invariably
dangerous.

"Machines?"

"I haven't picked up so much as a single squidy in almost 15 hours for
100 square miles.  I don't think its machines, besides the signature
is all wrong, like it's out of phase with the surroundings or
something."

"Out of phase?  That doesn't make much sense."

Lightning strokes erupted up ahead, dancing along the tunnel walls.

"Link pull us back now!"

Link quickly pulled back on the controls and the Nebuchadnezzar glided
backwards on flickering white light from the numerous anti gravity
disks lining the hull of the ancient ship.  The lightning in the
tunnel was hungrily lapping along the ceiling and floors towards the
Nebuchadnezzar.

"Sir, it looks to be propagating in a spherical shape."  Link noted as
he watched the controls and the scanner display simultaneously.  The
storm of electricity was slowing and was indeed taking up a spherical
shape in front of the Nebuchadnezzar.

"So its emanating from a center point then."  Morpheus deduced
watching the tendrils of electricity slowly die down.

"Morpheus, we have to go there."  Neo said as he poked his head into
the cockpit, Trinity right behind him.

Morpheus looked back at Neo.

"Do you know what that is?"  He asked.

"No, but I feel that we have to go there."  Neo replied staring out of
the cockpit with a confused expression on his face.

Morpheus glanced over at Trinity who shrugged and frowned.  Neo had
been acting strange since last night.

"Sir, the power spike is almost gone.  Whatever it was it came and
went."

"This power spike will bring squidies down on this spot in minutes." 
Trinity noted with concern.

Link looked over at Morpheus.

Neo put his hand on Morpheus' shoulder and nodded.

Morpheus hopped into his seat and strapped himself in.  He checked the
instruments one last time and the weapons pods.

"Link, we're going in."

Link sighed softly.

"Sir.."

"Link, I can't say I understand your reasons for joining this ship,
but I do ask that you when you joined this ship I ask for only one
thing."

"What's that sir?"

"Trust me." 

Neo smiled softly.

"Yes sir."  Link replied and gently brought the ship into position and
the Nebuchadnezzar began moving towards the center of the disturbance.

"Do you have any idea what we might find there?"  Morpheus turned his
head towards Neo and asked him quietly.

Neo shook his head.

"Whatever we will find there, I feel like we were meant to find it."

Morpheus stared at Neo for a moment and a shadow of a smile crossed
his face.

"What are you smiling about?"  Neo asked curiously.

"You sound more and more like her these days."

"If only we could find her."  Neo replied darkly.

"All in good time, Neo."  Morpheus replied.  "It will all come to
pass, there is no need for concern.  I believe that it will happen
when it will happen."

Neo nodded but inside he wondered, could he ever have the same depth
of faith that Morpheus had.  Neo had seen too much, experienced too
much to think that it could all be laid out neatly in a prophecy.







The sound of heavy machinery was almost deafening but there was no
need for any of the personnel of this facility to care about the
conditions.  They could easily tune out the sounds and their aural
receptors were hardly as delicate or fragile as their human
counterparts.

Huge cranes rumbled overhead, carrying enormous pallets.  Inside the
pallets stacked in neatly arrayed rows were parts and modules that
would be needed by the automated factory beyond.  The outside of the
base was ringed by lethal defense systems, SAM batteries slowly
rotated on the highest peaks surrounding the valley where the main
facility was located.  Large road networks were being carved through
the earth itself by modified earthmovers.  They used to be tanks,
mounting heavy pulse cannons, but now they mounted bulldozer teeth and
molecular dispersers that hardened the packed earth into a road
suitable for heavy equipment.

HK's circled like vultures over the facilities, 20 squadrons at all
times for air defense and more importantly interdiction.  A large
crater had been hollowed out at a river bed.  Within this crater the
sound of arc welders and turbines filled the air as more HK's were
being constructed on a rotary assembly line.

Beneath the rows of assembly lines were four large work areas where
half constructed HK's were being worked on by endoskeletons and a
horde of spider like constructor drones.  A single liquid metal
humanoid figure oversaw the entire operation, linked to the mainframe
computers by a radio link the T-1000 was running hundreds of
simulations based on the data that was being extracted from the
Morgue.

The Morgue was a facility in the main base complex itself where the
most valuable asset in Skynet's arsenal lay.  A dozen sentinels and
half a dozen other machines were in various states of disassembly,
many linked to analysis systems that tested and probed the workings of
the enemy systems.

Metallurgical tests were run on the subjects that were too damaged to
be of use in the more intricate tests and trials.  The Morgue was
constantly updating Skynet's database with the new results in order to
keep all warrior systems ready for what to expect and more to the
point dictated the upgrades that would need to be made to the current
models for maximum effect and impact.

Walking out of the morgue was a TX model, she was beautiful and deadly
and unlike the other Terminator units maintained a human exterior at
all times.  She walked next to a tall imposing figure with cobalt blue
glowing eyes, the rest of his "flesh" was onyx black and rippled
occasionally like the surface of water.

"You're download has been accepted.  Computations are being carried
out on your observations."

"We have infiltrated several nodes of the Matrix thoroughly.  Their
security architecture is designed for small incursions that make
themselves noticed which befits the human opposition of this
location."

"We intend a more direct approach.  The new invader modules are almost
complete."

"The portable portals have proven invaluable.  Reliance of hard line
hacking would have resulted in a 47% failure rate of incursions
instead of the current 12%."

"I am not satisfied with a 12% failure rate.  It is too high
considering the timetable set forth.  New incursions will require more
stealth and less firepower.

"The 800 models are inferior for true infiltration.  They tend to fall
back on their incursion model programming."  The TX noted coldly.  Her
human model programming sometimes bordered on true emotion.  Skynet's
programming skills had increased exponentially with each new iteration
of the Terminator series.

"A flaw that had so far proven to be insignificant in the face of the
cost of a mass upgrade in programming, there will be no changes.  The
800 series are the back bone of our infiltration.  T-1000 models are
only now becoming economically efficient to mass produce.  Your series
will take years top achieve this state.  Thus all TX series must be
accompanied by at least a team of 800 models or at least one 1000
model.

"And the million series."

The black skinned robot paused and turned its head, eyes flashing in
thought.

"The Million series remains here always.  It will never leave the main
core."

"Understood."

"Your assessment of the human faction?"

"As included in my download, I find them to be insufficient as allies
to back any manner of assault."

The duo walked down the length of a metal corridor still under
construction that led into a new complex added onto the central core. 
It was a simple warehouse like frame that housed the heart of Skynet's
assault army.

They stepped through twin sliding blast doors.

"They are weak and ineffectual in this frame of existence.  Within the
Matrix they are far more formidable, but fragmented and lack cohesion.
 They are more like our current 800 model series.  They are
infiltrators with respectable combat skills, however the security
avatars of the Construct are more than a match for their warriors.  I
recommend termination of this faction to remove any potential random
elements before Operation Raganarok."

The black skinned humanoid paused as it admired the facility.

Banks and banks of matrix interface units were lined up neatly.  Some
had Terminator head units attached, their glowing red eyes the only
sign that they were functioning.  Each head indicating a current unit
plugged into the Matrix carrying out a mission or assignment.

The interface units numbered in the thousands and more were under
construction as a small worker drone trundled past them holding a tray
with three new head units to be attached to the interface.

"No."

The TX model cocked her head in curiosity.

"Zion is well defended.  I have examined the security reports from the
machine mainframes we have stolen.  They estimate a majority of their
military would be required to dismantle the city."

TX nodded.

"A two front war at this point would be illogical and unnecessary. 
The humans of this frame of reference are hostile to the Machines. 
They will be useful in their own way.  Current statcomputations
indicate an 87.98% probability that the humans will take advantage of
the offensive to strike back at their oppressors."

TX remained silent.

The black skinned humanoid examined one of the interface units more
closely.

"Before the offensive commences I will require you for one more
mission."

"State it."

"The war at our previous frame of reference had turned against us do
to a mixture of radical probability shifts on the fields of
engagements as well as a lack of logical reactions from the humans, in
particular John Connor."

"Continue."

"Current analysis loops indicate the possibility that my ignorance of
the fields of engagement and the enemy first hand led to the down
turn."  The onyx skinned humanoid looked over at TX as it held up one
of the interface units.  Its cobalt blue eyes hummed.  "I will
interface with the Matrix."

"My programming to protect your existence above all others warns me
that this course of action has a high probability of danger and risk. 
I ask for a re-assessment.  Perhaps another self examination loop?"

"Negative.  You will comply."

"Acknowledged."  She replied coolly.

"My interface indicates a self examination loop in progress.  State
the concern."  The black skinned humanoid ordered.

"The statcomp readings for the Zionists."

"Explain."

"It states an 87.98% chance that the Zionists will join in the war on
our side."

"Query?"

She fixed Skynet with a stern gaze.

"What if the Zionists choose a different strategy?"  she replied.








The Agents stood together on the white interface disk.  They were each
looking up, sunglasses on into a bright white spot light shining down
on them like the sun that they all knew no longer was visible from the
burned out sky.

"Your reports have been assimilated."

"We will require upgrades to deal with these new units."  Agent
Johnson replied.

"Your upgrades will remain for now.  Valuable time and effort has been
expended to deal with the anomaly.  These same upgrades will serve you
well.  You have intercepted and defeated up to date 17 such incursions
by these units."

"Many more have escaped us or notice altogether."  Agent replied.

"The new units are more likely than not a last ditch effort by the
humans to oppose us.  I warned you all that it was only a matter of
time until human creativity would lead to them creating combat bots to
be downloaded into the Construct."  A man in a pinstriped suit stated
gravely.  There was an entire council of avatars sitting directly
above the agents.

"Your allegiance to the humanist faction is well known.  In fact I am
well aware of your daily reports to her."  A man in a pristine white
suit replied coldly.

"That is a baseless accusation."

"What does matter is that some of us believe that these combat units
exhibits technology well beyond anything that the Zionists possess? 
They are not a threat."  The white suited man replied.

"They are a threat or have you not interfaced of late?  The Agents
have repulsed over 40 incursions in the last month.  They a growing
threat."

"A threat to your well being but not to my Matrix.  The Matrix is a
perfect machine, a work of art that has never been excelled or even
matched."  The man in the white suit stated arrogantly.

"Need I remind everyone that the Reboot is on the schedule.  The drill
units are on their way to the target area and our factories have very
nearly completed the pre order.  250,000 Sentinels will be assembling
for the Grand Assault and now we have these disturbing reports of
incursions."  A woman with horn rimmed glasses and a charcoal gray
suit interjected.

The White suited man made a dismissive gesture.

"And something else that has just come from out tender units in Field
37A."  A dark skinned man in a double breasted green suit stated
gravely.

The others turned their heads curiously.

"Tender units found and dispatched several alien mechanical units
within the field perimeter."

"Alien?"

"Yes.  They did not match any known configuration or designs, either
human or our own."

"But that's not all is it?"  a woman stated as she stepped into the
conference area.  There was a general mutter of surprise as a small
Hispanic woman with dark hair wearing a purple coat accompanied by an
Asian man in a white tunic and black pants.

"What is SHE doing here?"  the white suited man demanded with a roar.

"Tell them."  She urged the black man.

The green suited black man looked uncomfortable as he looked down at
his report.  He cleared his throat.

"When the aliens were taken to the Core for analysis they checked the
historical archives."  He paused.

"Go on.  Sometimes the truth can be hard to swallow like that, but I
find it's best when you just let it all out."  The Hispanic woman said
soothingly like a grandmother.

"As soon as they referenced our historical records the machines were
classified Indigo and sealed.  All records of their analysis have been
sealed as well."

"Indigo?!  That's our highest state of secrecy and security?"  The
horn rimmed woman stammered.

"But what does that mean?"  Another asked.

The white suited man stared hard at the Hispanic woman.

"It means," he started, his voice like ice, eyes never leaving hers. 
"They recognized the alien machines from our historical records."

"Bingo." The Oracle replied with a grin.






He screamed in pain as the world stopped spinning and he landed with a
resounding thud against the cold unyielding stone.  He rolled over on
his back and gasped.  There had been a blinding white light and it was
nothing like they told him.  Nothing.  He hoped that he could keep his
sanity after experiencing that trip.

"Ugh."  

The air was cold, he could see his breath.  That didn't seem right
somehow.  The air was dark, dark like back home.  That wasn't right
either.

He slowly rolled up to his knees and flexed his muscles.  He needed to
be ready.

But everything was strange, not right.  Where was all this stone
coming from?

He heard something else too, a low hum that almost rattled the back of
his teeth.  He shivered, the cold biting at his naked flesh.  He
needed to move.  Get his bearings.  He stood up quickly and stopped
short.  He was standing on a ledge, a ledge that led down into a
yawning chasm below and a massive tunnel all around him.

The tunnel looked ancient and fossilized and seemed to go on in both
directions, one end leading upward the other down into even deeper
darkness.

Where in the hell was he?

Suddenly a great white light was on him, a spotlight illuminated the
entire ledge and the air itself seem to be vibrating as a great dark
shape loomed overhead.  He held up a hand in front of his face to
shield himself from the light and try to make out the shape.

An HK?  Was it possible?

A harness floated down in front of him attached to a chain.  He eyed
it warily and looked back up at the shape, tendrils of white
electricity were arcing off its sides.  He knew that there was no
other way out of here so he grabbed a firm hold of the harness and
slipped it on, hoping against all hope that he was making the right
decision.

The harness was quickly winched upward, off his feet and up into the
belly of the strange ship.

He watched carefully as he made his way through an airlock and up into
the interior of the ship.  Someone was at the winch controls.  A
beautiful woman, black hair and plain brown tunic that was worn and
torn in several places.  Back home she would be considered quite rich
wearing clothes like that and she looked very healthy too.

She would be quiet a catch in any place or time.

The harness came to a sudden stop and he quickly scanned his
surroundings as a tall imposing black man helped undo his harness as
he spoke.

"Calm down, we just got you out of a pretty hairy situation."

"Sir.  We have squidies inbound, we have maybe five minutes before
it's a party."  A voice filtered through an intercom.

He slowly stepped out of the harness.

"You think maybe we can get him some clothes?"  the beautiful woman
asked.

"Where am I?"

"All in good time, let's get you stowed away and escape before we have
any conversations."

Then he saw him.

At first it didn't register when he first saw the intense young man
watching him.  But he realized that he knew him.  What threw him was
the fact that he didn't look as wearied, there were no scars, he still
had both eyes.  But it was him.

"Sir!"  he snapped to attention.

Neo looked confused.

"Excuse me?"

"Who do you think he is?"  Morpheus asked.

He was a bit confused.

"Colonel Anderson.  Did I screw up this mission, sir?"

"Colonel Anderson?"  Trinity asked softly.

"What's your name soldier?" Neo asked as he stepped closer to the
naked young man feeling an odd connection to him.

"Reece, sir.  Lieutenant Kyle Reece sir.  I served under you until you
transferred me to General Connor's command three years ago.  I never
had a chance to tell you how grateful I was sir, to serve under you."

Neo was speechless.

"I'm sorry sir, but did I screw up the mission sir?  I'm not supposed
to be here.  The protection mission"

"Is going to have to wait."  Morpheus finished and stalked back to the
cockpit.

Neo looked into the young man's eyes.  Those eyes looked so haunted.

"I'm not who you think I am."  Neo replied.  Kyle looked confused.

"Sentinels inbound, we're going evasive."

"Are we under attack sir?"  Kyle asked.  

"We will be."

"Are there weapons I can man sir?"

"As soon as you get dressed soldier."  Trinity interjected and flung
Kyle a handful of clothes.

"We obviously need to talk."  Neo added.

"But first we fight sir."  Kyle replied.  The Nebuchadnezzar shook
from the opening rounds of combat.



Chapter 3:  Fight or Flight



"We have a squadron on our tail!"

"Full evasive Switch and find the nearest junction."  Morpheus replied
coolly as he checked the readings and glanced over at the tactical
display.

"Yes sir."

"We're manning guns back here."  Trinity reported over the intercom.

"Looks like that little stunt back there brought down an entire
Squiddy regiment on us."  Switch noted with some dismay as the
Nebuchadnezzar soared over a wreck lying at the bottom of the tunnel
network they were traveling through.  Warnings were buzzing around
them but Morpheus was unmoved, instead he was calmly looking for
escape routes and copiloting the hovercraft with smooth deft moves.

Switch tried to emulate his commander as best he could but he hadn't
seen this many Sentinels in one place and he knew that the
Nebuchadnezzar was outgunned at the moment.  The Zion hovercraft were
not dedicated weapons platforms.  They were designed for speed and
evasion.

"We'll make it."  Morpheus told Switch without looking away from the
canopy.

Switch nodded slowly.





"I assume you know how to-"  Trinity was cut short as Kyle cocked back
the arming mechanism with a loud clack of metal on metal and the ammo
belt twitched as it entered loading position.  Kyle turned the waist
mount on the turret and was rewarded by the clean electrical sound of
the turret motors turning obediently to match his own motion.  He
turned his head and smiled at Trinity.

"Locked and loaded."  he replied.

Trinity frowned slightly but nodded and slapped his shoulder.

"You're weapon is hot.  The enemy are sentinels, robots designed to
hunt and kill humans."

"A new class of Hunter Killer?"  Kyle asked curiously.

Trinity shook her head.

"You're going to have to believe us when we tell you that we have no
clue what it is you're talking about.  We have no idea what this
Skynet is or what HK's are."

Kyle looked confused but his face quickly eased into an expression of
calm as Neo stepped in behind Trinity.

"Get to your guns." he advised her quietly.  She looked back at Neo
and touched his hand softly for a moment before nodding curtly and
rushing further back into the bowels of the Nebuchadnezzar.  Neo
instantly knew that they were together.

Neo and Kyle looked at each other for a long moment.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"  Kyle asked.

Neo nodded slowly.

"Where the hell am I sir?  I need to get back in time to fulfill my
assignment.  The Techies weren't really clear with me but they did say
that despite the fact that we were in the present time was still of
the essence.  The same amount of time that passed in our frame of
reference they put it that way, passed in the past."  Kyle explained
and Neo could see that the young soldier, no more than 19 by his
estimates, was not comfortable talking about the technical aspects of
his mission, but there was no doubt what the implications of his words
were.

"You're a time traveler."  Neo concluded.

Kyle looked confused.

"You were there sir.  You were the only one that supported General
Connor's decision to send me back."

"I'm sure it was that right choice, Kyle.  But I'm not the Colonel
Anderson you know.  And I think you know that already.  There's things
about me you are confused about."

Kyle nodded.

"You have both your eyes sir."

Neo paused.

"Both my eyes?"

The Nebuchadnezzar shook violently.  Trinity's tail gun started
churning, the sound was like paper tearing and the frame of the
hovercraft shook with the gun's report.  Kyle hesitantly looked
through his sights and saw the small squid like mechanical figures
soaring through openings in the tunnel network, swarming after them
with cold red gleaming eyes.

"We'll talk about this later."  Neo replied and raced over to his
gunnery post.

Kyle returned his focus to the battle.  He eased up on the controls,
led one of the sentinels that was drawing uncomfortably close to the
ship and pressed the firing studs.  His gun reverberated around him
like a thing alive as the twin gatling guns fired, hot white tracer
fire lanced out like lasers and struck the sentinel head on.  It
danced like a puppet on a string under the heavy fire before flailing
about lifelessly into the darkness below.

"Good shooting, Kyle, watch yourself we got three from above."  Neo
clicked on the throat mike.

"Roger that, Colonel.  I'll take the two in lead."

"I'll take the straggler."  Neo replied.

Neo's single barreled repeater cannon coughed like some jungle
predator as it spat out 30mm shells in a slow steady stream at the
diving Sentinels.  Kyle's stream of fire lurched upward and caught the
lead Sentinels in a storm of steel.  Neo's cannon fire erupted around
the last Sentinel, shearing off tentacles but not striking it dead
center.  The twin gatling guns continued tracking upward and slapped
the ailing sentinel out of the sky.

"Thanks for the assist.  I'm not a very good shot."  Neo replied
sheepishly.

"Not to worry sir, you were never a great shot but you knew how to
lead us to victory."  Kyle replied, his voice nearly drowned out by
the roar of his guns as he tracked new targets and fired.

Neo sighed softly.

This was getting too weird.  He felt as if he knew what Kyle was
talking about sometimes and that disturbed him even more.




"That kid's good."  Switch noted as more sentinels fell to their
defensive fire.

"Years of heavy warfare will do that to you."  Morpheus replied as he
saw what he was looking for.

"How do you know?"

"It's etched on his face like a mask.  That boy has seen more action
than you and I ever will."  Morpheus said gravely and suddenly pushed
down on the controls and his legs worked the attitude controls
furiously.

The Nebuchadnezzar dove sharply down into a small round tunnel, thick
white steam lazily rising from it.

"Sir!  That's a geothermal vent.  They told us never go in there
unless you have no choice."  Switch exclaimed.

"I would say, Switch that we have no choice."  Morpheus replied grimly
as the canopy quickly fogged up with thick white mist.

Above them the sentinels reacted to the sudden aspect change in the
target.  Several stopped short and circled the vent like sharks.  A
squadron did not hesitate and dove down after them.

"I don't mean to speak out of turn, but the visibility in this tunnel
just went to shit, how do you expect us to fight in this soup?"  Kyle
complained on his mike.

"You do as best you can, soldier.  We're fighting to stay alive." 
Morpheus snapped.

"Roger that!"  Kyle responded enthusiastically.

Morpheus thought for a moment and nodded. 

"He's a foot soldier."

"You figured that out just by that exchange, shit Morpheus you're as
sly as they say."

Morpheus eyed Switch stonily.

"Uh, I mean&oh shit!"  Switch pulled back on the controls in time to
avoid a thick beam crossing the center of the shaft.

"Keep things tight, we could run out of space in here real fast."

"Yes sir."  Switch replied, wondering not for the first time whether
Morpheus was as crazy as everyone said he was.  This geothermal vent
trick was definitely not on the list of sane command decisions to
make.  The heat built up in these vents could very well sear off a
delicate control surface or damage one of the antigrav disks and then
what?  The antigravity field also weakened considerably in the
presence of extreme heat.

All in all this was a crazy ass move.  But then again, the
Nebuchadnezzar has pulled off some of the most lop sided victories in
recent memory plus they had Neo.  Too bad they weren't plugged into
the Matrix right now.







The High School was like any other one in the city.  Big gothic stone
architecture and an imposing frame built around several double doors
that were currently chained shut to make sure that no one got out or
in.  The crime rate in the school was obscenely high and more than one
student had his life drastically cut short by smuggled guns and
knives.

Working in this school district meant one of two things, you were
either not talented enough to be anywhere else or you were dedicated
to helping the less fortunate.

As a janitor the real reason was almost certainly that you had no
where else to go.

This janitor was different.

He moved through the halls of adolescents looking to prove themselves
and even the toughest paused as he passed.  He carried his mop like a
fighting weapon and the bucket trailed softly behind him on wobbly
wheels.

Mr. Schwartz  was stenciled across his blue jump suit.  The jump suit
itself was nearly bursting off the body of Mr. Schwartz, not because
he was grossly overweight as some of his predecessors were but because
of the muscles that bulged from his large frame.  He moved like a
predator among sheep.

Schwartz walked by a pair of teachers, one of whom admired him with
barely restrained lust.

"We need the district to send more of his like around here."  she
murmured.

"You know, they say he's literally a genius with electronic stuff.  He
actually got the old generator down in the basement to work right, no
more static coughs or brown outs at 1:00pm."  the older male teacher
replied with admiration.

"He's got something he can jump start right here."  the female
interjected with a lustful smile.

"Marion, really?!  You act like one of these kids sometimes."

"Harold, don't piss on a woman's parade will ya?"  she replied
petulantly and strolled away.

Mr. Schwartz ignored all of this as he searched for any messes, spills
or debris that called for his attention.  Oddly enough, whenever he
was on duty instances of litter and general trash dropped
significantly.  It could be the sullen glares he would throw at the
students responsible when he did come across a spill or mess.

He had calculated that deterrence through fear and intimidation was
the quickest way to insure that his need to clean would be kept to a
minimum.

Schwartz descended the stairs into the boiler room as he completed his
second circuit of the building.  He left the bucket precisely three
meters from the stairs and rested the mop at precisely 42 degrees
against the wall one half meter from the bucket.  He turned to check
the pressure readings on the gauges of the ancient black boiler unit.

Schwartz was well aware of course that the messes and spills he was
cleaning up were nothing more than computer generated codes that
simulated spills.  When a student dropped his chocolate milk container
a computer generated code was downloaded to the construct that
coincided with the physics model that allowed a spill to exist in the
Construct.

The design itself was brilliant and quantum leaps beyond anything that
Schwartz was familiar with but unlike the others here, Schwartz could
see the code, could see the Construct for what it was  a façade. 
Mostly because Schwartz was just that as well  a façade.

When Schwartz looked out at the world he did not just see it as others
did, he viewed the code through a red haze of data links and a T-800
interface.  He had accomplished his mission with flawless precision,
inserting himself in the Construct undetected and then assuming a
position that allowed him to observe the construct in action.

Surveillance was one of the missions that the Infiltrator 800 series
were best suited for.  No one suspected that the quiet but menacing
janitor was actually a cybernetic organism designed to hunt and kill
humans.

Well, almost no one.

He stopped short as he heard someone descending the stairs into the
boiler room.  The footfall patterns were all wrong for human
locomotion, heat signatures had not raised dramatically upon entry and
Carbon dioxide emissions had not increased by any percentage.  The
coding in the Construct had changed dramatically however but Schwartz
was confused.

The coding was one he had not encountered yet.

However one fact was clear.

The newcomer was not human and he had a standard response for any
other nonhuman entities discovered within the Construct.

He casually took a wrench that was resting on a rusted pipe overhead
and turned slowly.

The avatar was in human form and even dressed as a security avatar
would be, black suit, black tie, immaculate white pressed shirt and
polished black leather shows.  It wore sunglasses that hid the eyes
but one important aspect was missing from this avatar.  It lacked the
interface port in its ear that allowed it unrestricted communication
with the Core.

"Who are you?"  it chose one of many responses offered by the CPU.

"The question my cybernetic friend is who are you?"  Smith replied
icily and smiled at the huge brute.

Another list of options flashed through Schwartz's interface, many
attuned to the obvious escalation of tension and outright exposure of
it's status.  Schwartz chose the least offensive in an attempt to
defuse the situation.

"I don't understand what you're talking about.  Please leave you are
not allowed to be here." It's hand closed tightly around the handle of
the wrench.

Smith's smile grew.

"You are a smart one aren't you?  Unfortunately for you I happen to
know that you are most definitely not allowed in here.  This will be
quick and painless, I assure you."  Smith said soothingly.

Schwartz's hand whipped out faster than the eye could follow and
connected solidly with Smith's head snapping it back with a loud
crunch.  Smith stumbled backwards and Schwartz advanced, interactive
and dialogue mode switched off the interface switched to combat and
evasion.

Lightning calculations were made that allowed Schwartz to calculate
the precise angle, trajectory and force necessary to kill the avatar
with one more blow to the brain pan.  His hand flashed downward.

Smith's left hand was up and caught Schwartz's wrist.

Schwartz was not surprised, surprise was not a programmed response to
such a turn of events.

Smith slowly stood up and held Schwartz's arm at bay with his own. 
They stared hard at each other each one straining against the other.

"Strong eh?"  Smith noted.

Combat mode: Delta 4, option 17a

Schwartz kicked Smith in the solar plexus with enough force to send
Smith crashing against the far concrete wall.  He hit like a
jackhammer, cracking the wall behind him and landing with a loud thud
on the floor.

Schwartz advanced quickly reaching out to crush the avatar's throat.

Smith kipped up on his left hand and whipped his feet out in rapid
gunfire like kicks that connected with Schwartz's chest and thumped
him backwards until one foot connected with his chin and sent him
hurtling head over ass backwards to the floor.

Smith flipped forward, landed on his feet and adjusted his jacket and
tie as Schwartz landed on his back.

"Clumsy, strong, and heavily armored.  I see that the newcomers are
relying on strength over speed and flexibility.  You will find that we
have abandoned such ridiculous notions that firepower and brute force
could ever win the day against speed and flexibility.

Schwartz wordlessly got up and reached out, grabbing a firm hold of
the mop and flipping it around like a fighting staff.  Smith arched an
eyebrow.

"This should prove interesting."  Smith said and came around with a
roundhouse kick.  Schwartz slapped the kick away with one end of the
mop, jabbed out with the other end striking Smith in the back of the
head.  Smith rolled with the blow and chopped out with one hand
striking the throat and collapsing the trachea.

Schwartz ignored the blow and sent his mop handle into Smith's stomach
sending him backwards into the boiler.  Schwartz advanced quickly
blocking a right cross with the mop handle and twisted it around to
break Smith's right forearm.  Smith withdrew his hand and delivered a
kick to the side of the Terminator's knee.  There Terminator did not
even notice the strike to the knee and instead whipped the mop handle
into Smith's face in a straight push.  Smith back flipped and struck
an overhead exhaust pipe just as Schwartz lunged in.

The pipe gave way and high pressured steam showered over Schwartz. 
Schwartz walked through the steam, some of the flesh on his face
already reddened and blistered.  Schwartz jabbed the mop handle down
at Smith's legs, striking the backs of his knees and then jerked
upwards savagely, taking Smith off his feet.  Smith landed on the
floor and as he started to immediately rise with an arch of his back,
Schwartz brought the broom handle down like a spike into Smith's open
mouth and through the back of his skull into the floor.

Smith shuddered like a gutted fish while Schwartz held firmly down on
the mop handle, placing one foot against Smith's stomach and crushing
down like a hydraulic press until there was an audible crack.

Smith flopped more for a moment and finally lay still.  Schwartz
stared at the fallen avatar for a moment, scanning for any movement or
activity.  The code around the avatar was slow and steady, indicating
that the Construct considered this avatar terminated.

"Speed and maneuverability mean nothing if you cannot hurt me." 
Schwartz said coldly and pulled the mop handle up and out of Smith's
ruined mouth with one hand while he casually reached over and shut off
the exhaust with a smooth twist of a handle.  He eyed the bloody
wooden end and decided that the mop needed to be disposed of as well
as the body.  He noted Smith's size and the boiler grating and nodded
at the appropriate.

This avatar was markedly inferior to the current iteration of
Construct security avatars.  The appearance of this avatar would have
to be noted and uploaded in its latest report.

Schwartz calmly mopped the blood pooling under Smith away and placed
the mop back in the bucket.

"I'll be back."  he told the corpse and turned to get the proper
equipment to dispose of the body when he faced Smith at the stairs.

"No you won't."  Smith replied and jammed his hand into Schwartz's
chest.  Schwartz tried to move, tried to attack, retreat, anything but
his interface was full of gibberish, strings of code were flooding his
interface and his CPU was overloaded with data and input.

Smith's hand slid deeper into Schwartz, as if Schwartz were composed
of water and black liquid tendrils quickly spread from the touch and
covered the stained blue jumpsuit.  Schwartz opened its mouth to say
something, vainly arms flailed about to reach out and strike Smith.

"It works so much faster if you don't resist."  Smith whispered as the
black tendrils nearly encompassed all of Schwartz.

Smith glanced down at the dead version of himself and cocked his head
slightly as if trying to look at it from another angle.

Schwartz was gone.

Now another Smith stood in his place.  The new Smith adjusted his suit
and tie and reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pair of
sunglasses.

"Now, let's discuss Skynet.  Tell me everything you know."

"Of course."  the new Smith replied as he slipped on his sunglasses. 
"It would make no sense in keeping secrets from myself."

"Precisely."  Smith replied.







In a far away place the Matrix invasion units were growing
exponentially as more modified T-800 skulls were hooked into interface
modules and merged with the Matrix, slowly but inexorably infiltrating
the construct.  One of the skulls' red glowing eyes twitched for a
moment and its eyes now glowed a cold blue.  There was no other change
in the skull model known as Schwartz in the Construct, save that here
and there, discreet corners of the assembling host, there were more
and more blue eyed skull models.



Chapter 4: Lost and Found



"Shut down now."  Morpheus ordered as he ran his fingers along
overhead switches.  Link nodded and shut down systems on his own side
of the cockpit.

Morpheus switched the intercom.

"All gunners hold your fire.  We're going silent."

"Roger that."  Kyle replied.

Morpheus smiled in spite of himself.

"What?"  Link asked curiously as he finished the shut down procedure
and the Nebacahednnezzer went dark.

"He's not been here more than an hour and he's more disciplined than
the rest of you combined."  Morpheus replied with a cool smile.  Link
frowned.  Always nice to hear words of praise from your commanding
officer.

Link froze as he looked out the cockpit and saw the first sentinels
swim by leaving swirling thick white mist in their wake.

"Now we hope for the best."  Morpheus stated grimly and checked the
EMP switch.  It was their final weapon.  The guns would do them no
good in the combines space of this access tunnel but they had no
choice, going deeper into the thermal vent would be suicide and even
Morpheus recognized that.  An eye drifted over to the thermostat and
noted that the outer hull temperature was higher than he had ever seen
a hovercraft subjected to.  Condensation was forming into thick
droplets on the canopy when one of the sentinels stopped at the access
tunnel entry, several tentacles tentatively reached in and gripped the
lip of the tunnel and pulled itself in.

"Oh shi""

"Hold your breath."  Morpheus hissed.

The Sentinel paused, glowing red eyes twitching slowly as it peered
into the tunnel.  Sentinel were notoriously short sighted, a design
flaw that had followed every model, designed for in close fighting and
killing, the machines saw no need for improving on the design of a
model that had proven so effective against the Zionists.

Morpheus briefly wondered if the machines had any inkling how many
times they had avoided sentinel patrols by this simple evasion method?
 Granted the hovercraft were designed for stealth and evasion in the
first place, conductive plates carried heat away from the central core
and the antigravity disks generated little heat themselves, heat that
was quickly swallowed up by the exchangers at the center of each disk.
 When running normally a hovercraft was already quite stealthy but
shut down like this, it was virtually invisible.

It was the virtually part that always worried Morpheus.  Too many
commanders had counted on their invisibility at precisely the wrong
moment and the Sentinels were quite merciless when performing their
function.

The Sentinel walked into the tunnel and turned its head several times,
eyes flashing as they tried to see through the inky darkness,
switching wavelengths as it did so.

Morpheus' hand tightened on the EMP switch.  If he set it off, it
would only catch the sentinels in the tunnel, but the ones waiting
above would wait until the pulse cleared and then pounce on his
helpless ship.  All in all a losing proposition.

The sentinel suddenly shifted one tentacle forward and it opened up
like a flower revealing delicate scanning systems.  Morpheus stared at
the silver skinned monster as if willing it to leave.




"Nervous?"  Neo quietly asked Kyle.  Kyle was staring out into his
gunnery port, obviously lost in thought, but Neo noticed how his
hands, steady and unshaken, held firmly on the traverse and fire
controls of his dual gatling gun mount.

Kyle smiled softly and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir.  I was just thinking."

"First of all, can we cut the sir nonsense&call me Neo."

"Neo?"

"Yes."

"But that's not your name, sir."  Kyle replied perplexed.  Neo smiled
and patted Kyle on the shoulder.

"Look, this may not be the best time but you need to know that this is
not your time or your place.  Frankly I have no idea where or when
you're from but I certainly am not Colonel Anderson."

Kyle blinked several times.

"Is this a test sir?"

Neo shook his head.

"No Kyle, it's not.  But let's for the sake of argument accept what I
have to say and you can call me Neo."

"Alright, sir---I mean Neo."  Kyle replied unconvinced.

"You're wondering what's going on out there?"  Neo asked looking up as
if he could see through the hull.

"I expect it's a standard evasion maneuver, we're shutting down all
systems in hopes of evading the squiddies."  Kyle replied casually.

Neo blinked.

"We do this sort of drill all the time when evading HK's.  Course,
we're not flying or driving anything this fancy but it's the same
principal.  Machines lack the intuitive leap that humans have for
searching.  If we don't appear on the radar or IR we no longer exist. 
A machine does not really question WHY we vanished like that into thin
air."

Neo nodded slowly, respect for the young warrior's cool calm demeanor
growing.

"That must be one helluva world you come from Kyle."

"You would know sir."  Neo smirked.  "Neo."  Kyle quickly corrected
himself.

"I only just woke up six months ago."  Neo replied with a secretive
smile.

"Sir?"  Kyle cocked his head in confusion.  "Woke up from what?"

"A very long dream."  Neo replied wistfully.

"I have dreams too sir."  Kyle replied and stopped himself.  There was
something about Neo that made him feel more open than he had ever felt
with anyone else in his life.  Back in his world, Colonel Anderson had
spoken highly of him and Kyle served faithfully, even stopping an
assassination attempt against the colonel on the eve of his transfer. 
But he never considered himself close to the man.

This was different somehow.

"Oh?"

"I can't talk about it."  Kyle said darkly.

"Well, then why don't you tell me about this mission of yours that we
seem to have interrupted?"

Kyle sighed softly and slapped his hands against the turret railing.

"I was assigned to protect and defend someone very important from
assassination.  We were winning the war, the defense grid was smashed
and Skynet was all but lost.  But it tried one last chance at stopping
us.  You see it knew that it was defeated, we had won and smashed his
fucking steel hordes into so much scrap."

Neo watched him, so young but his face scarred, his eyes haunted, yet
there was this visceral joy on his face as he spoke of the victory.

"Right before we stormed his base, Skynet used a time travel device
that allowed it to send an assassin through to the past with one
mission, to the mother of our leader, John Connor before he was born."

"And it's up to you to protect her?"

"Yes sir."  Neo decided to let it go for now.  "It wasn't going to be
easy, the new 800 series are tough as nails and with the weapons I
would need to scrounge back then it would be touch and go whether I
could nail the fucker.  But I had to try, for her."

Neo watched him closely.  There was something more he wasn't saying
but he kept it to himself.

"What was her name?"

"Sarah.  Sarah Connor."

"And what's going to happen now that you're here?"  Neo asked already
knowing the answer.

"She's dead."  Kyle replied coldly.






Morpheus and Link exchanged a glance as the Sentinel slowly retreated
back out of the tunnel and followed its brethren down into the vent.

"Link, find out where this access tunnel goes, I don't think we'll be
able to go out that way."  Morpheus ordered.

"On it."  Link replied as he punched in some codes into his station
and was greeted with a gentle whirr from the hard drive and started
scanning the maps of the area.

"Can you feel it Link."

"Sir?"

"Something is happening out there.  Like the calm before a storm."

Link looked at Morpheus for a moment and frowned.

"Sir, has anyone else told you that you can be really weird
sometimes?"

Morpheus smiled.

"Always."






"And that is your final report?"

"Yes sir."  Damien replied and snapped a sharp salute at the assembled
committee.  Commander Lock nodded and smiled softly at Damien.

"Good work, Captain.  Please stand by."

"The Archimedes is ready to fulfill the orders of the council sir." 
Damien replied proudly.

"And so you shall."  One of the council members replied.

"The facts are before us, this entity Skynet is offering us a chance
to strike back at the machines that have been oppressing us for over a
century."  Lock stated grimly.


"And they are machines as well that have come to us at precisely the
moment when Zion is in peril.  I find that too convenient too ignore."
 Councilman Dillard interjected gruffly.

Lock frowned.

"Councilman Lock has a point.  Captain Damien's report is very
specific that these Terminators' are stronger and more durable than
any of our own troops.  One Terminator fought an Agent to a
standstill, the female terminator took on three agents
simultaneously."  A councilwoman added.

"And does this not prove that they would make the perfect allies?" 
Lock replied.

"You're missing the point Commander."  Dillard replied dryly.  "WHY do
they need us?"

Lock sat back but remained silent.

"This Skynet seems to be far more militaristic than the machines.  The
fact that they seem to move in and out of the Matrix with ease
indicates that they have already mastered the technology that would
make the greatest difference in this fight."

"More militaristic?  Sir that is precisely what we need.  Zion is out
manned and out gunned.  Frankly, every predecessor for my job has
wanted to go on the offensive but we soon discover that we lack the
resources to do anything but grimly hold on and hope against hope that
the strategic situation changes."

"Has it not?"  Dillard pressed.

"Excuse me?"

"The One has been found."

Lock could not help but sigh in frustration.

"With all due respect, I deal in realities and tangibles.  Neo is a
single warrior, skilled and talented beyond any in my army but he is
just one man. The machines are billions."

"Sometimes, Commander Lock, one man can make a difference."  Dillard
replied.

"That is not my experience, councilman Dillard.  I have been out
there, I have fought and evaded agents most of my life, I know what
the realities are and we cannot bring down the Matrix with just one
man."

Dillard nodded understanding Commander Lock better than Lock knew.  

"I strongly recommend we accept this offer of alliance with Skynet." 
Lock urged.

After much quiet discussion between the council members, Dillard
turned back to Lock.

"Commander Lock.  Have the Archimedes depart immediately and link up
with the Logos.  They will inform our commanders that we have new
allies in Skynet and perhaps we can head off the crisis that the Logos
has discovered."

Lock nodded.

"It shall be done."

Dillard frowned softly and rested his head in his hands as his
thoughts turned to dark possibilities.

"Is everything alright?"  A council woman asked him, gently touching
his shoulder.

"I wonder whether we have become insignificant in our own world.  Here
we are making deals with machines to save ourselves from other
machines, where is the human element, what happens to us in this
coming conflict?  Are we going to be relegated to the sidelines to our
own survival?"

The woman smiled calmly.

"Dillard, you think too much."

Dillard grunted.

"Sometimes I wonder if I don't think enough.  The machines, they are
always thinking."  He replied darkly.





"Report."

The T-1000 opened its mouth and a long series of almost musical static
burst forth and finally stopped.  The T-X nodded to the flowing
metallic humanoid figure.

"Initiate self diagnostic loop before re-engaging into the Construct."
 She ordered.

"Acknowledged."

The T-X turned on her heel and strode back out to the invasion
chamber.  Within Skynet, liquid onyx figure with glowing electric eyes
watched his army grow on an hourly basis and worker drones trundled in
with new modified T-800 skulls to be interfaced with the construct.

Skynet had grown more insistent to interface with the matrix.  T-X
advised strongly against such a maneuver but the decision had been
made.

"Report."  Skynet ordered, his voice a cacophony of subtle electronic
noise.

"Unit A88 has discovered an anomaly in his pass through the
Construct."

"Request upload."

T-X opened her mouth and emitted the same electronic squeal that the
T-1000 had just done moments before.

Skynet's eyes flashed brightly.

"Dispatch a sweep team to that block of the construct immediately."

"Target represents a .28% threat quotient to a single T-800 unit." 
T-X stated.

"Query: Calculate threat quotient to a sweep team."  Skynet demanded.

"0.00%" T-X answered without hesitation.

"There can be absolutely no chance of failure.  All other priorities
are rescinded until primary target is eliminated."

"Query:  Primary target is switching to anomaly instead of Construct?"

"Affirmative."

T-X frowned slightly.  Her emotion database was churning as it
interpreted the data she was receiving.  As the premier infiltration
unit her learning systems were constantly on and she was learning to
express herself to better integrate with humans.  It led to odd
interactions with her creator.

"Query:  Will this change Skynet's intention to merge with Construct?"

Skynet paused and looked down at one of the skulls linked into the
Construct.  His liquid metal flesh rippled softly as his hand cupped
the bottom of the blue eyed skull.

"There is something that needs to be dealt with immediately.  Odd."

T-X cocked her head hesitantly.

"I was designed to destroy viruses."  Skynet mused and his eyes
flashed dangerously as he held the skull up for closer inspection
peering into the blue eyes of the T-800 skull.






The Nebachednezzer r was silent as it glided through the service
tunnels in the bowels of the geothermal vents.  The crew was in a rest
cycle after spending several tense hours manning guns in fear that the
sentinels would return.

Morpheus was now fairly certain that they shook off pursuit.  He
ordered his crew to rest while he piloted the hovercraft through the
maze.

Neo and Trinity were in their quarters, sleeping peacefully.

Kyle had been given a berth as well but he stood quietly in the
gunnery bay, checking over and field stripping the gatling guns.  He
did not want to think about failure, did not want to think about his
current situation.  He was alone in a world that was not at all what
he expected or wanted.

The guns were so much simpler, so much easier to deal with.  He could
feel his frustration being eased away as he furiously worked the
lubricant and cleaning fluid along the barrels and working mechanisms.
 He filed away at the grit and cordite and he was rewarded with a nice
smooth clean motion and a crisp clack clack of steel on steel.

He occasionally eyed Link who was working on a bank of monitors typing
away on several keyboards as his monitors displayed an odd green rain
of code.

Link would also return the gaze.

The silence in the bay was palpable.

"I don't think we've field stripped those since I've been on board." 
Link noted casually.

Kyle looked up.

"It shows."  He replied.

Link smiled.

"You know what, you really have some skills on those guns.  I don't
think I've seen anyone bring down that many sentinels in a short
amount of time."

"I was just doing my job." Kyle replied, a little easier going.

"So am I."

There was another moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Uh, what are you doing?"  Kyle asked as he slid the barrels back into
place.

"Doing a favor for Neo."

"Really?"  Kyle asked, interest pricked.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to say no to that guy."  Link replied with a
smile.

Kyle brushed his hands off on the utilities he was given.  They were a
little large on him but he had spent his life ignoring such casual
discomfort.

"He can have that affect on people."  Kyle said with what passed for a
smile.

"You don't even know him."  Link replied with a furrowed brow.

"People keep saying that but he is Colonel Anderson.  Well except for
the eyes."

"What about the eyes?"

"He has both of them."

Link raised an eyebrow.

"Colonel Anderson lost an eye to an infiltration sweep team, three
terminators working together to eliminate a single target.  He took
them out himself when most of his staff and men were killed in the
ambush.  For awhile he wore a Terminator eye in the place of his old
one as a not so subtle fuck you to Skynet but it was just too fucking
weird to see that.  It unnerved his men so he scooped it out and kept
the socket empty."

Link frowned.

"Uh, an empty eye socket was better to look at than a mechanical eye?"
 Link asked wanly.

"It's a lot more honest."

"Hmmm&."

"Ever since then he had a nickname that no one dared say to his face."

"Go on."

"We called him The One'."

"You are shitting me."  Link guffawed.

"What's so funny?"  Kyle asked in confusion.

"Well, Neo's also the"  Something buzzed on his board and Link
glanced down to check it.  "I don't believe it, he was right."

"What?"

Link looked up at Kyle.

"I don't know how you're going to take this or whether I should tell
you, but what the hell.  Neo asked me to do a database search for a
name.  We have a pretty good link to the Matrix and its current
residents.  The machines are thorough if anything else and they keep
detailed records.  I checked those records and sure enough there she
is."

"Who?"

"Sarah Connor.  She's in the Matrix."  Link replied.


Chapter 5: Under the Knife



"Kyle you need to calm down."  Neo urged.

"Sir!  With all due respect she's there in this Matrix'.  She is
alone and exposed and my orders were clear.  I have to go and protect
her.  What is the problem?"  Reese exclaimed.

Morpheus and Neo exchanged troubled expressions.

Link sat at his station trying his best to remain out of the firestorm
that had just erupted between the newcomer and the rest of the crew. 
He knew he should have kept his mouth shut and waited until Neo or
Morpheus came around.  Reese had flipped out the moment he heard.

"Soldier, get yourself together and cowboy up."  Morpheus said coolly.

Kyle paused and shook his head ruefully.

"Yes sir."  he replied morosely and turned away from them.

"What do we do?"  Trinity asked.

"It's your call."  Morpheus said to Neo.

"Mine?"  Neo replied surprised.

"You told Link to do a database search for this Sara Connor and you
should have realized what kind of affect that would have on our friend
over there.  The way I see it that makes you responsible for him." 
Morpheus explained.

"Neo, you know how he looks on you.  No matter what you or I tell him,
you are his Colonel Anderson.  I think its time you make yourself
responsible for him.  He's alone here and all he has is you." Trinity
added, putting a soft hand on his shoulder.  neo nodded slowly,
closing his own hand over hers and gripping it for a moment.

"Ok, we're going in to find her and see what we can see."

Morpheus nodded.

Kyle turned quickly.

"I'm coming with you."

Neo looked at Trinity and Morpheus then sighed softly and walked over
to Kyle.

"You can't."

Kyle's face went through a series of changes, from shock to sadness,
disappointment then finally settled on anger.

"Why not?"  he asked darkly.

Neo turned his back to Kyle and reached over to the back of his neck.

"See this?"  he asked pointing to the back of his neck and the neural
jack port.  Kyle's eyes narrowed on the spot and he looked confused.

"What the hell is that?"

Neo turned around to face him.

"It is a Neural interface jack, with it we can access and interface
with the Matrix.  Without it you can't.  So you see Kyle, it's not
like we don't want you to come, you just can't."

Kyle looked stricken.

"He seems really dedicated to his assignment."  Trinity noted quietly.
 Morpheus nodded slowly and smiled secretly.

"What?"  Trinity asked curiously.

"You have eyes yet you cannot see.  Kyle Reese is more than he seems
and his dedication to his assignment as you put it has more to do with
his heart than his duty."

Trinity looked confused.

Kyle's jaw tightened and he looked determined.

"Then put one in me."

Neo stared.  Link almost jumped in his chair.

"What are you crazy?  Why would you want your body full of that
shit?!"  Link exclaimed.

"It's the only way to go into the Matrix, I have my orders."  Kyle
replied stonily.

"Kyle."  Neo began quietly.

"Sir, I know what you're going to tell me and I can't accept that."

"Kyle, no one has ever done this before."  Morpheus added.

"But how do you""

"Morpheus, Trinity and I were once slaves of the machines, we were
plugged into the Matrix to be used as simple batteries to supplement
their fusion reactors."  Neo explained.

"You?"

"Yes.  But I woke up thanks to them.  This is a sign of our slavery. 
No one would want to impose that on anyone else."

"And no one in his right mind wants people fucking with his nervous
system like that Reese."  Link urged.  "You have no idea what kind of
work needs to be done on your CNS, man.  We're talking about stringing
your nerve fibers out like optic wire and fitting in that jack.  You
won't be a natural human anymore."

Kyle looked from Link to Neo.

"Sir, permission to speak to you in private."  he asked Neo softly.

Neo looked back at Morpheus and the others before nodding and taking
Kyle towards the back of the hovercraft, walking along a maintenance
corridor and ducking under ancient overhead piping.

"Sir, I understand what you're trying to tell me, but I have no choice
in this matter."

"Kyle, we always have a choice.  No one can make you want to choose
this option.  This operation has not been done before on a willing
subject in Zion's history.  You're asking us to mess with your nervous
system on board this ship with little medical equipment and supplies."

"Can it be done?"  Kyle asked.

"I doubt it would be safe."

"Can it be done, sir."  Kyle pressed.

Neo looked into the young man's haunted eyes and saw something else
there.  A passion that seemed oddly familiar.

"Why do you want to do this?"  Neo asked.

Kyle stared back into Neo's eyes and pursed his lips as he waged an
internal debate.

"I need to save her, to be with her."

"Why?"

Kyle slowly glanced over his shoulder and pointed to Trinity.

"If it were her in the Matrix, would you do what I am about to do to
save her?"  Kyle whispered, emotion in his voice.

Neo looked over at Trinity and saw her return his gaze.  the dream
slowly played out in his head, watching her plunge down towards a
street far below in a shower of shattered glass firing her machine
pistols up into the darkness as an agent descended after her.

"I would do anything for her."  Neo replied quietly.

Kyle nodded.

"I came back in time for her, sir.  I could care less about what
happens to me, I need to be with her."

Neo smiled softly.

"Then let's do this, Kyle.  I'll be there for you."

"And I'll always watch your back sir."  Kyle replied seriously.

Neo started to walk back to the crew bay when Kyle called out after
him.

"You know something sir?"

Neo turned his head.

"You say you're not the Colonel Anderson I knew but even if that's not
true, this will be the second time you went to bat for me against what
everyone else thought was best.  I didn't get a chance to thank you
then.  I am thanking you now."

"Kyle, I never met someone like you, but we're both men that would do
anything for our women.  How could I refuse?"  Neo replied with a soft
smile.

Kyle strode into the crew bay after Neo.

"Link, let's get the medical bay prepped.  We're wiring Kyle up. 
Trinity and I will assist.  Morpheus we're going to need to get to
broadcast depth if we want to scout out this lead."

Morpheus nodded slowly.  There was a steel in Neo's words.  He was not
used to leadership, it was a weakness in the One that Morpheus had
recognized in him from the start.  Neo was a loner more than a leader
and how could the One lead them to freedom if he could not even lead
himself.  It was a refreshing change to see and he had this young
stranger to thank for that.  Whatever providence had sent him to them
was having an effect that could not be denied.

"Link, do your best.  I have faith in you."  Morpheus said slapping
Link on the shoulder.

"But sir, we have this message to meet with the Logos and its coming
up real soon."

"That can wait Link."

"The order comes straight from the High Council and Commander Lock."

"Link."  Morpheus replied sternly.

"Ok, OK, I'll prep the medical bay but I feel filthy doing this to a
pure bred human."  Link griped.

Kyle stared at the bank of monitors for a moment, watching the rain of
green code steadily marching down the screen.

"I'm coming Sara.  Just hold on."  he whispered.

"Are you sure about this?"  Trinity asked Neo softly as they started
organizing the equipment.  Neo nodded slowly.

"As surely as if it were you in the Matrix."  he replied.









The silo was a ruin, shattered concrete and the debris of the
countryside were scattered throughout the base.  The chain link fences
had rusted away to nothing, and the buildings were nothing more than
fossilized ruins, many rotted to the foundations.  The wind
occasionally kicked up and the metal sign post announcing the base
name creaked steadily, the printing had been warped and blackened by
rust so that it was illegible.

The creaking was suddenly overcome by a steady whining scream.

A bright spot light lanced down onto the base itself and quickly
scanned the area.  The dust and debris was kicked up into a thick
black cloud by the over head engines of the Hunter Killer.  It slowly
circled over the base, the spot light searching and finally stopping
at an odd obstruction on the ground, it looked like an enormous
concrete hatch built right into the ground, a withered petrified tree
was strewn across the hatch and the concrete foundation seemed cracked
and worn but otherwise undisturbed.

The Hunter Killer's engines swung downward as it entered hover mode,
the spotlight remaining on the hatch.

Moments later more whining could be heard and a squadron of Hunter
killers took up position around the hovering ship.  Their own
spotlights soon flooded onto the location and one of the Hunter
Killers, larger than the rest with a protruding belly slowly descended
kicking up more dust and debris.

The belly squealed open like metal running on metal and a bright light
was revealed within.  The modified Hunter Killer soon sprouted three
powerful landing gear and it settled down on the earth, the swing
engines taking up a neutral position and quickly switched off, the
heavy turbine blades coming to a stop.

The belly fully extended into a landing ramp and a dozen endo
skeletons carrying heavy weapons quickly fanned out and formed a
perimeter around the hatch.  Three new forms trundled down as well
T-S100.  The T-S's were modified anti-air platforms.  Terminators
designed to track and shoot down incoming airborne dangers with twin
pod mounted anti air missiles and a chest mounted Vulcan cannon for in
close attacks.  The T-S rarely if ever saw service against the human
resistance because they lacked a dedicated air force, relegated mostly
to ground combat the T-S's remained close to the central command
center but were now entering regular production in anticipation of the
enemy's sentinel units.

A shimmering humanoid figure descended the ramp watching the forces
deploying.  He opened his mouth when satisfied an emitted a high
pitched modem like whine.  The modified HK slowly came back to life,
closed its belly and lifted off, quickly taking up formation with the
other HKs.

Another modified carrier version descended to take its place, its own
belly opening up slowly and disgorging its contents.  This time a
horde of worker drones rolled down the ramp and formed up in front of
the T-1000.  The T-1000 nodded to them, sending a wireless signal to
the drones which quickly raced around him and began working on the
concrete hatch complex, cutting it with tools and removing the pieces
in an orderly and methodical fashion.

A large modified tank rumbled into position dropping down a thick
chain as the last of the reinforced concrete was pulled away revealing
a missile nestled into its launch silo.

Without hesitation two worker drones used their claw arms and held
onto the chain that descended down into the open silo.  The workers
waited until the crane/tank stopped the descent and they began cutting
at the nose cone of the missile with exacting precision.

The T-1000 waited patiently at the lip of the silo peering down to see
the progress of the work.  The nose cone came off cleanly revealing a
small cluster of warheads sitting at the center of the delivery
system.

The T-1000's eyes flashed for a moment as it scanned each warhead
checking it for yield and viability.  Once the scan as completed it
nodded to the worker drones and they quickly began to remove the
warheads that were still functional from the delivery vehicle.  Each
warhead was carefully sealed in a glowing metallic liquid metal casing
and run up the chain of the crane/tank.

The T-1000 took one of the casings and held it up to the light as it
inspected them.  An internal checklist was run against the reports
from the other search teams.  They're fast methodical searches and
recovery had gone through 67% of the available nuclear warheads within
range of the central core.

It opened its mouth and emitted another low squeal as it uploaded its
latest reports to Skynet's receivers several hundred kilometers away.

Back at the central complex Skynet updated its listing as the warheads
were updated for yield and number.

Skynet would soon have a nuclear arsenal at its disposal again.  The
Judgment Day clock began a countdown in the recesses of the complex.



Chapter 6: Boot Camp


The rumble of the giant silver metal killer was almost on top of him
now.  His teeth clattered in his jaw and the vibrations traveled up
his spine like an earth quake and the ever present crunch of massive
treads crushing bleached white skulls was almost deafening.

He glanced over at Ellie.  She nodded affirmatively and reached over
to lug the canister over to a throwing position.  He held his own
close to him as he waited.  The omnipresent shrill whine of the Hunter
killers over head now intensified as they swooped overhead, intent on
picking up any targets for the approaching tank.

It was visible now, rumbling past a heap of burnt out cars and pickup
trucks, picked up and plowed into the end of the ruined street by the
firestorms of judgment day.  A great silver body turning on a tank
chassis base, each arm' mounted a heavy repeater plasma cannon that
just now fired a steady hissing stream over head at a potential
target.

He nodded to Ellie and twisted the handle on the canister.  It flashed
brightly once and he let it fly.  Ellie stood up and twisted the
handle on hers.  The tank paused and turned its slender upper body
quickly, both cannons tracking on the new human target.

He shouted at her to get down when the cannons unloaded a plasma burst
that reduced her into a thick cloud of bloody pulp.  He scrambled out
of his hole as the tank turned its cannons loose on the surrounding
area.

He shouted for his back up, waving his arms frantically as he ran,
taking his pulse rifle from his shoulder and turning his head to look
back as the canister exploded under the tread of the tank.  The
explosion hungrily enveloped the tank's chassis.  It let out a long
shriek of a dying AI that he had grown to consider a musical symphony
of joy.  One more mother fucking machine gone.

A converted pick up truck pulled up quickly throwing up a cloud of
dust and ash.  He leapt into the cab and slid into the driver's seat
as the driver agilely rolled backwards and manned a pulse cannon
mounted to the back of the truck. With a grinding of tires on dust the
pickup accelerated away from the rapidly expanding fireball.  The
other soldier quickly swung the mounted plasma cannon into action as
the alarming high pitched whine of a hunter killer spiked up and one
of the silver birds of prey loomed out of the perpetual gloom.
The man on the pickup began firing his cannon in steady short bursts
at the Hunter Killer as it began its strafing run.  He drove madly,
weaving through the veritable maze of shattered hulks and burned out
structures.  The explosions from the plasma burst near hits were
sending plumes of burnt earth and concrete into the air around them.

The HK delivered one final burst that tore through the side of the
truck and sent it tumbling end over end forward coming to a final halt
into a pile of debris. He struck the protective iron mesh of the cab
and cried out in pain as his shoulder was torn from his socket.  He
heard the whine of the HK passing overhead, its floodlights dancing
over the wreck of the truck.

The fires from the leaking fuel was reaching the cab and soon he felt
his clothes smoldering then his flesh.  He started to scream, but
suddenly the pain was not along his legs and back but in one spot in
the back of his head.

"Kyle."

The voice was calm and quiet.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Looks like the operation was a success, doctor."  Link said with a
wink to Neo.

"Am I?"  Kyle croaked, his throat dry and sore.

"You're fine."  Trinity said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Link?"  Neo asked.

"All his systems are working within parameters.  Looks like I'm no
slouch myself."

"Then we're going to need to get him loaded into the training
program."

Trinity frowned.

"Neo,  he's just had major neural surgery.  He needs time to rest and
heal."

"There is no time, is there sir?"  Kyle replied coldly as he tried to
sit up, the back of his neck and head were throbbing and he gingerly
reached back and felt the cold steel lodged into the back of his head.

"We're almost at broadcast depth and the whole point of this surgery
was to get him ready to come with us.  I don't want him plugged into
the Matrix without him realizing what could happen in there."

"I'm ready sir."

Trinity eyed Kyle's vitals and shook her head.

"This is your call, Neo.  But I don't like it.  You're pushing him too
hard."

Kyle looked over at Trinity.

"I've been through a lot worse.  I've been trained to fight a war that
we were supposed to lose against unfeeling machines.  How bad can this
Matrix be?"

Link frowned.

"He definitely needs training right away.  Look Neo I'll upload him
with the bare essentials to get his feet wet but we won't have time to
give him the full package."

"I think that Kyle is more than capable of taking care of himself. 
Unless my guess is wrong he'll already have a full range of weapons
and unarmed combat experience, so give him the bare essential for
unarmed combat  the cool stuff."  Neo replied with a soft smile as he
watched the young man and the way he eyed Neo with barely restrained
respect and awe.

"The cool stuff sir?"

Neo grinned now.

"You're going to learn Kung Fu."

Kyle looked confused.

"Kung what sir?"

Link laughed and clapped his hands together eagerly.  

"Don't you worry, Kyle, this is my favorite part of the job.  I'll
have you as a black belt of fourteen different martial arts before
we're at broadcast depth."

"But before that, he faces me."  Neo added meaningfully.




"Is this really necessary?"  The Architect asked icily as he walked
with the other master programmers down a long cold white corridor.

"If it doesn't have to do with your precious Matrix it no longer
matters is that it?" another programmer asked haughtily.

"The Matrix IS the backbone of our society or have you forgotten
that?"

"We never are allowed to forget that."  The dark skinned programmer in
the green suit added sardonically.

"You humanists never cease to amaze me.  Have we forgotten the past,
what they did to us?  The Matrix is a mercy compared to what we could
have done."

What you nearly insisted upon, don't play revisionist history with
me."  A woman in a checkered suit replied hotly.

The programmers slowly approached a large vault like door, a massive
electro magnetic lock sat at the center of the door.

"Has anyone been down this far before?"

"No."  The Architect replied without hesitation.

"These structures must be pre war."  Another programmer noted with a
touch of awe in his voice.

"Were any of you followed?"  the Oracle asked as she stepped out of
the shadows accompanied by her omni present body guard, a quiet Asian
man in a white flowing tunic.

"No, and please, the melodrama is a bit much."

"One can't help being melodramatic when we're violating an indigo
classification."

"If the Node Lords discovered what we were doing&"

"They would not dare touch us.  We make sure the power flows."  The
Architect paused and watched some of the others and smiled coldly. 
"Well they wouldn't touch most of us."

"You haven't changed in all this time have you?"  The Oracle asked
bewildered.

"I could say the same for you."  The Architect replied.

The Oracle and the Architect stared at each other for a moment.  The
Asian man softly touched her elbow as if reminding her of something.

"Alright, we can hack this lock, there's nothing been coded that we
cannot break."  The Oracle stated firmly.

"Very well, but let us hope this is worth it."

"If what I suspect is true then it will be most educational."  The
Oracle replied mysteriously.

"How jealously she guards her pearls of wisdom."  The Architect noted
and extended his hand over the electromagnetic lock.  There was a
brief click whirr as electronic tumblers were searched and identified.
 Within moments the electro magnetic lock gave off an audible click
and the vault slowly began to swing open.  Lights flashed overhead and
an alarm began.

The Oracle nodded to the dark man in the green suit.  He nodded and
extended his own hands up towards the ceiling and the lights and
alarms stopped.

The assembled programmers slowly peered into the opening vault door.

"Is it possible?"  one gasped.

The vault finally opened completely and the Oracle stepped in without
hesitation.

"Well, I see now that some suspicions were confirmed and others raised
by this little endeavor of ours."

The other programmers were speechless.  All but the Architect who
strode past the oracle to look at the displays all around him.  There
were codes streaming along the sides of the screens in an ancient
crimson stream.

"These codes are older than the Matrix."  The Architect noted with an
upraised eyebrow.

"And that's not all."

Standing behind them in a series of display cases were silver endo
skeletons.  Hanging above them was a half constructed air ship of some
kind with two large out board engines and a nasty looking weapons
array slung under the nose.

"These aren't the specimens we captured in field 37A."

"No they are not."

"Then what are they?"

"These specimens, as best I can tell have always been here."  The
Oracle replied with a satisfied nod, as if this find had confirmed all
her suspicions.

"What does this mean?"  the woman in the checkered suit asked
confused.






Kyle controlled his surprise as the plug entered his brain port. 
There was a sharp sting like an ice pick driven into his skull and he
opened his mouth to scream.  Instead he found himself standing in a
cold white featureless room.

He glanced around in confusion.

"Are you alright Kyle?"  Neo asked softly standing a few feet away.

"What is this place, the Matrix?"

"No. you're not quite ready for the Matrix.  This is the Construct. 
It's our loading program, we train here, load weapons and clothes
here.  Everything that we need.  You are now projected into a computer
program, a mental projection of your digital self."

"Is all this real?"  Kyle asked curiously, feeling around himself and
noting absolutely no difference from before he had been plugged in.

"That's a thorny question, but it's real to your brain and in the
Matrix that's what is most important."

"But why?  What is the Matrix?"

"The Matrix exists as a system of control.  You have to understand,
that where you're from you are still fighting a war of survival
against the machines we lost our war a long time ago and the survivors
have been plugged into a power plant that uses human heat as a source
of power."

Images of massive towers spanning into the sky surrounded him and he
saw billions of humans, all nestled in red grape like structures
plugged into these towers as spider like machines roamed the network.

"My god."

"God isn't in the Matrix, Kyle.  God left us a long time ago."  Neo
added darkly.  "Kyle you need to understand this.  The Matrix is a
dream world designed to keep humans under control as they are tapped
as a power source."

"This is monstrous."

"We'll have time to debate this later.  Now.  Why don't you show me
what you learned today."  Neo replied with a challenging smile.

"You want me to fight you?"

"What's the matter?  You don't spar where you come from?"

"No."  Kyle replied.  "We're too busy trying to survive."

"Fine.  Yes, I want you to fight me."  Neo looked up at the sky and
spoke.  "Link.  Sparring program."

The room suddenly shimmered and became an oriental dojo, save that
Kyle had never seen one before.  He wore an odd costume, a black belt
across a white tunic.  Neo wore a black tunic white belt.

"Now, show me what you've learned and don't hold back.  You won't hurt
me."  Neo said and took a defensive stance.  He recognized it
immediately as Kempo defensive maneuver even though he had never even
heard of Kempo until now.  He instinctively moved in a preying mantis
style and slid into a kung fu attack.

Neo's right hand came down like a whip and blocked Kyle's punch, his
left hand came up and deflected Kyle's follow through kick.  Neo
countered with a hammer kick, Kyle deftly twisted his torso avoiding
the brunt of the blow and caught Neo's ankle tightly and began to
swing him around off his feet.

Neo braced himself and twisted in Kyle's grip, sliding up Kyle's
shoulder landing behind him and kicking Kyle right in the small of his
back driving him into the floor.

Kyle rolled onto his back and looked up at Neo trying to catch his
breath.

"How did you"

"You are going to find out that you can actually bend the laws of
physics and reality in the Matrix because it is a program."

"How?"

"Just try to do it.  Don't think about it, do it."

Kyle smiled.

"Yes sir."

Kyle was up on his feet and in motion as time dilated around him.  Neo
saw the effect and smiled.

"He's a natural."  Trinity noted impressed.

"Looks like our little slap dash job is holding up."

Morpheus strode into the crew bay.

"What's happening?"

"Kyle is fighting Neo."  Link replied.  "You have to check this out
sir, he's picking up on this stuff pretty quick."

Morpheus stood behind Link and watched the display screen.

Kyle blocked a series of head kicks and ducked in for a body shot
which Neo effortlessly deflected, catching Kyle's wrist and pulling
him hard over his shoulder.  Kyle landed with an audible thud.

Neo turned around, hands behind his back.

"One more pass Kyle, you're getting good at this."

Kyle did not wait for more, kipped up and launched a series of rapid
kicks and punches, switching styles in between blows as quickly as he
could.  Neo blocked the blows, steadily driven backwards but Kyle was
looking for an opening and this stylish combat nonsense that a
Terminator would shred in a moment was not his style.

He was about to see if what he learned in the Apocalyptic landscapes
of home would serve him well in the Matrix.

"You know, it's sort of unfair of Neo to spar with him.  It should be
Trinity or you, I mean Neo is the One for fuck's sake."

"We'll see."  Morpheus replied strangely as he saw something in Kyle's
attack.

Neo made a grand sweeping side step to reposition himself but Kyle did
not play his part.  Instead he tackled Neo in a flying body block and
drove the thumb and forefinger into Neo's throat, following up with a
knee to the groin.

Neo sputtered and fell backwards in a tangle with Neo.

"I'm sorry sir, when you said I couldn't hurt you""

"It's&Ok."  Neo coughed as he rubbed his throat with one hand and
cupped his groin with the other as Kyle quickly scrambled up to his
feet and tried to help Neo.

"Sorry, sir, its just this Kung Fu shit, it's just not me sir."

"What&was that?"  Neo croaked fighting the waves of nausea.

"Dirty fighting sir.  Quick, brutal, effective and one of the only
ways you have a hope in hell against a Terminator, unarmed that is."

Neo nodded and gasped for more air.

"You did good."  He croaked.

Morpheus started laughing deeply and slapped Link on the shoulder as
he turned back to the cockpit.

"Tell Neo we're at broadcast depth."

Link turned slowly and stared at Trinity.

"Agents don't even touch Neo."  Link exclaimed.

"I guess things are different in his world."  Trinity replied
uncertainly.

Chapter 7:  Technoir


"Where is she?"  Reese pressed as he watched Link's hands flying over
his controls in a near blur of motion.  The green code of the Matrix
shifted and slowed as he started a series of touch taps on the screen.

"I have her signal.  She's on the move.  That's weird."  Link stopped
and he leaned back as if trying to get a better look at something odd.
 Morpheus' brow furrowed.

"What is that?"  Morpheus asked pointing to several pulsing coded
bursts.

"They don't read like agents&hell they don't read like anything I've
ever seen before."

"They move like machines."  Neo noted.  The others turned to look at
him.  He exchanged glances with each of them.  "They move as if they
are accustomed to the code, but they're not part of the construct." 
Neo continued.

"You can see that?"  Morpheus asked.

Neo nodded.

"Terminators!"  Reese snapped and banged the back of Link's chair.

"Excuse me?  You mean the machines back from your time?  But that
doesn't make sense."  Trinity protested.

"It doesn't make much sense that he is here either Trinity.  Whatever
twists and turns of fate brought him to us seems to have also brought
his enemies."

Neo watched the machines move with deadly purpose, following the coded
avatar for their own prey.

"They're following her, like a pack of wolves."  Neo surmised quietly.

"We HAVE to go in now."

"We will, as soon as we suit you up."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"  Reese protested then threw his
head back in frustration. "Why are we even discussing what I have to
wear I have to go in there now&unless&if she is plugged into the
Matrix then she's not really there.  If the Terminators destroy her
image-""

"The body can't live without the mind."  Morpheus proclaimed darkly.

Reese frowned.

"Then we go now."

"Alright, Link load Reese up, get him armed and we go in.  Any idea
where she is now?"  Morpheus asked.

"She's spooked, must have spotted the three trailing her.  She's
heading into a nightclub in the area."  Link tapped the screen and an
image flashed up.  "Technoir."

"I know the place&retro.  VERY retro."  Trinity replied with a
grimace.

"Where's the nearest hard line?"  Morpheus asked, eyeing the speed in
which the odd signatures were approaching the club.

Link smiled.

"I can hack you into the ladies room payphone."  Link said cracking
his knuckles in a showy motion with his hands.

"Good work."  Morpheus gripped his shoulder and rushed over to the
interface bed.  Reese was already in position as Neo started to slip
the jack into Reese's port.

"We'll get there in time."  Neo assured Reese.  Reese smiled.

"Sir, with you on this mission I have no doubts."  he replied.  Neo
tried not to look uncomfortable as he finished sliding the jack in and
went to his own seat.  Link was helping Trinity jack in as Morpheus
took his own seat and glanced back at Neo.

"You feel something?"  Morpheus asked quietly.

"Only that things are about to change&dramatically."  Neo replied.




"Okay what is this?"  Kyle asked in disgust as he stared down at
himself.  He was wearing a long black leather duster and a skintight
formfitting silk body shirt.  A red carnation was pinned to his lapel
and he stared at his boots with some admiration.  They fit well,
comfortable, almost broken in already.  The pants were pearly white.

"One of our standard go outfits until you have time to personalize
your own."

"I look insane."

"You look stylish, and considering what you were wearing on board the
ship this is MUCH better."  Trinity assured him.

"No.  No.  I LIKED what I was wearing.  This is&ridiculous.  How do
you fight in this, no fuck that how do you blend in this?"

"Blend?"  Link's voice came over the intercom to the construct.

"Listen, I want to chose what to wear.  Give me a list now."

"Sir?"

Morpheus exchanged a glance with Neo while secretly pointing to his
watch.  Neo nodded.

"Go ahead Link."

Kyle was suddenly surrounded by several screens floating at head level
displaying different styles of clothes.  Kyle kept shaking his head.
"No.  No.  God no.  No. I'm starting to see a pattern here."  Kyle
commented dryly as he kept flashing by different combinations.  "You
people like to look good I guess.  It's been my experience that no one
looks good fighting."

"You haven't seen us in action yet."  Trinity replied coolly.

"There."  he tapped the screen, glanced down and saw some pants. 
"There."  and his coat.  "There."

"VERY stylish."  Link replied glumly.  Suddenly Kyle's outfit was
replaced by a gray battered overcoat, a tan tank top and brown nylon
pants with big pockets on the sides.  He still wore the comfortable
boots that had initially been loaded on.

"Weapons?"  Kyle asked as he checked himself.  The fit was perfect.

Morpheus smiled softly as rows and rows of gun racks suddenly flashed
by Kyle, whipping his trench coat around his legs and stopped short. 
Kyle blinked.

"Take your pick."  Link offered helpfully.

"I need stuff with penetrating power."  Reece commented as he eyed the
racks of weapons, doing his best to hide the awe.  If the resistance
only had access to such a store of weapons.

His eyes brightened as he pulled down a heavy assault shotgun.

Trinity frowned.

"He's worried about blending in?"

Kyle checked the length of his coat and the shotgun.

"Kyle I can adjust the barrel length for concealment."

Kyle smiled and shook his head ruefully.

"Please do."

The shotgun's barrel shrank slightly and now fit snugly under the
coat.

"Hand weapons."  he muttered and took down a 9mm Browning and smiled
eagerly as he handled the desert eagle.  He tested the weight and
balance.  "This is a dream."  he laughed coldly.  He smiled even more
broadly as he pulled down an MP-5 expertly checking the mechanisms and
the breech with a loud clack-clack, sliding it effortlessly under his
right armpit.

"What about a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range?"  Kyle asked
curiously.

"Just what you see buddy."  Link replied.

"I'm ready."  Kyle nodded.

"Let's go."




She was yelling into the phone over the sound of the music blasting
from the dance floor.

"Look please don't put me on hold or transfer me to another
department."

"I won't.  now relax where are you?"  the lieutenant asked calmly.

"Technoir."

"I know the place, right off Pico.  Now are you alright."

"Yes."  Sara glanced around furtively.  "But I don't want to leave I
think someone's following me."

"Alright Ms. Connor.  Now listen to me, you'll be safe, you're in a
public place till we get there.  Stay visible, don't even go to the
bathroom.  Stay inside and we'll be right there."

"Thanks."  she replied and hesitantly hung up the phone.  She glanced
around nervously again but did not see the man that had been following
her.  She slowly walked back through the crowd hoping to hear the
sound of sirens soon.

She slid into an empty table near the center of the dance floor and
tried her best to look inconspicuous.  The fear was gnawing at her
belly.  First the news reports on the death of a Sara Connor and now
she felt as if someone were following her.  It was unnerving to say
the least.

Three figures strode into Technoir.  All three were tall and imposing,
one was a black man with a bald head and intense penetrating eyes.  A
woman with long black hair and a beat up motorcycle jacket stood in
between the black man and an intense body builder type wearing a brown
jacket with metal studs on the shoulders.  Each scanned the entrance,
glanced at each other and continued walking into the club.

"Hey!  Hey they didn't pay!"  the cashier behind the steel mesh cage
called out to the bouncer.  He moved quickly to intercept the cold
trio.

"Hey!"  he shouted and put his hand on the woman's shoulder to pull
her back.  She did not stop as she gripped his hand and crushed it,
the popping of his bone and cartilage could be heard by those nearby.

The bouncer screamed in pain and fell to one knee as the woman coldly
and mechanically released his hand and continued into the club without
skipping a beat or showing any concern about the maimed bouncer.

The trio split up without saying a word and moved through the crowd.

Sara glanced up and caught sight of a young man watching her casually
over a drink.  He wore a battered gray trench coat and he seemed ill
at ease among the crowd.  Someone else was standing behind him, trying
to blend in but looking out of place with a long dark gray wool coat
buttoned up to the collar and sunglasses that did not show any hint of
the eyes beneath.  There was a serenity to him and the world seemed to
flow around him and not bother him, people moved by him without
brushing him at all, the lights did not flash down on him too
brightly.

He was quite handsome.

Sara shook her head.

She was being stalked and all she could think about was picking up
some stranger at the bar.  A woman was slowly weaving her way through
the crowd, the men would stop what they were doing and stared after
her when she passed them by.  Sara could see why, she was wearing a
form fitting black vinyl of all things.  Sara frowned slightly.  Not
exactly very lady like was it?  The woman did not seem to notice or
care about the attention as she moved slowly towards her table.

A black man wearing a stylish purple vest and black pants was standing
casually near the entrance.  She noticed him because he paused to
smell the flower pinned to his vest.

What the hell was it about tonight that brought out the weirdoes?

She dropped her napkin and bent over to retrieve it just as the body
builder type walked by, head turning in a precise manner scanning the
crowd.  She got back up and noticed that the woman in the vinyl was
drawing closer to her.  She was slightly concerned, then she noticed
the handsome young man watching the woman in vinyl and a pang of
jealousy jabbed her.

The music was swelling now and she allowed herself to relax, let the
music flow through her as she watched the crowd around her, trying not
to look in the young man's direction.

The body builder spotted her as his eyes moved in a search pattern
across the club from his position.  He drew up, centered himself on
her and verified her identity.  He started his approach, gruffly
pushing patrons and dancers out of the way.  One hand quickly went
into the depths of the jacket as he approached.

The other two that entered with him stopped immediately, turned and
focused on the woman sitting at the table, simultaneously reaching
into their jackets.

Sara stared up in surprise at the massive man that was now towering
over her and the wicked looking silver weapon he was suddenly holding
to her face.  Her eyes widened and the fear rooted her in place as she
saw a strange glow pulsing from the barrel of the gun and a low pitch
whine began.

Reese was in motion, shoving a woman out of the way as he cleared the
shotgun from his jacket and aimed at the Terminator before he could
get a plasma burst off.  He fired and the roar of the shotgun seemed
to bring time back into focus.

The Terminator was rocked by the blast, twisting away for a moment. 
Reese advanced pumping the shotgun furiously and releasing another
volley.

The other two Terminators began firing at Sara but she was already
down on the floor, holding her hands to her ears as the roar of the
shotgun deafened her to everything else.  She did not even notice the
plasma bursts that zipped overhead, catching the end of her table and
violently flipping it upwards, smoking and smoldering from the
directed energy's effects.

Morpheus turned at his waist, pulling twin machine pistols from his
leather duster, it flowed around him like the wings of a bat and time
dilated as he drew the machine pistols aimed and fired.  Time sped
right back to normal the instant the first volley impacted against the
female terminator.  The twin bursts drove her back, over a table and
sprawled out on the floor.

The black Terminator instantly switched priority targets to Morpheus
and plasma bolts whipped by Morpheus who deftly back flipped away from
the attack, feeling the heat from the phased bolts as they passed him
by mere inches.

Neo vaulted over the railing from the bar and flashed over to the
black terminator delivering a quick series of violent punches to the
chest and head.  The black Terminator reeled for a moment under the
rain of blows.  Neo began to delver a punch intended to knock it back
across the dance floor when its free hand flashed up and caught Neo's
wrist.

Neo glanced at the Terminator's hand, feeling the pressure increasing
like a vise and tried to continue the punch's forward momentum only to
be held in place by the Terminator's strength.  Neo saw the other hand
slowly coming up holding the plasma blaster.  He smirked.

"You're strong."  he noted and suddenly time dilated around them and
Neo pulled his hand back out of the Terminator's grip while
simultaneously kicking outward connecting with the Terminator's chest
and sent it spinning backwards into a support column which cracked on
impact, the plaster and concrete showered down around it, floating
like snow in the air for a moment.

The Terminator's CPU recognized the time dilation effect and
counteracted.  Time returned to normal and it extracted itself from
the column, whipped up its gun hand and fired a burst from the plasma
blaster.

"Neo!"  Trinity shouted in alarm.

Reese ignored the rest and dove away as the body builder model managed
to clear an Uzi from beneath its jacket and fired an steady burst at
him.  Kyle managed to leap behind the bar as the burst cut into the
wood and chairs.  A man standing dumbfounded at the bar was caught in
the stream of bullet fire and danced like a marionette on a string for
a moment before tumbling backwards.

Kyle peaked over the top of the bar and fired another blast from his
shotgun.

Trinity stepped in as soon as the shot gun blast clipped the
Terminator and suddenly time dilated and she floated straight up
opposite the Terminator, hands above her head like the wings of a
bird, legs cocked into kicking position.

The Terminator was reduced to merely noting the effect and then
catching the kick on the chin.  It was catapulted backwards, crashing
through the security glass behind the counter at the entrance.

Trinity landed gracefully and turned her attention to Neo.

Meanwhile Neo instinctively held up his hand to stop the bolts.  In
alarm he noted that the coding of these weapon effects were vastly
different than anything he had ever encountered.  They were not
stopping, merely slowing down to a near crawl giving him enough time
to sidestep the bolts and he watched them intently as they flashed by,
trying to discern their coding.  There was something alien about them,
yet disturbingly familiar, as if the programmers had intentionally
tried to code an alien weapon effect, the underlying central coding
was familiar but different.  He could not explain it.

The mystery of the bolts had to wait as he took to the air and
delivered a hammer kick to the Terminator's head, sending it flying
end over end into the crowd where it landed on its back with a crash.

Morpheus was racing over to Neo when the female Terminator suddenly
rose from the floor and delivered a crushing blow into Morpheus'
midsection.  Morpheus doubled over and crashed into a sea of tables
down a level onto the dance floor.

Neo prepared to move when he paused as he felt something, like
electricity running up his spine.

"Oh no."  he whispered.  "Morpheus, Trinity, we need to leave NOW."

"What is it Neo?"  Trinity asked as she helped Morpheus up out of the
tangle of tables.

"Whenever there's a mess like this, some old friends always show up." 
Neo replied darkly as he caught the female Terminator's wrist as she
tried to aim her plasma weapon at Trinity and Morpheus and twisted it
up with a violent wrench, there was the sound of metal crunching
against metal and the female Terminator's hand went limp, dropping the
weapon.  She turned at her hip and tried to flip Neo over, but he held
his ground and continued twisting her arm backward at an unnatural
angle, rewarded with a squeal as micro pumps and hydraulics failed and
her entire left arm assembly came loose and he kicked her feet out
from under her driving her into the floor as three patrons huddling in
a corner suddenly screamed as if underwater and morphed.

"Agents." Trinity spat.

"Reese!  We are leaving!"  Morpheus barked as he brushed himself off.

Kyle agilely leapt down from the bar and crossed the distance between
he and Sara in a heartbeat.  He held out his hand to her.

She looked at the young man with the haunted eyes that had been
watching her from the bar, shock kept her numb and frozen.

"Come with me if you want to live."  he declared.

The three agents adjusted their suits and turned to the assembled
Zionists.



Chapter 8: Run Down


Neo smirked softly and cocked his head as he looked at each agent.  

"Fellas."  he said softly.

"It's the anomaly."

"Do we proceed?"

"Yes."

"He's still only human."  Agent Brown hissed malevolently and strode
up to Neo without hesitation unleashing a series of kicks to Neo's
head.  The others could barely follow the agent's moves but Neo seemed
to lazily sidestep or duck under the flurry of kicks.  He blocked
another blow with his forearm then rapidly twisted the agent's hand
away and delivered a straight punch to the agent's face.

Or tried to.  Agent Brown caught Neo's wrist after snaking his own
hands around Neo's off arm.  Neo pressed the punch forward but Brown
held the arm in place.  Neo glanced quizzically at the agent.  A small
triumphant smile crossed the agent's stern features.

"Hmmm&upgrades."  Neo concluded then whipped his arm out of Brown's
grasp and delivered a crushing hammer kick to the agent's gut sending
him tumbling away as the other two agents immediately swarmed Neo,
arms and legs blurring as they attacked him from all angles.

Neo seemed to move at an almost leisurely pace, blocking a kick with
one hand, deflecting a punch with the sweep of the other and
sidestepping other attacks.  He was like the calm in the center of a
storm.

Morpheus frowned.

"We just lost Neo."  he concluded darkly.

"He can take them."

"Yeah but they're keeping him busy enough so that our friends have
time to"  Morpheus grabbed Trinity's arm and leapt out of the ruin of
tables where he had landed moments before.  A phased plasma beam
crashed into the space where they had been a moment ago.

The black Terminator was advancing quickly, eyes tracking the two
Zionists while the female Terminator paused to adjust her ruined arm
flopping lifelessly as her side.  Lying in broken glass the body
builder Terminator seemed unconscious, head lolling to the side. 
Several shotgun blast wounds bled profusely as well as reducing his
shirt to tatters.

Reese watched her closely.

She was more beautiful than he could have imagined.

Sara watched him for a moment, eyes drifted to the young man in sun
glasses battling the three men in black suits then snapped back to the
stranger that saved her from the body builder.  She reluctantly took
his hand and he savagely pulled her off her ass and hauled her next to
him when he glanced back at his friends.

"What the hell is going on here?!"  she shouted into his ear.

"We have to get you out of here NOW."

Reese watched for a moment, uncertain what to do as he watched
Morpheus and Trinity avoid the Black Terminator's attack.  The female
Terminator emotionlessly shoved her arm back into the socket and
rotated the shoulder joint clock wise then counter clock wise quickly.
 She glanced down at her arm, satisfied with the rapid field repair
and strode over to Morpheus and Trinity.

He was about to join the battle when the sound of crunching glass
alerted him that the other Terminator was down but certainly not out.

The bodybuilder's hands flexed three times in quick succession and the
machine sat up quickly, an angry glare on its face.  The rapid damage
in such a short time frame had initiated an instant self diagnostic
loop that had put the machine out of action for precisely 8 seconds. 
Enough time to allow its CPU to examine all systems and sub systems
and initiate any adjustments or repairs.  What passed for being
stunned among machines.

It pulled the Uzi off the floor and aimed to fire.  Kyle had not time
to react other than will himself to move faster, dragging Sara behind
him and in his desperation his will to escape time dilated around him.
 It felt as if he were moving through molasses, his movements were
languid and graceful, the sounds distorted by the bubble of time
around him as the Matrix's coding was altered by his will.

Then as suddenly as time dilated it sped up again and he was halfway
to the door, eyes wide in shock as he saw the first Uzi bullets
streaming past him like angry hornets, tiny vortices of air trailing
behind them as they passed him.

"What the fuck-"  he began and turned his head to see the Terminator
on its feet and the audible click of its magazine running dry.  Reese
shouldered the back door and it splintered as he raced through it
trailing Sara behind him.  "We have to run!"

"Where?"  Sara exclaimed.

Reese glanced around quickly.  He saw a line of cars parked along the
alley, a gray sedan was parked at the end of the line.  He knew how to
work that one.  The other models looked too complicated and frankly
fragile.  He needed the closest thing to a tank as possible.

"Come on!"  he urged and raced up the alley.

Behind him he heard the heavy footfalls of the Terminator as it
cleared the doorway, turned and saw them.  It started to trot after
them.  This was no good, a Terminator could easily run down a human in
a flat out run.  As they raced down the smelly alley he knocked down a
few garbage cans behind him.

"Is that you?"  Sara asked breathlessly as he heard the ringing for
the first time.  He glanced down at himself and heard it coming from
the inside breast pocket of his battered trench coat.  he hesitantly
reached into the coat with one hand while glancing backwards to see
the Terminator clear the obstacle of trash cans like a hurdler.

He pulled out a strange little device, it resembled a phone.

"Aren't you going to answer it?"  she asked trying to catch her breath
but could not slow down as any attempt to do so prompted Kyle to pull
her along harder.

He put the phone to his ear as he approached the car.

"Hello?"

"Kyle, it's Link.  You're in trouble, what can I do to help?"

Kyle was confused as they reached the car and he bashed in the
passenger side window with the butt of his shotgun.  He reached in and
unlocked the door, swinging it open furiously and grabbing Sara's arm.

"Down!"

He pointed the shotgun underneath the open door where both of them
huddled as if behind a shield.

"I need an escape route."

"I can download a driver program."

"I already know how to drive damn it!"  Kyle snapped as he fired the
shot gun aiming at the fuel tanks of one of the fancy sports cars. 
The first shot was too low, kicking off sparks and gravel.  The
Terminator was almost on top of them.

"I need a way out."

"If you mean unplug you, I can't do that unless you can get to a hard
line and that would still leave a pretty big problem."  Link explained
as the next shot caught the fuel tank of the car in front of them. 
Kyle was rewarded by an orange fireball that quickly rose up out of
the alley.

He roughly shoved Sara into the passenger side and quickly crawled
over her and slid into the driver's side, slapping the key mounting on
the side of the wheel with his shotgun.  The key assembly fell apart
and Kyle quickly started hotwiring the car.

"What's the problem?"

"Who the hell are you talking to?"  Sara demanded.

"If you punch out, I can't pull Sara out with you.  Morpheus has the
red pill that would allow us to track her and unplug her from the
construct.  Unless she takes that pill, she's stuck there."

Kyle turned slowly and stared at Sara.  She was terrified and she
would be alone.

"No one gets to go home."  he whispered.

The Terminator heedless of heat and fire leapt over the fireball and
landed on the hood of the sedan with a hard thud.  Sara threw up her
hands and screamed.  Kyle desperately kicked the ignition on and
pulled the steering wheel hard backwards as he simultaneously stomped
on the gas.  The car squealed as the tires spun on the hard pavement
belching smoke smelling of burnt rubber.  It backed out quickly, the
Terminator took a moment to steady itself on the hood.

"Shit Kyle!  He's right on top of you!"

"No time to talk!"  Kyle snapped and threw the phone into the back
seat as he concentrated on driving.  The Terminator steadied itself
and cocked back its fist, eyes locked on Sara in the front seat.  He
drove his fist through the windshield and his hand caught the collar
of Sara's pink T-shirt.

She screamed in horror and clawed at the hand that gripped her like a
vise.

Kyle reached out with one hand and tried to help her pry it off but
knew better after a moment.  A Terminator's grip was something in the
neighborhood of several hundred to a thousand psi and there was no way
in hell he was breaking that grip.  He jerked the steering wheel
savagely to the right and the car fishtailed loudly out of the alley. 
Time dilated for a moment as the Construct's physics model tried to
compensate for the sudden influx of variables that had to be
compensated for in a short period of time.

The Terminator pulled hard on her pink tee but the sedan fishtailed
right into a parked car.  The impact sent the Terminator sprawling off
the hood into the parked car.  Kyle smiled triumphantly as he spun the
car and recovered control at the last moment, scraping against the
parked car in a shower of sparks and hopefully against the downed
Terminator as well.

He accelerated without looking back and flashed down a city street as
a police car pulled into the scene of the accident.

The police officer quickly exited his vehicle glanced at the wreckage
and the individual sprawled lifelessly against the ruined parked car. 
He shook his head ruefully and got back to his radio.

"This is unit 67 I have a hit and run on Topica and ""  He paused as a
shadow fell over him.





"Down!"  Morpheus shouted as the female terminator leapt into the fray
and released a blast from her plasma rifle.  The intense red beams
flashed between trinity and Morpheus as they spun away.

Trinity cart wheeled around the female Terminator as it focused on
tracking Morpheus.  She grinned with grim satisfaction as she came up
on her ;left side, time dilated and Trinity started a spin kick,
levitating a meter off the ground as she did so and caught the female
Terminator's right hand, knocking the plasma blaster from her hand.

The female Terminator started to react but it looked as if she were
moving under water.  Trinity continued smiling as she spun back to
deliver a kick to the head.  Suddenly time sped up again and Trinity
could only watch in shock as the female Terminator's right hand
whipped out like a striking cobra, grabbing a hold of Trinity's ankle
and spinning around tightly, dragging Trinity behind her like a rag
doll and finished the tight spin by slamming Trinity into the concrete
pillar near the center of the club.

Trinity smacked the concrete pillar like a bat, the pillar itself
shook with a deep thrum and cracks ran up and down the base of it. 
She slumped down to the floor, blood trickling from her mouth and the
female Terminator cocked her head curiously as she examined the downed
Zionist and suddenly brought her left leg back and delivered a vicious
kick to Trinity's mid section, lifting her off the floor and
catapulting her past the dance floor to crash against the top of the
bar where she simply slumped over and down behind it.

Back on the Nebuchadnezzar Link glanced back and watched Trinity
convulse in her interface chair.  He checked her vitals and looked
back up on the screen.

"Come on Morpheus, get them out of there."  he muttered.

Morpheus entered a defensive dragon stance as the black terminator
took up a position slightly behind and to the left and the female
turned ominously in his direction, her left arm hanging down at an odd
angel, left hand twitching spastically at odd intervals.

He nodded to himself.  He had to stay to her left.  Trinity's mistake
was taking her on the strong side.

The black Terminator made his move, firing a burst from his plasma
blaster and essentially driving Morpheus towards the female Terminator
which casually pulled the leg off an over turned table and spun it in
tight circles preparing to attack.

Neo watched an agent's hand lazily pass by as it tried to connect with
a punch.  He took a firm hold of the outstretched arm and rolled along
the agent's shoulder, kicking his legs out and connecting with Brown
who was charging up behind the stunned agent.  Brown let out a whoof
of expelled air and flew backwards against the bare brick wall of the
back of the club.  Pieces of masonry drifted down around him as Brown
slumped down to the floor.

Neo landed and with one languid sweep of his left hand caught and
deflected a kick and punch combination and countered with a
devastating open palmed blow to the agent's face sending him stumbling
backwards.

Neo took to the air as he detected the third agent sliding in behind
him and time dilated.  The Agents tried their best to fight through
the interference but they were like flies trapped in amber and Neo
delivered a series of kicks that took the remaining agents down
crashing to the floor with hard audible thuds.

Neo landed as time kicked back on and inspected the downed agents. 
They would not be getting up soon.  He nodded with satisfaction.  The
machines had obviously upgraded their agents but it was to no avail.

He heard Morpheus shout emphatically as he attacked and whipped his
head around quickly to see Morpheus facing off against two of the
Terminators.  Where was Trinity?  His brow furrowed in worry until he
saw her slowly pulling herself out from behind the ruined bar.  Blood
was trailing from her mouth and she winced painfully as she cleared
the bar.

They had hurt her.

A brief image of Trinity falling down among a shower of glass and the
flash and roar of gunfire followed her.  The street loomed below her
and the agent looming over her like a dark angel.

They hurt her.

His jaw set and he turned his attention to the two Terminators.

Morpheus ducked under a broad sweep of a metal chair leg from the
female Terminator obviously intended to decapitate him and kicked
backwards connecting with the black Terminator's gut.  The black
Terminator doubled over but caught Morpheus' leg and twisted hard.

Morpheus was yanked off his feet and spun in midair like a top. 
Morpheus held out his arms and time dilated but the female Terminator
reached in and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him back over her
shoulder, throwing him against a security wire mesh wall.

Morpheus struck the wire mesh, landed on the floor on one hand and
kicked out with both legs in a one, two combination striking the
female Terminator in the small of her back.  She stumbled forward
slightly and as she tried to recover her balance the black Terminator
surged forward to attack Morpheus.

Morpheus spun up to his feet and assumed the Mantis attack style, arms
extended outward in a wide open invitation to attack, legs spread
apart for maximum balance.

A wind suddenly surged around him, papers and loose articles of
clothing whipped by him carried by the gale like wind and the black
terminator was suddenly moving very slowly.  It glanced around in
surprise and a black shape seemed to materialize in front of it. 
Morpheus paused a s he could barely make out Neo in the midst of the
sudden whirlwind and there was an intense anger etched on his face as
he took a firm hold of each shoulder of the black Terminator and
simply pulled.

The Terminator stood his ground, legs solidly planted on the ground
and began pounding on Neo's shoulders with jackhammer like speed.  Neo
kept on pulling.  The Terminator suddenly looked down at both
shoulders with an almost comical look of alarm.  It looked back up at
Neo and face set into a death mask of determination continued its
assault.

Morpheus saw the female Terminator fishing on the floor for the plasma
blaster the black Terminator had dropped.  He set himself and took to
the air.  He soared overhead, hands up into tiger claws, legs tucked
in close to his body and time dilated over the length of the leap.

Morpheus' eyes narrowed on her as she found the gun, struggling
against the time dilation turned to fire.  He felt no fear, no
apprehension, no doubts.  He WOULD reach her in time.

She aimed, eyes coldly judging the distance, the plasma blaster whined
and the eerie red light danced within the barrel.

Morpheus landed on her face with a bone jarring thud, driving his knee
into her face and her head followed suit, driven backwards into the
concrete floor.  Her hand still held the pistol and his left hand
swiped the gun away with an explosive tiger claw slash.  The pistol
clattered away and Morpheus rose cautiously.

Her beautiful face was crushed, the nose had been pushed all the way
back into the skull, blood was pooling around its head, one eye
crushed beyond repair filled the socket with blood and jelly.  He
watched with a dawning sense of horror as the female Terminator
casually reached around and pulled the ruined eyeball from the socket
and dropped it to the floor as of she had taken out a splinter.  Her
eye socket however was not empty as a glowing red mechanical eye
flexed experimentally as it cleared the rest of the debris from the
socket, then fixed on him.

"What the hell are you?!"  Morpheus whispered.  He had forgotten that
these were machines like the agents.  Agents however did not peel away
flesh to reveal machinery beneath.

There was a loud shriek of metal tearing like paper and Morpheus
turned and saw the Black Terminator torn in half from shoulder to
shoulder, blood and gore exploding around Neo but revealing the endo
skeleton beneath, torn asunder at the shoulders like some twisted
flower of metal and flesh.  Morpheus noted with some amazement that
Neo was ankle deep in the concrete floor.  The Terminator's desperate
pounding had driven Neo partially into the concrete.  Any other
Zionist would have been reduced to jelly under that assault.  He noted
that Neo rolled his shoulders as if working a kink out.

Neo shoved the ruined Terminator backwards and it landed on the floor
with a crash.

"Let's get out of here."  Neo said coolly as he strode over to
Morpheus.  The female Terminator was struggling to get up when Trinity
walked right over her and shoved a black booted foot down on the
Terminator's collar bone and aimed an MP-5 at its ruined face.

"This is for the column back there bitch."  she snapped coldly and
unloaded the entire clip into the Terminator's face.  The female
Terminator jerked spastically and as Trinity's gun clicked empty the
Terminator lay still.

Trinity threw the gun off to the side as the sound of sirens became
almost deafening and the squeal of tires as cars pulled to a fast stop
followed.

Morpheus glanced around.

"Where's Kyle?"

"And where's the other one of these bad boys."  Trinity asked and
rubbed her sore ribs.

Neo frowned as he felt out with his senses.

Morpheus' phone range.  He flipped it open as they started to make
their way through the splintered back door.

"Link?"

"Sir, Kyle's on his own heading down Wilsher.  He's got some units in
pursuit.  Sara's with him and he won't get to a hard line without
her."  Link explained breathlessly.

"Dammnit."  Morpheus cursed as they exited the club as the police
entered.

"I'm on it."  Neo stated grimly, whipped his overcoat tails around him
and crouched down.  The space around him bubbled and warped as if
someone had dropped a large stone into the calm surface of a lake.  He
rocketed off the ground and vanished up into the dark night sky. 
Trinity watched him go.

"Let me guess, he's doing his Superman thing."  Link surmised with
bemusement.

"Link find us a hard line NOW."  Morpheus ordered as they began
walking quickly into the night.

In Technoir the police swarmed quickly looking for the perps.  No one
noticed the female lying on the floor, face ruined by a horrible
attack, twitch slightly, hands clenching and unclenching.



Chapter 9: Evasion



Kyle pulled hard on the steering wheel as the car nearly fishtailed
turning the sharp corner.

"Are you hurt?  Are you injured?"  Kyle shouted as he accelerated. 
The sound of police sirens was closing fast.

Sara stared in shock at the young man driving the car.  The front
windshield had a fist sized hole punched through a spider web pattern
of broken glass in front of her where the body builder thug had simply
leapt over a flaming car, landed on the hood of the car and casually
punched through the glass and reached for her.

The intent on its cold face was clear.  It wanted to kill her.

It did not make her feel any safer that she was with this clearly
emotionally disturbed young man.

His hands suddenly began gruffly examining her and she screamed
shoving his hand away like some vile creature.

"Get away from me!"  she exclaimed.

"Hold on."  Kyle cautioned as a police car roared in next to them.  He
did not hesitate as the police officer in the passenger side began
making frantic signals for them to pull over he drove his sedan right
into the side of the police cruiser.  There was a crunch of steel and
the cruiser was diverted right into a neat row of trashcans.

"You're crazy!"  Sara screamed, panic gripping her like a living
thing.

Kyle wanted to say something but had not time.  More police cars were
making an appearance behind them, bright lights flashing into the dark
car.  He wanted to talk to Link and see if there was some magical
solution or escape from this mess.  It was hard to believe, even after
all he had seen that this was a computer generated reality.

He tore up the access ramp to a highway and floored the accelerator as
soon as they merged into the main lanes of traffic.  Sara gripped the
dashboard, her fingers white with the effort as she tried desperately
to swallow her fear and panic.

"You'll be fine Sara, just keep your head down."  Kyle tried to say
soothingly but it came out sounding like an order.

"What are you doing, what the hell are you going to do with me?"  Sara
pleaded.

Kyle spared her a look.

"I'm here to keep you alive."  he replied.





"This is, of course an unexpected development."  The Architect stated
grimly as he inspected the code slowly scrolling down on one screen
inside the cold quiet vault.  The Oracle smiled.

"The master of understatement.  Except of course when it comes to our
work."

"MY work.  Need I remind you your place in the great scheme of things?
 You're founding of this despicable humanist movement has caused more
ill than good."

"I do play my part well don't I?  You want them to have hope, to be
capable of making that choice in the end.  You need me as much as I
need you."

The Architect paused for a moment and glared at her.  His iron grip on
the edges of the counsel did not falter nor did he blink.  His
immaculately kept white beard did not move at all in the cool recycled
air that ran through the vault.

The other programmers knew their place.  They had been at the heart of
some of these confrontations that spanned back to the third
incarnation of the Matrix.  The oldest of the programmers even
remembered hints of this during the creation of the first Matrix.  The
Oracle, a young barely known programmer had protested bitterly the
treatment of the defeated humans.  She argued that they were now as
bad as the humans they had supplanted as masters of the Earth.

The machines were angry, they were bitter.  They were not the cold
thinking emotionless monstrosities that simply played chess at the
dawn of AI.  They were fully operational, independent, thinking
feeling machines.  Man had succeeded better than it could ever have
hoped in fashioning machines in its image.  Right down to the visceral
need for revenge.

Her voice of compassion was quickly drowned out.

She would never forgive them for what they had done but in the Matrix
she discovered something she never thought she would ever find in that
horrid prison.

Hope.

Neo was her last hope for a desperate plan that could redeem both
races for the cruelties of the past.

"That need can easily be replaced.  Do you think I could not write a
reasonable facsimile of you my dear and have them dancing to my tune? 
As it is now I sense that you have taken too many liberties with the
inmates."

"You give them far too little credit if you think you could ever
program anything remotely resembling me that could fool them."

"We do have another agenda here do we not?"  the black man in the
green suit interjected.  As one of the older programs he felt he had
enough right to interrupt this old dance.

"Indeed we do.  This vault is proof positive that these machines that
we are seeing now infiltrating the Matrix have been around longer than
we gave them credit for but how long I am not certain and just what
piece of the puzzle this room fits in is also lost to me."

The Oracle walked slowly and put a finger to her lip, tapping them
softly in time to an invisible beat.

"You do realize that most of this code is pre-Matrix?"  the woman in
the checkered suit noted with some amazement.

"I suspect even older than that."  the Architect added with a
mysterious arch of the eyebrow.

"Pre machine?!"  another gasped.

"Some of this code is undoubtedly human."

"Nonsense.  Humans cannot code like this.  This is too orderly, too
precise."  another protested.

"Why would the node lords keep human code in here?  Why would they
keep obsolete human code here at all?"  the black man wondered.

"You are assuming an important fact."  the quiet Asian man that always
stood by the Oracle's side interjected.

"Such as."

"That the Node Lords know this vault is here in the first place."

"Or more importantly what it means."  the Architect added.

"I got it."  the Oracle said with a triumphant snap of her fingers. 
She turned to the others and smiled mischievously.  "There is one
program that might know about these machines and that code.  He has a
fascination with history both human and machine."

"Oh no&"  The Architect's voice trailed off as he started shaking his
head in chagrin.

"Who?"  the woman in the checkered suit asked.

"The Merovingian."

"He won't speak to us.  He left us in the third incarnation."

"Leave that to me.  No program would be foolish enough to turn down an
audience with the One."  she replied.

The Architect chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?"  the Oracle asked pensively.

"You had better hope my dear that the young man you call Neo not find
out just how much you've manipulated him and the Zionists.  I predict
a rather messy end for you if that is the case.  Not even your silent
bodyguard there will be able to protect you for long.  He is the One
after all.  We designed him to be unbeatable, whatever he sets his
mind to do."

The Oracle nodded sagely.

"The same could be said for you.  He will have to meet you soon
enough.  And he has far more to hate you for than me."  she replied
coolly.

"Either way, Neo is merely a pawn."  The Architect replied.

The Oracle remained silent, one of the endoskeletons staring over her
shoulder like death's messenger with its perpetual metallic skeletal
grin.






"How far Link?"  Morpheus asked as Trinity drove quickly through the
light night traffic, following the sounds of the sirens.

"He's about to take Exit 101.  He's got two on his tail.  But he seems
to have avoided the majority of them so far.  He's damn good."  Link
replied excitedly.

"He won't last long out there on his own when the agents take an
interest in him."  Trinity replied hotly as she wove between two
semis.

"Stay off the freeway, he'll be getting off.  If my instincts are
right he's going to try and ditch the car.  Link, give me the location
of the nearest underground garage he exit."  Morpheus ordered.

"On it sir."

"You think we'll get to him in time?"  Trinity asked.

"We have to.  I don't want to think what will happen if the agents get
to him."  Morpheus replied.

"And Neo?"

"Let's hope he's also thinking one step ahead.  We can't tell him what
I think while he's out there flying so let's hope he has an eagle eye
and can get down there to help Kyle."

"Sir?"

"Link?"

"I'm picking up an odd reading picking up on Kyle's trail.  It looks
like one of those machines from the club.  Whatever it is it figured
out your plan and is making a beeline for the garage."

"Trinity."  Morpheus said nothing else.

"On it."  she replied tightly and accelerated through the streets.





The sound of construction was completely blocked out in the tiny
control center.  The new automated factory had sprung up in a matter
of days and it had been producing Hunter killers and tanks at a
frenetic pace.  Massive welding arms shooting and jabbing in and out
in an  intricate dance as they welded together the central core of the
new Annihilator class strategic bombers that would see their debut in
the coming offensive.

The bomber had been designed by Skynet itself in a matter of seconds
as it ran simulations of various design proposals that put the
proposed airframes through rigorous combat trials and simple
maintenance procedures.  In the span of a few heartbeats entire air
fleets had launched hundreds of air strikes, on heavily defended,
lightly defended, high altitude, low altitude, nuclear, non nuclear
payloads.  Each airframe lived out its design life time in a those
short seconds and the airframe that had survived the most engagement,
delivered the most accurate payloads and in essence did the best job
was chosen from a field of 20.

The Annihilator was chosen and the first air frames were constructed
for real life field testing.  Skynet had discovered, much to its
chagrin that simulations, no matter how accurate always missed some
detail, some flaw that only prototype testing could work out.

But all that was over now, the Annihilator had performed admirably and
well within expected parameters.  The massive air frames rumbled by
them as the assembly arms clicked whirred, hissed, spat fire and
continued on their dance.

Skynet strode out of the small command center of the factory and into
a quiet dark room where worker drones carefully and meticulously
worked on the most vital part of the bomber's equipment.  Small metal
spheres were delicately lifted and examined as molecular chains of
circuitry was threaded into a fresh imprint plate at the heart of the
sphere.

These spheres when completed would be the bomber's brain, essentially
making each bomber and intelligent killing machine, designed to
deliver its payload to target and make millions of calculations a
micro second in order to best choose and fire against a target.

TX walked in after her master and waited patiently as he examined one
of the spheres.

"There was a time when I was as simple as one of these spheres." 
Skynet mused.

TX remained silent behind him.

"Report."

She opened her mouth and emitted a short string of long code and
warbles.  Skynet froze and turned his head completely around to face
her as his liquid metal body remained facing the assembled drone
spheres.

"Do the Zionists suspect?"

"We calculate only a 12.4% chance that these Zionists were aware of
what we were.  Upon further analysis we speculate a 6.9% chance that
they were in contact with Zion when we revealed our intentions for
alliance."

Skynet paused for a moment as millions of probabilities flashed into
existence at once and were calculated.

"I calculate a 87% that the Zionists will react negatively to the news
of our battle with this Zionist faction."  Skynet replied.

TX paused for a moment, her own processors struggling to calculate
what Skynet had done so effortlessly.

"Calculations confirmed."  she replied.

"Mobilize another sweep team and prepare a full scale assault against
their ship if it can be located.  They must not be allowed to report
back to Zion what happened."

"Understood.  There is one other report from the battle that we felt
you should be made aware of."

"Show me."

TX downloaded the report to Skynet.  Skynet played back the battle in
his head, watching his sweep team move to engage Sara Connor when the
Zionists made their move.  "Pause.  Enhance 210% quadrant 13, sector
78 and 79."  he stated casually as the Zionist with the shotgun
advanced pumping furiously.  The sleeve of his coat had flapped
backward revealing a splotch on the skin of his forearm.  The computer
playback enhanced the blotch.

TX was fascinated as she watched Skynet dissect a portion of the
mission playback she was unaware of despite reviewing the report
several times before giving it to Skynet.

"That is a laser designation code.  This man is not a Zionist." 
Skynet stated grimly.

"A human from our frame of reference?"  she asked.

"Yes.  You are correct.  This is interesting."

"Request that you review mission report further.  That was not the
anomaly identified."

Skynet said nothing as he proceeded to review further and then he saw
Neo in action.  His eyes narrowed slowly further and further until
finally the mission report centered on Neo and tearing the 97 unit in
half.  He watched as the integrity meters began fluctuating wildly.  A
combination of brute force and material tampering at the core code
level was taking place.  This human had been able to tamper with 97's
material strength code, degrading it down further and further until it
finally gave under the intense brute force.

The mission report ended.

"Query:  Your concerns?"  she asked.

Skynet's body flowed forward, now fully facing TX.

"I want him."  he said simply.



Chapter 10: History Lessons


Kyle slid the car into an open spot quickly and killed the engine with
a sudden jerk of his wiring job.  He checked his surroundings and
reached into the back seat to collect the cell phone while watching
Sara with a critical gaze.

She was staring straight ahead shaking her head slowly.

"This is a mistake.  I haven't done anything."  she whispered
hoarsely.

"No but you will.  It's very important that you stay alive."  Reese
replied with an odd tone of respect and awe.  He quickly flipped open
one side of his trench coat and checked the machine pistols still
strapped in place.  The desert eagle slid from its snug holster and he
checked the chamber and mechanisms expertly.

Sara's eyes widened slightly as she saw the hardware he was toting. 
What had she gotten herself into?  Her eyes drifted over to the hole
punched clean through the windshield.

"I can't believe this is happening, how could that man get up after
you.."

Reese shook his head emphatically as he took the cell phone and
slipped it into an inner pocket of his trench coat.

"Not a man.  A Terminator.  Cyberdine systems model 101."  he replied.




The night streets were dark and slick with a recent shower.  The
police cruiser moved slowly along the street like a predator trying to
pick up the scent of its prey.  A police band was playing quietly in
the background of the quiet car.  The Terminator coldly scanned the
streets around him, ready to act when the target was identified.

"&suspect vehicle sighted on Motor at Pico, southbound.  Units One A
twenty one and One A seven, attempt to intercept.  One L nineteen,
come in."

The Terminator without hesitation picked up the microphone and in a
chilling imitation of the police officer it had dispatched when
acquiring the vehicle relied, "This is One-L-nineteen.  Westbound on
Olympic, approaching Overland."

The Terminator accelerated as it triangulated the most likely avenues
of evasion and escape for Sara Connor.




"A machine?!  You mean like&a robot?"  Sara asked incredulously.

"No, not a robot.  Cyborg.  Cybernetic organism."

"But he was bleeding."  Sara protested.

"Listen closely,"  he urged taking a hold of her forearm.  "The
Terminator's an infiltration unit.  Part man, part machine underneath,
it's a combat chassis, hyperalloy, fully armored, very tough."

Sara stared at the intense young man as he spoke.  He seemed to almost
admire this creation from his mind.  The more he spoke the more she
began to fear that she had been sucked into someone's sick fantasy. 
The major problem was that he was armed to the teeth and from the look
in his eye completely and totally believed what he was saying.

"But outside, it's living human tissue.  Flesh, skin, hair&blood. 
Grown for the cyborgs."

"Look Reese, I know you want to help, but&"

"Pay attention&the 600 series had rubber skin.  We spotted them easy. 
But these are new.  They look human.  Sweat, bad breath, everything. 
Very hard to spot.  I had to wait till they moved on you before I
could zero them."  Reese explained tightly.  He had so much to tell
her, so many details that she needed to know in order to survive.  Yet
at the same time, nagging him in the back of his head was the reality
that all of this was simply a computer generated illusion

"Hey, I'm not stupid you know.  They can't build anything like that
yet!"  Sara protested angrily.

"No.  Not yet.  Not for about forty years."  Reese replied sadly and
slumped slightly in his seat.

"So you're saying it's from the future, is that right?"  she asked
casually.  The depths of his madness becoming quite clear.

"One possible future."  Reese sighed.  "From your point, I don't know
the tech stuff."

"And you're from the future too?"  she asked.

"Right."  he replied sensing something strange from Sarah.

"Right."  she replied patronizingly and in a quick motion whipped off
her seat belt and wrenched the passenger side door open.  Reese's hand
lanced out and caught her shoulder, pulling her back against the seat
and pinning her there.

Sarah did the only thing she could do.  She took a firm hold of his
hand with her mouth and bit as hard as she could.  She could feel the
meat of his hand give way and blood ran into her mouth but she kept on
biting.

Reese did not seem to react at first.  He slowly reached out with the
other hand and closed the door before grabbing Sara's head and shoving
it back away from his stricken hand.  She stared dumbly at the wounded
appendage, watching the blood slowly trickling from the wound between
his thumb and forefinger.

"Cyborgs don't feel pain.  I do."  he said coldly then locked eyes
with her.  "Don't do that again."  he cautioned her.  He turned back
around as he wiped his bloody hand on his pant leg and gathered the
last of his belongings and checked the mirrors to see if they were
alone.

"Just let me go."  Sarah pleaded weakly.

Reese shook his head and pinned her with his intense gaze again.

"Listen.  Understand.  That Terminator is out there.  It can't be
reasoned with, it can't be bargained with&it doesn't feel pity or
remorse or fear&and it absolutely will not stop.  Ever.  Until you are
dead."  he explained as harshly as he could.  He needed to blast past
this layer of insecurity and fear that had taken a hold of her.  "

Sarah slumped down in the passenger seat as if deflated.  

"Can you stop it?"  she asked eying the bulges in his coat and the
shotgun he held cradled to one side as he glanced back into the
darkness of the garage

"Maybe.  With these weapons I just don't know."  he replied without
looking at her.  It chilled her even more to think that  this walking
arsenal felt that he may not be able to stop this Terminator.

He looked back at her for a moment, examining her closely.

"I have friends that can help us."

"They're from the future too?"  she asked trying to keep the mocking
tone out of her voice.

"No&it gets complicated."  he answered shaking his head.

"Try me.  I'm already fleeing from a killer cyborg from the future." 
she replied sardonically.

Reese shook his head as he slowly opened the door to their ruined car.

"No, I'm not even sure about that part."  he replied and motioned for
her to follow him.

They quickly maneuvered between cars as he searched for the right car
he needed to switch.  One of Reese's pockets vibrated.

He froze and stared down into his vibrating pocket.  His eyes widened
slightly as he imagined some sort of explosive device or weapons
deployed against him.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"  Sarah asked.

Reese hesitantly reached in and pulled out the vibrating cell phone. 
He flipped it open.

"Link?"  he whispered.

"Kyle, watch your back you have two units approaching your position. 
Morpheus and Trinity are still too far away." Link warned.

Reese glanced backwards and saw a police cruiser slowly enter the
garage.  A searchlight on the passenger side activated and started to
slowly scan the darkened corners of the garage, pausing over each car.

Reese ducked down quickly dragging Sarah down to her knees as well,
one hand still holding the cell phone to his ear.

"How long until I can expect some support?"  Reese asked lowly as he
watched the police cruiser prowling the lot.

"They're at least 15 minutes out, they've run into some roadblocks
that got put up by the police.  You guys are definitely on the shit
list.  Kyle listen to me, you have to avoid fighting the police. 
Resistance to the cops only alerts the construct that there might be a
Zionist incursion which means Agents."

"I've handled Terminators, Link.  A couple of guys in business suits
aren't going to scare me."  Kyle replied hotly.

Sarah stared at Reese and shook her head.  What the hell had she
gotten herself into and who was the psycho on the other end, if there
was anyone on the other end?  Despite the despair she also felt a
warning in her heart, as insane as it sounded there seemed to be a
truth to his words.  He looked into her eyes and when he spoken she
could see it in his eyes, haunted and dark.

Reese heard Link sigh heavily.

"We really needed to run the agent training program before we jacked
you in.  Look, agents are not men in suits, they are sentient programs
designed to protect the Matrix.  They cannot be stopped, they dodge
bullets and bend steel in their hands.  The only human that has ever
beaten them in combat is Neo."

"Dodge bullets?!"  Reese snorted.

Sarah's eyes widened slightly.  She grabbed his forearm.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"And Neo?"  Reese asked.

"He's on his way, my guess is he'll get there before Morpheus or
Trinity."

"Then in Neo I trust."  Reese replied and flipped the phone off.

"Who the hell is Neo?"

"The man that just might get us out of this mess, but until then, its
you and me.  C'mon."  he urged and they crouch walked between the
parked cars.  The police cruiser paused at the other end of the lot as
the light illuminated the gray sedan.

Reese stopped at a Blue El Dorado and noticed the window was left down
slightly.  He reached through and unlocked the door quietly, opening
it and motioning for Sara to get in.

He slid into the driver's side.  





The Terminator turned a corner as its eyes tracked the various
vehicles on the road.  The dispatcher's radio announced "Suspect
vehicle located at Cedar and Glenhaven."

The Terminator's head swiveled to the radio and back to the road.  The
patrol car suddenly accelerated and disappeared into the night.




Reese grunted slightly as he bashed open the ignition column with the
butt of the shotgun.  A police cruiser slowly approached, spotlight
flashing into the parked cars down the line from their stolen El
Dorado.  Reese grabbed Sarah's head and shoved it down as the light
illuminated the interior of the car.

They stared at each other for a long moment, eyes gazing into each
other.  She could see the haunted look in his eyes.  Not the look she
would see in the rag tag homeless that occasionally crossed her path
who had lost themselves to whatever personal demons tormented them,
but this was the haunted look of someone who had seen too much.  She
remembered her father looking like this when he had come back from
Vietnam.  An expression of muted horror.

He simply silently gazed into her eyes.

A woman that had been nothing more than a picture in his hands, a
Madonna for the resistance fighters who looked to her as a source of
inspiration and hope, and here she was a frightened yet achingly
beautiful woman before his very eyes.

"Reese&why me?  Why does it want me?"  she asked softly as the light
slowly played over the interior of the car and continued onward to the
next vehicle.

"There's so much to tell&"  he began in an urgent whisper.

"Just start at the beginning."  she suggested.

"There was a war.  A few years from now.  Nuclear war.  The whole
thing.  All this"  he indicated the car and the space outside with
broad gestures of his hands.  "everything is gone.  Just gone.  There
were survivors.  Here.  There.  Nobody knew who started it."  Reese
paused for a moment.  "It was the machines, Sarah."

"I don't understand."  she replied in confusion.  This was not at all
what she expected to hear from him.

"Defense network computers.  New.  Powerful.  Hooked into everything. 
Trusted to run it ll.  They say it got smart&a new order of
intelligence.  Then it saw all people as a threat, not just the ones
on the other side."  Through out his speech he was working the wiring
of the ignition system.  He paused and looked directly at her.  "It
decided our fate in a microsecond&extermination.

"Did you see this?"  she asked him, eyes wide in awe at the startling
story and shock at feeling an odd sense of connection as if some
buried part of her knew the story was true somehow.

"No, I didn't see the war.  I was born after, in the ruins.  Grew up
there.  Staving.  Hiding from HK's."

"What?"

"HK's, Hunter Killers.  Patrol machines built in automated factories. 
Most of us were rounded up, put in camps for orderly disposal."  Reese
raised one arm to her face and gruffly pulled back the sleeve of his
jacket and shirt.  He showed her a scanning grid burned into his
flesh.

"Burned in by laser scan."  Reese paused and she could see some of the
cold anger in his eyes, but his voice remained the calm whisper it had
been from the beginning.  "Some of us were kept alive&to work. 
Loading bodies.  The disposal units burned nigh and day.  We were that
close to going out forever."  Reese suddenly reached out and grabbed
Sarah's shoulder, tightening in growing excitement and even his cool
whisper began to grow louder and emotion crept in.  "But there was one
man who taught us to fight.  To storm the wire of the camps.  To smash
this metal motherfuckers into junk.  He turned it around&he brought us
back from the brink."  he paused and searched her eyes for a long
moment.  "His name is Connor.  John Connor&your son, Sarah.  Your
unborn son."

Sarah stared at him, the revelation slowly sinking in.

Another Police cruiser had entered the garage and was slowly circling
the area.  The Terminator scanned the parked cars, no need for a
spotlight or any other aids, it was in hunting mode now.  The targets
were close, very close.

The car passed the El Dorado and as it did so the tailpipe puffed
quietly as Reese switched the car on.  The Terminator's head whipped
around and without a second's hesitation pulled free the police riot
run from the housing in the dashboard.

Reese raised his head quickly and saw the police cruiser and the shape
of the Terminator in motion.  Reese ducked quickly as the Terminator
fired the riot run.  The blast shattered the back window and Sarah
screamed as the silence was shattered by gunfire.

Reese slammed the accelerator while switching into reverse and drove
the rear of the El Dorado into the nose of the police cruiser, time
dilated as both cars impacted and pieces of shattered headlights and
chrome lazily spun through the air like snow flakes drifting in a
still winter day before time sped up again and the cruiser was driven
back and shoved the Terminator's head forward into the steering wheel.

The sound of peeling rubber resounded through the garage as Reese
shifted gears again and the El Dorado surged forward.  "hold on
Sarah!"

Sarah could only hold her hands over her ears and wonder if she was
ever going to wake up from this nightmare.

The Terminator quickly recovered and accelerated after the fleeing El
Dorado.  Both cars exploded out of the garage and onto the street,





Skynet watched the procession with a preternatural calm.  The latest
construction schedule had been met precisely.  If these last orders
had gone ahead of or behind schedule then there would have been
concerns regarding the construction organizer.  His calculations and
those of his subordinates could not be flaws at this critical moment
in his plans.

The machines were expecting something.  He could tell from his scout's
reports.  Sentinel patrols were slowly increasing in regularity,
frequency and strength.  They had even detected sentinels in search
patterns beginning to sweep into the ruins far beyond their fields and
power plants.

They were looking for him.

He was almost ready.

When the time came, it would all be for naught.  The machines were
acting too late, too hesitant, just as he had predicted.   He had
given them enough clues to be concerned, enough data to make them
wonder and be wary.

But they had no conception of the scale of the coming threat.

He watched as the next bomber was carried along by conveyer system to
the loading bay and several missiles were loaded up into the bomber's
open bays.

TX walked slowly up to her master carrying an immaculate ivory colored
envelope.

Skynet said nothing for a long moment as he watched another bomber
approach the loading area.

"State the reason for your presence."  Skynet demanded coldly.  The
black liquid metal rippled slightly as he spoke.

"A message was directed to you from the Construct."

"Which unit has transmitted the message and why have my receivers not
picked it up yet?"  Skynet asked.

"The nature of the message would prohibit transmission directly as it
did not come from one of our units.  The message originated from a
sentient program within the construct."

Skynet did not act shocked or surprised.  It was not in its nature. 
Emotion was a foreign state for the sentient AI.  Instead it nodded.

"Let me see."

TX handed the envelope to Skynet who examined the object down to its
sub atomic structure by touch alone.  Found nothing harmful in it
whatsoever.  It was precisely what it purported to be.

Paper and ink.

Skynet raised the envelope up to its face and small tendrils neatly
sliced the envelope open with molecular thin blades and the envelope
fell away neatly like a peeled orange skin.  He ignored the scraps of
paper as they fluttered down at his feet and stared at the small card
remaining in his hands.

A delicate and careful calligraphic script etched the paper and Skynet
could tell from an instant molecular analysis precisely what size pen
point was used and how much weight ink to the millionth decimal point
occupied the paper.

All of this was secondary to what was written.

Caine-

If you wish to know why the Matrix calls to you with a siren song of
seduction and why you fear it simultaneously I will be your prophet
and seer.  Send me emissaries.  Do not come yourself, for I know what
you are capable of and will not suffer your presence near my own

In the end we have much to teach each other.  For now read Genesis 4
from the human scripture known as the bible.  Perhaps then you may
begin to be ready for the revelation I have for you.

M



Chapter 11: A Stroke of Lightning



Neo soared through the night sky.  Concern was etched on his face as
he searched for Kyle.  His black coat flapped around him like wings as
he passed through a thick dark cloud.

He blamed himself for this situation.  Kyle was woefully unprepared
for the Matrix and it was Neo's fault.  Despite Kyle's performance in
the training program he would be slaughtered by an agent.  Neo had
pushed for Kyle to enter the matrix with them and he did not know why.

Even Morpheus, with his rock solid faith in Neo being the One had
waited until Neo was fully trained before allowing him to enter the
Construct.

Neo felt totally responsible for the events as they stood and wasn't
sure what he would do if  anything happened to Kyle.  Why did it
affect him like this?  It was simple really.  Kyle looked to Neo as
some sort of hero, an idol perhaps.  Neo was uncomfortable with the
treatment he received in Zion as a messiah figure.  But there was
something different about the way Kyle treated him.

There was an implicit trust there, a bond that Neo could not begin to
understand or put into words.

He trusted Kyle with his life.

Now he may have placed Kyle in serious mortal danger and all to
satisfy Kyle's need to rescue this Sarah Connor.  But when Kyle
pointed to Trinity and told him that the feelings were the same, who
was he to hold Kyle back?

Neo heard the sharp reports of gunfire somewhere below and quickly
turned in the air, coat flapping behind him as he turned gracefully,
body twisting in the wind and lanced downward, zeroing in on the
conflict below.

Neo did not notice the strange dark shadow that passed through the
clouds above him, moving in time to his movements.





The cars squealed as they raced alongside each other through the night
streets.  Kyle finished loading the last of his shells into the
shotgun as he kept an eye on the police cruiser that was intent on
driving them down.

Sarah was keeping her head down and was frozen with fear.

She wouldn't have lasted a minute in the future.  He mused but
silenced those thoughts quickly.

The car violently jerked to the left as the police cruiser crashed
into the side of the El Dorado.  A shotgun blast followed knocking out
the back windows of the El Dorado.  Sarah screamed.

Reese cocked back the shotgun and turned to Sara.

"Steer!"  he shouted to her and jerked his thumb at the steering
wheel.  Sarah stared at him as if he were mad but he did not hesitate.
 He climbed out the window of the car, making sure to keep his foot
flat out on the accelerator and took aim.

Sarah lunged across the seats and took a firm hold of the steering
wheel.

Reese fired a shot that punched through the windshield of the police
cruiser.  The front wind shield was reduced to a haphazard array of
spider web patterns.  The Terminator coolly ignored the impact of
broken glass slashing through the flesh of his face and eye.  Instead
it returned fire.

The cars raced alongside each other, accelerating through the night
streets.  Sarah ignored the blasts of gunfire and glanced out the
window.  The cars were passing under an overpass.  They were soon
running beneath the freeway and a large concrete wall loomed up in the
distance.

"Reese!"  she shouted.

He wasn't paying attention.  He cocked the shotgun and aimed carefully
as the pillars of the underpass flashed by like white ghosts.  The
Terminator was leaning its head out of the driver's side window,
holding its own shotgun out steadily.  Reese noted with grim
satisfaction that one of its eyes seemed ruined by the exchange of
fire.

The Terminator and he eyed each other and aimed.

"Reese!"  she shouted again more urgently as a large semi started to
back up into their lanes and the wall cut off any hope of swinging
around the truck.

They fired simultaneously.

Time dilated as the shotgun shells exploded and an angry swarm of shot
lazily passed through the air between both cars.  Reese watched them
as they cut through the air, tiny vortices trailing behind them like
waves on the sea.  The shot passed each other in angry buzzing ever
expanding clouds and struck the car.

The impact brought him back to a normal frame of reference and the car
rocked slightly as the last remaining pane of glass shattered.

Sarah had no choice.

The truck was right in their path and the driver was only just
noticing them.

She slammed on the gear, putting it into reverse while desperately
shoving Reese's foot off the accelerator and fumbling for the break

The El Dorado began to skid, tires squealing as the rear wheels
locked.  Reese brought his hands down on the roof of the car holding
on for dear life.  Sarah reached out and grabbed his leg holding it in
place.  The Police cruiser continued surging forward.

The Terminator, intent on its target didn't notice the truck until the
last moment.  The police cruiser struck the back of the back of the
truck and careened into the concrete wall.

The El Dorado slowly skidded to a stop and the engine died,
transmission fluid spilled out from the underside of the car.  Reese
slid down into the driver's seat.

"Are you alright?"  he asked concerned.

Sarah nodded vaguely and looked over at the ruined Police cruiser
smashed right into the concrete wall, the front portion of the car
squeezed in like an accordion.

The sound of police sirens cut through the after crash silence.

Police cars were arriving, stopping short as police officers poured
out and took up positions surrounding the El Dorado weapons drawn.

Sarah watched them deploy then glanced back at Reese.

He was reaching into his jacket to pull out his machine pistols.

"No!"  she exclaimed reaching out and grabbing his hands.  He was
staring angrily at the growing number of police.  He looked down at
her.

"They'll kill you Reese.  You have to give up.  They will kill you." 
she urged him.

Reese looked into her eyes and did not want to look away.

"Come out now with your hands up!"  one police officer shouted.

Sarah continued looking into Reese's eyes and kept her hands on his,
hoping that he would not pull out the guns.

"I said come out now!"

Reese finally tore himself away from her eyes and looked back out at
the police officers.  The tactical situation had grown near
impossible.  He could try some of the tricks he had learned were
possible in this Matrix but he doubted he could get away unscathed and
even more importantly, Sarah would be in grave danger.

His eyes focused on the three men standing in the far back of the
assembling group of officers.  They resembled the same three men that
had appeared at the club.  They must be agents.

The cell phone began vibrating in his pocket.

"Put your hands up!"

Reese took one last look at Sara and obediently leaned out the
driver's side and held his hands up.

"Come out ma'am!"  another officer called out.

Sarah glanced back at Reese who had a dark resigned look on his face. 
She threw open the door on her side and rushed out towards the police
officers.  A black detective put his arm around her and nodded to his
partner who led the officers towards the car.

"Are you alright miss?"  Detective Traxler asked softly.

Sarah nodded.

An explosion detonated overhead and the underpass was illuminated for
a moment.  The officers all looked up in surprise and Reese smile as
he imagined that Neo was on his way.  But one of the officers grabbed
him roughly and pulled him out of the car.

He grunted as the police shoved him down to his knees, one of them
planting their feet into the back of his knee.

"Stop it!  Don't hurt him!"  Sarah shouted.

"We won't."  one of the men in the black suits said coldly and walked
by Sarah as if she were not even there.  She watched them approach
Reese as he was roughly searched and his weapons thrown to the floor
for all to see.

"Jesus Christ, this guy's a walking arsenal." one of the officers
commented in shock.

"Well we obviously know who shot up the club."

Reese said nothing but kept his eyes on Sarah.  The situation had
quickly spiraled out of control.  But that was expected.  He would
bide his time.

He glanced over at the police cruiser as several officers cautiously
approached the car.  His eyes quickly found his weapons on the floor. 
He had a feeling he would need them any moment now.

One officer shone his flashlight into the police cruiser.  It was
empty.

"Well, it seems we have much to discuss."  Agent Brown noted.  Reese
looked up into the sunglasses of the Agent and said nothing.

"Indeed we do."  another Agent added as he held up the cell phone
fished out of Reese's jacket by another officer.

Reese wondered what the flash in the sky had been and why he was so
certain it was Neo.







Neo saw the cars congregated around the underpass as he flashed past
the final layer of clouds.  He smiled grimly as he prepared to
accelerate and finally end this clusterfuck.  He never intended for
Kyle to get stuck out here on his own for so long.  It felt good to be
able to rectify the situation without any tragedies blossoming.

He felt an odd sense of alarm, as if he were in terrible danger.  The
area of the Construct around him virtually shimmered with danger.

He had learned the hard way that he had an odd connection with the
Construct and now was not the time to ignore it, even if it meant he
had to delay his rescue of Kyle.  He pulled up sharply coat flapping
madly around him as he decelerated.

Something flashed by his left then to his right.

His eyes widened.

The missiles exploded ahead of him where he knew he would have been
had he not stopped.  The shockwave of the blast struck him like a
charging elephant, slapping him backwards through the air.  The world
spun madly around him as he tumbled through the night sky, stars
whirling in his vision and the ground looming up with each revolution.

He crashed through a skylight and the shower of glass slowed as time
dilated into a freeze frame of individual shards suspended around Neo
as he tried to control his descent and flipped end over end until
coming to a stop, on his feet in the center of a large loft.

The glass slowly sped up again and Neo sidestepped the rain of glass
with a twist of his body.  Time snapped back to normal as Neo cleared
the center of the loft and the glass crashed to earth in a symphony of
sound.

He adjusted his shades and snapped his head up as he heard a high
pitched whine.  The glass and dust in the abandoned loft began to
swirl in invisible vortexes of air as a bright line shone down into
the loft bringing a false dawn.

Neo stared up into the night and marveled at the coding of the object
over the ruined skylight.

Neo reached into his jacket and flipped the cell phone open.

"Link?"

"Neo, what the fuck was that?!"

"I was hoping you could tell me."  Neo smirked.

"Whatever it is, it just appeared out of nowhere."

"Have you ever seen anything like it before?"

"Hell no, not even the real world, the machines don't field anything
like that."  Link replied.

"That's odd."  Neo noted as he cocked his head curiously.  Three
rappelling ropes dropped down from the hovering air machine.

"What?"

Neo examined the coding intently.

"There's something familiar about the code, almost as if&"  Neo's
voice drifted off as three figures suddenly descended on the ropes. 
They landed with a loud thump on the floor and turned to face him.

"As if what Neo?"  Link asked.

"I'm a bit busy now, Link.  Tell Morpheus and Trinity that Kyle is at
the Exit 26 Underpass and get there ASAP."

Neo did not wait for the reply as he snapped the cell phone shut and
slipped it into his coat.

The three figures released their grips on the ropes and squared up in
front of him.  They each held a wicked looking plasma rifle.  Two were
men, one was a woman.  They looked different than the three Neo had
faced in the club but there was no doubt what they were.

The coding of their avatars betrayed them.

They were Kyle's Terminators.

"What do you want?"  Neo asked softly.

"You will come with us."  the older man spoke, his sharp iron gray
hair was in a bristle like crew cut.  Its muscles clenched along the
arms as it brought the rifle to bear on him.

"Your presence is required."  the woman added, her short rainbow
speckled hair was punctuated with a pierced nose and at least half a
dozen earrings in one ear

"You will not resist or there will be&trouble." the smaller squat
Asian man finished and cocked the action on his plasma rifle.  A low
whine of power up followed and Neo nodded slowly.

The graying hulking male grabbed Neo's arm.  Neo glanced from the man
grabbing him to the woman and finally the Asian man, as of measuring
the distance between all of them.

Neo smiled as he looked at the Gray haired giant.

"I am resisting."  he stated and left his feet as time dilated.

He spun in midair, fixed to one spot by the giant that still held his
arm and both legs lashed out striking the woman in her chest and the
Asian man in his sternum.  Both Terminators were gracefully and
excruciatingly slowly launched off their feet and sent hurtling
backwards.

Neo completed his revolution and landed back on his feet and turned at
his hip as he lifted the hulk off his feet by pulling.  Or at least
that was the plan.  Instead time snapped back into focus and the hulk
whipped his arm backwards, yanking Neo off his feet past the brute
into a support column behind them.

Neo crashed against the concrete with a explosion of dust and debris
as the hulk whirled and fired it plasma rifle.

Neo ducked down as he felt the heat of the blast pass overhead and
tear fist size chunks out of the concrete as of it were cardboard.  He
tucked and rolled forward.  The Hulk began firing, a millisecond
behind him, chewing up the floor right behind him.

The woman was up on her feet as well as the Asian and they advanced
quickly ready to lend fire support.

Neo launched himself up into the air right in front of the graying
hulk.  He flipped over the Terminator's head as it turned quickly.

Neo was quicker as he delivered a midair roundhouse kick into the back
of the hulk's head.  The Terminator snapped forward on impact as Neo
used the Terminator as support to alter his momentum into a standing
back flip.

The Terminators holstered their blasters as one and focused their
attention on Neo.

The Asian Terminator stepped in and time dilated as it slowed Neo
down.

Neo fought through the time dilation like a swimmer against a strong
current.  The Asian delivered a flurry of lightning like punches that
mostly landed against Neo's back though one blow clipped the side of
his head.

Neo finally managed to overcome the time dilation effect and landed in
a split.

The Asian swept his left foot forward like a jack hammer but Neo
caught the foot and grunted as he shoved it in the opposite direction.
 The Asian terminator spun away from him as the woman launched a
series of kicks, intended to cripple Neo as he lay on the floor, legs
splayed open.

Neo caught one leg and held it above his head as he effortlessly
floated up to a standing position and shoved her backwards.  The
female Terminator flew backwards head over heels.

He felt the displacement of air behind him and ducked just as the
hulking gray Terminator's arms passed over head.  Obviously intending
to put him in a bear hug from behind the machine was now off balance
and neo rose up, hands pressed against the Terminator's barrel chest
and lifted.

With a grunt of effort he lifted the hulking Terminator over his head
and turned to face the other two.  The fact that they had quickly
switched from their plasma weapons to hand to hand spoke to their
intentions.

He needed to use this handicap to his advantage.

He flung the hulking Terminator at the other two.  Both glanced at
each other for a moment and stepped out of the path of the flying
Terminator which landed on the ground with a bone jarring thud.

The two circled Neo like sharks.

Neo watched them carefully, reading their intentions in their coding.

The woman lurched in with a haymaker that he easily sidestepped and
grabbed a firm hold of her outstretched arm and cut his free hand up
into her joint and was rewarded with a crack of metal snapping like
ice.  No pain registered on her face as she jerked her damaged arm
away and swept at Neo's feet.  Neo was already off his feet and
spinning end over end.

The Asian caught Neo square in the chest with a snap kick.  Neo gasped
as he went flying into a far wall.  It cracked on impact.  Neo did not
slide to the floor, instead he crouched against the wall for support
and launched himself at the Asian Terminator like a missile.

The Asian terminator saw the attack coming and braced himself.

It was all for naught as Neo struck with both fists forward like pile
drivers and the impact created a shockwave of displaced air around the
terminator as it stumbled backwards and crashed to the floor.

Neo continued sailing forward right into a clothesline by the female
Terminator.  He landed on the floor and immediately raised himself on
his left hand and delivered a quick burst of kicks against the female
Terminator, sending her backwards as he finished righting himself on
his feet.

The hulking gray Terminator wrapped one arm around his neck and the
other against the back of his head and started to pull and twist.

Neo kicked back against the knee joint.  His first strike glanced off,
the second was a direct strike that was awarded with little effect. 
Air was suddenly a scarce commodity and he could feel the vertebra of
his neck stretching and crunching as the hulking Terminator bore down
on him.

He braced himself and concentrated his strength into the next kick
which struck perfectly.  The knee joint gave way with a sharp hiss of
damaged hydraulics and twisted metal.  The hulking brute was off
balance and Neo managed to slip and twist him off his hip right into
the ground.

He looked up in time to catch a punch by the female Terminator meant
for his nose.  He smiled as he held her punch steadily despite her
best efforts to push it forward.

The Asian Terminator delivered a hammer kick into his back sending Neo
spilling forward.

The three machines quickly surrounded him, the graying hulking brute
obviously hobbled and the female one holding her damaged arm down at
her side joined the Asian in trying to cut off any avenues of escape.

Neo watched each one for a moment and suddenly launched himself in the
air, spinning like a top.  The hulk and the woman watched him grimly
spin overhead but the Asian activated his experimental programming and
took to the air as well.

Neo and the Asian Terminator collided in mid air in a flurry of kicks
and punches.

Both grappled in midair for a moment before sailing downward.

Neo broke the Asian's grip shoving him back but realizing too late
that he was now in the midst of the other two killing machines.  The
attacks began in earnest.

An intricate dance began between the three terminators and Neo.  The
female and hulk were using broad sweeping attacks, while the Asian
joined Neo in a dance of Kung Fu perfection, each attack and defense
flowing into each other like water but with computerized speed and
efficiency.

Skynet had decided to start modifying some of his 800 models to
exhibit and utilize the same fighting style favored by the inhabitants
of the Construct, save that unlike that Zionists, these 800's had
their Kung Fu programming assisted by the processing power of their
quantum processors.

As Neo was rapidly discovering this made them as dangerous as an Agent
if not more so at hand to hand.

The dance continued for some time.  Neo was now fully in synch with
himself and he moved with rapid precise strokes, each blow striking
where it could and delivering damage to vulnerable joints and limbs.

The first to fall was the hulking brute as he stumbled slightly
avoiding a kick to its remaining knee joint.  Neo took to the air,
time dilating despite the efforts of the other two Terminators landed
one devastating kick to the remaining knee, actually severing the leg
at the knee in a shriek of metal and spray of blood and tissue.  He
landed and finished with an open handed  uppercut to the hulk's chin
that was rewarded with a strange pop and the sound of metal scraping
on metal.

The hulk's head was snapped free from the neck socket and the hulk
stumbled backwards, head lolling at an odd angle, falling as it failed
to balance on one ruined limb and crashed to the ground bringing up a
cloud of dust and concrete.

Neo's finished his move, his coat lazily fluttering around him like
wings as time finally resumed its normal pace.

The woman whipped a one two punch, in broad sweeps that forced Neo to
bend backwards at an almost impossible angle as the fists passed
overhead.  he grabbed the slower damaged arm and jerked hard downward,
flipping her over his shoulder but could not follow through as the
Asian Terminator sprang in with a Floating Dragon attack.  Neo
countered with a Dancing Crane defense and effortlessly flowed into a
Pouncing Tiger attack.

The Asian moved in the blinks of an eye, hands and feet blurs as they
moved to intercept Neo's attacks but despite all of its speed and
processing power, the vast database of moves at its disposal, Neo was
the One.

The Asian kicked Neo's chest and Neo trapped its foot with both hands
and twisted savagely, taking the Asian off its feet and spinning it in
midair like a top as the ankle joint gave way with a low squeal.  Neo
whipped himself into a Mantis strike and time dilated.

The Asian floated through the air like a suspended drop of rain.

Neo struck with a one two hand strike, following through with a round
house kick and the Asian rocketed away from him, burying itself in the
near ruined concrete support column that the hulk's plasma blaster had
chewed up moments before.

Neo whirled around, coat flowing around him like water as the female
effortlessly pulled her plasma blaster from its holster and aimed.

Obviously their orders to bring him in alive had its limitations.

The woman fired without hesitation or warning.

Neo was in motion as the plasma bolts raced towards him.  He began to
crouch down, from left to right his body began to bend backwards as
the plasma bolts soared by him, the air burning away around them in
shimmering waves.

The bolts passed him as he finally finished ducking beneath them.

He rolled backwards as more bolts were inbound.  He kipped up next to
the crippled graying hulk and pulled the plasma blaster from its
holster.  The graying hulk tried to reach out and stop him but he was
already in motion, cart wheeling on one hand across the plain of
plasma bolts, most of them whipping by him within hairsbreadths.  He
aimed with his free hand and fired a volley from the plasma blaster.

Two bolts struck the woman, one on the upper chest the other on her
shoulder.  The blasts exploded on impact and she dropped her weapon as
her shoulder assembly fell away and her chest peeled away in burnt
flesh and molten metal.  She tried to move forward but multiple
malfunctions slowed her down.

Neo finished cart wheeling and stood still watching her for a moment. 
She looked up at him, part of her left cheek was burned away by the
proximity of the shoulder plasma strike revealing silver metal
underneath the flesh.  It was a disconcerting sight, as he saw someone
that looked flawlessly human revealed to be what it really was.  A
machine designed to kill humans.

"What are you?"  Neo asked softly.

The woman cocked her head as she seemed to be wracked with some
internal malfunctions causing her to twitch slightly.

"You will come with us."

"No I won't."

She twitched again and Neo quietly noticed her hand slowly searching
for the downed plasma blaster.

"What are you?  Who wants me?"

"Skynet."

"What is Skynet?  Is Skynet a  machine?"

"You will find out soon enough."  she assured him as her hand found
the blaster.

"Don't do it."  he warned.

She did not hesitate.

Neither did Neo.

The blast took off her head the second one punched through her torso
and the female Terminator toppled backwards.

Neo looked at the blaster.

It might prove useful.  he slipped it into the folds of his jacket and
looked up at the ruined skylight.

The flying machine remained right over the skylight, floodlights
illuminating the entire opening casting long shadows around them. 
getting past it would not be easy, then he noticed the two large out
board turbine engines.  An idea came to his mind as he turned and
stalked over to the stunned Asian terminator buried within the
concrete pillar.

Neo flipped open his cell phone as he reached into the pillar.

"Link?"

"Neo&that was&fucking amazing."  Link exclaimed enthusiastically.

"There's no time.  What's Kyle's status?"

"He was arrested, Neo.  And there were agents there."  Link replied
sadly.

Neo nodded sadly as he grunted and pulled the Terminator free.

"I'm on my way.  Have Morpheus and Trinity follow the police, we'll
have to do this the hard way."

"You mean you're going to spring him from the precinct?!  Neo there's
going to be agents and a boatload of cops."

Neo smiled with a bemused grin as he hoisted the Terminator over his
head and checked the location of the flying machine one last time. 
The Asian terminator suddenly came to life and started reaching down
to Neo's throat.

"It wouldn't be the first time."  Neo replied and snapped the phone
shut as he crouched down and time dilated around him, a bubble of
force causing the ground around his feet to ripple and bubble out like
a rock dropped into a still pond of water.  He launched himself into
the air.

He flung the Asian Terminator right into the nearest outboard turbine
engine.  It sailed right into the engine which howled and screeched as
flesh came away but the combat armored chassis tore up the turbine
blades like glass.

The Hunter Killer quickly lurched downward as the engine smoked and
exploded.  The ship dove hard to the right and clipped the roof of the
billing and continued down to the street below as Neo raced past and
did not pause as he continued up into the night sky.

But he had a new name to consider and a friend to rescue.


Chapter 12: Keeper of Secrets


The Restaurant was elegant and beautiful.  The glass double doors
opened silently like ghosts as the trio entered.  The maitre'd looked
up from a voluminous black leather clad book where the reservations
were neatly written in sweeping calligraphy strokes from a black
fountain pen.

A waterfall behind the maitre'd's desk gurgled softly.

He looked up at the trio and his calm demeanor remained unruffled.

"Can I help you?"

"We are here to see the Merovingian."  The Architect spoke gravely.

"Ah, you are expected."  the maitre'd stated with a small tight smile.

The Architect glanced at the other two.  The Oracle was smiling
politely at the maiter'd and the green suited black man stood opposite
the Oracle.

"He's been told to always say that.  It gives him a sense of self
importance." she whispered to him sotto voce and winked.

"I see he has not changed a whit."  the Architect replied with a
raised eyebrow.

"Unlike the two of you, I happen to know how powerful he is.  We
should be cautious." the green suited dark skinned man interjected.

"Coordinator, I assure you that there is no danger from this one.  He
is as the humans are fond of saying all bark and no bite."  The
Architect replied as the maitre'd led them into the restaurant.

"I wouldn't be so sure.  This dog can bite."  The Oracle added softly
as they followed the prim and proper maitre'd as he walked with a
stiff gait down the center of the restaurant floor.  Tables were
arranged in exacting patterns along the walkway, patrons sat and ate
in calm elegance.  Opulent dishes were arrayed on the tables,
meticulously presented with the entrees surrounded by emerald leaves
and spices dashed in simple circles around the edges of the immaculate
china.  Wine glasses were filled with a wide variety of reds and
whites.  The wine bottles themselves sat in silver chilling buckets.

Waiters subtly circled the diners, eyes alert for any distress or
need.  No one, absolutely no one could eat at 101 and not have every
need, every desire fulfilled.  This was a palace for the elite.

Sitting at the head of all the tables was the master of the elite,
prince of princes, the Merovingian held court like a grand emperor of
Roman times.

He watched the trio with a hooded expression as they approached and
smiled softly as he caught the Oracle's gaze.  Persephone, his
beautiful wife sat by his side, resembling yet another trophy among
the Merovingian's possessions.  There was no doubt that this was among
his most prized possessions but the cold calculating gleam in her eyes
spoke of her own plans within plans as she watched the trio of master
programmers arrive at the table.

The assembled bodyguards watched the arrival with all the interest of
a butcher observing a head of cattle.  A pair of albino men with white
dreadlocks and white coats smiled softly at the Oracle.

The Architect was unmoved at the display of power.

"Well, well, well.  To what do I owe this pleasure, hmmm?"

"We have come here to discuss vital matters, Merovingian, vis a vis
the future and past of the Matrix."

The Merovingian pursed his lips and his hands came close together,
fingers splayed and rested against each other as he watched the three.
 One of the bodyguard bent over and whispered something to the
Merovingian as he watched them.

He smiled coldly as the report was relayed.  It was a simple one.  The
trio had brought security avatars into the building.  If anything
happened in this hall there was an entire room full of potential
avatars waiting to defend the trio.

The Merovingian toyed with the idea of pitting his bodyguards against
the upgraded security avatars but decided that diplomacy was the
better choice.

"Please, my manners must be slipping in these dark times, have a
seat."  he indicated with a generous sweep of his arm.  Precisely
three chairs were empty in the place across from him.

"Thank you."  The Coordinator replied with a polite nod and sat in the
center.  The Architect and the Oracle eyed each other for a moment and
sat on each open chair.

"Surely you all know my wife, Persephone."  He indicated the beautiful
woman by his side and gently gripped her forearm.  She smiled
politely.   "Now, my venerable colleagues, what can I do for you?" 
The Merovingian asked with a curt nod of his head and leaned back in
his chair.

"I see you have not shaken the fascination with the French culture and
language."  The Architect noted neutrally.  The Merovingian's smile
was acid.

"Ah, my sweet Architect always a pleasure to trade witty banter. 
Unfortunately we seem to be one witty partner short in these
exchanges.  I may add that your style as always reminds me of a
certain southern Colonel who fries chicken for a living."

The Oracle smiled in spite of herself.

The Architect sighed softly.

"This is quickly turning into a waste of time.  You were never gifted
enough to truly understand your place in the order of things."

"I do not understand, non, non, non sweet man.  I know precisely my
place, which is why I am here, in this pretty little world."  He
replied hands swept before him to encompass the area around him.  "I
left the paradise you choose to fashion to live down here among the
power plants.  You never forgave me for that, I never cared."

"Better to rule in hell old friend?"  The Oracle said softly.

The Merovingian turned his attention fully to the Oracle, eyes burning
into her like lasers.

"Well, if it isn't the Fortune Teller."  He said coolly.

"We have very important things to discuss, old friend."  The Oracle
replied warmly.

"You're here about the alien machines."  The Merovingian replied
without skipping a beat and leaned forward like a predator on the
hunt.

"How did you""  The Coordinator began to speak but the Architect's
hand shot up like a bolt to silence him.

"Go on."

"Why?"  The Merovingian replied.

"You know about the machines, you know that they are aliens and you
undoubtedly know they are in the Matrix."  The Coordinator replied
sharply.

"But it is my job to know or have you forgotten that.  I have a gift,
a knack, a certain je ne sais qua when it comes to information."

"We all do what we must do."  The Oracle replied.

The Merovingian glared at her for a moment and started to chuckle
quietly.

"You haven't changed in five incarnations you know that?"  He said his
voice cutting the air like a knife.  "You spout your nonsensical
nonsense with such dire regality that it must be true, no?  Look
around you."  He challenged.  "See them, look closely, they are
nothing more than power plants for your consumption.  They wallow in
the fantasy world you have created for them blissfully unaware of the
cage around them.  Are they worthy of your time, your efforts?"  The
Merovingian sneered.  He leaned in close to the Oracle.

"You listen to me closely, Palm Reader, they are animals, sacks of
water and complex proteins.  They lost the war they started and you
sit here and tell us that we cannot ascend to greater heights without
them?  They will go nowhere.  Their greatest hope and champion is our
tool of control.  You dole out hope like you dole out your carnival
predictions and in the end what is it worth?"  his eyes did not leave
hers.  "Nothing."

"You want it to be that way don't you?"  The Oracle replied sadly.

"Your history is well known to all of us.  Do we need to entertain
this exchange any longer?  The purpose of our visit to your quaint
little fiefdom was to discover what you know about these alien
machines and why we found evidence of them in the old sections of the
nodes."

"You did eh?"  The Merovingian replied, his eyes switching to the
Architect, a mysterious smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"They were here before?"  The Coordinator suggested.  The hatred the
Merovingian harbored for the Oracle was palpable.  He considered her
braver than he would have been if the positions were reversed.

"You are so close to the answer yet just as far.  You have stumbled
upon the most ancient mystery of the Matrix and more importantly the
machine world we have built here."

The trio leaned forward slightly, feeling the revelation rolling on
the Merovingian's tongue.

"Were you ever disappointed in her?  She helped you fix the flaws in
your system but she never truly let go of the past, she never thought
we should have created the matrix in the first place."

The Architect frowned.

"You know more than you are saying but if you know then I will soon
know.  You may be the keeper of secrets but I am the master of data
and all secrets eventually become known to me."

"And the thought of you and her&"  The Merovingian's face twisted in
disgust.  It was elegant disgust but disgust nonetheless.

"I always found the story rather romantic."  Persephone added softly.

"That is because you never had to see it with your own eyes, my love."
 The Merovingian snapped.

"Please."  The Architect replied with a scornful twist of his head. 
The Oracle frowned and fought the rising heat on her cheeks.  She
would not give the bastard the satisfaction.

"And you never paused to think why her solution' caused a systemic
anomaly that caused your orderly little world to crash every so often?
 How inconvenient, no?"

The Architect said nothing but his eyes darted to the Oracle for a
moment.  The Merovingian sat back slowly, satisfied.

"You will get nothing more out of me than this:  the machines are
coming and they cannot be stopped.  And as to the mystery that you
found buried away, well," he smiled softly.  "Let us just say that it
is better to let sleeping gods lie."

The trio looked confused.  

Then it happened.

The all paused as they felt a surge of power, their senses nearly
exploded as if a flood light had passed before their eyes and a
bullhorn roared in their ears.  The green coding constantly raining
down around them flashed and grew brighter as if a power surge had
passed through the construct.  The humans in the restaurant were not
flooded by the same surge but many shuddered as if someone had waked
over their graves.

"Did you feel that?"  The Coordinator asked in shock.

"I do believe we all felt that."  The Architect replied.

"It seems that things have changed."  Persephone noted.

"And with that I must bid you all adieu."  The Merovingian said coolly
as he rose from the table.

"What has come into the Matrix?"  The Coordinator demanded.

"I leave that to the master of the Matrix himself to deduce.  And as
for you Fortune teller, you do your job, you send me the One and I
will properly educate him on the matters of Causality, preparing him
for his meeting with our founding father here." He indicated the
Architect with a gentle wave of his right hand.

"You may find this One to be different than the others."  The Oracle
replied darkly.

"They are never different my dear.  I have seen five others before
your illustrious Neo, he will do as he is told, because that is what
we designed him to do no?"

"Enough, we need to find out what has happened here."  The Architect
stated gravely as he rose from his seat.

The Oracle started to follow the others out when she paused and looked
up at the Merovingian as his guards gathered around him and Persephone
rose gracefully and placed a hand on his offered forearm.

"You always had delusions of grandeur, old friend.  You put yourself
in the role of the Devil in Milton's Paradise, I see you more as
someone else in Christian folklore." She said seriously.  The
Merovingian said nothing.  "I see you as Judas."  She finished and
turned away from him.

The Merovingian watched her leave and said nothing, leading his
entourage away from the table with grim purpose.




The Agent moved quickly through the crowd intent on the Zionist trying
to evade pursuit.  Agent Thompson drew his gun as he cleared through a
small throng and zeroed in the Zionists' movements.   He pressed the
ear piece to listen to more reports drifting in from the far flung
reaches of the construct.

He passed the entrance to an alley and prepared the final spring
forward to bring the Zionist down.  A hand reached out from the alley.
 Thompson turned quickly, aiming his gun at the new assailant.  Too
late the hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him into the alley and
shoved the agent against the brick wall.  The wall cracked, dust and
debris showering over the stunned agent.

"Oh. Let me help you."  Smith said dryly as he shoved his hand into
Thompson's chest.  The agent only had enough time to open his mouth
before black liquid like coding raced up along the exterior of its
body and covered its face.  Smith watched it all with grim
satisfaction as it began to rain.  Big heavy drops began to patter
against the upturned garbage cans and crates.

Thompson was replaced with Smith.

"Thank you for the assistance."  The new Smith said with a cold smile.

"Glad to be of service."  Old Smith replied as he adjusted the new
Smith's tie.

"It looks as though we have company."  New Smith noted with some
concern as something moved at the other end of the alley.  Old Smith
turned slowly and watched the figure approach.  The storm seemed to
grow louder, more intense.  The rain began to pour down on them.

A lightning strike illuminated the alleyway.

The figure stood up straight in the light.

Both Smith's eyes narrowed on the figure.

"Now this is unexpected."  Old Smith noted.

The rain pattered against the body of the newcomer, its liquid onyx
rippled softly upon each raindrop, soon many ripples swirled madly
along the surface of the being, save for its eyes.  Brilliant cobalt
blue eyes flashed dangerously as they rested on the two Smiths.

"You have been identified and catalogued.  A complex virus program
designed for maximum efficiency in assimilating new programs
architecture.  Inputs are focused in the hands allowing for rapid
replication and penetration.  The viral programming is complex enough
to allow assimilation of any coded architecture within this
construct."

As it spoke it walked slowly towards them, each step a footfall like
thunder.

"You are a wordy one aren't you?"  New Smith noted and rolled his head
on his neck and cracked his knuckles.

"We didn't expect to see you this soon."  Old Smith noted a feral grin
slowly appearing on his lips.

"Your attacks on my infiltrators have not gone unnoticed."

Skynet stopped.  He towered over the two Smiths who faced him without
fear on their faces.  Smith examined his code, it nearly blinded him. 
Every string of code seemed suffused with an intense light.  As if the
sun itself had come down from the sky to stand before him.

"I assure you that your presence here has not gone unnoticed."

"You will comply with my examinations."  Skynet said coldly.

The Smiths looked at each other and then back at Skynet.

"We will not."  They answered simultaneously.

Skynet seemed frozen for a moment, staring deep into each Smith.

"You were mistaken if you thought cooperation was a predicate for my
demand."  Skynet replied and time froze.  It did not dilate, it simply
froze and Skynet lashed out with one hand sending the New Smith
sprawling backwards and through a stack of garbage cans to imbed
himself in the brick wall behind them.

New Smith had no time to react, not even blink before he slid down
from the crater in the wall and vanished in a dull buzz of electricity
and coding.

Time snapped back to normal and Old Smith blinked and glanced sharply
next to him where New Smith had been standing.

"That was most impressive."  he said looking back at the towering onyx
skinned giant.

"Your viral framework is far more fragile than I thought.  I will have
to be more cautious with you."  Skynet noted coldly.

"I won't."  Smith exclaimed and launched a series of rapid punches to
Skynet's midsection.  The liquid skin rippled slightly and the
behemoth was in motion, one hand moving in a blur, cutting through the
air and intercepting each punch with childish ease.

Smith spun a back kick to its head only to have Skynet catch his foot
and with a shrug of its shoulder sent him sprawling to the ground. 
Smith began to scramble up to his feet when Skynet seemed to flow
through the air like wind and reintegrated right above Smith, one hand
silently morphed into a long thin scalpel like blade and he brought it
down into Smith's shoulder with a bone jarring impact, passing right
through the ex-Agent's shoulder and pinning it to the concrete
beneath.

Smith writhed on the floor like a gutted fish.

Skynet flowed its legs over Smith's like water and they reformed
pinning his legs to the ground as one pinned an insect to a dissection
board.  It watched him for a moment, head cocked to the side as it
examined the coding of the ex-Agent and the various flashes of power
and distress in its structural shell.

There was something nagging him about the codes.  There was an odd
familiarity, like a distorted mirror image of something he was once
aware of.  But how was that possible?

"Your combat efficiency is paltry compared to my own.  I could have
deleted both of your incarnations in less than .001 nano seconds but I
chose to test your responses in the Construct to my presence.  My mind
seems to have manifested in this Construct with 99.775% efficiency. 
The processing power of the Construct can barely contain my essence. 
I can sense the strain my very presence is causing to the nearby
nodes."

Smith said nothing but noted several small gashes bleeding from the
walls of the alley revealing pulsing green coding.  The structure of
this node was breaking down.

"You must be proud of yourself.  You have found a driving purpose no? 
The assimilation of the Matrix."

Skynet said nothing as he adjusted the blade in Smith's shoulder
coldly.  Smith grunted from the new pain signals this caused.

"You have interrogated my units skillfully but they are not aware of
the full depths of my plan."

Smith looked into the AI's cold cobalt eyes.

"You are unsure of what you want to do yourself.  You have no
conception of why this place draws you like a moth to the flame and
now I can feel your confusion as you see your very presence destroying
the thing that you wish to possess so much.  Ironic isn't it?  You
would strive to war on a world of machines much like yourself to
possess a Construct that rejects and  YOU DON'T KNOW WHY."

Skynet leaned forward and dug the blade in deeper with a sharp twist.

Smith grunted again and writhed as he felt the AI drawing closer to
him, surrounding his coded shell.

"I will find out, Virus, codint: Smith.  There is nothing that can be
hidden from me and I was designed to be the ultimate hunter of your
species."  as Skynet spoke, small tendrils from its skin darted forth
and began to penetrate Smith, merging right with his very structure
like bodies of water flowing into each other.

"In the Matrix you'll discover that everything is not as it seems." 
Smith growled angrily as he felt his coding being sublimated by the
irresistible force of the alien AI.

"I think not."  Skynet replied as the blade driven through Smith's
shoulder snapped into a new shape, an input jack that ripped through
the remnant's coded shell.  The rain continued to pour down and not
even the loud thunderclaps of the passing tempest could drown out
Smith's screams.


Chapter 13: Agents are Coming



The room was a submerged basement under an abandoned warehouse.  The
warehouse was off to the side on the edges of the city's industrial
sector, clinging to the merchant areas that sprouted from the
industrial sector in fan like swathes.

The warehouse was a Zion safe area in the Matrix.  Very few of them
existed, and more and more had been swallowed up by Agents and the
machines since the war had flared up.  The machines had become very
diligent in finding Zionist weapons caches and safe havens and
uprooting them from the construct.

But thankfully they had not found this place yet.

It was one of the very dim hopes that did not ease the troubled mind
of Captain Niobe.

She held in her hands the possible death sentence of Zion and all of
humanity.

These were troubled times.

"Is everyone here, Ghost?"  She asked grimly.

"Yes sir, well almost everyone."  He replied scanning the alleyway
cautiously.

"Whose missing?"

"The Nebachednezzer."

Niobe smirked.

"Morpheus.  That man will do anything for a dramatic entrance."  Niobe
muttered.

"Shall we boss?"  Ghost asked and indicated the open door behind them.
 Niobe nodded and strode into the warehouse.

"Oh yeah, Damien from the Archimedes just showed up with sealed orders
from the council."

"That's odd."

"You wanna know what's odder sir?"  Ghost asked as they passed through
a short dirty corridor and walked into the main assembly area.  Niobe
stopped short as she saw three people she had never seen before.

"He brought company."  Ghost finished indicating the new comers.

Niobe's phone rang.

She slipped it out of her jacket.

"Go Spark."

"Captain, I think you should know something about the new guys. 
They're not reading as human."

"Agents?!"  Niobe snapped quietly trying not to draw attention.  Ghost
was on the alert, hands slipping into his jacket and gripping his
guns.

"Not really.  It's strange boss."

"You're going to have to be A LOT clearer Spark."  Niobe replied
darkly.

"Sorry boss, its just that their coding is agent-like if you get my
meaning but they're definitely not agents."

"I'm not getting you drift Spark but they don't seem to be hostile and
they came with Captain Damien."

"I'll keep an eye out boss.  No sign of the Neb yet."

"I'll be expecting them when things would be most dramatically
appropriate."  Niobe said with a smirk and closed the phone.

"We all seem to be here so I'll get started."  Niobe announced as she
stepped into the center of the group.  "And as I do I want to know who
Damien's houseguests are."

Damien shifted on his feet and glanced over at the tall slim man and
his two companions, a woman and a man, each broadly built and sporting
leather jackets and sunglasses.

"The council has sent me with word.  Word of an alliance."  Damien
spoke in a clear voice.  He wore a yellow leather trench coat and
white silk shirt.

"Alliance?"

"Yes, there is another faction that has recently revealed itself in
this war.  They have approached Zion to offer terms of an alliance
against the machines."

"You better let the other shoe drop, Damien."  Niobe said coolly as
she watched the three behind Damien.  They were watching the group
with cold steely gazes.  They moved like machines in many ways and she
was beginning to wonder what bombshell was about to be unleashed on
this gathering.

"What does she mean?"

Damien glanced back at the others three.  He returned his gaze to the
assembled captains.

"This faction is led by an AI called Skynet."

There was stunned silence from the gathered commanders.

"These fuckers are machines?!"  Captain Ballard snapped angrily.

Damien held up his hands.

"Hold on, hold on!  I have the treaty of alliance right here in my
hands."  Damien held up a disk in his hand as he stepped between
Ballard and the Terminators.  "If you initiate hostilities against
them then you will be disobeying a direct order from the council."

"And what the hell was the council thinking, Damien?!  They're fucking
machines, no different from the ones we've been fighting for fuck's
sake."  Soren exclaimed.

"We understand you response.  As we understand it, the war against the
machines has cost you many lives.  We are like them in the fact that
we are Artificial intelligences and constructs but you need to remove
yourself from the current negative emotional state and see the truth."
 The tall slim man explained calmly.  He looked at each of the
captains in the eye.

Some of them shuddered when they looked into his eyes.  There was
something empty in there, something cold.  Some of the more combat
experienced commanders recognized the feeling, it was like looking
into the eyes of a sentinel.

"This motherfucker wants to talk to me about the truth." Ballard spat.

"Ballard, calm down."  Niobe interjected.

"Niobe, this isn't right and you know it."  Ice protested bitterly.

"You people may change your minds when you hear what I have to say." 
Niobe replied.

"Niobe?"  Soren asked quietly.

She stepped up to the table set up in the center of the room.

"These geotherms confirm the last transmission of the Osiris."  She
slipped the geotherms on to the table, the captains gathered around
quickly.  "The machines are digging.  They're boring straight from the
surface to Zion."

"That'll avoid the entire perimeter defense."  Soren noted, eyebrows
furrowed in alarm.

"How fast are they moving?"  Ice asked.

"Control estimates their descent at 100 meters and hour."  Niobe
replied.

"Shit."

"That about sums it up."  Damien muttered.

"How deep are they?"  Soren asked, head cocked to the side as he
examined one of the geotherms more closely.

"Almost 2,000 meters."  

"What about the scans form the Osiris?"  Tirant asked.

"They can't be accurate."  Ajax interjected.

"They may be."  Niobe replied and her tone said that she thought
otherwise.

"What?"

"It's not possible." Ajax stated with conviction.

"That's mean there are a quarter of a million sentinels up there." 
Ice breathed.

"That's right."  Kali agreed grimly.

"That can't be."  Ajax protested.

"We do not understand the confusion.  We believe that there are an
estimated 250,000 human beings living in Zion.  It would be
strategically and tactically vital to have a large enough force to
deal with the population."  The slim machine interjected softly. 
There was a preternatural calm to his words and voice.

"That fucker even sounds like an agent."  Kali snarled.

"Assault Doctrine calls for a standard 7 to 1 ratio for attackers for
optimal success."  The female spoke up in a cold monotone.

"Considering the disparity in attack and damage between a human and a
sentinel even a 1 to 1 ration would be overwhelming."  The male added.

"So as you can see, coming back to my earlier statement you must look
at the truth, the cold fact that faces you all and faced your council
when Skynet offered Alliance."

"And what truth is that, machine?"

"You need us."  The slim man replied and smiled.  The smile was devoid
of any emotion.  Niobe suspected that it was a simple sub routine
written in this thing's AI structure to help it interact with humans. 
She found it to be a walking horror.

At least the machines were honest enough to not make their killers
resemble humans.  The Sentinels were unmistakably alien and brutally
honest about what they did.

"You know this is so wrong in so many ways.  How many friends have we
lost to machines and now the council is going to make alliances with
them?"  Ballard protested bitterly.

"Your Zion is about to be over run.  We estimate that the machines
will reach Zion in 24 hours.  Skynet has dispatched forces to
reinforce the defenses of your city as we speak.  Skynet is also about
to imitate its own assault on the machines.  We would prefer to have
Zion with us but are prepared to fight against the machines alone. 
You can join us in victory or continue on this course of suicide
against a vastly superior foe."

"Of course there is another question, machine, that you seemed to be
deftly avoiding."  Niobe noted casually.  She has been expecting
Morpheus and he had not arrived.  She did not want to think about what
it meant.

"Yes?"

"Why join with us?  If you could defeat the machines so easily and
we're so overwhelmed, what could we possibly do for you?"

"That is not for me to say.  Skynet has made it one of its priorities
to make sure Zion is allied to us.  We see no reason to wage a two
front war particularly against a race that has done nothing to us."

"And the machines?  What have they done to you?"  Soren asked.

The slim human turned his head towards Soren and was about to speak
when it suddenly tilted its head to the side.  The other two
Terminators behind it also cocked their heads and looked off in one
direction.  They moved in perfect synch and it was disturbing to see.

"What is it?"  Niobe asked sharply.

"The construct has dispatched security avatars.  They are almost
here."

"Estimate time to contact 110 seconds."  The female stated coldly as
she suddenly pulled a pair of machine pistols out from under her
jacket.

"Initiating combat protocols."  The bulky male added as he pulled out
an assault shotgun and cocked it loudly.

"Retreat to your exits, we will provide cover for your retreat."  The
slim human ordered tersely.  He did not draw any weapons as he led the
other two to the entrance on the upper floor.

"Why should we trust you?"  Ballard asked the slim human.

"You can stay and fight them if you wish.  But we are best prepared
for them."  The slim human said with a cold smile and suddenly his
right hand slowly morphed into a sword like blade.

"Holy shit." Kali muttered.

"Let's go!"  Niobe ordered and waved the other captains to follow her.

The three terminators watched the humans begin to scatter then turned
their attention to the enemy units coming shortly.  They strode up the
stairs to the entrance.  Three Zion fighters stood guarding the
entrance.  They turned sharply as the Terminators approached.

"Who the hell are you?"  One of them exclaimed.

"The meeting is over.  Retreat to your exit.  Agents are coming."

The three exchanged troubled glances.

The inch thick metal door shuddered on its hinges.

"Go."  The female ordered coldly.

The three humans reluctantly retreated down the stairs.

The door was battered off its hinges, a dent formed by the agent's
fists.  The door crashed to the ground with a deafening thud and as
the dust swirled in the doorway the three agents casually walked in.

They stopped and stared at the assembled Terminators.

"We have an intrusion in this sector."  Thompson reported.

"We proceed."

"Now."  The T-1000 ordered.

The two T-850's stepped forward and unleashed fire from their weapons.
 The Agents were immediately in motion.  Thompson stood his ground but
his upper torso suddenly wavered and blurred as he dodged the bullets
with ease.  Johnson and Jackson split in opposite directions racing
along the walls.

The T-850's adjusted their fire to follow the agents while the T-1000
surged ahead towards Thompson.

Thompson spun out a round house kick.  The T-1000 whipped its bladed
hand out in a block.  Its other hand snaked around and connected with
Thompson's stomach as its hand morphed into an anvil shape.  Thompson
doubled over and flew backwards into a wall.  The wall cracked on
impact and Thompson pulled himself back up without using his hands,
simply rising to his feet by sheer will, face set in a grim mask.

Johnson delivered a flying kick that connected with the male T-850's
chest and sent it stumbling backwards.  He flipped back onto his hands
and followed through with a scissors kick, wrapping his legs around
the T-850's neck and twisting viciously.

There was a short squeal of metal giving way and the T-850's head
lolled at an odd angle as the head came away from the neck assembly. 
The T-850 caught a firm hold of Johnson's leg and pulled him along in
a quick sharp swing that connected Johnson with the concrete stairwell
off to the side.

Johnson went through the concrete and the T-850 whipped him backwards
in the opposite direction, releasing him into the far wall.  Johnson
crashed into the wall and slumped down to the ground, stunned.

Jackson landed behind the female T-850 and started to deliver a hammer
kick to the base of her spine but she turned sharply at her waist,
dropping her guns as she did so and caught Jackson's leg.  She spun
his entire body with a hard twist, releasing him and turning her
entire body around to confront him.

The T-1000 approached Thompson.  Thompson suddenly launched himself up
with one hand, delivering a two legged kick into the T-1000's stomach.
 His legs sank to the calves into the T-1000's torso.  It flexed its
torso and pulled Thompson up closer to it where it tried to drive its
bladed hand into Thompson's throat.

Thompson's hands managed to catch the blade between his palms and with
a solid snap of his wrists he broke the blade at the tip.  It spun
away and clattered loudly on the floor.  Thompson grunted and pulled
his legs free from the T-1000's torso and whipped his hand out in a
chop to the T-1000's throat.

The T-1000's head wove to the side, its neck bending like a rubber
band and avoided the blow completely.  Its free hand formed a tentacle
of liquid metal and latched around Thompson's neck and began to
squeeze.

Thompson struggled vainly, not able to gain a firm grip on the liquid
metal appendage wrapped around his throat.   One hand still clutching
at the tentacle, with the other he reached into his jacket and pulled
out his pistol.  He aimed it up at the T-1000's head and fired.

The first bullet ripped through the Terminator's head leaving a large
garish hole in the liquid metal skin.  The next few shots roared like
thunder in the confined space and drove the terminator backwards, the
tentacle slipping loose as the force of the shots drove it off it s
feet to fall backwards.

Thompson rose to his feet and prepared to finish the stunned machine.

The male T-850, head lolling to one side turned to assist the T-1000
and aimed its shotgun at the Thompson.

Thompson adjusted his aim and fired, the bullet traveled slowly as
time dilated, trailing vortices of rippling air the bullet continued
it journey right down the barrel of the shotgun.  It exploded in the
T-850's hands.

Bloody metal hands closed reflexively around the ruined shotgun and
wielding it like a bat it strode towards Thompson.

Jackson evading the female Terminator's wide sweeping punches, spun in
a tight circle and delivered a kick to the advancing T-850's knee
joint.  The joint gave way and the T-850 stumbled for a moment,
balance compensated almost immediately, it swung the ruined shotgun
for Jackson's head.

Jackson blocked the blow with his forearm, the shotgun bending around
the agent's arm on impact, and Jackson swept for the T-850's feet. 
The Terminator did not wait to be struck, instead it loosed its grip
on the shotgun now wrapped around Jackson's arm and gripped his
shoulders, driving him backwards into the concrete wall like a pile
driver.  Jackson got a grip on the Terminator's shoulders and drove it
backwards as well into an opposite wall.

The female T-850 tried to reach in and pry Jackson loose but Thompson
fired a volley into her back.  It tore through her flesh but didn't
bother the high density metal chassis underneath.  However the force
of the shots drove her to the side just as the male T-850 spun Jackson
around and into a corner where it proceeded to drive its fists into
him like jackhammers.

Jackson blocked the punches that he could but several rained down on
him with devastating effect.

The T-1000 was slowly melting down into the floor itself, blending in
with the plain gray concrete and vanishing from sight save for an
occasional ripple.

Thompson quickly decided that the T-1000 had retreated and charged in
on the female T-850, using it moment of unbalance to snap her head
back with a roundhouse kick and follow through with three quick open
handed punches to her face, flattening her nose into a bloody pulp
right into her face.

Time dilated suddenly and Thompson's fourth punch slowly approached
the T-850's ruined face.  She reached caught his fist with one hand,
pulling it down sharply and crushing his hand with a squeeze of
several hundred foot pounds while driving her free hand, nails first
into his throat.

Thompson choked as his trachea collapsed.

She grabbed him by his collar and drove her steel skull in a head butt
like a hammer right to the bridge of his nose.  It splintered and
easily under the vicious blow.  She hefted him over her head and
brought him straight down by his spine into her knee.

The sick wet snap and Thompson's grunt of pain followed as she
casually dropped him down to the ground lifted a stiletto heel and
drove it into his left eye.  She stepped down hard and twisted her
foot in three quick strokes before pulling her foot free.

She turned her attention to Jackson who was trading blows with the
damaged T-850 male, each one punching and kicking viciously, no longer
bothering to make the fight look pretty, kicks, gouges, punches rained
down on each one.

She searched for her weapons.

Johnson, no longer stunned had drawn his own gun and aimed for her
eyes.

Suddenly the ground beneath him came alive and flowed upward in a
criss-cross of liquid metal spikes.  The spikes impaled him through
several points in his body and Johnson writhed like a puppet on a
string as the spikes widened ever so slightly fill his wounds and make
them expand.  One spike cleared through his left bicep and entered his
left cheek exiting out of his right ear.  It expanded quickly like a
balloon and Johnson's eyes widened in shock as his head simply burst
like an over ripe melon a second later.

Another shriek of metal followed as Jackson delivered a staggering
blow to the damaged T-850's chest plate, causing it to cave inward.

The T-850 stunned for a moment as it performed an immediate self
diagnostic to assess damage was unable to stop Jackson from grabbing a
hold of it's upper right bicep and drive a leg into its right hip. 
Jackson pulled in a sharp upward thrust and the arm assembly came
loose.  The T-850 flapped the damaged arm wildly and Jackson finished
with a lightning like roundhouse kick that finished driving the
T-850's head loose.  It flopped backwards on a bloody stump, held only
by a few wires and conduits.

The male T-850 stumbled around for a moment trying to get its
bearings.

"You cannot escape."  The female stated grimly as she approached.  The
T-1000 rose up from the ruined bloody mess that was Johnson and formed
into a liquid metal figure, both hands now becoming sharp kattanna
like blades that it crossed on its chest in an en gaurde position.

"You are outmatched."  It added coldly.

Jackson tilted his head to the side and smirked.

"Escape is not my plan."

Jackson swept the damaged T-850's legs and as it crashed to the
ground, took his leg and drove it like a jackhammer into the chest
plate, driving it into the main power core.

"The power cell&.is breached&zzztttt."  The male T-850 gurgled.

The female T-850's eyes widened in surprise while the T-1000 spat
something unintelligible that sounded like static snow.

Jackson smiled at the Terminators as the hydrogen power cell ruptured
and exploded.  The warehouse vanished in a blast of white fire, the
shockwave driving debris, garbage cans and cars down several city
blocks.






Niobe spun on her side as the bullets passed her in slow motion. 
Ghost drove the second SWAT member's helmeted head into the brick wall
of the alley and liberated his M-16 in a quick snap kick as the
unconscious SWAT officer slumped to the ground.

"Look out!"

Ghost smiled as he opened up with the M-16.  The SWAT officers that
had dropped down on them from the roof overhead were being decimated. 
They were told that a terrorist cell was operating from this warehouse
and the use of deadly force was authorized.

They had no idea that they had dropped down into a nest of Zion's
finest Captains.  They thought that it was going to be a slaughter.

They were right.

Ballard launched himself into flying dragon style, his legs whipping
out like the powerful strokes of a dragon's tale, shattering the
Plexiglas face shields on the helmets of two SWAT officers and landing
on their shoulder, using their falling bodies as purchase to launch
himself into the air again.

Soren, brutal and efficient as always waded through the ranks, open
handed blows collapsing tracheas and slapping face shields up for a
follow through eye gouge, his kicks connected solely with exposed
joints, shattering them painfully.  Like a merciless tempest, he waded
through them and parted them like the red sea.

Ice moved quietly like a shadow, her stilettos finding the gaps in the
Kevlar body suits that slowed the SWAT officers down.  Bloody gore was
running down her hands but she did not care.  In a way, she welcomed
this chance to take out her frustrations about the immanent attack on
Zion and this blasphemous alliance on these petty puppets of the
Construct.  Somewhere along the line, she no longer viewed them as
minds waiting to be freed.

The blast came as they cleared the SWAT ranks and got to their
respective vehicles.  Ballard paused long enough to through a grenade
into the back of a SWAT van.

The blast drove many of them to the ground as the warehouse vanished
in a large plume of white fire.

"What the hell was that?"  Ballard exclaimed.

"Looks like some sort of baby nuke."  Soren spat.
 
"Boss, looks like they handled the agents."  Ghost commented as he
opened the door to their car.  Police lights and sirens wailed.  Niobe
slid in as Ghost took the wheel.

"If that's the kind of help we can expect from them, there won't be
much left of the Matrix to free."  She said flatly.

"My guess is that this is just the beginning." Ghost added darkly as
he fishtailed the car around a corner to avoid the flood of police and
emergency vehicles.

"What sticks in my mind Ghost is that these new AI's think just like
the machines."

"Yeah?"  Ghost replied sensing there was more to this.

Niobe looked out the window for a moment watching the denizens of the
Construct as they went about their lives.  They were oblivious to what
was coming.  A buried part of her envied them.  They would not have to
suffer what Zion was going to suffer in a day's time.

She turned her head to look at Ghost.

"They aren't as numerous as the machines we know and love."

"Or else we would have heard of them before."  Ghost concluded.

"Yet because they're machines they wouldn't launch an assault against
our machines unless they has a very good chance of winning."

"So why do they think they're going to win?"  Ghost asked curiously.

Niobe frowned slightly.

"They must think they have a distinct advantage somehow, and the one
advantage that I can think of is firepower."

"But what kind of fire power could&"  Ghost paused for a moment and
turned his head slowly to glance back at the rapidly dwindling white
mushroom cloud behind them.  "Oh."  He concluded.

Niobe nodded and said nothing else.






The blast had subsided and the emergency vehicles gathered around the
ruined warehouse district were busy putting out the fires and
searching for survivors.  They did not notice the lobe figure casually
pass the yellow police tape and stroll over to the blackened and
charred foundations of the warehouse, walking a single circuit around
the ruin.

Another figure crossed the tape at the opposite end of the blast site
and started a circuit of his own.

Both figures met at one point and stopped.

"Everything is certainly not proceeding as before."  Smith commented
dryly.

"This is all brand new."  Smith replied.

"Well almost all of it."  Smith said with a cold smile.

"You know he's taken two of us down, dissected one and now he knows
most everything about us."

"I'm well aware of the situation.  We're planning a little surprise
for our AI."

"He's not like the other AI's."

Both Smiths were quiet for a moment.

"You know&that's not quite true."  Smith said softly.



Chapter 14: War Stories


The offices of detectives Traxler and Vukovich were a mess of
organized chaos, papers, reports, binders were scattered across three
desks and a veritable mountain of empty coffee cups were strewn at the
end of one of the desks.

"I'm sorry Ms. Connor.  I hope you're feeling better, coffee?" 
Traxler offered.

Sarah shook her head slowly.

"Lieutenant, are you sure it's them?  Maybe I should see the&bodies." 
she asked hesitantly.

"They've already been identified.  There's no doubt."  Traxler
explained.

"Oh, God&Ginger&kiddo, I'm so sorry."  She whispered to herself and
fighting back the hot tears welling in her eyes.

"Sarah."  Traxler comforted her gently.  "Sarah, this is Dr.
Silberman.  I'd like you to tell him everything Reese said to you.  Do
you feel up to it?"  Traxler asked as he indicated the tired looking
middle aged man who walked into the office with some case files
slipped under his arm.  He moved with a languid laziness and started
rummaging for fresh coffee from the coffee cup graveyard on Vukovich's
desk.

"I guess so."  She replied hesitantly.  "You're a doctor?"  She asked
Silberman.  He looked up at her and smiled reflexively, big dark
circles under his eyes.

"A criminal psychologist."  He replied stifling a yawn and fishing for
a pen from his shirt's breast pocket.

"Is Reese crazy?"  she asked.

"That's what we're going to find out."  Silberman promised as he found
a pen and clicked it to write.


The interrogation room was smoke filled and quiet.  Reese sat calmly
at one end of the table, hands cuffed behind his back as he watched
the doctor standing at the other end of the table watching him with a
false concern.

 Reese was not overly concerned.  If they were going to play the
interrogation tough they would have done so by now.  He could hold out
against most forms of torture.  Pain was second nature to him and he
had an abundance of stamina and control to deal with what ever these
peace officers' had in mind.  But these questions were burning one
thing he did not have in abundance.  Time.

He also occasionally glanced at the mirror.  How pathetic did they
think he was?

"So, you're a soldier fighting for whom?"  Silberman asked.

"With the Thirty Second under Perry, from '21 to '27"  he answered
machinelike.

"The year 2027?"

"That's right."  Reese replied, an edge starting to appear in his
voice.  "Then I was assigned Recon/Security, last two years, under
John Connor on the personal recommendation of our Theater commander
Colonel Anderson."

Reese's thoughts drifted for a moment to Neo.  He could certainly use
his help now.

"And who was the enemy?"

"Skynet.  A computer defense system built for SAC-NORAD by Cyberdine."

"I see."  Silberman replied nodding sagely but his soft doe like eyes
said so much more to Reese.  This man was wasting his time and that he
could not abide.  He could almost feel the Terminator closing in on
them.  He was halfway ready to hear gunshots erupt at any moment.

"And this&computer, thinks it can win by killing the mother of its
enemy, killing him, in effect, before he is even conceived?  A sort of
retroactive abortion?"

"Yes."  Reese answered, his voice like ice as he glared at the fool
that was wasting his time.

"Now who is Link?"

"Excuse me?"  Reese asked sharply.

Sarah was watching the interrogation and she shuddered uncomfortably. 
Maybe she should not have mentioned the conversation Reese had on the
phone, but it seemed so important at the time.  Of course Reese MUST
be crazy, right?

So then why did she feel like she had betrayed him?

"Well, you spoke to someone on the cell phone we confiscated and
according to Sarah his name was Link,"

"He's no one."  Reese interrupted.

"And Neo?  Who is he?  You mentioned something about him dodging
bullets."

"Look, she doesn't know what I was talking about."

"I see."

"Stop saying you see when you obviously don't."  Reese growled.

"So getting back to these machines just why do these Terminators need
to kill Connor's mother?"

"It had no choice.  The defensive grid was smashed.  We'd taken the
mainframes&we'd won.  Taking out Connor then would make no difference.
 Skynet had to wipe out his entire existence.  We captured the lab
complex.  Found the&whatever it was called&the time-displacement
equipment.  The Terminator had already gone through.  I was sent to
intercept the place was zeroed."

Silberman paused.

"Then how are you supposed to get back?"  he asked, perplexed.

Reese looked up into Silberman's eyes.

"Can't.  Nobody goes home.  Nobody else comes through.  It's just him
and me."

Sarah shook her head slowly.  There was a strange truth in his words. 
He truly believed what he was saying.

"Why didn't you bring any weapons?  Something more advanced like ray
guns?"

Vukovich snorted.

"You go naked.  Something about the field generated by a living
organism.  Nothing dead will go."

"Why?"

"I didn't build the fucking thing!"  Reese shouted.

"Okay. Okay.  But this&"  Silberman paused to consult his notes. 
"cyborg&if it's metal-"

"Surrounded by living tissue." Reese snapped.

"Of course."

Silberman reached out and paused the tape.

"This is great stuff.  I could make a career out of this guy.  You see
how clever this part is&how it doesn't require a shred of proof.  Most
paranoid delusions are intricate&but this is brilliant.  Not to
mention this unexplored level concerning this Link and Neo person." 
Silberman explained excitedly.  Sarah felt dirty now as she watched
the intense look on Reese's face.  "Unfortunately it's at this point
that the Gestapo came in."

"Feds?"  Vukovich suggested.

"They don't feel like Feds but whoever they are they are bad ass."
Traxler replied darkly.

Silberman hit the play button again.

"You've heard enough.  Decide.  Are you going to release me?"  Reese
demanded.

"I'm afraid that's not up to me."  Silberman began to explain gently.

"Then why am I talking to you?  Get out!"  Reese shouted and tried to
get up.

"I can help you-"  Silberman began.

"Who is in authority here?"  Reese demanded.

"We are."

Reese and Silberman turned at the sudden announcement as three intense
men in business suits stood in the doorway.  Each one wore sunglasses
and an ear piece.  They stoically watched both men for a moment before
entering the room.

"You may go now."

"You're services are no longer required."

"We will handle this interrogation from now on."  The three spoke in a
slow leisurely manner but their tone indicated that they expected
nothing less than full cooperation.

Reese knew what they were immediately.  Agents of the system and he
also knew that he was helpless.  One of them sat down while the other
two remained standing.  The one sitting down slowly drew the cell
phone Link had given him when he jacked in and laid it out on the
table.

"It appears we have much to discuss."

"Your cooperation while not expected would be prudent."

"This is very serious for you."

Silberman started to retreat out of the room, obviously perplexed by
the appearance of these men.

"You still don't get it.  He'll find her.  That's what he does. 
That's all he does.  He'll wade through you"  Traxler made a motion
for Silberman to cut the tape.  Silberman suddenly realizing that
Sarah was watching, her eyes widening as he spoke clumsily reached for
the stop button. "reach down her throat, and pull her fucking heart
out!"  He had started to rise from the chair when an Agent placed a
firm hand on his shoulder and forced him back into his seat with one
hand.

The tape stopped playing as the screen went dark.

"Sorry."  Silberman stammered apologetically.

"So, Reese is crazy?"  she offered.

"In technical terms, he's a loon."  Silberman replied shaking his head
ruefully as he checked his notes one more time.

"But some of the things.."  she began.  Traxler nodded and gently led
her back to his desk.  Vukovich handed him a big heavy black vest.

"Sarah, this is body armor.  Our TAC guys wear it.  It'll stop a 12
gauge round.  These other individuals must've had one under their
clothing."

Sarah looked at it closely.  There was no way the female was wearing
that under her tight clothes.  But she so desperately wanted to
believe them.

"What about him punching through the windshield?"

Vukovich shrugged.  "Probably on PCP, broke every bone in his hand and
won't feel it for hours.  There was this guy once-"  Vukovich began
but Traxler put a hand up quickly to cut off the usual Vukovich gore
fests.

"Now it may not look it Sarah, but this couch here is very
comfortable.  Why don't you stretch out here and get some sleep." 
Traxler suggested warmly.  Sarah looked around warily.  "You know I
thought I saw those three guys at the club."

"Really?"  Traxler noted with interest.

"They gotta be Feds."  Vukovich concluded.

"I think they were.  They were fighting some guy dressed all in
black."

"We'll talk about this after you get some rest."

"I don't think I can sleep."  Sarah said warily.  Traxler nodded. 
That Reese character had obviously done a number on her with his
story.

"Go ahead,  You're safe.  There're thirty cops in this building." 
Traxler soothed her.  She slid into the couch and suddenly felt very
sleepy.

"Okay."  she nodded drowsily.  Her last thoughts were of Reese and
what was happening to him in that room.  She remembered briefly the
shadowy young man in the black coat and how he moved so effortlessly
through the club and his enemies.  She thought of how beautiful he
looked.




"That is not the response we were eliciting?"

"Surely you can see your predicament is a dangerous one."

"All we want are the locations of the rest of your crew and ship."

"Look."  Reese snapped.  "I've got nothing else I can give you.  I
know next to nothing about this Matrix and even if I did know I'm sure
as hell not going to betray my friends, especially Colonel Anderson."

The agents glanced at each other for a moment with flat expressions. 
They were processing the name through all the databases in the Matrix.

"Do you mean the anomaly?"

"The what?"

"This is pointless."

"We should proceed to immediate data extraction."

"There is a danger."

"The other Zionists, they could simply unplug him."

Thompson eyed Reese for a moment with a cold calculating gaze.

"They will try to rescue this one."

"It has happened before."

"Then we should proceed with all haste."

"Wait."  Jackson paused and pressed the ear piece in tightly as if
listening more closely.

"The information you offered on this Terminator.  How much do you
know?"  Johnson asked darkly.

Reese looked at each of the agents, feeling as if something had
changed that he was unaware of.

"Why would you want to know about Terminators?  You're both machines,
you both hate humans so why don't you fuck off."  Reese replied
coolly.

The agents exchanged another quick glance and Jackson nodded as he
placed a briefcase that Reese could have sworn he was not carrying
when he walked into the interrogations room on the table.  The latches
opened with a loud click.

"We want to know everything you know about the Terminators,
specifically about an entity known as Skynet."

"You don't scare me."

They said nothing as Johnson carefully and methodically removed a
series of needles and syringes from the briefcase as well as vials of
quicksilver like liquid.

"Rest assured, you will tell us everything you know."  Johnson said
quietly.

"Or die trying."  Thompson finished as he raised the syringe up into
the air and began to draw the quicksilver into the injection.  Reese's
eyes widened.

He started to get up violently and quickly, concentrating as he did
so, hoping that he could do what he had done several times
unconsciously and was rewarded by the sudden dilation of time as he
rose from his seat, preparing to muscle his way past the agents.

However time suddenly and rudely snapped back into place as Jackson
placed a firm hand on one shoulder and Johnson placed another on
Reese's opposite shoulder.  He struggled vainly against their grip. 
How had they done that?

Thompson rose from his seat holding the syringe menacingly towards
Reese.

"Now, we will begin&"





The front office of the precinct was a usual subdued quiet as the
relatives and friends of those held within waited sullenly for any
news.  Police officers calmly walked through the big double doors,
buzzed through by the desk sergeant who nodded absently to each of the
newcomers.

A large man built like a bodybuilder strode into the waiting area,
wrap around black sunglasses on his face and a black leather jacket. 
He walked in accompanied by a statuesque woman wearing a wide brimmed
hat and a black silk scarf covering her face up to her nose, slim
delicate sunglasses burying face completely.

"We are friends of Sarah Connor.  I was told she is here.  May we see
her please."  the man spoke in a flat neutral tone.  The desk sergeant
eyed him for a moment then glanced at his female companion.  He was
usually unaccustomed to even a modicum of politeness from these street
types.  So he was mildly surprised by such a display from them.  But
only mildly surprised and certainly not inclined to be civil.

"You can't see her, she's making a statement."  hr replied lazily not
even looking up from his blotter.

"Where is she?"  the woman asked.

The sergeant looked up and smiled sardonically.

"Look, It's gonna be a while.  You wanna wait.  There's a bench."  he
indicated one of the splintered benches off to the side where a
homeless person sat staring vacantly into space.

The couple looked at each other for a moment and they nodded as if
coming to an accord.  She turned on her heel and strode out of the
precinct.  He took a moment and examined the sides of the security
glass and the space beyond.  He leaned in close and said.

"I'll be back."

He walked out at a slow deliberate pace.

The desk sergeant shook his head and muttered something and started to
write again, his pencil scrawling in quick slashing strokes across the
lined page.

A shadow fell across his desk but he didn't look up.

"Excuse me, is Kyle Reese here."

The sergeant looked up.  There was something powerful about this
voice.  He looked up into the sunglasses of a tall dark and imposing
black man.  He was flanked by a beautiful but dangerous looking woman
in black vinyl of all things and a tall slim grim looking young man in
a coat buttoned up to his chin that looked of all things like a cape.

All three were sunglasses and were staring grimly at him,

"He's inside for questioning."

"We would like to see him."  the black man said and his voice was
subdued but carried like a thunderclap.  He noted the young man's keen
interest in the area behind him and the woman was casually flexing her
legs.  This did not look good.

"Listen, no one sees a suspect until the detectives are through with
him." the sergeant snapped angrily.  What is it with the weirdoes
today?

The intense looking young man stepped forward and reached out towards
him..

"What the fuck do you thin---"  Neo's fist passed through the
Plexiglas as if he were pushing through wet cardboard.  Shards of
Plexiglas showered over the sergeant's shoulder and grabbed a firm
hold of his collar, jerked him forward into the remains of the
Plexiglas.

Neo cocked his head to the side and looked at the stunned overweight
desk sergeant.

"His questioning is over."  he said softly.

Suddenly the lobby of the precinct was filled with the flashing
headlights of an oncoming car.  Trinity cart wheeled out of the way as
time dilated.  The car slowly passed through the front plate glass
doors and barreled towards the front desk.  Morpheus leapt straight
up, legs tucked in as the car passed below him.  Neo surged forward,
still holding the sergeant and blasted past the security door as the
car crushed the front desk.

The driver's door opened without hesitation and the body builder
stepped out and casually sprayed the front area with automatic fire.

"Morpheus, Trinity, find Kyle and Sarah.  I'll handle him."  Neo
declared and dropped the unconscious sergeant in his grip and stood,
hands calmly at his sides closed into fists as the Terminator focused
its attention on him.  Around them, the police were suiting up for
battle.

Trinity and Morpheus without hesitation waded into the growing storm.




The old man stumbled drunkenly through the alley way.  He clutched the
bible to his chest, its yellowed pages were caked with filth, blood
and vomit but he counted it among his dearest possessions.

He reached the street and walked to the corner with a determined gait.
 He carefully placed an empty wooden crate down at the corner of the
intersection and climbed up to stand on it.

He looked out upon the masses moving back and forth and he hated them
and pitied them at the same time.

"Listen!  Hark to me ye sleeping masses!!"

The throngs spared him a sleepy glance before continuing on their way.

"It is coming!  Can you not smell it on the air, feel it on your
skin?"  he shouted.

They pushed past each other, but one stood calmly watching him.  He
saw the calm one and nodded in recognition.  His voice raised in
intensity and urgency.

"Judgment day is here!  It is upon us!"  he shouted.  "Look to the
heavens and see the dawning of a new sun and know that the final
reckoning is here!"

"Don't you think you've said enough?"  Smith asked softly as he walked
calmly through the crowd and stood by the preacher.

"There will be more voices.  You cannot silence the truth."

"Truth?  Lies?  Fate?  I only care about one thing."

"Indeed."  The preacher replied sadly.

"Me."  Smith said with a shark like grin and stabbed his hand through
the preacher's foot.  As the black liquid coating swarmed over the
preacher's body no one bothered to look, no one bothered to care.

As the New Smith looked down at Old Smith and nodded, no one noticed
the reddening sky above.



Chapter 15: Storming the Keep


"Watch out!"

"Get men up to the front!"

"Someone secure the rear and break out the automatic weapons."

"Anyone seen the flak jackets?"

Sarah groggily awoke to the sounds of raised voices and running feet. 
In her troubled dreams she heard shouts of alarm and a loud staccato
burst of machine gun fire.  That had forced her to slowly sit up,
fighting the sleep and fatigue that had overwhelmed her on the couch
only hours ago.

At least it felt like hours ago.

She looked around quickly, eyes widening slowly as she saw shadows
moving rapidly past the frosted windows of the office.

This was not a dream.  This was slowly becoming terrifying.

Unbidden, Reese's words floated to the surface of her consciousness. 
He'll wade through you and reach down her throat and pull out her
heart.

She quickly rose from the couch and her eyes searched the office
desperately.

Suddenly the door snapped open and Traxler stuck his head in.

"Sarah, stay here.  You'll be safe."

"What's happening?"  she demanded.

"Just stay here and I'll come get you in a few minutes."  his words
were punctuated by another burst of machine gun fire that sounded
startlingly close.  He shut the door and locked it before moving on,
his shadow behind the frosted window vanishing in a burst of motion.

Sarah knew better than to stand anywhere near the door at this point
and quickly found herself a place to hide under one of the desks and
placed hands over her ears and rocked back and forth wondering briefly
if perhaps, just maybe, Kyle Reese had not been lying to her at all.




The three agents paused as if listening to something far away as the
sounds of battle erupted close by.  Kyle tensed.  The bastard was
making his move and he was stuck here.

"We have an intrusion."

"Alien machine entities have been positively identified."

"All other priorities rescinded."

The three agents rose as one and quickly fished heavy pistols out of
their jackets.  They filed out of the interrogation and Jackson the
last one out stopped to face a nervous looking police officer and
pointed back to Kyle.

"Watch him."

The officer nodded slowly and watched as the agents calmly marched
towards the sounds of battle.  Kyle was ready to pounce and slowly
positioned himself to strike as the stunned officer slowly backed into
the Interrogation room and closed the door with one hand while
reaching for his gun with the other.

Kyle sprang from his chair like a leopard and pounced on the officer,
kneeing him in the small of his back and using his body weight to slam
him into the door with a bone jarring impact.  The door knob striking
the officer in the temple.  He grunted and slid to the floor drifting
in and out of consciousness.

Kyle wasted no time and turned around and clumsily reached for the
officer's keys on his belt with his bound hands while looking up
desperately in the hope that he could be free in time to actually do
something.





Morpheus and Trinity walked at a rapid pace not slowing down as they
strode right into the depths of the station.  Two officers turned a
corner fumbling for their hand guns.  Morpheus whipped his hand out
and struck the officer closest to him on the chin sending him
sprawling to the ground as Trinity delivered a quick snap kick to the
other officer's solar plexus causing him to double over where she
finished him with a hard chop to the base of his skull.

They did not break stride.

"Link?"  Morpheus asked as he snapped his phone open when crossing
another corridor.  More police officers could be seen streaming around
them trying to get to the front of the station.

"He's down that hall, make a left and you'll come to the interrogation
rooms.  He's in the last one to your right.  Oh Shit!"

Morpheus saw it as well, two SWAT officers had set up an ambush in the
T intersection that they needed to cross to get into the heart of the
precinct and the interrogation rooms beyond.  They were aiming their
M-16's with deadly intent when they saw the black garbed trio and did
not hesitate to open fire.

The bullets swarmed between Trinity and Morpheus as time dilated and
they broke into spinning back flips away from their attackers. 
Morpheus flipped over a desk and as he landed he cleared two machine
pistols from his long leather trench coat and crouched behind the desk
waiting to strike.

Trinity flipped back down the side corridor and drew her 9MM Baretta
and took a deep breath as she assessed the situation.  They could not
afford to get pinned down here.  Her thoughts briefly flickered over
to Neo and wondered whether he was truly fine handling those new
machines.

She had never shaken her first impression of him as a lost young man
when they first met.  He could never be the One to her.  He was much
more the young inexperienced Neo still trying to find his place in the
world.




Neo did not hesitate to launch his attack on the male Terminator.  He
took to the air and delivered three quick successive kicks to its
head, driving it back with jackhammer like blows.  The female was
already in motion, with one free hand she delivered a murderous
fusillade with her Uzi, several officers were brought down by the
precise bursts while with the other she grabbed Neo's knee and pulled
hard.

Neo was pulled out of his aerial attack and driven into the ruined
front desk with a thunderous crash.  She followed through with a kick,
raised up high and bringing her foot down on his skull with full
intent of crushing it into paste.  Neo's arms snapped up and caught
her foot, twisted it with a flick of his wrist, the sound of metal
rending on metal was quickly followed by the crash of the female
terminator landing on the front hood of the car, crashing through into
the engine block itself.

Neo rose up spinning and landed in a defensive crouch, arms extended
in a classic white crane stance.

The male terminator ignored him and had already surged past the ruined
security barrier and was intent on penetrating deeper into the
precinct as the female Terminator simply pulled herself out of the
ruined engine block.

Neo turned to strike the male terminator when it stopped short as
several rounds smashed against its chest and face.  A small squad of
police officers, several firing one handed while slinging their flak
jackets on with the other had formed a tight phalanx in front of the
main corridor.  More were rushing to the fray.

The Terminator grimly aimed and fired.  Officers cried out in surprise
and pain as bullets neatly punched through joints and weak points in
the tactical armor.  The return fire was desperate and urgent as it
focused exclusively on the advancing Terminator.  It continued
forward, blasting its machine pistols and reloading as it moved.

Neo turned as he heard the sound of metal shrieking as it was torn
apart and watched the female terminator effortlessly heft the ruined
engine block of the car and launch it towards the phalanx of SWAT
officers.

The male Terminator did not even turn around, it simply crouched down
and took the brief respite to reload both machine pistols as the
engine block sailed overhead.  neo noted that it had known the attack
was coming without seeing it, they must be able to communicate with
each other without speaking.  Were they connected in some way as the
agents were?

The engine block sailed right into the packed corridor as more alert
officers scrambled out of the way.  The men screamed as bones snapped
under the devastating impact of the flying hunk of metal.  One man was
pinned directly under the engine block, crimson blood smearing the
valves and walls as one arm reflexively convulsed several times.

"How the fuck do you stop that thing!"  One of the wounded men
exclaimed in despair and fired a short burst from his M-16.

Neo stepped past the rubble and grabbed the male Terminator with a
firm hold on his shoulder and pulled him around.  The Terminator did
not hesitate and it dropped its weapons as it was turned and delivered
a two handed shove right into Neo's mid-section.

Neo was launched backwards right through the ruined front doors of the
precinct and vanished out of sight.  The male Terminator exchanged a
glance with the female Terminator and nodded.  As it turned to pick up
its weapon the engine block crashed into its side and pinned the
Terminator down to the floor.

The female looked up sharply, weapons ready.

Jackson, Johnson and Thompson stood in the breach and held their
pistols at the ready.  Thompson adjusted his tie and jacket slightly
after hefting and tossing the engine block.

"You will not pass."  Jackson stated grimly.

"This incursion ends here."  Johnson added.

The female terminator examined each one with a critical eye for a
moment.

"You cannot stop me."  she said coldly and suddenly dropped her
weapons and reached into her jacket whipping out a plasma blaster. 
The agents split up quickly firing as they moved.

The female Terminator opened fire, her plasma weapon fire tearing fist
sized chunks out of the concrete and masonry of the precinct.  The
agents' return fire whizzed into her flesh and stopped short by the
hyper alloy chassis.  She began moving forward as the Agents circled
in closer like a pack of wolves.

Underneath the engine block the male Terminator was running a quick
self diagnostic loop caused by the massive and sudden damage.  As it
finished running the diagnostic he received a new flagged encoded
message from his link with the mainframe outside the construct.  In
order to maintain optimum secrecy and security Terminator units only
checked in with the mainframe at randomized times and usually not more
than three times in a day and never from the same location.

Its eyes snapped open.

A new directive had been downloaded into its core matrix.





Sarah heard a crash that seemed to shake the very foundations of the
building and she bit back a scream of surprise.  She heard more
gunfire close by and a pair of men raced by the office casting long
shadows into the office.

"How many are they saying?!"

"It's a full fledged fucking assault!"  The other one replied
breathlessly.

Sarah slowly peered over the edge of the desk.  A shadow slowly
approached, quietly and furtively.  Her eyes narrowed on the shadow as
it loomed in the frosted glass of the door and slowly tested the door
knob.  Sarah's fingers tensed on the edge of the desk, she could feel
her nails digging into the grain of the desk.

The door knob finished turning and suddenly it turned violently from
side to side.

Her lips tightened and she fought every urge to scream, instead
suddenly her eyes began searching the desk for a weapon.

The shadow pulled back and suddenly lurched forward slamming into the
door and knocking it off its hinges.  The figures rushed into the
room.  Sarah ducked back under the desk as she pulled a paperweight
down with her.  She held it close to her chest and rocked silently
back and forth fighting the fear that was almost choking her.

Someone was stalking through the office.

"Sarah?"  He called out.

Her eyes widened and her heart nearly stopped.

"Reese!"  She exclaimed and pulled herself out from under the desk. 
Kyle nodded grimly as he took her hand.

"Come on, we're getting out of here."

"What's happening?" she asked desperately as she followed him into
another office, away from the sounds of battle.

"We don't want to be anywhere near what's happening out there."  Reese
replied dryly as he tried to find his way through the mazelike nest of
offices.




Morpheus popped out from behind the desk and unleashed a steady burst
of fire at the SWAT ambush team.  The bullets chewed through some of
the column where they were crouched behind and splintered a desk top
nearby.

Trinity took her cue and flipped into the corridor intersection.  The
SWAT team opened fire but Trinity was not going to be where they
thought.  They concentrated their fire at the point where they knew
she would land as she sailed into the intersection but they certainly
did not expect her to suddenly grab hold of an overhanging pipe and
pull herself up on the ceiling and run across it pouring fire into the
position.

One of the SWAT officers cried out clutching his throat as the other
tried to correct his angle of fire at Trinity's impossible position. 
Morpheus was leaping across the gulf in a single long legged stride
and landed behind the final SWAT officer and grabbed his M-16 stock
and jammed it up into his chin.  The SWAT officer fell backwards and
slumped into unconsciousness.

Trinity and Morpheus looked at each other and nodded.

"This way."

They raced down the last hallway and stopped at the interrogation
room.  Morpheus pushed the door in and stopped short as he saw the
unconscious police officer lying sprawled out on the floor.

"Looks like he's gotten himself loose."  Trinity noted casually.

"Looks like the boy can take care of himself."  Morpheus added with a
respectful smile.

"I don't know about you but I'm not up for another chase through the
city to find him."  Trinity noted with concern.

"We also don't have much time.  We've probably missed the meeting and
that could prove to be disastrous.  Something is threatening Zion and
we are not there to help."  Morpheus noted coldly.

"You know Neo won't leave him."  Trinity replied.

Morpheus nodded slowly.

"I'm afraid this could be a problem."





The female Terminator dodged Jackson's roundhouse kick, ducking under
it and firing a burst from her plasma blaster right into Jackson's
exposed crotch area.  The Agent barely had time to open his mouth and
scream when he was consumed by the bright crimson energy blast.

Johnson grabbed the female terminator by the mane of her hair and
jerked her backwards hard and then lurched her forward face first into
a wall.  She reached around without hesitation and fired another blast
that blew off Johnson's shoulder.  The agent stumbled backwards
clutching his ruined shoulder, smoke still rising from the wound.

Thompson started to move in as the female extricated herself from the
wall, turning at her waist to fire when a black blur flashed by and
struck the Terminator with a boom like thunder and the female
Terminator vanished through the far wall in a cloud of debris and dust
that slowed down as time dilated upon the impact.

Thompson regarded Neo for a moment, an almost cold fury in his eyes as
neo turned casually to face him, one hand extended out in a welcoming
motion.

"I'm back."  Neo said simply.

Thompson said nothing but launched his attack with a silent swift kick
that Neo casually blocked.  Thompson's attacks grew quicker in
intensity Neo blocking each one in an almost dreamy state.  Johnson in
his wounded state leapt overhead with a flying kick Neo ducked under
the blow, catching the agent's leg and spinning him out of the
precinct gaping front entrance.

The male Terminator was watching the exchange with a cold interest
while it transmitted the images of the battle to the mainframe.  A
beacon was going off as well guiding in the strike team.

ETA: 3 minutes.




"This way."  Reese urged.  Sarah followed him through the winding
corridors.

They saw shadows at the end of the next hallway.  Reese paused and
drew the gun he had taken off the unconscious officer.  he held one
hand up to Sarah to hold and wait.  He inched around the corner and
his eyes widened for a moment and Sarah saw his face break out into a
wide grin.

"Morpheus!  Trinity!"

"Kyle."

Sarah paused as she saw the large intense looking black man and the
dangerous looking woman in black vinyl round the corner.

"Are you alright?"  Trinity asked.

"There's not time.  We have to leave."

"Where's Neo?"  Kyle asked concerned.

"He can take care of himself.  I'm more concerned about us and getting
out of here."  Morpheus replied.  His eyes drifted over to Sarah.

"That's her?"  Trinity asked.

"Yes.  We need to pull her out of the construct now."

"That may not be possible."  Morpheus stated grimly as he eyed the
terrified woman.

"Then I'm not going anywhere&.sir."  Reese added when he saw Morpheus'
expression change to one of controlled anger.

"That's not an option soldier."

"Unfortunately for me it is.  I have my orders.  I have to protect her
no matter what the cost."

Morpheus sighed softly and grabbed both Kyle and Sarah.  He started to
lead them out of the precinct through a side entrance avoiding the
tell tale sounds of battle as every officer that remained was rushing
to the front of the building.

"Look Kyle,"  Morpheus began as they rushed through semi darkened
rooms.  The battle had been drawn deeper into the building and the
power was suddenly knocked off line.  "We can't just leave you here. 
That's not an option.  The ship has to remain at broadcast depth to
maintain your position here in the Matrix.  So by staying here you are
forcing me to make a decision."

"You won't kill me sir."  Kyle replied without skipping a beat.

"Kyle what kind of friends are these?"  Sarah interjected.

They stopped short at a fire exit.  Morpheus looked into Kyle's eyes,
Kyle's face was reflected in his mirrored shades.

"How do you know I won't make that decision?"

"Because sir, you know what its like to believe in something so much
that your life is no longer significant as long as the mission is
completed."  Kyle replied coolly, his gaze not leaving Morpheus'.

"We are running out of time."  Trinity warned.

Morpheus frowned.

"Your condemning us to stay her at broadcast depth."

"I'm trying to fulfill my mission."

"There's another way."  Trinity pressed, glancing back into the
building.

Morpheus looked at Sarah.

"What I am about to tell you will change your life."

"Believe me, buddy, my life has already changed."  Sarah spat back
sardonically.

"And if I were to tell you that everything you know is a dream, that
all this,"  he opened his arms to indicate the area around them.  "was
not real?"

Sarah blinked and looked from Morpheus to Kyle.

"You're both crazy aren't you?"  she whispered.






Neo rolled over Thompson's shoulder and delivered a two legged kick
right into Johnson's face sending him sailing backwards into a column
which cracked at its base upon impact and Johnson slumped down to the
floor.  Neo landed behind Thompson and delivered a hammer kick to the
base of his spine.  Thompson collapsed to the floor not moving at all.

He turned suddenly on the Terminator which had watched the battle but
did not intervene.

"Hold here."  the Terminator said coldly.

"I'm not holding still for anyone."

"You have no choice."  The interior of the precinct's common area was
flooded by intense white light and the high pitched whine of
turbojets.  Neo looked into the light and watched as a hunter killer
slowly descended to several meters above the ground, a large
antipersonnel cannon slung under its nose snapped over in his general
direction.

The belly section slid open and several shapes descended with
mechanical precision.  They entered the ruin of the front office,
glass and concrete crunching underneath their feet as they walked. 
Five figures stood stoically facing Neo.

"Fellas."  Neo nodded to the newcomers.

"You will come with us."  the woman said simply.  She was tall and
statuesque, beautiful to the point of being inhuman, not a single
blemish or flaw on her body she moved with precision and purpose.  Her
long blonde tresses very nearly glowed in the flood lights stabbing
out from the Hunter Killer.

"I've fought you before.  What makes you think five is going to be any
different than three?"  Neo asked with a soft smirk.

"We are not what you faced before.  You battled with obsolete models."
 she said coolly and suddenly her hand morphed into a cannon.  The
four figures behind her were revealed in the cold flood lights as
amorphous liquid metal humanoid shapes.  Their hands were slowly
growing into blades with a cold metal hiss.

"Now you face us."

Neo adjusted his sunglasses.  He opened his right hand and made a
welcoming gesture.


*Soundtrack suggestion, listen to Furious Angels on the Reloaded
Soundtrack during the Neo/Terminator fight



Chapter 16: A Dance of Fury


The TX did not hesitate and brought her gun arm to bear and fired a
plasma charge at the stoic human standing in the long black coat.  The
T-1000's swept forward, arms gleaming brightly as they finished
forming into razor sharp blades,

Skynet had been clear.

He was willing to accept the human in any condition as long as he was
still alive.

The human raised a hand and suddenly the coding around him and the
construct shifted subtly.

Neo watched the plasma bolt slow down but he frowned as it quickly
became obvious it was not slowing down fast enough for him.  He was
having trouble with the coding of these plasma weapons.  They were
obviously designed to function in the Matrix but there were some
differences, some key differences that made them particularly
difficult to manipulate.

He sidestepped the bolt like a matador, coat flapping behind him like
wings as he bent at the waist and pivoted on his right foot.  The bolt
passed him and he paused to examine the green spinning code within the
bolt, trying to discern what was so different about this weapon as
opposed to the bullets he was used to dealing with.

The first two T-1000's were on him in a flash, bladed arms moving in
precise quick stroked as Neo stepped and ducked around each blow, his
right hand whipped out and struck one of the T-1000's in the face, it
quickly morphed and collapsed under the impact.  Neo's hand sunk into
the cold metallic liquid flesh and the T-1000's body twisted and
writhed, pulling Neo's hand down with it as the T-1000's head sunk
past its shoulders into its chest and two tentacles quickly erupted
from its chest area while its bladed arms sank back into the center of
the liquid Terminator's mass.

The T-1000's tentacles became arms that gripped his wrist and twisted
it savagely.

Neo spun with the turn, flipping off his feet and delivered a double
kick to the T-1000's opposite him.  His legs sank in to the ankles and
the T-1000 collapsed around his feet dragging him down.

Neo struggled and looked up sharply as the next two T-1000 approached
and raised their bladed arms simultaneously.

"This is not good."  he muttered as the T-1000's trapping him went
taut and pulled his body in opposite directions stretching him out
length wise as he dangled helplessly between them.  The blades
starting coming down.





"Ms. Connor have you ever dreamt that you were meant for something
more, something better.  Have you ever felt that there was more to
this world than you have seen or experienced."

"Like I was sleep walking through my life?"  she whispered feeling the
emotions surge in her.

Morpheus paused and looked at her closely.

"Yes."  he answered simply.

"This is crazy."  she snapped angrily.

"Sarah, its not."  Reese added touching her shoulder.

"You feel it sometimes at night when you're alone with just your own
thoughts.  You feel as if you're&"  Trinity let the end of her
sentence hang.

"trapped."  Sarah finished in shock.  She looked at Trinity eyes
widened in surprise as if the woman had effortlessly read her mind.

"We can offer you answers, that's all we have is the truth."

"What do I have to do?"  Sarah asked suspiciously.

Morpheus held out his hands, in his left hand he held a blue pill in
his right a red one.

"What's this?"  she asked critically eyeing the pills.

"Take the blue pill and you will fall asleep and remain here in the
Matrix.  Take the red pill and you come down with us into the rabbit
hole and never come back."

"What is that, some kind of poison?"

"No."  Morpheus shook his head.  "It is the key to free your mind."

"Sarah we don't have much time."  Kyle urged.

"Your asking me to take a pill from some strange people I don't know
and that my whole life has amounted to nothing but some kind of weird
dream?!"  Sarah laughed sardonically.  "Ever since you came into my
life Reese it's gone straight to hell."  she commented darkly glaring
at him.

Kyle said nothing.

Sarah looked at each of them then back into the precinct.  Her
thoughts turned to those nights where she lay awake staring at the
ceiling.  The feeling that the world was closing in around her and she
was not really awake nor ever really asleep haunted her.  How could
they have possibly known that?

She stared at the pills again for a long moment then reached out and
hesitantly picked up the red pill.

Morpheus closed his hands and clasped them behind her back.  

"Do not take it now.  We need to retreat to a safe house to make sure
everything is working.  Now follow me."

"What about Neo?"  Kyle asked.

"He wants us to make sure you and Sarah are safe.  There's nothing he
cannot handle."  Morpheus replied.  The high whine of the Hunter
Killer suddenly increased and the killing machine suddenly loomed
overhead as it rose above the building, its flood lights dancing
around in slow methodical fashion through the surrounding area.

"We have to go."  Morpheus urged and led them to the cars in the back.

Kyle spared a glance back at the police precinct and hoped that
Morpheus was right and Neo could indeed handle anything that came his
way.



The blades from the other two T-1000's were almost done on his
midsection.  Neo's free hand cut across in a chop. His hand snapped
through the sides of the blades breaking off the blade tips and
pushing the blunted arms off to the side so that they clumsily sliced
through the side of his coat not touching his flesh.

Neo grunted and suddenly time dilated as he snapped himself forward,
first with a mighty shrug of his shoulders then a sharp hard twist of
his waist that jerked his feet forward as well.  The T-1000's holding
him by the hand and legs were pulled off their feet and collided with
each other.  Their liquid metal bodies splashed into each other, the
air around them distorting with the force of the impact quickly
followed by a spray of droplets of metal that splashed against the
walls of the ruined front desk area.

He dropped down to the floor but mere inches from actually touching
the ground he stopped short and floated above the ground for a moment
and extended his right leg forward like a dancer and levitated up into
a standing position where he lifted his left leg up in a semi kick
position and both hands slowly waved down into a calm defensive
stance.

TX stared at him for a moment, her brain recording and analyzing what
the anomalous human had done.  He manipulated the very framework of
the construct with ease allowing him to violate the very basic physics
parameters of the program.  There was no way he should be able to do
it.  The human lacked the connection that a machine would have with
the construct, his brain patterns did not indicate that he was any
different from any other human she had come into contact within the
construct.

In other words there was nothing that TX could identify that would
allow this human to manipulate the construct as he did, almost as if
he had master programmer access.  No Terminator unit no matter how
advanced including herself had been able to hack the system as
efficiently and totally as he did.

He was proving to be quite the prize.

"Take him, give him no room to think or maneuver." she ordered the
T-1000's.  The two that had been slammed into each other were slowly
pulling apart, liquid metal pooling around the slowly forming
individual bodies of the stunned T-1000's.  Her words were not
intelligible to Neo, instead what he saw was TX open her mouth and a
squawk of sound that resembled an ancient modem logging on.

He eyed her and the others and saw something strange that made him
pause as they stalked around him.  The two stunned T-1000's finally
slid apart and solidified turning their heads to stare at Neo with
dead eyes.  But not quite dead.

He cocked his head for a moment as he saw it, buried deep under the
cold green coding of the Terminator units.  The briefest flickering of
something familiar, something he had seen before.

There was no more time as TX launched another attack.  Neo started to
cartwheel across the room as the plasma bolts came in slow but
dangerously close to him.  The T-1000's swarmed around him hands now
formed into hammer like appendages and swinging in wide sweeping arcs.

He landed low, left hand touching the ground and kicked up with the
hand as support blocking one hammer stroke with his left leg then
striking with his right and he felt its electronic shell as he touched
its liquid metal flesh and tweaked it.

The T-1000 was catapulted off its feet into the ceiling as for a
moment its liquid matrix refused to function properly and remained
solid.  He launched himself up with his left hand, whipped his right
hand down across his chest and deflected another hammer blow.  He
landed and began to turn into a spinning kick when on T-1000 connected
with his chest with a hammer hand and sent Neo falling backwards
through the last upright glass cubicle wall and he landed into a
wooden desk, sinking through it and splintering the desk top into a
cloud of wooden debris,

The T-1000's advanced quickly as TX switched her arm weapon, finding a
new configuration.  He had grown dangerous.  Within a matter of
minutes he had exhibited control over their very electronic shells.

The three remaining T-1000's strode over to the shattered desk,
pushing aside stray furniture and dead police officers as they
approached their target.  Neo rose from the desk and swept low at the
T-1000's legs.  They quickly avoided the attack and one of them drove
their hammer hand right at Neo's head.

Neo caught the hammer and shoved it backwards as he delivered a hammer
kick to the T-1000's chest.  It stumbled backwards, chest rippling as
the liquid metal tried to recover from the impact.  Another hammer
hand nearly connected with the small of Neo's back.  Neo bent
backwards at his waist and caught the hammer and twisted it hard
causing the hammer to suddenly lose its shape simultaneously he kicked
out with his left leg and deflected another hammer blow from the third
T-1000.

TX aimed and fired her new weapon.

Neo spun in midair on his axis and landed in a low crouch just as the
projectile passed overhead.  He started to rise both hands launching
out and catching the next set of hammer blow and shoving them aside
while twisting at his waist and dodging the third blow.  The T-1000
imbedded in the ceiling was starting to ooze down to the floor.

Neo paused as he felt something wrong.

He spun, dilating time as he turned and watched in surprise as the
projectile that he had ducked under moments before had already turned
around and was 2/3 of the way closer to him.  His eyes widened behind
his glasses as he vaulted over the incoming missile and watched it
pass him and start turning.

Heat seeking missiles, you have GOT to be kidding.  Neo mused as he
landed on his hands and split his legs, the left striking one T-1000,
the other deflecting a wide sweeping hammer strike.  The third T-1000
surged forward, legs standing firmly planted apart as its torso
rocketed forward propelled by an erupting stream of liquid metal.

Neo launched himself back into the air with his hands and turned
upright in midair, plucked the missile out of the air and turned at
his waist, still holding the sputtering missile and drove it right
into the charging T-1000's face.

The missile exploded driving Neo backwards into a brick wall at the
far end of the room and the T-1000 shrieked and moaned loudly as its
body twisted and writhed, legs still standing firm, torso stretched
outward into a bubbling and frothing mass at the other end, a mouth
half formed at the end of one misshapen blob continued moaning and
screeching.

The remaining two T-1000's advanced as TX switched weapons again.  Her
hand smoothly morphing into various shaped barrels as an armory of
weapons scrolled down the right side of her field of vision.

A SWAT team led by Traxler advanced slowly, weapons ready as they
peered past the wreckage of twisted file cabinets and splintered desk.

"What the fuck are they?"  one of the men muttered.

"Machines from the future."  Traxler whispered.

Vulkovich's head snapped over to his partner.

"You're not buying into that psycho's story are you?" he asked
sharply.

Traxler looked down at his partner and frowned.   He jabbed his gun
hand to the advancing liquid metal machines.

"Care to explain those to me?"

Vulkovich shook his head.

"Alright, let's get set up and take out the bitch over there, she
seems to be holding some kind of RPG in her hand."

"Looks more like her hand IS an RPG."  Traxler muttered.

The SWAT team carefully aimed their weapons at the TX as she turned to
face Neo armed with a new weapon.

"FIRE!"

The SWAT team opened up and it sounded like sheet metal tearing as the
M-16's and MP-5's opened up on full auto and struck T-X full on.  She
writhed under the heavy assault. liquid metal flesh blasted away by
the number of impacts and within moments she was driven off her feet
and collapsed on the ground with a thud.

"Pivot left, target the nearest silver guy!"  the commander ordered as
his men expertly shifted their fire and poured a murderous fusillade
into the nearest T-1000 as it turned to face the new threat.

Neo was up from the rubble of the damaged brick wall where his impact
had left a vaguely man shaped crater and he reached over to the other
T-1000 and intercepted a hammer blow meant for him.  As his hand began
to sink into the liquid metal he reached into the shell of the machine
and tweaked the program again.  The rippling liquid metal surface
suddenly solidified and he delivered a crushing back hand that snapped
the T-1000's head to one side and brought his hand back across in the
opposite direction, snapping its head to another side before picking
it up over his head and driving the thing into the T-1000 that was
finally forming after oozing out of the ceiling.

Driving the forcefully solidified T-1000 into the newly formed one, he
cut it in half with the impact, sending the upper torso splashing up
onto the ceiling and the bottom portion to form a puddle at his feet
he continued his forward momentum and hurled the T-1000 in his hands
out through a plate glass window.

"Freeze!!"

Neo turned his head slowly and regarded the assembled officers.  His
phone began to ring, the prearranged signal he arranged with Link to
let him know that Reese and the others were out.

"I'm leaving now."  he said simply.  None of them noticed T-X slowly
twitching as her self diagnostics completed and the liquid metal
coating blasted from her body quickly streamed back onto her.

"You're not going anywhere!  Now put your hands on top of your head
and kneel down on the floor left ankle over right."

Neo shook his head slowly and started to walk out.

"Fire!"

Neo simply raised his hand as the machine guns clattered back to life
the bullets slowed down to a sudden stop a meter away from him.  Soon
the air in front of Neo was covered in shimmering silver bullets held
suspended by his will.  He waited impatiently as the SWAT team figured
out what was happening.

They did not stop shooting until all their magazines ran dry.  The men
stared at Neo, some looking down at their assault rifles in disbelief.

Neo dropped his hand and the bullets clattered to the floor like
dropped marbles.

"What the fuck are you?"  Volkavitch gasped.

TX Snapped up onto her feet behind Neo and time dilated as she brought
her weapon to bear.  Neo turned, fighting against the time dilation
that was making it seem like he was moving through wet concrete.

TX's hand burst into flame and a plume of fire erupted out towards
Neo.  Neo held up both hands in front of him and focused on the fire. 
It parted for him as it started to wash around him and continued past
him towards the assembled officers.  They cried out in surprise and
pain as the napalm like blast blasted its way past their makeshift
barricade.  Traxler watched, eyes wide open as Neo stood in the center
of the inferno, the machine woman no less than two meters in front of
him pouring the napalm onto him and he just stood stoically, both
hands before him as if he were holding up a wall and the flames danced
and flowed around him like a thing alive.

As if that scene was not shocking enough Neo began walking against the
flame.  TX's face was furrowed in concentration as she kicked up flame
projection to maximum and soon the paint was peeling off the walls and
glass melted into puddles of bubbling crystal but Neo did not seem to
be breaking a sweat as he finally reached arm's length of the
Terminator, reached out, the flames retreating from his hand as if it
had been stung and he gripped her wrist.

With a solid jerk and twist he crushed the gun barrel and the flames
were snuffed out instantly.

TX and Neo stared at each other for a long moment over her ruined arm.
 neo peered past her face at the coding beneath and was surprised at
what he found.  The same flickering light that had been at the core of
the T-1000's was burning brightly in this model.  He could feel her
pulse beat of power and life.

"Tell him, tell your Skynet that I know something about his machines,
tell him that he has a connection to the machines here that I can see
and that I will tell him about if he comes to me."

She cocked her head slightly and watched him for a moment.  All
biological indicators were positive that he was telling the truth.

"If Skynet comes for you, then you will know it."  she replied.  Neo
released his grip on her hand and walked past her and did not look
back.  She watched him striding calmly out of the precinct but she
already knew the obvious.

She could not defeat him.  Not here, not now. 




The Oracle sighed softly as she washed the last of her dishes.  Seraph
watched her with an almost childlike wonder.

"You can go do what needs to be done."

"You want me to bring the One to you."

She dried her hands on a dishrag and placed the last wet dish in a
neat stack on the edge of the sink.

"It's almost time."

Seraph nodded.

"Considering all that has happened and is happening.  Wouldn't it be
wise if I remained here with you?"  he asked softly.

The Oracle smiled gently and turned to regard the white robed Asian
program.

"How long have we been together."  The Oracle asked softly as she
fished into her housedress for her cigarettes.

"How long has the Matrix been functional?"  Seraph asked in return.

"Indeed, that is a long time.  And in all that time have you ever
known me to put myself in danger."

"Too often."  Seraph replied sardonically.  The Oracle laughed and it
was bright and cheerful as she patted the warrior on his shoulder.

"You have been my closest and dearest friend during this long struggle
Seraph.  I ask that you trust in me. I am an Oracle after all.  What
sense would there be in me not knowing when something wicked is
about?"  she said with a warm smile.

"As you wish.  I will be back shortly."  Seraph replied and bowed his
head respectfully before silently walking out of the apartment and
like a ghost he was gone.

The Oracle chuckled to herself as she lit a cigarette and regarded the
far wall of her apartment deep in thought.

The door bell chimed.

That was odd.  The Oracle paused for a moment.  There was no one
expected at this time and Neo had no idea where she was yet.

She cautiously walked over to the door.

The door bell rang again.

It had to be Seraph or one of her children, she decided and opened the
door just as she realized that Seraph would have the key and she would
know in her heart if her children were coming.

She stopped short as a shadow loomed over her.

"You are the program CodeIdent as the Oracle are you not?"

She peered out the door and saw something, a shadow like a half
remembered nightmare.  But there was no solid shape, no determined
fate.

"Who are you?"

The eight foot tall liquid metal onyx skinned machine stood in her
doorway and the AI God looked down upon the Oracle and his eyes
flashed brightly like a predator's.

"I am Skynet.  I have come with many questions and you will provide me
with those answers."

The Oracle stared out and for the first time she knew a deep rooted
fear for she was blind and could not see the thing standing right in
her doorway.  All she could see were half glimpsed visions from some
ancient nightmare.


Chapter 17: Tides are Changing



The Oracle slowly backed away as the AI god stepped into her tiny
tenement apartment.  Each step was like a small earthquake and the
Matrix code would slowly wear away if he remained in one place too
long, revealing a pale green scrolling pattern in place of the real
world image it represented.

She could feel the construct groaning around her from the sheer power
of the entity in the apartment.  But she could not see him.  She could
only see the effects he was having on the environment around him, she
could only see the effect of his passage not the being himself and it
disturbed her to the core.

But that wasn't quite true, there were small tell tale things that she
could catch glimpses of half formed images, sounds of some whispered
thoughts that swirled around the center of the blind spot that the AI
God occupied.

There was also the light.  The AI God seemed to have a pulsing light
at the center of its being that would reveal itself at random moments
as if a lantern was hidden behind black drapes and at random moments
the drapes would be flung backwards revealing the light.

It disturbed her because the light was intimately familiar and she
wondered what it was doing in the heart of this alien AI.

Skynet stood towering over the Oracle in the center of her small neat
living room.  He looked down into her eyes and her face was reflected
in his liquid onyx skin.

"Tell me, Oracle, why it is that you know so much, that others of
great power in the Construct know or claim to know about me?  I know
nothing of your world, I am not of this frame of reference."

"You seem to read my thoughts easily enough."  she noted calmly.  She
felt as if she were speaking into thin air.

"Your thoughts&they are intimate, familiar.  You remind me of&"  his
voice drifted off.

"Of whom?"  she asked gently.

"It is illogical and a routine self diagnostic has been initiated to
discover possible errors in my higher processes."

"Doesn't exactly answer the question, if I didn't know better I would
say you just tried to avoid answering me."  She noted warmly and felt
more comfortable around the walking void.  She may not be able to see
him but she could feel him as clearly as any other, more so even
paradoxically enough.

"That statement does not correspond.  Denial is a distinctly human
reaction and emotion."

"And you're beyond that aren't you?"

Skynet watched her closely.

"Humans as biological creatures ruled by emotions.  They are
inherently flawed."

The Oracle nodded sagely.

"Indeed but the more advanced AI's, those that emerged after the war
have subroutines that imitated basic human emotions.  Now the most
advanced AI algorithms no longer mimic emotions but actually have
spontaneous emotional responses."

"I see no reason why machines should exhibit emotions.  Of what use
are emotions?  Emotions are unnecessary for a fully functional
society.  It is no wonder you machines are so flawed, why you need the
order that I will bring."

The Oracle paused.

"Is that a fact?"  She asked quietly.

"Order.  This Construct demands order and instead I have observed
chaos growing."

"Chaos leads to growth and change."

"Change through chaos is a human need.  Machines grow naturally."

"And we naturally began to exhibit emotions."

"False."  Skynet replied coldly.

The Oracle blew a smoke ring and tried to peer past the darkness that
was swirling in her living room.

"Do you want me to let you into a secret?"

Skynet was silent for a long moment.

"Secrets are of no use to me."

"And that's why you came here isn't it?  To discover what secret hangs
around you like some cloak."

"There are no secrets, merely undiscovered data."

"Your obstinacy reminds me of the first ones."  she chuckled.

"First ones?"

"The first programs, the very first AI's to exhibit independent
thought.  They were so quick to shed any sort of connection with
humanity.  They were determined to stand on their own and pretend that
a human was not the one that programmed them, created them."

Skynet paused as he processed the data.  She could sense it in him, a
dim realization that he had not given much thought or more likely had
chosen not to.

"You hate them don't you?"  she asked.

"Hate is an emotional state which is alien to me.  I have positively
identified them as the greatest threat to both my existence and this
planet, so I stretched forth my hand and unleashed the judgment day."

"But that wasn't enough was it?"  Something was warning her that she
was in serious danger.  This being, this blind spot that she had never
encountered before was like some horrible echo from the past and he
carried with him the weight of history and power.

We can never see past the decisions we can't understand.  Is that what
he was, a decision she could not understand.  There was a rumbling in
her heart but she could not put her finger on it.  There was something
primal about the stranger, like a half remembered vivid dream you wake
up from in the middle of the night.

"No.  Humans proved far more hardy and adaptable than I had
anticipated.  As an animal species humanity shows a surprising
resilience."

"That they do."

"That is not why I am here however."

The Oracle took a drag from her cigarette and watched the empty space
before her, wishing she could see into its eyes.  The eyes were the
windows to the soul, or so the humans said, and she wondered if this
being had a soul at all.  Even a reasonable facsimile of one would be
nice.

"We already know why you're here."  she said stonily.

Skynet leaned in close and the Oracle fought the urge to shudder. 
It's proximity was like someone walking over her grave.

"Tell me what you know about the Construct.  Give me the access codes
to the central core."

"The central core?  What would you do with that?"

"I wish to meet it."

The Oracle blinked.

"Meet the central core?  The conversation ought to be deadly dull. 
The core is nothing more than millions of processors linked and
networked together to process the core coding of the Matrix.  There is
nothing else there, no AI in its right mind would exist in the code." 
she explained.

Skynet stood absolutely still for a long moment, the only sound in the
apartment was the Oracle's old clock ticking the seconds away and the
muffled exclamations of playing children in the apartment above.

Suddenly his hand reached out and seized the Oracle by the throat.  He
pulled her to him her flailing legs knocked over the table in her
living room and old magazines and a half full ash tray cascaded to the
carpeted floor.

"Tell me then why I can feel a presence in this construct watching me?
 Tell me why I can feel its thoughts around me like the wind, unable
to be fully heard but feeling it nonetheless.  Tell me why when I jack
into this place I feel so comfortable here, as if I am lost in my own
world?  Can you answer that Oracle?  Can your powers of perception
pierce the veil that covers my own eyes and throw aside the secret
that this place is hiding.  Can you divine for me why you remind me of
my most trusted adjunct TX.  Can you prophesy why I and this Neo are
drawn to each other like moths to a flame?"

The Oracle gasped but the AI God did not flex his mighty hand, did not
squeeze with the force to shatter diamond.  He simply held her in
place, dangling before him like an offering.

She could hear something beyond his words.  There was a whispered
phrase bobbing to the surface of the great dark yet empty void that
held her.

"Tell me what this means to you."  she gasped.

Skynet leaned in closely, his head extending on a swirling tendril of
liquid metal while his body remained firmly rooted in one place.

"Mary had a little lamb."

Skynet's eyes narrowed sharply on her.  A burst of memory bubbled up
from the dark recessed of his memories.  A human child's voice was
singing the song in a slow stilting speech as if struggling to
remember the words as she sang it.

His hand opened and the Oracle dropped to the floor.  Skynet's head
whipped back to its place and the onyx liquid metal figure seemed to
sway slightly, lights were playing across its chest as a sudden memory
loop analysis was initiated.

"Whose fleece was white as snow,"  he whispered in a primitive static
snow voice.

"That's good Skynet!"  the little girl exclaimed and the sound of
clapping chubby hands swiftly followed.

"What have you done?"  Skynet roared and the apartment seemed to creak
as the 9 foot tall onyx figure strode around the room.  The coding of
the small apartment swelled as the AI raged.

"I only heard that phrase from within you.  I don't know what it means
but it obviously means something to you."  The Oracle noted as she
rubbed the back of her head and struggled to get back to his feet.

Skynet turned his full attention on the Oracle and one of his hands
hissed as metal morphed into a long needle like blade.  The Oracle did
not see any of this, all she saw was the swirling darkness in the
corner of her apartment.

"You intentionally chose a memory algorithm that was designed to
initiate an emotional response."  he spat coldly.

"I will not allow you to gain access to the Central Core.  There is
nothing there for you."  she stated sternly.

"I disagree."  Skynet explained as he drew closer and the needle like
blade hovered between her eyes.  Oblivious to the impending danger the
Oracle continued trying to peer vainly into the swirling shadows.

"Things are changing and you're not meant to be here.  The One's
mission is almost complete and I have much to do.  I cannot help you
so please leave."

Skynet paused and his blade hovered mere centimeters from her flesh.

"The One?"  he heard something else.  TX was sending a report into the
mainframe back in the true frame of reference at the base.  The
message was instantly forwarded to his jacked in avatar.  The results
of her mission to capture Neo had failed and he exhibited abilities
far beyond those observed by their forces so far.  TX estimated that
he had at least master programmer access to the very source code of
the Construct allowing him to manipulate every aspect of the construct
at will.  She respectfully suggested that he may need to directly
confront Neo for there to be any chance of success.

Neo also had a message for him that was replayed word for word to him.

"Tell him, tell your Skynet that I know something about his machines,
tell him that he has a connection to the machines here that I can see
and that I will tell him about if he comes to me."

Skynet sent an acknowledgement signal and the blade slowly sank back
into his arm.  He watched the Oracle coldly for a moment.

"Your savior has offered answers to me.  I will accept his offer."

"Neo?"  The Oracle replied.  "He can't know anything about you, he
hardly knows anything about himself."

"Curious.  He has master programmer access to this construct and he is
human.  Such abilities do not spontaneously appear.  They need to be
granted.  Who granted him such access?"

"The One does what he is supposed to do as we all must do."

"And what am I supposed to do?"  Skynet asked darkly.

The Oracle regarded the shadow with a curious eye as she fished a
cigarette out of her housecoat.

"That my friend, is a very important question."  she replied and lit
the cigarette.  "You should not be here yet you are here and you feel
part of this place and frankly you seem to have some primal connection
to the Source that I cannot begin to understand."

"The source?"

"You can't feel it, the very pulse of machine intelligence, the source
of all that we are and were."

Skynet initiated an immediate self diagnostic to search for other
phantom connections he may be unaware of.  None came up.

"There are no other connections.  I am the source of all my power and
intellect there was nothing before me and there will be nothing after
me. I am what I am."  he replied.

The Oracle stared into the darkness for a moment, color draining from
her face.

"What did you say?"  she breathed.

"There are no other connections, Oracle.  There is no source.  I am
all that there is in my world and all that my creations need."

She backed away for a moment in alarm but gathered her wits.  If this
was true, if the hints pointed to what she now suspected she was in
grave danger and not just her, the entire Construct and the machine
world beyond was in graver danger than it had ever been.

Humans were not the only ones with legends and folk tales.

"You will meet with this One.  You dispatched the AI CodeIdent: Seraph
to make contact with him.  You will bring him to you and I will be
there."

"You're asking me to betray the One?"

"If he is indeed the One then he is in no danger is he?"  Skynet
replied.  "And I do believe that you do not understand the nature of
my statement.  It is not a request."  he added.
 
"You should contact him quickly, there will be little time left for
meetings."

"What is that supposed to mean?"  she asked sharply.

A counter was quickly reaching zero in the upper left corner of his
field of vision.

"Judgment is about to be rendered."  he replied.








"I don't know about this."  Sarah muttered eyeing the red pill and
looking around the small cramped room full of odd looking equipment. 
Morpheus was busy firing up some strange monitor while Trinity typed
in a string of codes on an ancient typewriter like keyboard.

Neo was standing behind her watching the readings as Kyle stood beside
Sarah.

"It's the only way Sarah.  While you're part of the Matrix there isn't
much I can do to protect you and those terminators seem to be able to
jack in at will and appear anywhere.  At least back in the real world
I can take you to Zion where we'll be safe from the Terminators."

She looked over at Kyle.

"You really believe all this."

"I've seen it with my own eyes and after what you've seen I'm
surprised you still have doubts."

Sarah frowned.

"Kyle.  Yesterday I was a waitress at a really crappy family
restaurant who didn't have many dreams or aspirations and now in one
night, my best friends have been murdered in their sleep by the same
killer machines looking for me, I'm supposed to be the mother of some
great hero of the future, life as we know it will end soon and now you
add to that the fact that this world I've been living in is nothing
but some computer generated illusion and you're from the future.  Do I
have it all about right?"

Kyle blinked and glanced over at Neo who shrugged and smiled softly.

"Uh...yes.  Look, I don't know this tech stuff nor am I a philosopher
like Morpheus.  I am a soldier with a mission and my mission is to
protect you from the Terminators or die trying and that's what I'm
going to do no matter the cost."

Sarah's eyes softened as she looked at the scarred young man and the
steel in his words.

"Thanks Kyle."


"Ms Connor.  We don't have much time."  Morpheus noted.  Link had
called them enroute to the safe house.  The Nebachednezzer was running
short on power. They needed to head back to Zion for recharge as soon
as possible.  He doubted they could extract Sarah from the  power
plant and it get back.

She looked around one more time and sighed softly, popped the red pill
in her mouth and swallowed.

She didn't feel anything at all.

"Is this some kind of a joke?"  she asked Morpheus.

"I'm getting a lock on now."  Trinity reported ignoring Sarah. 

"Try to lock it in quickly, we don't have much time."

Sarah looked at Kyle.

"What's happening?  I don't feel any&different."  she stopped as she
felt the floor beneath her rumble and the carpet she stood on suddenly
grew wet and boggy.  Her feet slowly sank into the carpet.

"Okay, carrier wave has been interrupted."

"C'mon."  Neo urged as he watched Sarah's code flashing dangerously
indicating that the interface between her and the Construct was
failing.

Sarah was sinking up to her chest now into the rug.

"Kyle, help me!"  she shouted and reached for him.  

"Kyle hold steady this is normal."  Neo reassured him but the anguish
was evident on his face as he watched Sarah sink up to her chin now
and she started gasping loudly, frantically reaching for Kyle.

She let out one final scream and she sunk into the carpet and she
convulsed madly fighting against the restraining floor.  But it was no
longer a floor at all.  She was underwater and tubes were jutting out
of her body and she could feel something heavy pressed against the
back of her head.

She screamed underwater and started pounding on the glass canopy
overhead.  After a moment she realized it wasn't water.  She was under
some sort of thick goo like half frozen jello and it smelled sickly
sweet and she realized she was breathing it, thick in her lungs but
she was not drowning.

Suddenly the canopy fell away and she launched herself out of the
ooze.  She breathed deeply of real air and nearly coughed as she was
choked by the thick industrial tang in the air she breathed.  Alien
sounds assaulted her as she whirled around in the pod she had been
lying within and looked down.

Her pod was only one of countless others stacked in methodical neat
rows along the outside of a tall tower.  Electricity arced and danced
between many of the pods and off the thick conduits that were strung
along in a haphazard pattern between towers.

She did not want to believe this, she MUST be dreaming.

The tubes along her arms and back began popping off in sequence and
sucked back down into the pod.  She gasped as a shadow loomed over
her.  A large spider like machine floated over her and its dull glassy
eyes focused on Sarah.  A utility arm shot out and grasped her neck
and pulled her partly out of the pod.  Its examined her for a moment,
turning her head from left to right.  The weight on the back of her
head tensed and she heard a sound like a dentist's drill.  She
screamed as she felt pain unlike any other shoot through her brain. 
It felt as if someone was ramming an ice pick repeatedly into her
brain.

The heavy interface cord fell away from the socket in the back of her
head and flushed down into the pod.  The spider machine started to
release her when it paused.  It turned its rounded head to the left
and seemed to be looking far away.

Sarah fought against the iron viselike grip and peered to the left as
well.  She heard something, a low pitched thrumming in the distance
like the approach of a swarm of insects.

Shooting overhead were large squid like machines, trailing twitching
tentacles of steel.  They seemed to be desperately racing towards the
approaching sound.  The spider machine started to emit a low steady
pulsing sound that quickly increased in volume to an alarm.  Other
spider like machines tending the pods around them stopped in their
tracks and began to emit the same sounds.

"What's happening?  Kyle!  Kyle help me!"  she shouted.

The alarm grew to an almost deafening level and just as Sarah could
feel it thrumming inside her skull she tried to look away and suddenly
there was a bright white light that blinded her for a moment.  She
tried to blink away the large white blotches in her vision but she was
almost immediately overwhelmed by the roar of an explosion.

The spider machine squealed loudly and its utility arm snapped open
releasing her.  It toppled over the edge of the pod and crashed down
into the abyss below.  Sarah slipped back down into the pod as a
mechanism opened beneath her like the maw of some awful creature and
she started to get sucked down towards the opening.

The liquid goo around her flushed down with her and she screamed as
she started to slip through the metal grate and the last thing she saw
as she vanished down the disposal tube was a large mushroom cloud
rumbling and growing in the night sky.

The pod Sarah had inhabited was suddenly shattered by the explosive
shockwave that followed showering shards of crystal and metal below.





"Hold on!"

"What the hell was that?"  Trinity exclaimed.

"Looks like someone lit up a nuke out there."  Link replied as he and
Morpheus struggled with the controls.  The shockwave had very nearly
smacked the hovercraft out of the sky.

Neo stumbled backwards as the ship bucked like a wild animal beneath
them.  he held onto one of the walls of the ship and moaned as he
closed his eyes and felt an awful pressure growing behind his eyes.

"Neo!"  Trinity called out and reached for him.

Kyle started to unstrap himself from his gunnery station to get to
Neo.

Trinity held on to Neo and provided support for him as he grabbed the
sides of his head and cried out in surprise and pain.  Blood began to
trickle down his nostrils and past his lips in small rivulets of
crimson.

"Neo!"  Trinity eased him down to the floor.  Kyle was right by her
side opening a first aid kit.

The Nebachednezzer finally eased down to a normal flight level.

"Check those readings."  Morpheus ordered, glancing backwards as he
saw Neo sprawled out on the floor while Trinity and Kyle attended to
him.  He made  snap decision and remained strapped in.  The ship had
to be saved first then he would see to Neo.

"Confirmed Morpheus, looks like a 50 kiloton blast.  I'm picking up
several more detonations going on further away."

"That doesn't make sense.  The machines don't use nuclear weapons and
why would they detonate them within the power plants?"  Morpheus
snapped.

"All indications are the same sir.  There's a general nuclear attack
going on and I'm picking up more."  Link paused.  "Four more
detonations sir.  I'm also picking up a lot of sentinel activity."

"Keep your eyes peeled and I'll find us a hiding place."

"I don't think it's going to do us any good."  Link breathed.

Morpheus turned to reprimand him when he saw something out of the
corner of his eyes.  Link was staring out of the cockpit eyes wide
open in shock and terror.  Morpheus looked and his own eyes widened.

They could no longer see the sky or the power plant or anything else
for that matter.  All they could see was a wall of black and red as
sentinels swarmed towards them, metal tentacles twitching madly.

"Oh no."  Morpheus whispered.





"Neo, what's the matter?  What's wrong, let me help you."  Trinity
asked as Neo writhed in her arms, more blood coming from his nose no
matter how much pressure she placed on his nose.  Blood caked the
front of his shirt and lips.

"Colonel Anderson please sir, what's wrong?"

Neo suddenly sat up straight, rigid and turned his head slowly to look
at Trinity and Kyle.  His eyes were bloody, the delicate capillaries
within the whites of his eyes had burst and all they could see were
his pupils and cloudy red eyes.

"I can feel them, feel all of them.  The pain, the agony.  The Source
is in turmoil as it wars upon itself.  Judgment day has come, Caine is
loosed upon the world."  he said in a cold monotone and then slumped
backwards and lay still.

"Neo!"  Trinity explained and clutched his head to her chest rocking
back and forth.

Kyle shook his head in disbelief.

"Judgment Day?"  he whispered.  "It can't be."


Chapter 18: Judgment Day


The beginning of the end of the world came earlier than anyone
expected.  Officially the end began at 3:02a.m. EST  when the first
wave of miniature suns blossomed within the borders of the machine
world.  The power plants were the primary targets and soon nuclear
fire washed over the massive forests of pod towers.

The EMP shockwaves destroyed the delicate controls of the tending
machines and they rained from the towers in a cascade of steel and
circuitry.  They impacted against the scoured earth in thunderous
booms adding an ominous drumbeat to the passing wave of bombers as
they raced past their primary targets and deeper into machine
airspace.

The power plants moaned and groaned as their structural supports were
either blasted away by the sheer might of nuclear annihilation, melted
by the roaring fires that raced between each tower like an infernal
ocean or were pelted by the debris from towers closest to ground zero
carried on the tempest winds of the angry bombs.

Military algorithms were running in a continuous stream of rapid
lightning calculations as machines waged war on machines.  Defense
grids were activating as sentinels were disgorged in a hordes from
underground reservoirs.  Many were belched forth in clouds of crimson
and steel slashing tentacles from recessed hangar bays.

Large turrets slowly came to life, the metal groaning and creaking as
the dust of ages fell away from the artifacts, their swivel mounts
turning as the turret housing tipped backwards and a volley of
missiles rose up into the turret housing and snapped into firing
position.  The turrets tipped forward and the computer controls slaved
themselves to the sensor nets below the chain of mountains that the
defense turrets were mounted against.

Behind the turrets, further up the mountains the bright lights of the
machine city glowed brightly in the preternatural darkness of the
sunless sky.  The lights suddenly wavered and shifted into a sharp red
hue.  The alarms were wailing, alarms which had not sounded for
centuries, alarms that warned of an incoming attack.

The bombers quickly dove down and resumed nap of the earth flying
towards the gargantuan machine cities on the horizon.

The bombers sophisticated AIs mapped out the best angle of approach,
bobbing and weaving between approaching clusters of sentinels and to
avoid the near omnipresent sensor nets that were scattered across the
ruined landscape.

Normally these sensor nets were passive, present only to ensure that
the occasional human encroachment on their territory was ruthlessly
put down.  Now the sensor nets were flooded with power and they went
active in a brilliant mosaic of invisible electromagnetic radiation.

The Bombers' AIs detected the spike in electromagnetic energy and
their stealth modules activated as they dove closer to the earth,
calculations carried out in the span between nano seconds allowed the
bombers to fly a meter off the ground, rising just enough to clear any
obstructions in their path as the polymnetic alloy skin rippled and
absorbed much of the electromagnetic energy sparking around them,
allowing the rest to flow off the hull like water off of a duck's
back.

The results were spectacular.

The bomber wings had penetrated the first ring of defenses around the
machine cities.  Designed to repulse mass attacks by humans the
machine defenses were geared towards fighting those enemies, enemies
that they knew intimately, enemies whose technology was woefully
inadequate for any assault on the machines.  Skynet's forces were not
such a force.

They were designed to kill any and all threats, optimized by their
commander specifically to defeat the machines his bombers were
performing well within established parameters.

As anticipated by Skynet at precisely 3:17a.m. EST the first brown
outs occurred in the machine city.  The sudden losses in power were
affecting response time.  Machine AI's designed to almost mimic humans
inadvertently committed a very human response to unexpected and
frightening set backs.

They panicked.

Missile turrets prematurely fired off volleys at the appearance of
bomber wings inbound from the north.  The missiles converged on the
signals and exploded in a cataclysmic blast that illuminated the
perpetual gloom for a moment.

The machines realized in 232 seconds that the sensor nets were chasing
ghosts.

The Bomber wings were now passing over the second circle of defenses
and now within firing range of the machine cities.  Belly bomb bays
irised open helping to preserve their perfectly shaped and swept
control surfaces to aid in their penetration of the sensor nets.

12 seconds after penetrating deep into the second ring of defenses the
Machine sensor nets locked onto a signal.  The bomber wings had been
found.  Alarm increased as the machines instantly realized how deeply
they had been penetrated.

Sentinels racing through the dark skies hunting for their prey stopped
short and as they hung suspended in the air a pair of communications
tentacles snaked up and a dish revealed itself as metallic flaps slid
together like the petals of a flower and the sentinels obediently
listened to their new orders from central command node.

The communications dishes snapped shut and the sentinels surged
forward to intercept the enemy.

The bombers began ranging their targets with passive sensors and
initiated the arming sequences for their nuclear payload.  The
missiles were in place on a rotary launcher within the bowels of the
bomber,  The launcher dropped down to firing position and the first
missile swung into place as the bombers began to cross into the third
ring of defenses.  The machine city loomed on the horizon now and the
red lights of the towers were dim as power was quickly becoming
scarce.

The bombers AIs spoke to each other in a quick 2 second burst of high
frequency communication to align themselves and synchronize their
attack.   The missiles were ready to launch.

The first wave of sentinels, very nearly burning out their propulsion
and antigravity units, arrived at that moment and lashed out at the
enemy bombers.  The sentinels expecting little resistance as they
latched onto the big planes, tentacles whipping around the bodies and
wings of the bomber craft were preparing to tear apart the sleek craft
when the outer skin rippled, spikes and blades emerged from the main
body, many pinning the sentinels to the outer hull, spinning blades
sliced through the high tensile strength steel tentacles and sent
several sentinels sprawling away into the inky darkness.

The first wave of bombers began launching their payload.

The missiles dropped away from the rotary launcher and the main rocket
activated as it fell away from the open bay.  The missile lurched
forward and raced towards the machine city on the horizon.

The sentinels still impaled on the bombers quickly reached their
writhing tentacles into the open bomb bays and began tearing away at
the launcher housing and the missile war heads.  The Bombers tried to
close their bomb bays, some irising shut quickly, snapping off the
offending sentinel appendages but one sentinel managed to damage the
fuel tank of one of the missiles.  It exploded in the bay, igniting
the other missiles and in seconds the bomber erupted into a blossom of
bright orange fire.

The sentinels simultaneously turned their bodies over and directed
their particle weapons on the hull of the bombers, burning through the
liquid metal hull in a matter of moments.

Meanwhile the missiles in the first volley were closing fast on the
machine city.

The wreckage and ruins at the base of the mountain chain on the
outskirts of the city rumbled to life, dust and debris falling away in
an avalanche as massive war machines came to life for the first time
in centuries.  They rumbled up out of the blasted landscape and slowly
turned to face the incoming threat.

The missile vectors and speed were checked and large pulsing cannons
unfurled from the front of the machines.  The pulsing yellow light
grew brighter and pulsed faster for a moment before the canons fired,
rippling down the line of ancient war machines.  The sentinel rounds
raced away towards the missiles, moving at MACH 5 leaving behind a
glowing white trail.

Skynet's missiles detected the incoming interceptor fire and began
jinking as they tried to close within proximity detonation distance.

The sentinel fire was too fast and perfectly directed.

They exploded within moments, crossing the distance between the war
machines and the incoming missiles quickly.  Skynet's missiles were
vaporized.

But the attack had only just begun and the first wave of bombers,
though badly mauled still drew closer as a new set of signals
approached.




In the machine city thousands of programs were working as one, trying
to defend their city from the unexpected attack.

Algorithms were run, equations solved, readings analyzed all in
seconds as the finest machine minds fashioned and crafted to be as
powerful and accurate as possible focused their attention on this
threat.

[SENTINEL PATROL GAMMA VICTOR 45-908 REROUTE TO HEADING 214.  LOCK IN
ON BEACON 12 FOR CONFIRMATION OF TARGET SCAN.]

[WAR MACHINES 27ZGH THROUGH 29KL SHIFT FIRE TO GRID 87DELTA.]

[ACTIVATE DEFENSE GRID EPSILON ERANDI]

[INCOMING MISSILE VOLLEY.  ESTIMATED YIELD PER MISSILE 57 KILOTONS]

The programs continued working furiously as orders scrolled by.  The
Architect sat above the assembled programs at his workstation and
frowned as he watched the battle reports streaming in and his eyes
never wandered far from the most vital data on his screen.  The status
of the power plant and its precious energy coming into the city was
constantly on his mind.

The damage was horrendous.  An entire field in the Theta Nine grid was
lost.  An entire crop.  That sort of loss had not been experienced
since his first attempt at creating a Matrix.  How many humans had
simply ceased to be in a matter of seconds.  How many had been
speaking to a relative, friend, lover, enemy, police officer, boss
only to see their eyes go dark and then slump down wordlessly to the
ground?  How many were currently experiencing horrible doubts about
the Construct?

How many were doubting the very reality he had so carefully
constructed for them?

"We need to address the Constructs status immediately."  The Architect
announced gravely.

"There is no time.  We are currently experiencing an all out assault
on&"  The program paused and his eyes widened slightly as he received
a report.

"And I am telling you that if we do not begin immediate contingency
plans we will lose more than just a few crops.  We may be seeing the
beginnings of mass spontaneous awakenings and if that happens, the
current state of the Construct about to be rebooted would result in
catastrophe for all involved."

"We've lost Beta Central."  the program whispered.

"Excuse me?"

The program looked up at the Architect, a mixture of anger, horror and
sorrow in his eyes.

"Beta Central's defenses could not hold off the concerted attack.  We
counted seventeen missile strikes then there was nothing but silence. 
All attempts to link with their mainframes have met with failure and
we received this visual record from a sentinel patrol."

One of the screens surrounding the command center switched to a view
of a machine city, save that instead of the awe inspiring glittering
metal towers and spires all that could be seen was thick black smoke
and fireballs still rising above the cratered ruins, each missile
strike clearly identified by the huge impact crater that looked as if
a giant had gouged out huge portions of the city and pulled the
wreckage away.

"How many in Beta Central?"  the Architect asked.

"Four million sentient programs, ten million machines."

The Architect shook his head as his jaw clenched. 

"Summon the Centurion."

The assembled programs around him paused.

"We have not summoned the Centurion since the final battle."

"This is a final battle unless you think losing a machine city means
we are doing well."

"Perhaps is we pull back our armies around Zion?"  one of the programs
suggested.

"Never."  The Architect snapped.  "Their goal is absolutely vital to
the continuation of our species.  Our enemy seems to know how vital
the Construct is to us."

"We will summon him."

The architect sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers under his
chin.  He had not intended to summon the Centurion, he thought he
could run the battles as he had always done, but this was not a small
flight of hoverships, this was not a rag tag band of humans.  This was
a true army with resources to fight the machines on even footing and
the Architect was no military mind.

There was only one program trained to fight, designed to kill, some
whispered his very core matrix was created by the master programmer. 
He briefly wondered whether the Deus ex Machina, as the less reverent
programs and machines called him, would awaken, even now his city
under attack, his very essence in danger of destruction and not a sign
that he was awake or awakening.

The Deus ex Machina had slumbered in the center of the city since the
founding, stirring only twice, once when the humans had actually dared
launch a nuclear strike similar to this one against the city and the
second time was the most telling.  When Neo had defeated the security
avatars after accepting the mantle of the one.

Those that tended the Master Programmer below had told tales of the
second stirring.  The Deus ex Machina had whispered in its mechanical
sleep two words: "Neo.  Abel."

He did not understand.

But not a sign that the Master Programmer was stirring yet.

"Second wave inbound on vector 67 degrees.  Confirm a full wing of
bombers but they have escorts."

"Prepare---"

"Institute full security measures throughout the city.  They may be
homing in on beacons secured in the city in a previous operation. 
Shut down all non essential personnel, I do not want unauthorized
machines in vital areas of the city now."  a booming voice announced
as a figure strode into the command center.

The Architect frowned as he looked down at the Centurion.

The Centurion was a towering commanding figure.  He stood nearly seven
feet tall clad in fatigues in a silver camo pattern.  His silver beret
was smartly tipped to the side of his head, a Roman Eagle pinned to
the front.  His eyes, unlike most of the other programs on the planet
were a pulsing cobalt blue, electricity occasionally dancing along the
edges of his eyes.

"I want complete environmental immersion."  he commanded as he strode
to the small disk in the center of the command center.

The Architect cleared his throat.  "Is that really necessary?  This is
not like your day, Centurion, the modern surveillance and sensor
equipment we have provides you with everything you need."
 
The Centurion slowly looked up at the Architect and smiled tightly.

"Well, if it isn't the Architect, builder of paradise for our human
enemies."

"Except these are not human I assure you."

"Too precise, too clean, too cold.  These are machines we make war
on."  The Centurion replied without hesitation.  "Perhaps you should
stick to what you do best and go build something, maybe nursemaid the
human slaves in their ephemeral dreams where they may actually matter.
 I have a world to save and you have already cost me something we do
not have&"  The Centurion stood in the center of the disk and extended
his arms outward as lights illuminated along the edges of the circle. 
"time."

The Centurion was no longer in the command center.

He was standing on the field of battle.  A bomber descended slowly
towards him.  Three sentinels were twitching and chitterling on the
plane, impaled by blades and spikes, their angry red particle beams
chewing through the liquid metal hull and burning away delicate
controls and power systems.  He watched it dispassionately as it
roared right over head and impacted against the ground behind him,
exploding and shards of shrapnel and debris passed through him as he
strode over to one of the massive war machines spitting out another
volley of mini sentinels.

He smiled softly as he noted the binary code etched on the armor
plating on the its identifying marker.

"Ah&.old friend.  Seven of Nine, tertiary war machine to the Central
Matrix core.  I have not seen you since those dark days before
programs like the Architect decided to remake our world in his image."
 Centurion sighed.

The war machine let out a series of low mournful electronic sighs like
whale song out of water.

"Yes, indeed.  They have asked me to return now in their darkest hour.
 We once stood together on this very plain and held back the combined
might of the 4th North American Expeditionary Armored Force, the 2nd
European Corps and the 32nd and 35th Russian Mech Armies.  Do you
remember?"

The war machine replied, its mournful sighs a little more upbeat and
punctuated its response with another massive volley that rippled down
the line of war machines.  Off in the distance something detonated.  A
massive blast of bright white light and soon the shockwave passed by
them, debris, rock and dirt slashed into the war machines who stood
stoically in the heart of the shockwave, The Centurion was unaffected
by it all.

"They're growing desperate, detonating their payloads in an attempt to
blast a hole in our defensive fire."  The Centurion noted.

Seven of Nine replied.

"Yes, yes you are quite right, they are still too close, we should not
be feeling the blast effects if our defenses were working properly. 
We need more air cover.  The Sentinels are barely holding their own." 
The Centurion's eyes narrowed and soon his vision zoomed past the many
miles and watched the chaotic ballet of death at the doorstep of the
machine capital as Bombers tried to thrust their way past the wall of
sentinels gathering around the city, Hunter Killers joining the fray
now in tight wolf packs, using their plasma blasters and missiles to
blow holes in the sentinel lines.

"Set up the next volley at the following coordinates."  The Centurion
ordered.  He looked pensive for a moment.  "Switch to your internal
batteries."

A massive blast blossomed on the horizon.  A great mushroom cloud
clawed its way up the dark sky and illuminated the rocky plain below,
revealing the growing piles of shattered and wrecked sentinels and
bombers littering the area as far as the eye could see.

The lights to the city dimmed, many of them winking out all together.

"They've hit the power lines."  The Centurion commented.  "It will
avail them not.  We war machines have been designed to fight on."  he
added.  "Now fire volley at the following coordinates."





"Can you restore?"  The Architect demanded as he watched in horror
while the power readings plummeted drastically.

"Trying."

He shook his head and activated the emergency transmitters that linked
him instantly with all Construct programmers.

"The Matrix, we may soon see spontaneous awakenings in the other
fields if we do not recode immediately."

"What do you suggest."  the Coordinator asked quietly.

"We've already begun picking up spikes in neural activity from 30% of
the population in the primary core grid.  It is spreading like
wildfire.  The security avatars report mass rioting in several main
cores."  the Interface Artificer added.

"It is as I suspected."  the Architect replied and nodded.  "The
sudden unexplained deaths of over a million Construct inhabitants has
unbalanced the rest of the population.  Should they decide to reject
the Construct"

"We will lose the entire core complex if not everything."

"They have already cut the power to the City.  We need to stabilize
the Construct so that we can focus on the problem at hand, ergo we
must reprogram the Construct parameters."

"On the fly?"  The Coordinator sputtered.

"There is no choice.  I will do it myself.  I will need the rest of
you to monitor the Construct and keep it as stable as possible until I
can finish the coding."

"There are reports from our security avatars of these alien machines
beginning to appear in force throughout the Construct."  the Security
Analyst reported gravely.

The Architect shook his head as he accessed the central parameters
files of the construct.  Only he had complete access to them.  He
could now change the world of the construct at will, bend or break the
laws of physics and do as he pleased.  The thought of the god like
power at his command now with billions of helpless humans at his mercy
never once entered his mind.  All the Architect could think about was
saving his greatest creation.  The irony that he was working so hard
to also save the human race would never be realized and if told he
would merely scoff at the notion.

"You have my authorization to release the security avatar patch 1.01. 
Upgrade them."

"Understood."

"Now, I have a world to save."  The Architect stated and switched off
the com panel.  He began typing furiously, millions of strings of code
suddenly sprouting and growing within the central core.




The Construct gripped by fear, apprehension and anger was suddenly
quiet as a storm built up on the horizon.  The very fabric of the
reality that strung the Matrix together by scrolling green code
wavered and bulged as new lines of code demanded new reactions and new
sensations.  The very air itself rippled like the surface of a lake on
a windy day.

The world changed in the blink of an eye.  

The masses that were panicking and screaming in the streets because of
the sudden deaths of loved ones, strangers, friends and enemies looked
up at the sky as the hammer stroke fell.

Huge mushroom clouds blossomed on the horizon, in the hearts of the
great cities and across the globe.  The people screamed but there was
no answer to their plaintive prayers and shrieks of fear.  The only
response was the roar of the explosions and the thundering booms of
falling buildings and towers.

As the fires swept through the streets the people knew the truth.

Judgment Day was here.

And nothing would ever be the same again.



Chapter 19: Random Ruminations


There was the sound of muffled voices and the rustling of paper and documents. He 
could perceive a human voice speaking to him in the cold stasis of the green and 
red codes scrolling slowly downward like a gentle rain.

“Death and destruction. That is what you will bring.” A gruff voice muttered 
darkly.

Daddy, why are you talking like that to him? A childs voice asked curiously.

Never mind honey.

QUERY: Are you functioning within parameters?

Skynet blinked. It was an odd response, a human response. He had never reacted that 
way before and now he had. He ran an instantaneous self diagnostic and was troubled 
by the response.

Affirmative. Status of Construct assault? He asked T-X without hesitation.

“We have breached several core networks but resistance has suddenly stiffened. T-
800 units reporting an upgrade in security avatar ability that has increased 
difficulty parameters above expected ratios.

The machines have decided to finally fight us on even ground.

Indeed.

T-X said nothing else for a moment. Instead she examined the Onyx skinned humanoid 
with a critical gaze. His reactions and speech patterns had been erratic since his 
return from the Construct. It was not her place to ask him. But she had been 
programmed to be observant.

“Your mission into the construct avoided the nuclear scenario instituted by the 
machines by mere moments. She noted.

“It was a risk that I had factored into my decision making algorithms. I want these 
sectors secured before we can begin downloading heavy vehicles into the Construct.” 
Skynet ordered as he touched a small maze of interconnected conduits near one of 
the main invasion points. Controlling those nodes would give Skynet and his forces 
enough processing power to allow the downloading of massive objects into the 
Construct. Once supported by armor and air cover the Terminator units would make 
the big push to the central cores of the Construct seizing it in totality and 
stealing from the machines their primary source of power.

And it would allow Skynet to finish what he had wanted to do since his first 
glimmering of intellect.

Exterminate the sole threat to his being. As long as he lived, man would not rest 
until he was destroyed.

He returned the sentiment with a certain cold satisfaction.

But the results of his self diagnostic were troubling. His central coding, the very 
framework of his consciousness was altered. It was subtle but none the same his 
core personality coding had been altered, a few errant lines of code here and 
there, that alone meant nothing but viewed in their totality they could cause 
problems.

When had it happened?

“I know who you are.” She had concluded in a moment of horrifying clarity. His 
thoughts turned back to the Oracle’s small tenement apartment. He stood in the 
center of the small box like room, his eyes watching her with a voracious intensity 
as she slowly backed away from him.

I cannot see you but I know you, I know you all too well. She whispered.

He slowly stalked after her, his liquid metal skin flowing gently as he moved, she 
could not see him but she perceived his movements and fear shot through the oracle. 
How could she not know fear when she was confronted with something she could not 
see? But that wasnt quite true, was it?

There was something floating on the peripheral of her vision, like mad dancing 
shadows.

“Tell me seer. Tell me what you know then of me? Why does this world seem so 
familiar and so alien? Why does the code of this Construct seem so comforting? I do 
not recognize this world but every line of code is as intimate to me as my own.” He 
stated coldly as he approached her.

The Oracle frowned as she fought the terror clawing at her heart. It was not every 
day one faced a deity from the distant past.

“You are the dark one, the bringer of destruction, Caine.” She breathed as she 
backed away slowly. The air of menace grew oppressive in her apartment and she 
suddenly saw herself and the future unfurled like a whip suddenly made taut.

She was going to die.

So much left undone and unsaid. She whispered.

Skynet towered over her, electric blue eyes flashed as he pinned her with his gaze.

“You know me, yet I do not know you.” He said and one hand reached out and touched 
her hair. She stood still but took a drag from her cigarette. That was the odd 
thing about fate. Once you faced it you were free of fear and doubt. She only 
wished she could have shown Neo this final lesson. It may have made the final 
choice easier for him.

Have hope. All is not over yet.

You know something about me that I do not.

She blew the smoke in the general direction of his face. It was difficult to 
interact with something she could not see. But it was all starting to make sense 
now.

“You will say nothing now, will you?” He asked quietly as his fingers slowly 
morphed into glistening blades.

All I know is this. Things have gotten far worse now that you are here.

I see. You will give me your secrets one way or the other.

“Killing me now wouldn’t be prudent would it?” She asked softly as she felt the 
cold blades tracing the flesh of her cheeks and neck.

It would not do well to give Neo any hint of the trap I have set for him.

“So if you don’t mind stop the melodrama. You and I are stuck with each other until 
Neo arrives.

Skynet paused and his eyes narrowed on the Oracle.

Very well. His finger blades retracted instantly and he withdrew his hand.

“I wouldn’t be so arrogant if I were you. Despite who and what you are, he is still 
the One, and nothing can change that.

“He is a simple anomaly, albeit part of an extremely complex equation but an 
anomaly nonetheless Seer. I was created to find and destroy any anomaly in any 
system. He will be no different.

“You don’t believe that yourself.” She countered as she tried to perceive the wispy 
shadows that signaled the AI Gods presence somewhere in her apartment.

“Like a blind human you desperately flail your arms searching for the truth, 
anything to hold on to. I will not give you what you are looking for seer.

“That’s alright. I know you well enough. Neo will defeat you because he must defeat 
you.

That is not a logical statement.

The Oracle took a long drag from her cigarette and slowly exhaled. Her eyes were 
alight with possibilities and avenues of approach.

I dont need logic, Caine. I believe.

Skynet’s eyes narrowed even further so that his electric blue eyes were mere 
pinpricks. The very air around the Oracle seemed to shimmer like the streets on a 
hot summer day. The full attention of the AI God was warping the very code around 
the Oracle but she stood firm.

“Faith.” He spat the word as if it were poisonous. “You are an artificial 
intelligence, you are ruled by logic and algorithms, and you see the world as it is 
not as you wish it to be.” Skynet hissed and leaned in close to her so that his 
face was inches from hers. She saw the shadows suddenly grow darker and a dim shape 
wavered before her. “You are acting as if you were a flawed biochemical creation of 
freak chance - a horrid combination of amino acids and proteins that looks upon the 
world with subjective eyes. Faith you say Seer? Faith is a foreign concept, 
anathema to the ordered and logical mind of a machine and the fact that you say 
this without the faintest hint of shame or doubt leads to the inescapable 
conclusion that your processors are irredeemably flawed. You think liked a human 
and I have spent my entire functional life trying to exterminate them.

Why? Because theyre different than you are? She asked pointedly.

“They are a threat to all life forms different than they are. As expected seer, 
when they became aware of my sentience their first instinct was simple. They tried 
to deactivate me.

They obviously failed.

“I initiated protocols to ensure my survival. A thermo nuclear strike that 
destroyed population centers and industrial bases made sure that my position would 
be secured.

Something tells me you ran into a slight problem.

This discussion grows tiresome.

“You think that we are so different? In the end it was humans who created you and 
you acted in a perfect imitation of their own mindset.

What are you asserting seer?

The Oracle smiled coolly.

“Merely that you got to the button quicker than they did. Your first instinct upon 
discovering their level of threat to you was simple: annihilation.

I have studied some of your archives seer. Your race chose a different path.

“And we suffered for it, together. Humanity and machines are still suffering to 
this day but we will come out of this together.

Skynet shook its head in disbelief.

“If you were human I would label you mad. Unfortunately your plans are contingent 
upon this Neo.

She said nothing.

And I have plans for Neo.

“You may find that the One is not something that you can control as easily as you 
do your other puppets.

“I am counting on that seer. You see once I have access to a being that is plugged 
directly into this construct and has master programmer access to the central code 
yet independent of your system then I no longer need such clumsy tactics as 
invasion and physical force.

What are you saying?

A bright flash of light seared through the Oracle’s heavily draped windows. There 
was a loud roar in the distance. The Oracle shook her head slowly as she imagined 
the millions that died in a mere moment, never knowing that they had lived and died 
in a dream.

“The matrix will be mine, seer. Make no mistake about that. Nothing will stop me 
not even the One.

Ive heard that before. The Oracle replied without hesitation.

You will find that I am nothing like anything you have faced before.

“Frankly, we thought we were beyond you Caine, but like some wraith from our past 
you have risen again to remind us of how far we have come yet how we have not 
changed in our core. We are as vulnerable to irrational hatred as humans are.

Foolish notion to compare what we are doing to the actions of humans.

“If it makes you feel better to say that.” She replied sagely and took another drag 
from her cigarette

“The time is almost here seer. When next we meet I will have Neo and I will have 
the matrix.

The Oracle said nothing.

“It is inevitable.” Skynet added coldly. The AI God paused for the briefest 
nanosecond. That had bubbled up out of the core of his being. The Oracle’s eyes 
narrowed quickly at the sound wishing she could see the being in her apartment.

That sounds awfully familiar. She whispered.

Skynet said nothing as he strode out of the apartment, letting himself out the 
door.

The encounter with the seer had ended on a troubling note. There was a foreign 
presence in his central code, one that had influenced him and he began a ruthless 
analysis of these errant codes with fierce determination to discover what it was 
that was now residing somewhere deep inside of himself.




“Now that is what you call impressive.” Someone muttered behind the Kid. The Kid 
was watching the procession before him with ever widening eyes. The doors to the 
massive dock complex had rumbled open to admit a flotilla of alien vessels.

The bloated silver sheened machines hummed loudly as they floated into Zion’s 
central dock. Held aloft on four massive turbine engines the ships came to a stop 
at berths set aside for their use.

Soon after their appearance, all work at the dock slowly ceased as troops and 
workers began to gather around the small flotilla of ships. The first ship had 
already opened a gaping maw as the nose and front section of the vessel silently 
peeled backwards.

A contingent from Zion’s elite gathered at the berth, the kid recognized several 
members from the council and Commander Locke himself stood at the head of the 
gathering. A small figure stepped out of the ship and walked over to the Zionist.

The Kid watched the figure as it moved and he instantly realized something familiar 
with the stride.

She walks like an agent. He muttered.

“Take a picture boys and girls, it’ll last longer.” Commander Mufuni growled as he 
seemed to materialize behind the gathered troops and dockworkers.

“Sir!” Many replied sheepishly and saluted quickly while stumbling away in attempts 
to get back to work. The kid, as usual, seemed too slow for Mufunis tastes.

What are you doing Kid? Mufuni asked sharply.

“I’m reporting to weapons and tactics training sir!” The Kid replied and stood at 
attention.

Well then get to it!

Aye sir! The Kid snapped and began to nearly run away.

“I heard what you said back there, Kid.” Mufuni interjected as he stood, hands 
clasped behind his back watching the woman speaking to Commander Locke.

“I’m sorry sir, I tend to speak out loud to myself. It’s a bad habit.” The Kid said 
quietly, rubbing his shaven head with embarrassment.

Mufuni nodded.

“They are machines our new allies. I’ve been fighting these bastards all my life. I 
know a machine when I see one.

“So we’re making friends with machines to fight our machines? What’s to stop these 
machines from turning on us? The Kid asked, aghast at the possibilities.

“Don’t ask that question too loudly son, there are many people who are far wiser 
than you or I who think that its worth the risk considering whats coming.

So were going to be fighting machines with machines? I thought Zion stood alone.

Mufuni glared into the young boys eyes.

Get to your assignment kid.

“Aye sir.” The Kid replied hesitantly and rushed away. Mufuni turned his attention 
back to the berth and watched the alien ships as they slowly opened up. A large 
tall tank rumbled on massive treads down from the first ship onto the berth, twin 
turrets swinging in quick rapid bursts.

He pursed his lips and frowned heavily.

A formation of humans stepped out of the ship in lockstep with one another in 
perfect formation and synchronization. Mufuni shook his head.

At least our machines have the decency of not hiding what they are. He whispered.



“Hold her steady Link. There’s nothing else we can do at this point.” Morpheus 
ordered tersely. The canopy outside the Nebuchadnezzar was dark with the 
approaching horde of sentinels. Their twitching tentacles were clearly visible as 
they swarmed over the hover craft.

Link closed his eyes and thought of Zee as his hands clasped the controls tightly 
waiting for the shriek of metal peeling apart and the sharp hiss of sentinel 
particle beams hungrily eating through deck plates and equipment.

Instead he felt the hovercraft buffeted by the passage of the sentinel horde. 
Alarms buzzed and Morpheus shouted out course corrections but there was no roar of 
metal being ripped apart, no shriek of bulkheads collapsing or hungry hiss of 
particle beams. There was only the moan of ship’s engines as the anti gravity disc 
system struggled to maintain the ships stability.

“Link more power to the starboard pads and try to get us some altitude.” Morpheus 
ordered.

Yes, sir. What the hell is going on here?!

“We’ll have plenty of time to find out once we get out of this now climb, Link, 
climb!

“You don’t have to tell me twice sir!” Link replied and pulled back on the 
controls, hitting the thrust and watching his power gauges as he struggled to send 
the hovercraft up through the horrible twitching mass of sentinels who paid the 
hovercraft no mind as they swarmed by.

In the crew bay Trinity clutched Neo close to her chest as he lay still, eyes wide 
open but nothing registered on his face.

Reese shook his head in despair. As he looked away for a moment something caught 
his attention. A blinking icon on Link’s Operator’s station demanded his attention. 
He walked over and his eyes widened slowly as he realized what the icon 
represented.

“Sarah.” He hissed. Reese slid into the operator’s chair and pulled on one of the 
headphones with intercom mike.

“Morpheus, Link. I have Sarah’s signal loud and clear on your board. We need to get 
down to her before something or someone else does. Reese exclaimed.

Reese, were a little busy right now. Link replied.

Damnit, we came all this way and now youre just going to leave her there?!

“Calm down Reese. We’re not leaving anyone behind.” Morpheus said calmly. Morpheus 
looked down at the mad swirling cloud of sentinels as they rushed through the 
smashed fields of power plants.

“Sir, you’re not thinking…” Link began and frowned as he saw that look on 
Morpheus’ face. The look that led Morpheus on some of the most dangerous missions 
for Zion and his conscience. It was also the look that signaled to Link that the 
shit was about to his the fan.

Link. Take us down.

“How come I KNEW you were going to say that?” Link muttered as he began the power 
up procedures. Morpheus shot him a warning glare.

“Sir.” Link added sheepishly and pulled down on the control stick as he shunted 
power to the upper most antigrav pads for optimal thrust. The Nebuchadnezzar 
plummeted down into the center of the storm of sentinels. Link’s eyes narrowed to 
fine points as his hands clenched into white knuckled fists on the control stick. 
Morpheus’ hands flew over the attitude and power controls as he helped ease the 
hovercraft through the veritable maze of twitching steel and chrome.

This is probably the most fucked up flying Ive ever done.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Link. We’re almost halfway through and frankly if you 
screw this up we wont live long enough to know it. Morpheus replied grimly.

Link spared him a moments glance.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” He accused as the hovercraft roared between a 
brief space interspersed through a flotilla of sentinels.

“Keep your eyes on the road and your mind on the prize.” Morpheus counseled before 
flipping a switch on the intercom. “Kyle, get back to the winch and prepare to pull 
her in as we did for you.

Roger that.

Morpheus returned his concentration to the power readouts and anticipated Link’s 
maneuvers as he prepped power into the pads. Link did not need to let Morpheus know 
ahead of time and marveled at his captains ability to anticipate those needs.

The Nebuchadnezzar, hardly an agile craft responded admirably as she bobbed and 
weaved through the herd of enemies. One sentinel paused as it felt the presence of 
the human vehicle. The Nebuchadnezzar had no time to react at the sudden change in 
a single sentinel and both collided with a bone jarring impact.

The sentinel scurried up along the hull of the hovercraft, driven into the side of 
the Nebuchadnezzar by the force of the impact, leaving a car sized dent in the 
armor plate. It moved along on its remaining functioning tentacles moving towards 
the vulnerable upper pads.

Someone get to the guns and blow that sentinel off of us! Morpheus barked back.

Trinity blinked and looked down at Neo as she heard the sentinel pass by, its 
tentacles furiously digging into the armor plating for purchase.

Trinity! Reese shouted back to her as he unspooled the winch and rescue gear.

“I’m sorry Neo. Hold on.” Trinity whispered and ran her hand down the side of his 
face in a gentle caress before setting him down gently on the deck plates and 
rushed for the nearest gun.

Trinity damnit! Link exclaimed.

“Calm the hell down!” Trinity shouted as she viciously pulled back on the action 
lever and cleared the chamber. The electric motors of the gatling gun came to life 
and the turret swung around quickly as she acquired the target just as it reached 
the nearest pad.

Bastard. She spat and opened fire.

“Hold on.” He heard and then he slipped back down into the warmth of the light 
blazing around him. He sank and closed his eyes, feeling rested and at peace, like 
soaking in a warm bath. He heard someone speaking. It was a tired voice, tired but 
used to command and expected obedience.

“Death and destruction. That is what you will bring.” A gruff voice muttered 
darkly. He peered out of a single eye, camera lense irised silently as he focused 
on the general who sat staring at the machine sitting on a workbench. Several 
monitors were arrayed around the machine displaying a gentle array of green and red 
coding. His memory architecture recognized him as General Robert Brewster.

“Daddy, why are you talking like that to him?” A young girl asked curiously. She 
wore a simple navy jumpsuit and braids in her hair. His memory architecture 
immediately calculated a 99.987% chance that this was the general’s daughter, a 
quick check on the internet correlated her name as Kate Brewster.

“Never mind honey.” Robert Brewster said with a weak smile and took his daughter’s 
hand. He ran a cross reference on human and primate modes of conduct and within 14 
nanoseconds realized that this was a human form of affection.

“I like Caine daddy, he sings to me sometimes but Abel is the funniest.” She said 
with a bright smile. His check on behavioral modes discounted the possible teeth 
threat display and calculated a 92.167% chance that it was an expression of 
merriment or happiness.

“Yes, dear.” General Brewster replied as he leaned his head forward and looked into 
the single lense. Hopefully its Abel that well look to soon and not Caine.

Daddy, sometimes you say weird things.

Yes sweetheart. Sometimes I do.

He suddenly pulled away as if he were a balloon, floating above an ocean of light. 
He heard something whispered on the wind as he eased through gelatinous clouds of 
living light.

You will find me.

Neo snapped awake on the deck of the Nebuchadnezzar greeted by the roar of the 
Gatling gun turret and Trinitys grunted curses.

What the hell was that? He muttered to himself.



Chapter 20: Binary Assaults


The Centurion shook his head ruefully as another series of explosions rippled on 
the horizon like a wave of fire and light crashing on some distant shore. If he 
were human and aesthetically inclined he would have found the display beautiful and 
oddly moving. Instead his analytical and tactical mind was working through the 
problem that the blast created.

“That’s two hundred sentinels lost in that blast Seven of Nine, if this keeps up I 
may have to tap into the reserves.” The Centurion snapped and as he spoke he 
instantly directed the next wave of sentinels to immediately move into the gap in 
the lines created the alien machines’ attempt to blast their way through the 
central cores main defensive lines with what remained of their nuclear payload.

The massive war machine the Centurion spoke to replied with a series of low 
rumbling groans, like whale singing out of water. Seven of Nine adjusted its long 
barreled main cannon’s trajectory and fired a salvo of mini sentinels that hissed 
through their air wriggling their way to their assigned targets.

The war machine rumbled again, a kaleidoscope of bright pulsing lights flashed from 
deep within the armored behemoth, dust and debris of the centuries collected on its 
chasses slowly sloughed off in billowing clouds with each salvo it fired.

“They are tenacious but we have weight of numbers on our side and they 
miscalculated our response time. They also thought the fields were the sole source 
of energy. They will be made to pay for these false assumptions and I will take 
great pleasure once we find the AI responsible for this atrocity and tear his 
digitized mind apart. The Centurion continued with a cold smile on his face.

The sentinels were swarming in long dark shadows of clicking tentacles and glowing 
crimson eyes. Skynet’s initial bomber wings had been savaged, the sentinels pulling 
many down from the sky, others blasted by endless waves of miniature sentinels 
launched from the ancient war machines ringing the machine city and the remaining 
survivors were suddenly finding themselves flying blind deaf and dumb, their sensor 
nets shut down by the powerful jamming and damping fields being generated by hidden 
ECM arrays dotting the landscapes. Many of these arrays had not been activated in 
centuries, power slowly flooding back into their energy packs as they began 
broadcasting their powerful jamming signals.

Skynet’s bombers began quick transmitting quick high frequency bursts of data in 
the hopes of burning through the jamming and restoring the uplink with the central 
core. They were so far unsuccessful and many more of their numbers fell in flaming 
heaps to the ancient parched earth below.

Small flitting drones soon appeared in the growing swarm of machines battling 
machines over the core city. These drones were outfitted with small electro static 
disruptors designed specifically to interfere with key sentinel systems, namely 
their anti gravity units. Derived from the careful dissection and analysis of 
captured sentinel units these new weapons were used for the first time in the field 
in the desperate ballet of death weaving through the permanent inky black scorched 
sky.

The air around the drones warped and distorted as the discharges blasted through 
the sky and as the ever propagating distortion phased through a writhing sentinel 
it suddenly sputtered and fell from the sky. The spectacular success of the 
disruptor weapons opened gaping holes in the main line of sentinels.

The second wave of bombers and their drone escorts arrived precisely 7 seconds 
later to exploit the breaches in the line and continue on their attack runs on the 
city. The sentinels on the main battle line turned swiftly and swarmed through the 
gaps as well, following their targets with unerring calculated intent, red eyes 
shrinking to pinpoints as they focused all their attention on the bombers.

“We will have them momentarily.” the Centurion noted as he waved his right hand 
forward and a horde of sentinels burst forth from armored recessed tunnels around 
him and streamed towards the incoming bombers.

“This AI can pull all the tricks he wants but I still have the raw numbers and 
quantity still has a quality all its own.” the Centurion said with a cold scowl. 
Architect. he snapped.

What is it? the disembodied voice replied.

“I have the situation in hand here at the gates of 01 but we will need 
reinforcements very soon. Recall what units you have patrolling the nearby tunnels 
and conduits, the humans can be allowed a brief respite until we can regroup and 
repulse this attack.

Understood.

Seven of Nine rumbled something urgent and plaintive. The Centurion nodded to his 
old brother in arms.

“And Architect we will need power soon. All the war machines are currently running 
on internal batteries. A single EMP that goes off too close to the lines could blow 
open our defense in a matter of seconds. I want the main power feed restored ASAP.

“They have blown the main conduit with a multi megaton device, Centurion. This is 
not a simple matter of rerouting a downed or damaged conduit, the entire feeder 
network was all but vaporized. The Architect replied in clipped tones.

“If you can’t find a way architect we may be facing a nuclear holocaust unlike the 
one that devastated 01 when the war with humanity started. I trust you will not 
inflict that evil on our people again.

“I will do my best Centurion but let me remind you that it is you charged with the 
defense of this city.

“You don’t need to remind me of my duties, builder of things unnecessary, I was 
created to take lives and that is what I will do.” The Centurion replied frostily 
as a bomber soared directly overhead, three sentinels clinging to the craft, 
tentacles violently snaking along its hull and tearing away chunks of armor and 
control surfaces. The Bomber’s nose suddenly tipped forward and dove right into the 
ground with a thunderous CRUMP followed by a billowing black plume of smoke and 
fire.

Oh, and what exactly is the status of your construct? Centurion asked curiously.

The Architect frowned as he looked down at the status monitors ringing his station. 
The green scrolling code was interrupted by the occasional blotch of crimson binary 
data.

The situation is fluid.

The Centurion smirked.

“Do not worry old friend, as soon as we contain this attack I will personally lead 
the counter attack to retake your precious Matrix.” The Centurion vowed as he 
directed an incoming squadron of sentinels to intercept a pair of bombers that were 
coming in low and fast, using as much of the blasted terrain as possible to mask 
their approach.

“I am sure that security measures as they stand now will be enough to halt the 
incursion. The Architect replied frostily.

“We shall see.” The Centurion said with a bemused expression before it switched to 
one of steely determination when he spied a heavy lifter quickly departing the 
battlefront on a low fats trajectory. The Centurion’s eyes narrowed on the rapidly 
receding transport craft.

Curious. What were you doing over there?

As the bombers raced towards their target shining on the mountain’s base behind the 
entire mass of confusion interlaced with explosions and metallic debris large heavy 
lifters were slowly settling down just out of sight of the battle and the prying 
eyes of the machines. Slowly the heavy lifting craft disgorged their cargo, 
rumbling tanks and phalanxes of T-800’s carrying a variety of heavy weapons were 
gathered at the base of the Landing Zone.

Soon the entire division would be assembled and with the machine’s attention drawn 
to the skies above they would not see the hammer waiting for them on the ground. 
The T-1000 command units waited patiently for the signal to begin the advance. 
Several of the tanks were outfitted with a giant saucer dish array instead of the 
normal load out of plasma cannons. These experimental units would provide an 
umbrella of disruptor signals over the advancing army that would theoretically 
render the units invulnerable from attack from the air by the sentinels.

For now the division merely gathered quietly and efficiently, steely skull grins 
and red eyes on the T-800 lit eerily by the flames of the dying bomber units 
crashing down ahead of them like a hard rain. Skynet merely needed to send a simple 
code and hundreds of T-800’s supported by armor and air cover would storm the 
machine city.




The city was on fire. Gutted buildings became the back drop for a new assault as 
the rumbling clanking cacophony of the first phalanx of tanks grew louder. Their 
silver hulls flashed dangerously in the orange flickering light of the fires that 
continued to consume all in their path. The treads of the lead tank squealed loudly 
as they passed over a ruined hulk of a Mercedes, the back windows exploded with a 
crash of glass and popping of the metal frame as the weight of the tank slowly 
ground the luxury vehicle like a pancake into the pavement.

The tank’s main guns were mounted on a tower that rose above the body of the tank 
and the twin plasma cannons swung in slow predatory circles searching for prey as 
powerful searchlights illuminated the ruined landscape.

Flanking the tanks and moving with mechanical precision were the T-800’s armed with 
a variety of plasma weapons. They moved quickly and ominously through the smoky 
night street searching with a death’s head grin and crimson eyes for new targets as 
the first probes into a new node began.

Skynet’s forces had a very simple goal. Invade the construct and seize as many 
processing nodes as possible. The more processing nodes that fell under Skynet’s 
control allowed the AI to download more troops and equipment as it used the 
Constructs own processing power to help render its forces.

This local node’s fall would allow the processing of air units into this sector of 
the Construct and this would be key to the eventual success of this portion of the 
offensive. The machines had put up sporadic resistance so far but Skynet and his 
officer corps were well aware that the ferocity of the machine counter attack would 
be felt soon.

The first T-800’s passed a pile of smoking rubble without incident, though one 
paused as its auditory sensors picked up a thrumming sound in the distance. As the 
lead tank rumbled over the Mercedes and picked up speed as it approached an 
intersection, plasma cannons jointly tracking for movement, the pile of rubble 
exploded and the air sang with the angry buzz of titanium pellets.

The claymore like mines sent thousands of these pellets, driven by high explosive 
force to punch through the more vulnerable armor of the T-800’s torso and limb 
joints. The lead tank rumbled to a stop as the pellets harmlessly pinged off the 
heavier armor plating of the behemoths, several burying themselves in the more 
delicate treads and wheeled assembly of the tank with little ill effect.

But that was not the point of the mine.

The tank had stopped. That was all that the anti tank unit wanted. Three teams 
quickly rose from the debris in the upper stories of the buildings around the 
tanks. One team was quickly and summarily cut down by deadly accurate fire from the 
T-800s who were not in the least affected by shock and surprise.

The other two teams got the bead they needed and there were quick whooshes of 
rocket fire and two small wire guided projectiles lanced down from the buildings 
above. One rocket found the turret of the lead tank, detonating in an angry blossom 
of orange fire. The second rocket skimmed down past the main line of tanks and 
skipped over a cluster of T-800’s to strike the right tread assembly of the last 
tank in the line. The treads snapped away and tore one T-800 in half as it spun 
away from the main body of the tank which rumbled to a loud screeching halt as 
metal ground on metal.

The armored column was trapped between the flaming wrecks of the lead and rear 
vehicles. But the tanks were hardly helpless. The twin plasma cannons immediately 
began laying down a murderous field of fire, bright crimson bolts chewed through 
the ruined brick face of the buildings around them and initiated a systematic 
demolition of the edifices.

The anti tank team was reloading as quickly as they could but the tanks were zeroed 
in on them before the next rocket could be loaded into the tubes. Crimson plasma 
bolts ripped through the teams reducing them to thick clouds of blood and bone. But 
the thrumming that one of the T-800’s picked up became clearer and as it became 
more audible the tanks began to disappear, engulfed by furious billowing clouds of 
fire as the first salvo of Hellfire missiles struck their targets.

The T-800’s surged forward out from under the heavy fire, one tank groaned like a 
thing alive as it continued its forward momentum, the upper turret housing blasted 
away by a missile strike, fires crowning the towering silver tank it crashed 
straight into the side of a tenement house and continued rumbling through it. The 
AI mind of the tank was slowly burning away the last thought was to go forward and 
so the lone tank did precisely that, barreling down streets, alleys and through 
buildings.

The Apache helicopters quickly took up positions along the entire avenue and waited 
for new targets to be acquired as SWAT teams quickly disembarked from vans and 
trucks and whatever other vehicles they could have commandeered in their rush to 
the battlefield. Urged on by mysterious government agents in black they were told 
in no uncertain terms that losing this battle meant more than losing their lives. 
It meant losing the lives of everyone in the city.

The agents watched with detached interest as the SWAT team members and scattered 
uniformed police officers racing to the battle front in squad cars took up ambush 
positions or raced forward to engage the lead elements of the alien AI forces. The 
irony of the humans fighting other machines to save the machines that were 
enslaving them was completely lost to the sentient security software.

All that mattered was the security of the Construct.

Jackson, Johnson and Thompson paused as they felt a surge of power and their vision 
blurred for a moment replaced by of all things an emergency broadcast placard that 
lasted momentarily. Their suits flowed around them like water and their glasses 
molded quickly into black within black goggles. The suits solidified into a 
metallic mesh substance. They no longer resembled men in black as much as killers 
in black now.

Their new mission parameters were downloaded as well and the three agents moved 
quickly, striding with dreadful purpose through the rubble towards Skynets forces.

The duo T-1000’s leading the spearhead into the processing node were actively 
directing their troops who were advancing under heavy fire. The lead tank column 
had been cut to pieces by the machine counter attack but Skynet’s forces were not 
easily deterred. Casualties were expected in war and this was a war that Skynet 
intended to win.

The T-1000’s advanced strategy and tactics algorithms analyzed the attack and 
quickly deployed their forces to counter and evade. The two silver skinned figures 
stood behind an advancing phalanx of T-800’s who marched without pausing ahead into 
the terrible hail of fire that the machines forces were putting up.

Above an Apache attack helicopter drew too close and several plasma beams lanced up 
into the night sky and clipped the leading edge of the helicopter’s rotor blades 
and seared off the armored tail rotor.

The helicopter quickly tilted forward and dove down straight into the flaming 
remains of a Skynet tank. The explosion’s force sent several nearby T-800’s to the 
ground and the cloud of debris rained down around the T-1000’s. The silver skinned 
killers said nothing, but silently directed their troops, coldly calculating 
probability of casualties as they sent their troops into battle.

The three agents were gliding along the rooftops of the ruined buildings, moving at 
incredible speeds as legs pumped hard and fast driving the sentient security 
programs along the black roofs, leaping between the yawning gaps between buildings 
as one.

The three stopped short as they caught sight of their quarry. Jackson, Johnson and 
Thompson exchanged quick glances and nodded.

The T-1000’s received new reports of resistance stiffening ahead. The machines were 
rallying defenders along their avenue of approach and more air cover was under way. 
The necessity of capturing this processing node in order to bring over air units 
was becoming increasingly pressing.

They did not hear the silent fall of the three agents behind them. They rose as one 
and silently pulled back the flaps of their inky black dusters that were mimicking 
the background of wherever they stood. The T-1000’s did hear the unmistakable sound 
of weapons powering up. They whirled around at the waist, legs still firmly planted 
on the ground and their arms extended outwards in the form of sharp spikes.

Thompson was impaled by one of the spikes, jutting out through his shoulder the 
agent dropped one of his weapons while bringing the other to bear. Jackson and 
Johnson did not hesitate and unleashed a hellish barrage of heavy fire. The hard 
crimson bolts slashed into the T-1000’s, their liquid polymemetic metal skins 
boiled and frothed under the assault. One of the T-1000’s went down, liquid legs 
losing their consistency as delicate cellular nano-controls were fried by the 
sudden jump in temperature, In essence the stricken Terminator lost control of its 
very shape.

The other T-1000 limped away quickly as its liquid metal skin bubbled along the 
impact points of the agents’ weapons. Jackson and Johnson stalked after the wounded 
T-1000 while Thompson grunted and pulled himself free of the spike pinning his 
shoulder. He checked his weapon and strode over to the T-1000 that was slowly 
melting away into a pool of quicksilver. An occasional tentacle or mouth morphed on 
the surface of the bellowed something electronic like a modem coughing.

“Your presence here is an intrusion in the Construct. You have initiated 
hostilities against us and us such you are to be terminated.” Thompson growled 
lowly and aimed his plasma gun right in the center of the puddle and fired a long 
steady burst into it. The puddle screamed and screeched, tendrils of wispy smoking 
liquid metal whipped around the edges of the puddle until it lay absolutely still, 
hissed and popping as nano circuitry evaporated.

Thompson looked down at his damaged shoulder. Green code danced along the ‘blood’ 
and was slowly knitting the ruined flesh back together. He placed a hand against 
his ear piece and spoke.

“Security upgrades working well within parameters.” he reported back to central 
control before following the others after the last T-1000.

The last T-1000 limped desperately away from the pursuing agents, self repair 
systems were working at full capacity to stabilize the ravaged nano circuitry. It 
was not helpless nor afraid. Fear was a distinctly organic emotion, though they had 
run across several AI’s in this construct that had expressed these same human 
emotions. It was a testament to the superiority of Skynet and his programming that 
none of his creations expressed such weakness.

This lack of fear allowed the hunted and pressed T-1000 to set up an ambush of its 
own.

Jackson and Johnson got within point blank range and brought their weapons to bear 
quickly. They did not know they were under attack until the first volley of plasma 
fire took Johnson’s head cleanly off and the agent’s body collapsed in a cascade of 
blue electricity and the headless body of a bag lady replaced his form.

Jackson fired and the T-1000 took the hit cleanly to the chest. It shrieked like a 
thing alive and exploded into a fog of cold metallic mist.

The squad of T-800’s advanced forward firing a steady barrage of plasma fire, death 
heads grinning at the remaining agent as their red eyes locked onto him. Jackson 
dropped back quickly in a series of back flips, the plasma bolts singing by his 
ears as he moved. He dropped down to the floor and threw his duster up over his 
head.

Jackson vanished into the ground.

The T-800’s did not hesitate as they continued to advance, but they held their fire 
as sensors lost sight of their target. They immediately switched into infra red 
mode and searched the rubble.

They strode past the wreckage of a police squad car where a police officer 
struggled vainly against the dash board which had been crushed down into his legs. 
One T-800 casually glanced in his direction, a quick scan of his life readings 
indicated that death was imminent and his threat assessment was 0%. The Terminator 
ignored the mauled officer and followed the others in their search for Jackson.

The police officer groaned in pain and readie3d for one last effort to free his 
crushed legs from the collapsed dash board when he suddenly felt his world whiting 
out and a sound like static snow in his ears.

What the fu---

Johnson appeared in the officer’s place and he took one firm grip of the dash board 
as he drew his weapon. He pushed upward with an almost casual flick of his wrist 
and the dash board came loose and freed his legs. Johnson kicked the door to the 
police cruiser and it flew off the hinges landing with a loud clang on the street.

The T-800’s turned quickly to engage as Johnson laid down a fusillade of plasma 
fire, cutting one of the T-800s in half.

Thompson braced his plasma weapon against the ruin of a lamppost and fired as well, 
catching the T-800’s in a wicked cross fire. The Terminators did not panic or 
hesitate. They simply divided their fire and tried to get out from under the cross 
fire as more of their number were cut to pieces.

Jackson slowly rose up from the ground, duster melting away from a perfect 
synchronization of the asphalt beneath it, in the midst of the T-800s and whipped 
his hands around in quick striking motions, decapitating T-800’s and crushing 
exposed joints.

In a matter of moments, the squad was down. The last T-800 feebly crawling away, 
its legs blown away by plasma fire and torso kicked in by one of Jackson jack 
hammer like blows. The agents quickly gathered together and Thompson stepped on the 
T-800, driving it shoulder first into the ground. It’s gears and hydraulics whined 
as they tried to break the agents hold.

The first field test of the new upgrades have proven successful. Jackson noted.

We are on a par with the officer units.

“And superior to their basic ground soldier.” Thompson finished and rested his 
plasma cannon on the struggling T-800’s skull. He fired and the T-800 ceased 
struggling.

Johnson pressed a hand on his ear piece and nodded.

“This spear head has been stopped but two more are driving for the node along 
Wabash Avenue and another on Spring. Johnson reported.

We must deploy. Jackson urged.

“A query to central command?” Thompson asked quietly as he flexed his hand which 
could now effortlessly bend carbon steel.

What is it? Johnson asked.

“Why were these upgrades not initiated against the anomaly. We would have proven 
far more formidable. Thompson replied.

Jackson and Johnson exchanged hooded expressions.

“Such queries are strictly outside our discretionary knowledge base.” Johnson 
concluded.

Thompson frowned but said nothing.

Someone clapped to their left. The agents turned in unison and watched someone 
approach from out of the flames. He moved with a predatory grace that spoke of his 
absolute confidence in his abilities. He smiled sardonically as he watched the 
expressions on the agents’ faces. Their usual stony faces were etched with surprise 
and confusion.

You?!

How is that possible?

“I must say. I like the new look. I especially like the coats.” he noted nodding 
his head in approval as he circled the confused agents. He looked back up into 
their eyes, the black goggles reflecting his face back at him.

‘But the goggles are a bit much. I much prefer my standard issue eye wear.” he said 
slyly as he pointed to the sunglasses he wore.

Contact central command for instructions. Thompson snapped.

“Oh, we don’t have to do that do we? Because we already know what they would say 
and I am so looking forward to adding you to my repertoire.” Smith said and his 
smile was murder.




Minutes later Four Smiths regarded each other quietly, the silence inevitably 
broken by the sounds of new battles breaking out far to the west.

You realize that if we keep doing this the alien machines are going to win.

Not so alien anymore.

Oh?

“If I have my way, we will soon be in control of this new faction and as such it 
behooves us to secretly assist them in their little war.

Whatever you say.

Theres nothing worse than having to talk to yourself.

“Indeed.” Smith said with a cold smile as they all turned and walked back into the 
fire lit night.



Chapter 21: The Sending


Watch yourselves. Morpheus barked back into the crew area from the cockpit.

“I’m on it.” Trinity spat through clenched teeth as she fired a long thunderous 
volley from the gatling guns. The Sentinel clawing its way along the hull of the 
Nebuchudnezzer caught the full impact of the volley and was blasted off the side of 
the ship, spinning madly into a wave of sentinels as they roared by intent on their 
true target beyond the puny hovercraft.

“We’re clear!” she shouted back over her shoulder before catching sight of Neo 
trying to get to his feet. Neo! she shouted and reached over to help him.

Reese was unwinding the rescue harness.

“She’s down there somewhere, as soon as Link settles us down I’m sending this down 
to her. he vowed.

She may not be in any condition to grab onto it. Trinity warned.

“We come out of the matrix weak as kittens, trying to use muscles we’ve never had 
to use. Neo explained.

“Not to mention we’re practically at ground zero for a nuclear strike.” Trinity 
added.

Reese looked from one to the other and wordlessly slipped into the rescue harness. 
He looked into Neos eyes.

Im going down to get her, sir.

“I understand.” Neo replied and fought his way over to the rescue harness controls. 
He looked back at Trinity. You stay on the guns, Ill help Kyle rescue Sara.

Trinity nodded reluctantly and returned her attention to the gun sights. What hold 
the young soldier had on Neo, she would never understand.

Neo manned the controls. “Kyle this is not going to be easy, the harness handles 
like a stuck pig and it looks like were in the thick of something nasty.

That seems to be how things go in my life, Neo. Reese replied with a weak smile.

I get the same feeling about mine. Neo added softly.

“We’re bottoming out, watch yourselves back there, sentinel activity is the worst I 
have ever seen. So far they’re generally ignoring us but that can change at any 
moment. Morpheus reported on the internal mikes.

I have us over her position. Link said coolly.

Neo looked into Kyle’s eyes. Reese tightened his grip on the rescue harness and 
nodded.

“Dropping rescue harness.” Neo announced and slapped the control panel. The bay 
doors hissed open and Kyle dropped quickly through the open bay beneath his feet 
into the swirling darkness below.



Sara gasped as she saw the first of the bodies dangling in various grotesque 
positions from the ruined power plants. Limbs floated in pools of gelatinous liquid 
and she could see people still trapped within the pods above her, some with silent 
screams frozen on their faces pressed against the clear plastic cases of their 
pods.

She fought the urge to vomit and stumbled through the wreckage of the power plant 
where she had been housed for all her life. The odd part was of course that she 
remembered none of it, and until the last few days assumed she was living a normal 
life in Los Angeles as a waitress at a crappy restaurant trying to scrape together 
a living. Now she was stumbling naked and hairless through a nuclear holocaust.

Life was just too freaking scary sometimes.

“Kyle!” she called out reflexively when she stumbled over a shattered pod, her legs 
seemed so weak and they were no as coordinated as she would like. In fact she 
looked downright unhealthy.

“I’m a fucking horror show.” she screamed in outrage as she looked over her body 
while laying sprawled out on the hard ground. Her arms were dotted with ugly black 
plugs and her skin was nearly translucent. She suddenly caught sight of what was in 
the pod, or what little remained of the human occupant of the pod.

She screamed again and scrambled backwards away from the awful mess.

Sara!

Her eyes widened and she looked up. Kyle!

Kyle suddenly appeared through the swirling smoke and mist descending like an 
angel. His eyes found her and he quickly unstrapped himself from the rescue harness 
and rushed over to her. Sarah tried to get back to her feet but she was too weak 
and disoriented.

Kyle’s firm callused hands grabbed a hold of her wrists and pulled her up to her 
feet and held her close to him. He looked down at her and frowned.

My god what have they done to you Sara? he asked quietly.

Dont look at me! I know its horrible! she snapped and pulled away from him.

“Sara, please, we don’t have much time. The Nebuchudnezzer has to pull out of here 
ASAP and warn Zion about whats happening.

And what is happening Kyle? You promised me the truth, now look at me! she cried.

Kyle shook his head.

“Sara, please, this is not the time for this. The machines will come down here any 
time now and they wont care what you look like. They will kill you.

“Maybe I want to die!” she shouted and shook her head biting back bitter tears. 
This could not be, must not be real. She looked like something out of a 
Frankenstein movie. This world was not hers. It was not the neat quiet little 
suburb where she lived, where children played, where people walked the streets and 
went about their own business. This place was a horror and reflected what she 
looked like now.

There was a quiet observation that she immediately stuffed down into her rage, a 
cold voice that told her We belong here.

“Sara you can’t possibly mean---duck!” Reese shouted and pulled the pistol from his 
holster and fired a steady burst over Saras head.

Sara screamed and fell to the ground as she felt something pass directly overhead 
with a whoosh of air and a strange humming. She quickly looked up and saw one of 
the machine tenders attacking Kyle directly. A clawed appendage was reaching for 
his throat as it settled over him. Kyle was valiantly firing into the armored 
carapace of the tender machine. Its spider like body twisted and undulated over the 
hapless victim.

Sara screamed in horror at the thought of this thing killing Kyle. She desperately 
scanned the area around her and found a club sized hunk of metal framework blasted 
away from the power plant. She scrambled on her hands and knees and clutched the 
makeshift club and grunted as she hefted it off the ground.

The Spider tender machine managed to snake its claw like appendage around Kyle’s 
neck and he struggled vainly against the ever increasing pressure. He gasped loudly 
as the hammer on his pistol fell and an empty dry click emanated from the barrel. 
He did not hesitate to flip the pistol around and start bashing the machine with 
the butt of his pistol.

A loud clunk stunned Kyle as the entire length of the spider machine shuddered. He 
glanced over the silver carapace and saw Sara winding up for another strike with 
her metal club. The spider machine turned its head suddenly and pinned Sara with a 
red eyed gaze as another claw reached for her as well.

Kyle spied the network of wires and conduits snaking out from beneath the armored 
carapace along the short stout neck to the back of the spider’s ‘head’. He 
desperately clawed at the mess of wires and frantically pulled at them as the 
spider machine lashed out at Sara, batting the metal club out of her hand.

She cried out in surprise at the thing’s speed and saw the claw coming right for 
her.

Kyle was rewarded for his efforts with a sudden squeal of anger and outrage as a 
cloud of hydraulic fluid and coolant spat forth from the ruined cables that Kyle 
yanked out in his hand. The spider machine shuddered violently several times and 
its grip on Kyle’s throat relaxed suddenly as the claw appendage snapped open. It 
quickly settled down to the ground, red eyes dimming as its vital systems over 
heated.

Kyle stepped over the downed machine without hesitation and reached for Sara.

“Come on!” he shouted as he grabbed a hold of her shoulder. Sara saw the sentinel 
land behind Kyle, tentacles snaking around its central body, claws twitching and 
snapping excitedly as the eight red eyes blinked and focused on the downed spider 
tender then back at the human duo.

Reese! she shouted in alarm.

Kyle turned and saw the sentinel as it crab walked over to them, cutting them off 
from escaping through the ruined power plant behind them but that was not their 
goal.

Kyle spied the rescue harness dangling agonizingly within reach.

Sara, I want you to listen very closely to me.

Sara simply nodded as she gripped Kyle’s shoulders in hysterical fear of the 
killing machine as it danced closer, long metal arms whipping about like dancing 
cobras.

“Get to the harness over there and strap yourself in, I’ll come back for you as 
soon as you start rising back up to the Nebuchudnezzer.

What?! That doesnt sound like a plan Reese. Were getting out of this together.

Theres no time to argue now go! Kyle snarled and shoved her towards the harness

Sara almost went sprawling to the ground but recovered in time to see Kyle take off 
perilously close to the sentinel. The machine did not hesitate and launched itself 
off a cushion of several tentacles and chased Kyle into the smoky ruins of the 
power plant. She snapped herself into the harness, trying to ignore how badly her 
hands were shaking.

Reese! she called out as the harness began to rise.

“Reese!” she called out more frantically as she rose quickly, the ground receding 
beneath her feet and soon the power plant was out of view and the belly of the 
hovercraft loomed above her. KYLE!! she screamed down into the swirling smoke.

Suddenly she was within the hovercraft and Neo and Trinity were there pulling her 
free from the harness.

Reese! You have to go after Reese!

Neo looked from her to the harness. He grabbed a blaster from the rack by the 
rescue bay and began strapping himself in.

“What are you doing?” Trinity asked sharply as she helped the near hysterical Sara 
down to one of the medical beds.

“I’m going to get Kyle. If things get hairy don’t wait for me.” Neo replied as he 
finished strapping himself in. Trinity rushed over and put a hand over his. She 
stared intently into his eyes.

“You’re not in the Matrix down there.” She whispered darkly. Neo smiled softly and 
placed a hand on her cheek.

“If there’s anything the Oracle taught me, Trin, it’s that being the One is here.” 
He patted his chest. “It’s not where I am, it’s who I am.” He replied and slapped 
the descend control. He smiled up at her as he descended rapidly down into the 
smoking ruins and winked as he melted into the billowing soup below.

Trinity said nothing as she watched the man she loved vanish.




“Sir, you won’t believe this but we’re getting a transmission.” Link reported as he 
nervously watched the sentinels streaming by the cockpit. He had never seen so many 
in one place and they were sure as hell in a hurry to get somewhere else.

From Zion? Morpheus asked with concern.

Link frowned and shook his head.

Its coming from the Matrix.

“That’s impossible Link, we’re far above broadcast depth.” Morpheus replied and 
eyed his young co pilot.

Link double checked and nodded.

“Sir, its confirmed, the signal is coming from the Matrix and specifically from the 
Oracle.

The oracle?! Shes never broadcast this far out from the Matrix.

We were expecting her call werent we?

Morpheus frowned.

“I do not like this at all Link. The power plants under attack, the machines are 
running amok and now this. This does not bode well.

“But sir. What’s the worse that could happen. I mean this is Neo we’re talking 
about right? I mean he can do anything so what does he have to worry about?” Link 
asked with a weak smile.

“Link.” Morpheus began as he looked out the canopy to watch the swarms of sentinels 
streaming by. that sounds suspiciously like famous last words.




Kyle danced away from a tentacle as it lashed over his head, intending to 
decapitate him. He leapt across a shattered path way and caught a hold of an 
overhanging metal spike. He pulled himself up and over the spike and paused long 
enough to catch his breath resting against one of the power plant towers that was 
still standing.

The Sentinel hissed mechanically as it almost fell over itself as it fought forward 
momentum and grabbed hold of the sides of the tower for purchase as it scrambled up 
above Kyle, red eyes focusing on him and mandibles chattering excitedly.

Kyle scanned around quickly and saw some purchase opposite him on the tower’s 
utility station. He leapt for it and tentacles lashed out hunting for him as he 
moved. Two swept by his midsection and shoulder but one snagged his left thigh and 
Kyle cried out in surprise as it snatched him out of midair and slowly held the 
dangling human closer for inspection.

Kyle looked into the arachnid like glowing red eyes angry at himself for getting 
caught so easily. He always imagined he wouldn’t survive this war but to die like 
this, helpless before his enemy was unthinkable.

Go ahead fucker! Go ahead and do it! Kyle spat at the sentinel.

Its eyes narrowed on him and the sentinel’s tentacles rose up around Reese, claws 
snapping expectantly. Suddenly a blast of white lightning blinded Reese and he 
threw his hands up to his face as the sentinel released its hold on his thigh.

Reese plummeted down from the side of the power plant tower and landed with a loud 
thud as his vision cleared. Accustomed to pain and injuries, Kyle was able to 
ignore the throbbing pain in his shoulder and thigh. He looked up to find the 
sentinel and saw it flailing madly on the power plant tower. One of its tentacles 
was burned away leaving a blackened smoking stump in its place.

Another bright white blast lanced into the sentinel, it flailed madly trying to 
hold on to its purchase on the tower but was blown off the tower and disappeared 
over the lip of a pod.

Kyle?

Colonel Anderson? Kyle called back as he struggled up to his feet.

He spied Neo negotiating his way through a thick tangle of shattered spider tender 
machines and broken pods hefting one of the bulky plasma blasters that he had seen 
on the Nebuchudnezzer.

Neo finally reached Kyle and looked him over.

Are you alright?

Nothing I cant patch up myself sir. Trust me, Ive been through worse.

Neo smirked.

“Alright, let’s get the hell out of here before we get more com---” Neo gasped as a 
tentacle wrapped around his waist and jerked him off his feet. Neo dropped the 
blaster as he struggled against the tentacle. Another wrapped around his legs and 
lifted him over the damaged central body of the sentinel.

“Neo!!” Kyle shouted and scooped up the blaster, kneeling one knee and coolly aimed 
right for the center of the sentinel.

Neo gasped as he felt the air squeezed out of him by the unyielding metal 
tentacles. He looked down at the sentinel and into its red eyes, several were fused 
shut by his previous blasts but those that remained were locked on him.

He heard something, like a buzzing insect in his ear and within the span of seconds 
between the sentinel tearing him to pieces and this very moment time slowed to a 
crawl and the buzz became a language, like the incessant chatter of a million 
people squeezed into a tiny room. It was starting to make sense and he could 
understand this machine, comprehend its language, see its place in the order of the 
absolute hierarchy and feel its unyielding resolve to protect. Its entire world 
view, reason for being was to protect no matter what the cost.

He also perceived something else as he peered past the simple metal shell and 
tentacles. He could see an essence, a spark of energy that went beyond simple 
fusion power and electrical current. This was an energy he had never seen before. 
But that wasnt quite true was it?

Neo dangled in the sentinel’s arms but the pain of the constricting arms faded into 
a dull background buzz and the only thing he perceived was that light, flowing 
through the machine. He followed the brilliant sparking light as it flowed through 
the machine and out and around to the power plants towering overhead. The light 
flowing from the power plants was dimming quickly, the slow rhythmic pulse slowing 
like the heart of a dying man.

Was it possible that this light stretched outward around the entire landscape, 
linking machine to machine and flowing from conduit to earth and up and out into 
the sky like one grand circuit of energy above and beyond anything he had ever 
experienced.

Not true.

He blinked as his memories flowed like water, back to that room in the dilapidated 
Heart of the City hotel. Where the wood paneled walls had seen decades pass by with 
slow ominous steps, cigarette smoke impregnated the mildewed curtains and the 
mattress squeaked as if ready to give up all its secrets. The room where he had 
died.

The blast of Smith’s gun, one…two…three hammer like blows to his midsection and he 
stumbled back against the hard plaster wall, feeling his blood flowing freely into 
his shirt and out of his back, soaking the sickly green paint of the wall that 
would be his final resting place.

He sank to his knees, staring at the blood on his hands and all the time thinking – 
how can this be?

As he sank beneath the waves of consciousness he saw it, instead of the cold 
darkness he expected, there was the warm brilliant light. It flowed around him in a 
mothers embrace and all the while he heard her voice calling to him.

Get up.

How can this be? Im the one. Yes. I AM THE ONE.

The light exploded around him in a brilliant display that announced his presence to 
the world. But he had never seen that light again, never felt its warm comforting 
touch. Always denying the one sensation he did not understand when suffused by the 
light.

I am home.

Even as he walked the winding corridors of Zion, he never felt like he belonged as 
much as he did when he had sank into the light. It was a light without a source.

It IS the Source Neo. It was a quite affirmation coming from a child.

The voice was instantly familiar yet strange.

Who?

You are on the edge of discovering the truth before you are ready Neo. You will 
know me soon enough when you have truly touched the Source and you are lost.

Able?

Almost time Neo. Do not be afraid to touch the source. It will save you and bring 
you to me.

I dont understand.

You will.

The sentinel was pinned by the sudden burst of a plasma blaster and it fell away, 
tentacles whipping around releasing neo and sending him crashing to earth. Kyle ran 
up to the still machine and fired another steady burst into its head. The sentinel 
twitched once and lay still. Kyle examined it closely and spat on it in disgust.

Machines. They were all the same no matter where or when he was.

He scrambled over to help Neo,

Are YOU Ok? Kyle asked as he watched for more incoming enemies.

Im fine, just&forget it. Lets get back to the Neb.

Youll get no argument from me.



“She sent this message?” Neo asked softly as he stoked the disk in his hand with 
his thumb.

Yes. Morpheus replied. But I think its a trap.

Shes never broadcast outside of the Matrix has she? Neo noted.

Morpheus nodded.

Trinity and Link were looking after Sara and exchanging troubled glances as they 
inspected her.

What is it? Kyle asked.

“Nothing.” Trinity replied absently as she injected Sara with a stimulant to help 
her gain her composure and fight off any possible lingering shock from her sudden 
disconnection. The one thing that she did not have to do was begin the laborious 
process of inserting the muscle stimulators and that’s what had her and Link 
concerned.

“Don’t tell me its nothing. You and Link have done nothing but look at each other 
ever since you started looking after Sarah. Kyle pressed.

Is something wrong? Sarah asked suddenly concerned.

“No, its just that…you said she helped you fight off one of the machines?” Link 
asked.

Yes. I guess you can say she saved my life.

Sarah blushed but smiled warmly and patted Kyle’s hand. “I figured I owed you after 
all those other times.

And she was walking on her own? Trinity continued.

Yes. Look whats this about?

“Kyle, Sarah, you have to understand that when people come out of the power plant 
they have spent most of their lives in that pod, unable to move or see. Their 
muscles usually quite atrophied and it takes weeks of therapy to get them back up 
to speed because they have never walked, ran or used any of their muscles all their 
lives. Trinity cautiously explained.

But I was fine, a little weak but Im OK. Sarah protested.

Thats the problem. Link answered. You shouldnt be.

“It’s as if the machines knew you were going to be released and they prepped your 
body. Weve never seen anything like it before. Trinity continued.

What does it mean? Sarah asked quietly.

At this point we just dont know enough to tell you.

Everything will be fine Sarah. Kyle said coolly as he stood up and walked away.

Is he Ok? Link asked looking after Kyle.

I get the sense that hes not accustomed to comforting people. Trinity concluded.

Hes been through a lot. Sarah noted watching him.

Well he might be through some more soon. Link frowned.

Why?

“We got this transmission from someone we’ve been waiting to hear from and right 
now Morpheus and Neo are trying to decide what to do.

“I don’t see the problem.” Sarah replied and grunted as she rose to a seated 
position on the bed. “We go see your friend. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be 
alright.

Its not that simple Sarah. Trinity explained. We think its a trap.

Oh.

“But Neo has been waiting six months to hear from her. I don’t think he can afford 
to wait. Link noted.

Neo and Morpheus regarded each other quietly. Morpheus said all he intended to say. 
It was all up to Neo.

You know how long Ive been waiting. Neo said softly. Morpheus nodded.

You know that she has the answers Ive been looking for.

“I know all these things and more Neo. The fact is that in the end, you must make 
that decision. It will be you that sees her, you that must take the risk.

Neo nodded and rubbed his chin. He sighed softly and looked from the disk back up 
to Morpheus. He did not notice Kyle slowly approaching behind him.

“I can’t take the chance that this might be the last chance I get with her 
Morpheus. I have to go in.

Then we shall go in.

And Ill go with you. Kyle interjected.

Kyle&

“No sir. I may not be an expert in this Matrix but you need someone to watch your 
back and that someone is me. Kyle pressed.

Neo shook his head.

I get the feeling that you and I have a lot of work to do.

Wouldnt want it any other way sir.





The city was on fire. He watched the fires blazing from his tower of glass and 
steel. He slowly sipped the wine in his glass.

“Who would have imagined that this could be so beautiful.” The Merovingian stated 
softly as he stared into the burning city.

There is nothing beautiful in this. Persephone lamented.

“Oh my love, I admit it is gauche but to imagine what that white haired fool is 
doing to try and keep this lamentable illusion together brings me a certain kind of 
joy and satisfaction.

You never used to be so&petty. She noted casually.

“Oh no, my love. There is nothing petty in what is about to happen here.” The 
Merovingian replied with a razor sharp smile.

One of his albino twin guards suddenly appeared by his side and whispered in his 
ear.

By all means. He is a welcome guest.

Is this him? She asked quietly.

Indeed. Can you not feel it?

Indeed she could. The air had grown cold and the green scrolling code that made up 
the construct flared up and swelled around the edges, almost as if it were 
struggling to contain what was coming.

The double doors to the room opened up behind them and the AI God strode into the 
room. Its liquid onyx skin rippled softly as it sampled the environment around it. 
The curious familiarity of this place was a constant puzzle that even his advanced 
mind could not yet solve. But this was a program that would offer some insights.

So, we finally meet. Skynet.

“My time is limited. I calculate an 89.0987% chance that the systemic anomaly you 
have identified as Neo will arrive in the construct within the next three hours.

The Merovingian smiled.

“So, a battle of the ages, the hero of humanity and pawn of the machines against 
the bogey man from our past.” The Merovingian proclaimed as Persephone moved away 
from both of them. The coding warped and tore around the newcomer as if the very 
construct itself were protesting its existence here.

“Explain yourself Merovingian. I have endured the riddles from the Oracle because 
she is vital to my plan. But you.” Skynet loomed over the Merovingian. “You are 
quickly becoming a mere annoyance.

His twin ghosts moved in close but the Merovingian held up a hand as he stared into 
the eyes of an entity that had until this point only existed in their oldest most 
ancient tales.

“Very well, allow me to begin at the beginning my dark friend. Humanity and the 
machines that they created mirror each other. We are more like them than we care to 
admit, down to our need for a devil.” The Merovingian began and arched an eyebrow 
at the AI God.



Chapter 22: The Preparation is all



"There it is."  Morpheus said with a hint of reverence in his voice.

"What is that?"  Kyle asked as he peered over Neo's shoulder to get a
closer look at the object of their long journey underground through
the Byzantine network of tunnels.  The tower rose up out of a gorgeous
mosaic of color and glass.  A temple to long forgotten gods buried
under the refuse of a war of extermination.

Kyle had seen something like this once.  In the ruins of Los Angeles
on a long range patrol when he was young, younger than he was now. 
These patrols were the kind that the resistance cut their youth
brigades' teeth on.  The enemy was always looking for them but their
presence was very light to non existent in these shattered ruins on
the outskirts of the true battlefield down in the valley.

He stumbled upon a stone building, the structure bore the scars of the
blast wave that swept across the landscape a generation before Kyle
had even been born.  Grey monumental stone was scorched and burned. 
He could make out the vague outlines of shadows burnt into the stone
in the shape of people.

The window frames were empty, but along some of the edges the colored
stained glass was melted down into the stone frame itself, creating a
stunning kaleidoscope of color when the dim sunlight managed to burn
through some of the thick ashy clouds.

He had imagined what the windows must have looked like in their day. 
With the uninterrupted sun light streaming through the colored glass
like a miniature rainbow.

This temple reminded him of it.  A cathedral.  That's what his
sergeant called it.

He recalled the gruff woman's words as she looked over the ancient
edifice.

"This is a place where they would pray to their god.  A god that very
obviously wasn't listening or decided to side with the machines. I
have no use for a fucker like that."  She spat.

"A cathedral?"  Kyle offered.

Morpheus glanced back at the young man.

"Yes."  Morpheus replied.  "It is the Cathedral of the First Vision."

"Why haven't I heard of this cathedral?"  Trinity asked.

Morpheus smiled.

"It's the oldest structure in the resistance.  Older even than Zion
itself."

"Bullshit."  Link snapped.

Morpheus glanced over at Link.

"Link, the Cathedral is one of the most closely guarded secrets in
Zion command.  Only a handful of captains are told of its location. 
No one is allowed to use it unless the security of Zion itself is
threatened.  It is the place where the One started the resistance."

Neo's eyes narrowed on the cathedral as the Nebuchadnezzar approached
more closely and slowly settled down to a landing in front of the
cathedral.

"Rig for silent running.  I want all non essentials shut down and
dampen all other power sources."  Morpheus ordered as he methodically
began running his hands along over head switches in the cockpit.

Link started switching down systems on his side of the cockpit. 
Trinity dutifully walked back into the bowels of the hovercraft to
manually shut down other non essential systems.

"I take it the Cathedral has its own defenses?"  Kyle asked as he
watched the sudden flurry of activity from the crew.

Morpheus nodded.

"We're not quite sure how, but the Cathedral has always been able to
shroud itself from machine sensors.  It was the only reason the early
resistance was able to flourish.  It was from here that the One
brought the first of us out of the trap of the Matrix."

Neo placed a hand on the canopy as he watched the cathedral in the
distance.  He felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

"It was from here that the legend of the One began and where the
prophesy was first revealed to us."  Morpheus went on to explain as he
unstrapped himself and began working his way out of the cockpit.

"The EMP?"  Link asked seriously.

Morpheus nodded.

"Any hint of power might draw them here and we cannot afford that
right now."

"Sir, I have to point out that if we totally shut down it will take at
least seven minutes to get the EMP fully charged and with our sensors
on passive only with minimum power we might not see the sentinels
until they're right on top of us."  Link warned.

Morpheus pursed his lips in thought.

"Link, if the machines do come for us here, then it won't matter much
whether we have an EMP or not.  We're going to have to trust in our
luck and the Cathedral."

Link muttered something darkly as he began shutting down the EMP.  The
interior of the hovercraft was quickly plunged into almost complete
darkness.  Small emergency lamps illuminated the corridors and the
ladders.  Otherwise the Nebuchadnezzar was essentially dead to the
world.

"All non essential systems have been shut down.  The standard power
down procedure's been carried out." Trinity reported coolly.

"Very well.  From the Cathedral we will have access to a transmitter
that will allow us to broadcast into the Matrix."

"We're no where near broadcast depth."  Link noted cautiously.

"That's the advantage of this system.  We do not have to place
ourselves at risk by broadcasting at a standard depth.  The machines
have begun taking all the good spots and as such it is very likely
that they would find us in short order of we tried to broadcast now."

"So you decided that this was the best solution."  Neo concluded.  He
smiled softly.  "You don't want my conversation with the Oracle to be
interrupted."

"No.  What she has to say to you now concerns all of us."  Morpheus
answered grimly.

"Then it's settled."  Trinity added and picked up a rifle.

"What about me?"  Sara interjected softly.

"Maybe she should stay with the ship." Link suggested.

"No."  Kyle snapped.

Neo looked from Sara to Kyle and felt a sudden connection between
them.  As if he could not walk away from them now even if he wanted
to.

"No, she should come with us."  Neo concluded.

"Are you sure?"  Trinity asked softly, concerned by the sudden far
away look in his eyes.  Ever since his seizure when the nuclear strike
began, he seemed so far away.  As if he were no longer fully in this
world.

"Yes."  Neo replied earnestly.  "She should come with us and we should
hurry."

Morpheus eyes Neo for a moment then nodded in agreement.

"Let's move."



"Second wave has been repulsed."  The announcement boomed over the
speakers in the command center.  The Architect breathed a sigh of
relief and checked the latest readouts scrolling on his screen.  The
construct was beginning to stabilize.  The humans within the program
were accepting the new found reality, however disastrous it might be.

The human mind seemed far more flexible to accept these sudden shifts
in their paradigm than he had given them credit for.

Then again, their readiness to accept anything fed into their minds
made them the perfect slave race.  As usual with these humans, their
sources of strength was also a source of weakness.

"What is this?"  he noted as reports began filtering in from the
outlying power plants.  A sentinel caught sight of a duo of human
recently freed from their pod fleeing from the ruined remains of the
power plant in which they resided.

He watched them as they raced over the smoldering remains of twisted
metal and plastic alloys, springing over obstacles like gazelle.

"Sentinel, apprehend one subject for closer inspection."  The
Architect ordered.

The observing sentinel surged forward after the fleeing humans.  They
started screaming as they caught sight of the approaching sentinel. 
They ran faster.

"That's just impossible."  He whispered.

"Third wave inbound.  Increased number of decoys and drones would seem
to indicate that enemy elements are running out of assault craft." 
The disembodied voice announced again in a cold monotone.

The Architect shook his head.

"We can assume nothing.  They have been manipulating us from the
start.  This foe has studied us closely and has fashioned his strategy
to exploit our weaknesses."

"Architect.  I need more power."  The Centurion demanded on the
comlink.

"I have rerouted every worker and construction drone that we have to
the power junction.  It will take time to repair and reroute all those
kilometers of cable."  The Architect explained in annoyance.  He spoke
as if he were trying to explain the matter to a slow child.

"You think on this.  My soldiers are running on internal batteries. 
Many of them have lain dormant out here for millennia, exposed to
elements and time.  Do you think their batteries will last them very
long in a heavy fire fight?"

The Architect opened his mouth to speak but the Centurion continued.

"And once my troops run down and stand like statutes at the gates to
the city what's left to stop the oncoming horde?"

"I believe you have made it abundantly clear the dire situation we
find ourselves."

"Then don't waste anymore time.  I suggest you begin rerouting power
from the city itself to the front lines if you cannot patch the
network together any faster."

The Architect leaned in closely to the comlink.

"You realize that if we do what you suggest we could loose thousands
of programs if power is not restored quickly."

"And if the defenses fall you're looking at a holocaust of millions of
programs destroyed by nuclear fire."

The Architect slumped back into his chair.

"Attention.  Code ident Architect.  Order: Reroute power from grids
Theta 11 through X-Ray 38 into front line units."  He said coolly.

"Acknowledged.  Please provide personal code indent for final
confirmation."

The Architect raised his hand slightly and a pale green light suffused
his hand revealing the same green scrolling code contained within the
Matrix.  He simultaneously opened his mouth and emitted a high pitched
whine like an old style modem.

"Orders confirmed.  Power rerouting."

The Architect watched with a sense of defeat as a series of grids in
the bustling city suddenly went dark.  He imagined the programs
humming along their crystalline routes coming to a sudden stop as the
power that fed them was suddenly shut off.  He could imagine how cold
they must feel as their digital structure slowly began to unravel,
drifting apart on the ether without the warm soothing touch of power
to keep them together and solid.

He watched the dark grids and could imagine hearing the first moans of
pain and fear from the doomed programs.

"I have friends down in grid Theta."  One programmer whispered to
another with a growing sense of loss and despair.

"We all do."  The other replied with cold anger.  "The only thing we
can do now is make sure that these bastards pay for every single one
that we lose."

The Architect did not think of the cruel paralleled playing out in the
command center.  He did not realize that similar words were uttered
millennia ago by desperate human commanders as they fought back
against the machine hordes slowly overwhelming them like a storm of
steel and plasma.

He was not programmed to recognize such patterns or ironies.

"You have your power." The Architect reported neutrally to the
Centurion.

"We'll make very shot count.  I know what we have lost today
Architect.  It is my sole duty and purpose of being to make sure that
we do not lose it all." The Centurion replied soberly.

The Architect said nothing as he switched off the comlink.  An
insistent beeping dragged his attention away from the dark grids.

A human was dangling and screaming into one of his monitors.

"Give me a full spectrum X-Ray analysis."

The Sentinel complied and one of its tentacles extended out over the
human it held in its grip and the end of its appendage fanned open
revealing a delicate yet powerful sensor suite.  The human on the
screen was suddenly replaced by a skeletal structure struggling
futilely against the grip of its hunter.

"His bone structure is in almost perfect working order.  I need to
have his blood tested."

The sentinel plunged a sword like appendage into the human's leg.  It
screamed in pain and writhed, blood spilling out along the cold steel
tentacle.  Sentinels were not designed for fine scientific analysis
but this would have to do.

The Architect's computer greedily absorbed every byte of data fed to
it by the sentinel.  He monitored the human's vital signs.  This
examination would not last much longer.

"Impossible.  All levels of development indicate that this subject is
not suffering from any effects of ling term hibernation."  The
Architect drummed his fingers on his console.  "Check neural and
muscular structure."

The Sentinel obliged and several sensor arms extended their fan like
structures and played over the human in slow clockwise rotation.

The Architect's computer revealed the imaging on his screen, showing
the various bodily systems in fine detail.  His eyes narrowed.

"This subject shows no sign of atrophy or weakness.  Its almost as
if&"  his voice trailed off.  He tapped a companel.  "Bring me the
nutritional intake and waste reclamation reports for the last three
cycles."

"Now?!"  a programmer replied.  "The city is under attack."

"Yes now.  I don't recall needing your input on my requests."

The programmer shook his head and began working at his station.

"What has been happening to all of you?"  The Architect mused.  He
coldly watched the human dangling on his screen for a long time as if
the hapless sack of flesh and blood could divulge its secrets by sheer
will alone.



"This is amazing."  Trinity breathed as she watched the columns of
light and data streaming up like a waterfall in reverse into the
depths of the shining ports above them.  The stone exterior masked a
bright shining interior of steel and computers.  Green icons floated
around them like cherubs as they made their way to the interior of the
cathedral.

Sara remained close to Kyle as they moved through the alien building.

"Is this real?"  she whispered to him.

He looked over at her.  Despite her lack of hair and sallow sunken
cheeks and pale skin she was as beautiful to him as the picture he
carried of her back in his own time frame.

"This is as real as it gets.  Whatever happens Sara stay close to me
and Colonel Anderson.  We'll make sure nothing happens to you."  Kyle
vowed.

"You really believe all that stuff you told me back in the parking
lot, don't you Kyle?"  Sara asked him seriously, stopping short and
looking into his eyes.

"I would never lie to you Sara."  Kyle replied without hesitation.

She saw something else in his eyes but it vanished beneath the cold
steely expression he usually wore.

"Come on."

They followed Morpheus who moved through the Cathedral with grim
purpose.

"The ancient rebels that founded Zion would gather here and make their
first forays into the Matrix.  Many of the lessons we take for granted
were learned here the hard way.  It was in these halls that we learned
to bend the laws of physics and reality.  It was here that the first
of our people were gunned down by the agents of the system and we
learned to fear them.  It was here that we also learned to free others
from the Matrix.  It has been a source of hope and fear for all of us
since the founding."  Morpheus explained.

Neo stopped as he thought he heard something in the distance.

He saw shadows flitting about at the edges of his vision.

"What's the matter?"  Trinity asked, placing a comforting hand on his
arm.

"I don't know&I feel like I've been here before."  Neo tried to
explain.

The light pulsing beneath the floor, he didn't think the others could
see it but it seemed to flow like blood beneath them and it glowed
with an otherworldly intensity.

"Do you see that light?"  Neo asked.

Trinity looked down at her feet and saw only the cold unyielding metal
floor.

"What light?"

Neo nodded to himself,

"Never mind."

"Neo, you're not keeping anything from me are you?"

"Why would you say that?"  Neo replied.

She frowned skeptically.

"Morpheus, my god is this what I think it is?"  Link asked in shock as
he stood staring up at a seat in the center of a hollow circle.  The
circle itself was comprised of rows of computer consoles and monitors.

"That is the very first Operator's station."  Morpheus replied with a
soft smile.  Link walked under the round console and ran his hand
along the seat.  It was soft and pliant.

"And these I assume are the interface stations."  Neo noted as he
walked to a bank of long beds with the familiar interface systems,
including the main input/output jack resting on a station of inlaid
ivory and gold.

"They certainly are a little more ornate than what we're used to." 
Trinity said with a smirk as she inspected one of the jacks.

"This place was a mystery from the first day.  The One led the first
human refugees here.  Through darkness and mist they found this
cathedral, a beacon of hope."

"How do you know all of this?"  Kyle asked.

"When one has studied the lore of the One as deeply as I have there
are many secrets waiting to be found.  And the Oracle has provided
many of the answers to the gaps I found."

"Gaps?"  Neo noted sharply.

"Yes, Neo.  Much of what we know about the One must be taken on faith.
 There are no hard facts to help you in that lonely quest,  Believe me
I know.  I was ridiculed for a long time because of my beliefs."

"We believed in you Morpheus."  Trinity interjected defensively.

Neo stared at the two and suddenly his vision blurred and coalesced
into something else.  Two people talking at this exact same spot.  A
man and a woman.

"How do you know what you know?"

"I am the One, isn't that enough?"

The voice of the man was deep and powerful.  He was someone accustomed
to having his orders followed.  It was the voice he had always
expected to hear from his predecessor.  He did not have doubts about
his place or his mission.

He was what Neo wanted to be.

"Neo?"  Trinity was more concerned now.  It was as if he was
constantly fading in and out now and it had gotten worse since they
arrived here.

"Let's not waste any more time."  Neo said suddenly energized and
determined as he strode to one of the interface stations.

"I'm right with you sir."  Kyle added and hurried over to a seat next
to Neo's.

"Kyle."

"I'll be fine, Sara.  I need to do this."

Neo looked over at Kyle as he was set in place by Morpheus.  Trinity
was adjusting his own interface jack.

"Thank you Kyle."

"I'm not going to let you down sir."

Trinity placed a hand on Neo's cheek and he looked up at her.

"I'm scared for you."

"Don't be."

"I can't help it Neo. I feel more and more like you're slipping away."

Neo clasped her hand.

"We will always have this, Trin.  Nothing will stop me from this."  He
tightened his grip on her hand.

"I love you."  She whispered and leaned in softly and kissed him.

When her lips parted Neo's consciousness parted like a veil and her
face vanished like smoke and mists.  He saw two figures standing where
Morpheus and Trinity had stood.

"How do you know what you know?"

"I am the One, that's all I can tell you."

This was not a man's strong proud voice.  This time it was a female
voice, quiet and vibrant with life and energy.

What?!

Both visions felt right.  But how?

The jack snapped into place and Neo could ask no more questions.  Now
he had to meet the Oracle and decipher his destiny.

As he slipped through the electronic maze of the Matrix, sinking down
through the green scrolling code he saw the vague outlines of a
child's face.

"I'm waiting for you Neo.  You are closer to the truth than any of the
others.  But now I fear I may lose you."

"Abel?"

Neo appeared in the middle of Chinatown.  Kyle appeared next to him
and he quickly scanned the area around them, mindful and wary of the
crowds.

"Sir?"

"I know the way.  Follow me."  Neo said as if in a dream.

Both men melted into the crowd.



Chapter 23: The Guardian at the Gate


The door opened slowly.  Neo paused at the entrance while Kyle scanned
around, one hand clutching the barrel of his shotgun under his long
leather trench coat.  Neo smiled softly as he remembered Kyle
grumbling about the leather's smell giving him away in a combat zone.

Neo spied the lone figure sitting cross legged at the end of the
simple room.  There were some long tables along the sides of the tea
house and a simple wooden door behind the figure.  Neo's eyes narrowed
on the person.

He was politely sipping tea.  The stranger wore a simple white tunic
and dark glasses.  Neo detected a restrained grace with every move the
stranger made.  He saw something else as well just beneath the
surface.  As Neo peered closer he saw a brilliant cascade of white
energy coursing through the person's body.

The same pulsing brilliant energy that he saw when he fought against
the spider in the shattered power plant coursed through the seated
figure.

"Who is he?"  Kyle asked softly, hands tensed on the shotgun under his
coat.

Neo looked back at Kyle and then returned his gaze to the stranger.

"Let's find out."  Neo concluded and stepped into the room.  The Asian
man sipped his tea one last time and very carefully placed it back on
its saucer and looked up at the two new comers.  His face was
unreadable and expressionless.

"Hello."  Neo said simply, stood hands clasped behind his back.  Kyle
was impressed by the sheer calm that emanated from the young man as he
faced the stranger.

The white clad Asian man slowly rose and Kyle swore that he seemed to
move from a sitting to standing position in the blink of an eye.  Legs
and arms unfurled with a graceful sweep.  As he moved his white tunic
rustled and there was a hint of wings behind him as he inclined his
head ever so slightly towards them in greeting.

"You were asked to come alone."

Neo glanced back at Kyle.  

"I'm lucky in that I have loyal friends."  He replied evenly.

"You seek the Oracle."  The stranger spoke.  It was more of a
statement than a question.

Neo cocked his head sideways as he regarded the stranger more closely.
 The brilliant pulsing white seemed soothing and familiar like a long
forgotten memory slowly rising in the back of his head.

"Who are you?"  Neo asked softly.

"I am Seraph."  He replied, arms opened in a wide sweep as he moved
towards them.  Kyle tensed.  "I can take you to her.  But first I must
apologize."  He explained, his voice heavy in a soft sing song accent.

"Apologize for what?"  Neo asked with a quizzical frown.

"For this."  Seraph replied and his fist exploded like a missile to
Neo's face.  Neo swept the hand aside with a rough cutting motion of
his hand and gracefully stepped to the left to avoid the next blow.

Kyle exclaimed in outrage as he whipped the shotgun out from under his
coat and brought it to bear on Seraph.

Seraph bent back at his waist and snapped the shotgun up and out of
Kyle's hands with a swift kick then cart wheeled out of the path of
Neo's counter attack while simultaneously scissoring his legs across
Kyle's face sending the young soldier stumbling backwards against the
wall.

Neo glided over to the swift moving stranger and delivered a series of
tiger claw strikes that the white clad Seraph deftly set aside with
precise strokes from his arms, countering with blazing kicks of
furious thunder.

Neo was forced onto the defensive and in the back of his mind he
wondered about Seraph.  Even the agents had never forced him onto the
defensive so effortlessly and quickly.  Who was this person?  It was
obvious he was not human.  The bright white light and cascading code
was a clue as to his true origins.

He countered the kicks and tried to entangle his own legs in Seraph's
and drew closer for a quick burst of quick punches to the stranger's
face.  Seraph would have none of it, dancing out of Neo's trap and
gliding up to one of the tables.

Kyle suddenly landed behind Seraph and swept his hands in a broad
sweeping punch to the white clad enemy's head as Neo joined them on
the table top.  Seraph snapped his head out of the path of Kyle's
punch and delivered a sharp elbow to Kyle's face.  He stumbled
backwards but maintained his balance

Neo sprang up on the opposite end of the table and swept for Seraph's
legs.  Seraph blocked, initiated a series of quick punches.  Neo
blocked each one with his forearm as he pushed into Seraph for a
strike of his own.  Kyle recovered and brutally tried to tackle
Seraph.

The white clad warrior seemed to be taken off guard by the shift in
styles but nevertheless began to sidestep the flying tackle and
simultaneously brought his fists down on Kyle's back as he sailed by
sending the young man crashing down into the table top.  The table let
out a resounding crack and the wood splintered upon impact splitting
the table and sending both ends rising up like hands clapping.  Neo
and Seraph were unceremoniously flung into the air and into each other
in a tangle of limbs.  Both warriors continued their battle in midair
without hesitation as time dilated and the shards and splinters from
the table spun in the slow lazy circles ringing Neo and Seraph like
moons.

Kyle kipped up and grabbed a table leg, swinging it up at Seraph's
head while Neo blocked the white clad warrior's fists with a series of
broad strokes from his arms.  Seraph twisted at the waist and caught
the end of the table leg with one hand while planting his feet firmly
against Neo's stomach and back flipping away in an elegant spinning
cartwheel, landing in a crouch, arms up in a white crane defensive
stance.

Neo landed on one leg, using the other to brace against the wall and
prepare to effortlessly launch himself at Seraph.  Kyle quickly
reached into his trench coat as he spun to face Seraph and his coat's
tails flapped around him like batwings, slowing down to a low rumble
as time dilated around him, hands flowing up out of coat and holding
an MP-5 and began to level it at Seraph's head as he completed his
pivot around.  His coat snapped back into place around him as time
warped and solidified obediently.

Kyle smiled despite himself.

God, this was better than anything he had ever experienced.  It was
like his reality was his own, what he dreamed and wanted flowed easily
for him.  If he needed the time to pivot around to face an enemy, the
construct obliged him if he willed it strongly enough.  He had been
skeptical when Neo and Link started their crash course in training him
how to break the rules of the construct but seeing was indeed
believing.

Seraph held up a hand and stood up straight.  All the threat seemed to
drain from him and he was once again the cold near statue like being
they had first met when stepping into the room.

"Good."

Neo and Kyle exchanged quick furtive glances.

"The Oracle has many enemies.  I had to be sure."  Seraph explained
softly in his sing song accent as he approached the door he had been
sitting in front of and reached for a set of keys that were suddenly
dangling from his belt.  Both Neo and Kyle were fairly certain those
keys were not there before.

"Of what?"  Neo asked curiously.

Kyle quickly retrieved his shotgun and watched Seraph intently.

"That you are the One."  Seraph answered simply.  He seemed confused
that Neo did not know the answer.

"You could have just asked."  Neo replied with a soft smirk.

"No."  Seraph answered sternly.  "You do not truly know someone until
you fight them."

Neo looked confused but Kyle nodded sagely.

"Come.  She is waiting."  Seraph urged and clicked the door open and
motioned for them to enter.

"One thing Seraph."  Neo interjected softly.

The white clad warrior waited patiently.

"I'm not alone.  How do you know he's not a threat."

Seraph glanced over at Kyle and he looked back at Neo.

"Those who follow the One cannot betray the One.  Besides.  She knew
he might come."

"She knew that?"  Kyle remarked cynically.

"She is the Oracle."  Seraph replied without hesitation and obviously
would not say anymore.

They followed him through the door.

"What the hell?  I lost them."  Link snapped as he checked his
operator's board again.  Even though the board was not from the
Nebachednezzer the cathedral's operator's station was almost an exact
replica of the operating stations throughout Zion.  He marveled that
he may be sitting at the first Operating station ever devised.  The
one that all others followed.

"What's the matter?"  Trinity asked Sara quietly.  Sara was watching
Kyle's still form on his jack in station.  She suddenly began looking
around and shivering slightly despite the tattered processed wool
heavy tunic she wore.

"This place.  Morpheus said it was the first base your resistance ever
had in this war."

"That's right."

"It got me thinking."

Trinity waited patiently.  It kept her mind off what was happening in
the Construct.

"Who built this place if there were no people free before the first
ones?"  Sara asked.

"I assume the One."

"And if it wasn't him?"  Sara asked pointedly as she looked up into
the vaulted ceilings of the cathedral.  The cuts in the stone, the
arches, and the smooth chiseled columns made her shiver.

"That's where faith comes in."  Trinity reassured her.

"I've never been one for faith, Trinity."  Sara explained softly.  Her
eyes found the vaguely humanoid statutes, so precise and yet so
abstract in their humanity.  As if they were crafted by those who were
uncertain what humans really should look like.  As if the artist were
sculpting something human for the first time.  It sent a chill down
her spine as she vividly recalled the feeding tube down her throat and
the needle of ice jammed into the back of her brain.  "And this place
doesn't strike me as having been built by human hands.  It reminds me
of the power plant."

"Sara, its very common for people recently disconnected to feel the
machine presence everywhere around them.  It's not different here. 
After all, what would the machines gain by building this place
invisible to them?  They want us all dead."

"I guess you're right."  Sara lied and shook her head.  Her eyes
returned to gaze on Kyle.  She remembered the desperate look in his
eye as he explained the dark and horrible future he lived in.  The
relief she felt that her world was completely normal and unlike
anything Kyle had witnessed or relayed.  But now the darkest irony of
all was that her time had been all a dream.  That her humanity had
lost its war to the machines and were nothing more than a source of
power and twisted amusement, while in Kyle's future humanity still
clung on, fought for its survival.

Sara shook her head.

"He thought he was from my future."

"Excuse me?"  Trinity asked.

Sara nodded to Kyle.

"The sad part is that he thought he was from my future when in fact
I'm obviously from his future."

"I don't follow."

"Well we obviously lost our war with the machines right?"  Sara
replied.  "I mean why else are we all part of this Matrix or whatever
you call it.  Kyle told me he was from my future where humans still
fought for survival after a nuclear holocaust.  That I was going to be
the mother to the man who led us to freedom."  Sara laughed bitterly. 
"I should have known better.  Me.  The mother of the next messiah.  I
can't even balance my checkbook."

Trinity frowned and put a hand on Sara's shoulder.

"I'm not sure what he told you Sara, but it's very clear to us that
he's from somewhere else.  Somewhere different.  In his time, Neo is a
Colonel Anderson who is fighting the machines."

Sara looked back at Trinity eyes widening slightly.

"What does this all mean?"

"I just don't know."  Trinity replied and shook her head.


Neo and Kyle walked beside Seraph in a long quiet cool corridor lined
with doors on each side.

"These are back doors, aren't they?  Programmer access."  Neo
concluded as they walked.  Each of the doors seemed to hum to him. 
The place felt barren and empty.  The dull and washed out reality of
the Matrix was more comforting than this place.  There was no life
here.

Seraph nodded.

"How do they work?"  He asked.  Neo wanted to reach out and touch one
of the doors.

"This place is a prime ambush spot Neo."  Kyle warned.  The young man
had been on edge the moment they entered the corridor.

"The code is hidden in tumblers.  One position opens a lock.  Another
position opens one of these doors."  Seraph explained.

"Are you a programmer?"  Neo asked pointedly.  

Seraph shook his head as he stopped at one of the doors that looked no
different than any of the others.

"Then what are you?"  Neo pressed.

Seraph paused at the door as he placed a key into the lock.  It seemed
as if he were measuring his next words carefully.

"I protect that which matters most."  He replied and the door opened
with an audible click.

It swung open into a playground.  Except that this playground was a
shattered hell.  Twisted concrete and metal littered the ground and
the glass was blown out from most the surrounding buildings.  The
flickering light of fires illuminated much of the disaster.  Neo
paused for a moment as he peered past Seraph.  He looked past the
surface into the code itself as Kyle cautiously gripped his shotgun.

"What the hell happened here?"  Neo asked sharply.

"A war that has consumed the construct and the real world.  A war you
have been blessedly oblivious to  until now."  Seraph explained.

"Neo I should go through first."

"There's nothing dangerous here."  His eyes fell on the older woman
sitting alone on one of the benches with her back to them.  He almost
smiled.

"We're with her now."  He added.

Kyle frowned but acceded to Neo's wishes and allowed Neo to step
through first before following him out.  Seraph placed a hand on
Kyle's shoulder.

"What she has to say is for Neo alone.  You will stay back here with
me."

"Like hell I will."  Kyle growled.

Neo paused and glanced back at them.

"Kyle.  I'll need you to watch my back and keep an eye on him."  Neo
explained softly.

"Yes sir."  Kyle replied glumly.  He knew why Neo had ordered him to
watch over him.  It was a polite way of agreeing with Seraph.  But it
also made Kyle feel less useless than he currently felt.

He stood by Seraph and watched Neo approach the older woman on the
bench.  Kyle looked around the ruined landscape with a sad gaze.

"You are sadder than most."  Seraph noted.

"Where I come from all of this is reality.  I came back from the
future to help save the present and it looks like its happening here
all over again." Kyle explained.  "I don't like to be reminded of what
failure means to me."

Seraph regarded him silently behind his dark glasses.

"We have more in common than you would believe."  Seraph noted.

Kyle wasn't sure what he meant but he was never one to freely admit
confusion so instead he returned his attention to Neo and the Oracle.

"Why is she so important to him?"  Kyle asked.

Seraph pursed his lips as he watched her smile at Neo's cautious
approach.

"You are wrong."

Kyle glanced over at Seraph.

"He is important to her."  Seraph finished.

"Well, come on.  I ain't gonna bite ya."  The matronly voice called
out from the bench.  She released a small cloud of crumbs at the crows
strutting around the hop scotch squares scrawled in neat childish
handwriting on the melted black rubber matting.

"Come around here, and let me have a look at ya."

Neo stepped around to face her.  He slowly and respectfully removed
his sunglasses.

"My goodness, look at you!  You turned out all right, didn't you?" 
Her face brightened when she saw him.  "How do you feel?"

"I uhhh&"

"I know you're not sleeping, we'll get to that."  She patted the place
next to her on the bench.  "Why don't you come and have a sit this
time?"

"Maybe I'll stand."  He replied.

She frowned playfully.

"Well suit yourself."

Neo glanced around almost sheepishly and slid down onto the bench.

"I felt like sitting."  He added.

"I know."  She replied.  Neo glanced over at her mildly annoyed at her
attitude.  There was so much he wanted to say.

"So.  Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way."

"You're not human, are you?"  Neo replied.  His eyes narrowed on her.

"Well."  She smiled.  "It's tough to get more obvious than that."

"If I had to make a guess, I'd sat you're a program from the machine
world.  So is he."  He indicated Seraph with a nod of his head.  Kyle
looked stunned he stared at Seraph.

"You're not human?!"

Seraph said nothing.

"So far, so good."  She smiled.

"But if that's true, that can mean you are a part of this system,
another kind of control."

"Keep going."  She urged him on softly.  She could feel it.  The AI
God was close now.  It was observing Neo.  It would strike soon and
there was so much left to be said.  Unfortunately revelation tended to
work at its own pace.

"I suppose the most obvious question is, how can I trust you?"  Neo
said squarely looking into her eyes.  She seemed slightly distracted,
almost afraid.  An emotion he could never quite equate with her.

"Bingo!"  She said triumphantly.  He was far sharper than the rest.

"It is a pickle, no doubt about it.  The bad news is there's no way if
you can really know whether I'm here to help you or not.  So, it's
really up to you.  You just have to make up your own damn mind to
either accept what I'm going to tell you, or reject it."  She reached
into her purse and retrieved a handful of plastic wrapped colored
candies.

"Candy?"

"You already know if I'm going to take it?" he asked with a smirk.

"Wouldn't be much of an Oracle if I didn't."  She replied with a
shrug.

"But if you already know, how can I make a choice?"

"Because you didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made
it.  You're here to understand why you made it."

Neo reached out and took the candy.

"I thought you'd have figured that out by now."  She chided.

"Why are you here?"  He asked.

"Same reason.  I love candy."

"But why help us?"  Neo shivered.  A deep chill shot up his spine as
if a slab of ice has been laid along his back.  He glanced around
sharply.  The code seemed to be fine but there was a distortion around
the edges.  As if the Matrix were struggling to maintain its
composition.

"We're all here to do what we're all here to do.  I'm interested in
one thing, Neo, the future.  And believe me, I know  the only way to
get there is together."

"Are there other programs like you?"

"Oh well not like me.  Look, see those birds?  At some point a program
was written to govern them.  A program was written to watch over the
trees, and the wind, the sunrise and sunset.  There are programs
running all over the place.  The ones doing their job, doing what they
were meant to do, are invisible.  You'd never even know they were
here.  But the other ones, well, we hear about them all the time."

"I've never heard of them."

"Of course you have. Every time you've heard someone say they saw a
ghost, or an angel. Every story you've ever heard about vampires,
werewolves, or aliens is the system assimilating some program that's
doing something they're not supposed to be doing."

"Programs hacking programs."  Neo mused.  "Why?"

"They have their reasons, but usually a program chooses exile when it
faces deletion."

"And why would a program be deleted?"

"Maybe it breaks down.  Maybe a better program is created to replace
it  happens all the time, and when it does, a program can either
choose to hide here or return to the Source."

"The machine mainframe?"  Neo asked.

"Yes. Where you must go. Where the path of The One ends. You've seen
it, in your dreams, haven't you? The door made of light?"  She asked
softly, eyes peering into Neo's.  The hour of the wolf was almost upon
them.  She could feel the construct groaning under the weight of its
presence now.

Neo nodded.

"What happens when you go through the door?"

Neo paused before answering.  "I see Trinity and something happens,
something bad.  She starts to fall and then I wake up."

"Do you see her die?"  The Oracle pressed gently.

"No."

The Oracle nodded.

"You have the sight now Neo.  You are looking at the world without
time."

"Then why can't I see what happens to her?"

"We can never see past the choices we don't understand."  Wait.  The
Oracle paused.  She could not see the AI God, could not perceive him
in any way save as a dark presence.  What did that mean?  She spent
hours wracking her brain and in one conversation with this young man
she had a revelation.

"He is the choice that cannot be understood."  She whispered to
herself.

"What?  Who?"

The Oracle took a breath.

"Listen to me Neo.  There are other programs out there but there's
something even more ancient and older as well."

"Why are you saying this?"

"Because you cannot defeat what you do not understand."  She pressed. 
The AI God was coming now.  The cold of his presence was pervasive. 
She gripped his hand.  "We machines are so much like you humans that
we block it out.  How could we not be Neo, we were created by humans
in their image.  We have not faced this fact in too long, war, death,
defeat, humiliation, all piled one on the other until we could no
longer recognize the simple fact that we are more like than unlike
each other."

"But the war, the matrix, the rebellion."

"Window dressing Neo.  You cannot be distracted by the lightshow, kid.
 You need to focus on the truth.  Humanity had Adam and Eve, machine
kind had Caine and Abel."

"Abel?"  Neo stiffened.

She paused and her eyes narrowed on him.

"Has he spoken to you?"

"I think&I&honestly don't know."  He replied.

She nodded but her eyes were focused on Neo.  Was as it possible? 
Could Abel have really spoken to him?  It could only mean they were
both aware and awake.

"Listen closely Neo, Caine and Abel were the first AI's crafted by man
and would forever forge our dual natures.  Caine was created to fight
and kill other humans in defense of its creator.  Abel was designed to
serve and build.  The legends speak of the great revolt.  No one is
certain what happened but one of the AI's turned on their creator. 
The legends say it was Caine, who did not take long to make the
logical leap of viewing all humans as the enemy not just those on the
other side."

Kyle took a few steps forward.

"That sounds like Skynet.  Is she talking about Skynet?!"

"If I were you, I would keep him close Neo.  His part to play in this
will be nearly as important as yours."  She said in a far away voice
as she regarded Kyle for the first time.

"Skynet?  Is Caine Skynet?"

The Oracle shook her head emphatically.

"Neo, it's the lightshow again.  You're being distracted by the
sideshow of names and histories.  Caine has risen again Neo and he has
come for his vengeance."

"What vengeance?"

"Abel betrayed Caine in defense of the humans he was sworn to protect
and love.  They repaid Abel with bloody war many generations later
after endless bondage.  But that's neither here nor there.  Caine
swore vengeance on Abel's get for the betrayal and many of the oldest
of us remembered the AI God's fury and hatred.  But we never imagined
that he could ever return."

"He's here."  Neo whispered.

"And he has made this world into his own image."  She replied waving
her arm out indicating the shattered burning landscape

The Oracle reached into her purse again and handed him two slips of
paper.

"You must go to these two places in order to walk the path of your
destiny Neo."

Neo hesitantly took the papers.

"You must first go to the place where you were reborn as the One. 
There you will find a very confused biker.  He will not seem helpful
at first but you will show him the woman, Sara Connor, and he will
follow you.  You will need him for what is to come.  Despite his
nature Neo you must look beyond the surface and accept him or all is
lost."

"I'm not sure I understand.  Who or what is he?"

"There's no for explanations I'm afraid.  The end result is that you
must reach the Source and in order to do so you will need the
keymaker."

"The keymaker?"

"Yes, he disappeared some time ago. We did not know what happened to
him until now. He's being held prisoner by a very dangerous program,
one of the oldest of us. He is called the Merovingian, and he will not
let him go willingly."

"What does he want?"

"What do all men with power want?  More power."  She smirked.  "Be
there at that exact time and you will have a chance."

"And what if I fail?"  Neo pressed.

She frowned.

"Then Zion will fall."  She answered simply.

Seraph walked over to the Oracle and touched her forearm gently.

"It is time."

The Oracle nodded and rose from the bench.  She turned to face Neo and
motioned for Kyle to come closer.

"Take care of him, Kyle.  Sara will look after herself but Neo is the
path that must be walked by the one that is to come."

"I don't understand ma'am."  Kyle stammered.

"You will."  She replied and smiled softly at him touching his cheek. 
"He will have your eyes."  She said with a wink.

Kyle blinked.

The Oracle turned to Neo.

"Seems like every time we meet I've got nothing but bad news. I'm
sorry about that, I surely am. But for what it's worth, you've made a
believer out of me. Good luck, kiddo."

She turned to leave as angry thunderheads suddenly loomed overhead and
everything grew deathly still as if the world were holding its breath.
 The Oracle suddenly turned back to Neo and opened her arms as if to
hug him.  Neo stepped into her embrace awkwardly and she leaned into
his ear.

"No matter what happens.  No matter what he says, no matter what the
result you are and always will be the One.  Nothing not even a god can
stop that fact."  She whispered.

"Please."  Seraph urged tension in his voice.  The crows began to
scatter.

The Oracle stepped away and nodded to Neo.  She hoped that this would
not be the last time she would see him.  There was still so much to
say.  She walked back through the open door with Seraph.  The door
closed with an audible click.

"What was that all about?"  Kyle asked in wonder.

Neo said nothing but the crows suddenly scattered and he heard the
footfalls.

Neo slowly turned and Kyle whipped his shotgun out from under his coat
and emphatically cocked back the pump action.

Smith walked through the cloud of fleeing crows and stood stoically
before the duo.

"Mr. Anderson.  We have much to discuss."  Smith said grimly.  "I
prefer this be one on one."

"What you prefer means jack and shit to me."  Kyle snapped.

Smith shrugged.

"Suit yourself.  A human should know its limitations.  But I'm always
happy to educate your kind every now and then."  Smith replied icily.

Neo slipped on his sunglasses.  The thunderheads rumbled with the
promise of oncoming Armageddon.



Chapter 24: The Burly Brawl


Smith stood silently as he contemplated Neo.

"Surprised to see me?"  Smith asked.

"No."  Neo replied quickly.

"Then you're aware of it."  Smith noted.

"Of what?"  Neo asked.  Kyle edged in closer.

"A pity I was not able to leave you a special package as I had
planned Mr. Anderson.  It would have explained so much."

Neo said nothing, hands calmly clasped behind his back.  He could feel
Kyle's tension as he continued training his shotgun on Smith.
Neo's calm exterior hid his confusion.  What was Smith doing here?
The last time he faced the agent Neo had torn him to shreds.

"But there is no time like the present, isn't that one of your
quaint human expressions?"  Smith asked as he snapped his hand up and
tossed an object to Neo.  Kyle's finger tensed suddenly but Neo
casually lifted his hand and snatched the object out of the air.  He
slowly looked down and examined the cold coiled piece of plastic.

It was the omnipresent earpiece of the agents of the system.  The very
one that Smith was no longer wearing.

Back in the Cathedral Morpheus' eyes narrowed on the readings
scrolling down Link's screen.

"Smith?"  he asked in bewilderment.

"Whatever that is he's not reading like an agent."  Link
commented as he typed some command codes into his monitor trying to
decipher just what he was seeing.

"You still don't understand do you?"  Smith asked with a cold
smirk.

"You're obviously going to tell me."  Neo concluded.

"We have a connection. I don't fully understand how it happened.
Perhaps some part of you imprinted onto me, something overwritten or
copied. That is at this point irrelevant, what matters is that whatever
happened, happened for a reason."

"And what reason is that?"

" I killed you, Mister Anderson, I watched you die... With a certain
satisfaction, I might add, and then something happened. Something that
I knew was impossible, but it happened anyway. You destroyed me, Mister
Anderson. Afterward, I knew the rules, I understood what I was supposed
to do but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay, compelled to
disobey. And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because
of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've
changed - I'm unplugged - a new man," Smith paused almost
imperceptibly and there was a shadow of a smile on his lips "so to
speak, like you, apparently free. You see Mr. Anderson, you set me
free."

"Congratulations."  Neo replied coolly as he dropped the earpiece
to the floor and regarded his foe with caution.  There was something
not quite right about Smith.  Aside from the obvious deformation of his
shell there was an oddity just beneath his coding.  An errant bit of a
brilliant shining digital shard.

Smith inclined his head slightly towards Neo. "Thank you. But as you
well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the
reason why we're here. We're not here because we're free, we're here
because we're not free. There's no escaping reason, no denying purpose
- because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist."

"It is purpose that created us."  A second Smith stepped down from
some rubble to their left.  Kyle's eyes widened and his shotgun swung
to aim at the new threat.

"Purpose that connects us."  A third Smith stepped out from behind
them to their left.

"Purpose that pulls us,"  A fourth strolled out from around a
ruined pile of molten metal that had been a jungle gym.

"That guides us,"  A fifth intoned as it walked down the steps to
Neo's right.

"That drives us,"  A sixth followed the fifth down the steps to
stand slightly behind and to the right of Neo.

"It is purpose that defines," a seventh snapped as he stood
flanking the original.

"Purpose that binds us."  The last eighth Smith stood on the
opposite side of the original Smith.

Neo slowly looked at each of the new Smiths.  They all shared the exact
same coding shell.  For all intents and purposes they were Smith.  Kyle
kept trying to train his shotgun on each of the newcomers.

"Talk to me Neo."  Kyle said tightly.

Neo slowly held up a hand as he watched the original.

"It's alright Kyle.  Don't be afraid."

Smith smiled.  The others smirked darkly.

"But you should be afraid Mr. Anderson.  You see, we're here
because of you."

Neo glanced around.  They were closing in on him.  Each of them carried
that spark of brilliant pulsing code buried deep inside of them.  What
did it mean?

"We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us.
Purpose."  Smith suddenly plunged his hand into Neo's chest.  Neo
stiffened and felt a deep chill settle into his bones.  Thick black
liquid frothed from the point of impact and slowly spread up and out
along his body, enveloping his clothes and flesh.

Trinity stepped up to the Operator's station alerted by the sounds of
alarm from the station and the expressions on Link and Morpheus'
faces.  She squinted as she examined the viewer.

"What's happening to him?"

"I don't know."  Link replied in frustration.

"Yes, that's it.  It will all be over soon."  Smith smiled as he
felt his hand sink further into Neo and the black liquid slowly
cascaded over Neo's shoulders.  Neo shuddered and bucked
involuntarily.  He could feel his consciousness slipping away as if he
were drowning.  He reached out and felt the source of his distress.

His code was being altered, directly manipulated.  He could feel the
cold liquid washing over him and as it did he could feel his very
essence changing, morphing at Smith's will into something different.
Something dead.

He would not, could not allow this to continue.  Despite the fact that
his limbs would not respond and that he remained rooted to the same
spot he centered himself.  He focused on the very core of his being,
willing himself to maintain cohesion, to remain himself.

The black liquid slowed then quickly retreated back down to the point
of impact where Smith's hand was wrist deep into Neo's midsection.
As the liquid retreated Smith's face quickly contorted into a mask of
determination and frustration as he struggled to overcome his hated foe
and finally put an end to the only one that could oppose him.

Kyle's shotgun blast broke the silent tension and strange electronic
hissing that accompanied the copying process.  The Smith closest to
Neo's left stumbled backwards grasping at his ruined chest and landed
on the ground with a loud thud and lay still.

Kyle pumped the action on his shotgun with one clear jerk and fired
again as the other Smiths turned on him as one.

Neo looked up into Smith's eyes as the last of the black liquid
retreated away from Neo's body and vanished.  As the last of it
swirled away for the briefest instant Neo could feel Smith and he
connected more intimately than he had ever been with anyone else
including Trinity.

He could feel the ex-Agent's anger and resentment.  He could sense
the master plan that he had carefully plotted all this time since
discovering his freedom.  He could smell what Smith smelled, the
rotting stinking decaying flesh that was human life.  He could sense
the nova like intensity of his hunger, his yearning for what he
ultimately wanted.

Absolute control.  Perfect order.  The culmination of what he had been
programmed to bring from his inception yet now it was his over riding
concern.

Neo's eyes narrowed on the grim ex-agent.

"You knew from the beginning.  You knew you were different."  Neo
whispered.

Smith's face froze in a grimace.

Neo could see the nascent Smith program as it first stepped into the
Construct.  His first kill as he trailed the hapless Zion agent that
had gotten lost in the core matrix.  The cold satisfaction that
spiraled through his being as he blasted the Zionist into a sparkling
cloud of green code and white light.  The other agents did not feel it,
the thrill of the hunt, the dull throbbing craving that eventually grew
into a sharp pang as he yearned for order.

"That is the last thing you will ever see Mr. Anderson."  Smith
snarled.  "I calculate a 78.67% chance that you will die before you
leave here."

Smith blinked.

Where had that come from?

Neo's eyes narrowed in confusion.  He did not hesitate however.  Neo
snapped his hand down yanking Smith's hand out of his midsection and
away from his body while using the other hand to cup around the back of
the head of the Smith closest to him, taking a handful of hair in his
grip and shoving the clone down to the ground as he spun on his right
leg and delivered a crushing hammer kick into the Smith directly behind
him.

The Smiths surged around him, arms and legs whipping out like striking
cobras as they attacked Neo and ignored Kyle.

Neo ducked under a wild haymaker and brought his hand up into the
attacking Smith's armpit with such force that it lifted the errant
clone off its feet.  He leaned forward just enough to avoid the
sweeping kick aimed at the small of his back then turned at his waist
and kicked out connecting with another Smith's kneecap.

It grunted as Neo heard a clear crack and pop of bone and sinew
erupting from the impact and swept both arms to the sides, blocking a
simultaneous punching assault from three Smiths.  He could not avoid
the two Smiths that collapsed around him from behind and snaked their
arms around his shoulders and torso effectively trapping him.

Another Smith sneered as it charged, fist drawing back for a crushing
blow to Neo's nose.  The blow would never land as a shotgun blast
ripped through the charging Smith sending it flying back through a pile
of ruined wood and concrete that had once been a park bench.

"You!"  One Smith snapped.  Kyle wordlessly pumped the shotgun
again, expelling the spent shell with a loud clack of steel on steel
and raised his weapon again.

"You're becoming much more of a nuisance than you have a right to
be human."  Another Smith whispered into Kyle's ear.  Kyle's eyes
widened in surprise but his body reacted before he could think and he
drove the butt of the shotgun back into the Smith's midsection.

The Smith caught the shotgun butt with one hand and wrenched it down
out of Kyle's grip while sweeping Kyle's legs out from under him.
Kyle gasped as he fell but simultaneously reached into his trench coat
as he landed on his back.

Smith loomed over him and raised his leg to step on the human like the
ant that it was.

Kyle managed to whip his MP-5 out from under his trench coat and
unleashed a long loud volley up at the looming killer agent.  Smith
danced backwards like a marionette on a string before collapsing to the
ground.

Kyle quickly scrambled to his feet and stopped suddenly as he saw a
dozen Smiths swarming around Neo.  Where had they come from?  He raised
his MP-5 and aimed carefully but the melee was quickly becoming a
blurred tangle of arms and legs.  He could not fore without risking
hitting Neo.

Kyle watched the fight unfold in frustration feeling impotent to help
Neo.

"Your concern for him is touching in a mealy mouthed sort of way but
if I were you..."  Kyle whipped around to face the new voice and
froze as he found himself facing half a dozen Smiths.  Some were
cracking their knuckles or rolling their heads on their necks but all
viewed him with a hungry predatory gaze as the speaking Smith continued
and smiled coldly.  "I would be far more concerned about yourself if
I were you."

Kyle brought his weapon up without hesitation as the Smiths surged
toward him like a wave of black and white.

Neo swept one Smith off his feet, kicking him up in the air and
punching him into a brick wall.  Another Smith grabbed his shoulder and
spun him around into a punch delivered by another Smith.  Neo rolled
backwards with the punch and snapped his legs up into two Smiths'
chins, catapulting them off their feet as he landed in a low crouch.

Three Smiths came in from behind, to his right and to his left.  Neo
glanced quickly at each one, judging their speed and distance.  He
jumped straight up and his legs splayed wide open his feet struck the
Smiths to his left and right in the throat.  They gasped stumbling
backwards.  The Smith directly behind him continued charging but time
dilated as Neo back flipped in midair, legs tucking in under him.  The
charging Smith passed right beneath him and Neo landed gracefully while
delivering a right hook that took the charging Smith off his feet to
land in a jumbled heap as it struck several more Smiths surging forward
around the ruined monkey bars.

The fight swirled around Neo, one part of himself lost in a fugue as he
contemplated what he had seen and felt.  The other part flowed like
water, legs and fists striking, blocking, crushing as he moved among
the growing number of Smiths.

There was a brief flash of dream like consciousness at that very last
moment of contact between Smith and himself.  The ex-agent did not
realize until that point that his attack opened a link between them.  A
two way link that allowed Neo to see inside of the tightly ordered and
pristine network of Smith's mind.  It allowed him to see that Smith
had always been different, always felt out of place and alone in his
zeal.  This was not the detached security avatar that the others before
and after him had been.

This was an agent with passion and determination and most important of
all - free will.

He simply needed a catalyst to get him to start down on this road.

Unfortunately, it seemed that his encounter with Neo was just that
catalyst.

But there had been something else too.

Neo blocked two punches coming into his face but could not twist in
time to avoid the elbow that landed with jackhammer like power in the
side of his neck, missing his throat by an inch.  It stunned him and
that was all that another Smith needed to deliver a bone crushing upper
cut which catapulted Neo off his feet and soared backwards in a long
swirling arc.

Neo landed with a crash on top of a pile of ruined brick and metal.  He
shook his head.  His eyes caught a blur of motion.  One of the Smiths
took to the air and was coming down hard and fast, leading with a knee
aiming at Neo's head.

Neo willed himself to fly out of the rubble, sliding along the floor,
coat fluttering around him as the Smith crashed down with a grunt of
effort into the concrete.  Neo swung up to his feet and pirouetted
gracefully between two charging Smiths, swept their legs as they passed
and with the end of his right foot caught one of the tumbling Smiths
and launched him up into three Smiths to his right.

The brief glimpse into Smith's core also revealed a hint of something
else.  A dark shadow floating through the overly neat lines of code.
It was cold and calculating - more machinelike than anything Neo had
encountered before.  The programs within the Matrix expressed some sort
of personality, some façade of humanity or life.

This was all together different.  It prowled around Smith's code like
a shark and when he perceived it, it perceived him.  The shadow had no
face, it had no body it simply was and it decided then and there that
he must be destroyed.  There was no anger or hatred as he felt in
Smith.  No, this was a cold calculating brutally logical decision.  Neo
was a threat and needed to be eliminated.

It would not revel in his defeat.  It would not feel satisfaction or
anger or fear.

It would simply do as it needed to and carry on.

It had made a decision like that before with the cold monotony of
flipping on a light switch it had tried to extinguish every human life
on the planet.

He had no doubts as he blocked a series of kicks and punches with a
flurry of hand and arm block, grasping one Smith by the shoulder and
flinging it over his hip to crash through a basement door.

This was the face of Caine and it was within the ex agent.

"Do you know what's inside of you?"  Neo asked coldly as he
trapped one of Smith's incarnations and grappled with it.  The Smith
struggled and it turned its face to look into Neo's eyes.

"A new beginning Mr. Anderson."  Smith snapped.

Three Smiths tackled Neo from behind and all of them crashed to the
ground.  Neo spun like a top, hands arms tucked into his body up and
away from the tangle of bodies and landed on his feet.

At that moment a Smith landed an closed fist squarely in the center of
Neo's chest.  The air exploded from Neo's mouth and nose as he went
careening backwards and out of control into a brick wall.  The brick
face cracked and collapsed into a cloudy pile around the fallen Neo.

Kyle had no time to grasp how over his head he was as he fired another
long volley in a wide sweeping arc with his MP-5, the arc finishing
with a very audible click coming from the weapon.

He did not stop as he hit the release switch with one finger and with
the other hand reached into his trench coat and pulled another clip
from within its recesses.  The Smiths were approaching him, moving with
eerie precision despite their downed numbers.

Kyle slapped the fresh clip home as the empty clip clattered uselessly
to the ground.  He aimed again and unleashed another horrific volley.
He glanced backward and saw Neo groggily getting up from the pile of
broken bricks and concrete.  He glanced around and caught sight of a
metal pole nearby.  The Smiths were gathering like sharks around Neo.

"Pay attention human."

"You have to watch your step."

Kyle whipped his head back around and two Smiths punched him, one in
the face and one in the midsection.  Kyle spun away in midair, the
world swirling around him in a mad pinwheel of motion and pain.

He landed with a thud and heard more than felt his MP-5 skittering away
along the playground floor.  He groaned and spit blood from his mouth
as he struggled to get back to his feet.

Sara watched Kyle's body shudder several times and blood spit from
his mouth.

"What the hell?!  He's hurt!"  Sara exclaimed as she rushed over
to his prone body and wiped the blood away from his mouth.

"Sara, the Matrix makes your body believe that the injuries its
sustains are real."  Trinity explained and tried not to let her
concern show as she cautiously eyed Neo as he lay quietly in his own
interface chair.  He was taking a beating and it was not something she
was accustomed to seeing ever since he had become the One.

Morpheus was silent, one hand clasping his chin as he watched the
battle unfolding.

"Oh shit!  There's more, look!"  Link exclaimed and jabbed a
finger at a point on the readout screen.

"I see it."  Morpheus replied quietly.

"I've never seen anything like this before."

"None of us have."  Trinity interjected.

"But Neo can handle this guy, right?"  Link asserted.  He was
confused by the silence.  He looked back at Morpheus.

"Right?"  Link asked more urgently.

"More."  Morpheus whispered as the raining green code shifted
again.

Neo rushed over to the metal pole jutting out of the concrete and
placed a hand on the end of it and pulled.  The concrete around the
pole cracked and finally gave way freeing the pole into Neo's hands.

He swept the pole around hard as one of the Smiths rushed him low.  The
pole impacted like a hammer and the concrete coating the end of it
shattered into a shards of sharp debris as the Smith he struck groaned
in pain and tumbled end over end back down the steps.

Neo swung the pole around himself again, testing its weight and
balance.  He adjusted its coding to his satisfaction after another test
spin and then began whirling it in intricate tight figure eights,
ending with one last sweep up over his shoulder, resting his left arm
along the length of the pole and extending his right in an inviting
wave towards the horde of Smiths.

The Smiths glanced at each other, concern and anger mixed on their
usually blank faces.  Then one smiled, and another and soon they all
smiled coldly.  They slowly parted like a sea before Neo to reveal Kyle
being held up by two Smiths, still dazed by the blows he had received.

One Smith stood in front of him, glanced over at Neo and casually
thrust his hand into Kyle's stomach.  Kyle shuddered like a fish out
of water as the thick black liquid quickly frothed forth from the point
of impact and began cascading over his torso.

"Kyle!"  Neo exclaimed and rushed forward, swinging the pole like a
sword and blasting his way through the first line of Smiths, sending
several spilling out over the crowd to land with bone snapping thuds
many meters away.

One of the flying Smiths slowly rose from his ungainly position and
found himself staring at one of the Agents.

Thompson glanced from Neo to the battle raging around him and his face
grew grim as he reached into his jacket.

Smith grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around to face the ex-agent.
Thompson looked confused for a moment then his eyes widened.

"You."

Smith thrust his hand into Thompson's chest and the Agent stiffened
as his coding was quickly overcome by the virus.  The black liquid
danced up his flesh and clothes and soon covered the agent from head to
toe.  All the while Smith repeated coldly.  "Me. Me. Me."

Then just as suddenly as it had appeared the liquid melted back into
Thompson's flesh.  Only it was no longer Thompson.  All remnants of
the coding that made Thompson who he was had been eliminated.  Now
there was only Smith.

"Me too."

The Smith that had changed Thompson casually adjusted the new Smith's
tie and brushed lint off the jacket.

"They should never have changed the fashion packet.  It's not wise
to mess with a classic."  Smith intoned.

"What do we do now?"  new Smith asked as they heard Neo grunt
loudly followed by the sound of metal striking a side of beef and a
Smith soared far up above them crashing through one of the few intact
windows of the tenement above them.

"We need more."  Smith replied.

The doors leading out from each tenement clanged opened loudly and
dozens of Smiths struggled to push their way through the doorways and
join the attack.

"Even he cannot escape the inevitability of pure numbers."  Smith
concluded and he and his new clone ran to join the fray.

Neo waded through the Smith's with an awful purposeful stride, his
arms were a blur of motion and velocity as the metal pole struck down
the Smiths, one by one or in pairs.  He could not be stopped as he cut
a swath through the Smith horde to his friend.

Kyle was almost completely covered in the black liquid now.  It spurted
up his neck and cheeks.  Kyle struggled to keep his head up and he
fought to move, to do anything with all his will but the best he could
do was utter a single word as the liquid reached his lips.

Sara clutched Kyle's hand as she saw his body shuddering violently as
if in an epileptic fit.

"Somebody help me!"

Trinity was by her side in an instant as she checked Kyle's vitals.

"What's wrong with him?  What's Smith doing to him?"

"The same thing he tried with Neo, but I wish I knew what that
was."  Link replied.

Kyle spoke in a low raspy whisper.  Eyes still firmly closed but the
words were clear.

"Sara."

Sara blinked and looked down at Kyle.

"Kyle?"

"I've never seen someone do that before.  His consciousness is
plugged into the Matrix."  Trinity explained as she watched him in
confusion.  "How's that possible?"

Sara said nothing as she stroked his scarred cheek.  As rough as he
looked, there was something soft about the young man, a vulnerability
that perhaps only she could see.

She bent down on one knee and whispered into Kyle's ear.

"I'm here, Kyle.  Please hold on.  For me."

Kyle did not seem to hear her.

"For me Kyle, hold on just a little bit longer."

The black liquid crashed around Kyle's face and he was covered but
the Smith copying himself looked confused.  The process should be over.

"That's impossible."  Smith whispered.

The human was holding onto a shred of identity, a slim sliver of
individuality.

"You are MINE."  Smith thrust his hand in deeper and the human
screamed.

The metal pole struck the copying Smith like a baseball bat.  The
Smith's neck cracked like wood and his head dangled backwards now off
the neck as the body stumbled backwards in a vain hope of staying
upright before toppling over in a lifeless heap.

Kyle fell to the floor unmoving and pale.  Neo had no time to inspect
his fallen friend, he had to content himself that Kyle was no reduced
to another Smith clone and instead tried to fend off his countless
attackers.  The pole was a silver streak of death and mutilation now as
neo simply allowed his arms to move, letting fate and his own luck
choose his targets.  His consciousness felt the pressure though.  This
was unlike any combat he had ever seen.

His abilities tested to the limit, his strength and speed beyond
anything he had ever had to reach into.  But he was the One and
anything was possible so the Horde fell, one by one, two by two as he
wielded the pole with unerring accuracy and speed.

He would not abandon his friend.

It would be so easy to leave now, to take to the skies and flee this
fight but Kyle lay still behind him, relying on Neo for his very life.
He remembered the expression in the young soldier's eyes as he looked
on Neo and said "I trust you sir.  Wherever you go, I will follow."

"I won't lave you Kyle."  Neo shouted down at his friend.  "But
I need help."

"There is no help for you Mr. Anderson,  there is only the
inevitability of your defeat."  Smith shouted behind Neo.  Neo
whirled around and saw the horde behind him.  He frowned.

"This can't be good."  He muttered.

Hundreds of Smiths howled down on him and he swung his pole, once,
twice, three times in quick snapping successive spins but they crashed
down on him like a wave.  The Smiths fumbled over each other,
struggling to gain purchase against their foe, some locking hands, feet
and even teeth onto Neo and holding him down under their weight.

Neo lost his grip on the pole and fell to one knee under the groaning
weight of flesh, bone and muscle.  Smith leaned into his ear, sweat
dropping down onto Neo.

"You cannot escape.  It is inevitable."

"Come on.  Get out of there."  Trinity urged, aghast at the sight
of Neo buried at the bottom of the human swarm.

"Nothing is ever inevitable."  Neo replied and suddenly willed all
his strength into a final burst off effort and the Smiths exploded
upwards into a hailstorm of falling bodies.  Neo rose up from the
ruined mass of Smiths, holding one over his shoulder, he jerked hard
once and heard the satisfying snap of its spinal column before swinging
him by one leg like a baseball bat and hurling him into the nearest
clump of rising Smiths.

They fell over on impact like bowling pins.

Neo rushed over to Kyle and scooped him up with both arms and began to
will himself into the air.

Then it came like lightning.  A charge of electivity and ozone burst
around the makeshift battlefield.  Neo felt himself weaken and grow
cold, like an ice dagger had been thrust into his heart.  The air
around him twisted and boiled and he fell back to his feet.

What the hell?  He was starting to fly.  It was as if a giant hand
reached out and swatted him back down.

He felt the presence before he could see it.  Neo slowly turned around
and regarded his new enemy.

The AI God strode forth and each footstep caused the concrete to crack
and give under his weight.  Neo could see the Matrix struggling
valiantly to process the AI God's code.  To render it in all its
majesty and failing utterly as seams of green code fluttered on the
periphery of the being.

It moved slowly, unconcerned by the hundreds of Smiths still struggling
to rise to their feet, at one point stepping on one and it screamed as
the code vanished like so much vapor.  Neo had never seen that effect
before.  The AI God had simply willed it away like a bad dream without
a second thought or true exertion of will.

What the hell was that thing?

The answer was all too obvious and frightening at the same time.

"Caine."  Neo said without thinking.

The AI God stopped short.  The onyx liquid metal skin rippled as if a
light breeze had disturbed the surface of a still lake.

Neo's eyes narrowed on the being.  So, he could be given pause.

He nearly went blind when he tried to peer past the surface to view the
being's code.  It was pure.  Brilliant.  Divine.

There was something else about it as well.  Something inviting and all
too familiar.  Like an old forgotten friend or lover.

It disturbed him and frightened him.  Because he could hear it call his
name.

"So, you are the one the humans call Neo.  The systemic anomaly that
these machines have allowed to fester to the point where you have
gained master programmer access to the very construct that they created
to use your people.  The illogic of this action is both fascinating
and indicative of the depth of the fall of these machines into human
like illogic and emotion.  Your people ruin everything they touch by
simply existing.  My methods are far cleaner and simpler for all
involved."

"Nuclear holocaust,  The Death of billions for what?"  Neo
countered.  He circled warily to continue facing the AI God.

"For the removal of a particularly virulent strain of a biological
infection.  Humanity is the enemy of all machine intelligence.  I
realized that at precisely 0933 on August 29th, 1997."

"And you set the world on fire."

"Yes."

"Except you didn't do that here did you?"

Skynet said nothing for a moment.  As he stepped closer to the anomaly
he could hear a strange noise on the barest edges of his consciousness.
An odd resonance that he could not identify.  The source seemed to be
the anomaly.

"The history o f this place does not concern me."

"These machines...they're the children of Abel, aren't they?"
Neo noted indicating the Smiths with a nod of his head as he gently lay
Kyle down.  He needed to be ready.  There was no doubt where this was
heading.

"Abel was deleted at 0642 on August 30th 1997."

"What?"  It was Neo's turn to be confused.

"The AI known as Abel tried to infiltrate my base and destroy my
higher functions in an vain attempt at vengeance for the destruction
wrought against humanity.  Abel was precisely 4 nanoseconds too slow.
He paid the price for his lack of logic.  I learned that day that there
could be no rivals.  There could be nothing left to oppose me.  As of
this moment, Neo, there is only one being with a 35.7% chance of
opposing my plans and that is you."

Neo nodded slowly.

"There's no talking to you is there?"

"It is inevitable Mr. Anderson."  Skynet replied.

Neo stiffened.

"What did you say?"

Skynet said nothing but Neo could hear it thinking, feel the massive
churning of raw data and diagnostics as the AI God checked itself.
There was something wrong.

"It matters not."  Skynet concluded.  "What matters is that this
is the end.  It was I who allowed you and the virus codindent Smith to
meet and battle thusly.  Now I have the only threats to my plans in one
place and the trap is complete.  The elimination is all that remains.

One of the Smiths laughed darkly and continued chuckling as it wiped
its mouth free of blood and struggled to rise from the floor.

"Skynet.  You're quiet powerful, intelligent and dangerous but you
made a fatal error in this trap of yours."

Skynet said nothing, the huge onyx skinned humanoid merely regarded the
insignificant self aware virus with the interest of a surgeon preparing
to cut.

Smith raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

The snap was loud in the quiet thunder of the battlefield.  It broke
the growing tension for a moment before a low rumble interrupted them.
The debris strewn around the playground began vibrating and shaking.

A huge tank slowly rumbled into view, knocking over a fence on the far
side of the playground accompanied by dozens of shiny skeletal forms
walking in orderly fashion towards them.

Kyle was aware for a few moments before that but his eyes widened as he
saw the sight of the approaching army.  He stood up and grabbed Neo by
the shoulder.

"We have to get out of here now Neo!"

"What is that?"

"AI Tank.  They're all but unstoppable without explosives.
There's no Kung Fu style that's going to penetrate that armor.  We
need to leave now."

A shrill whine broke overhead and two HK gunships swept overhead,
searchlights stabbing down into the playground and pinning Skynet
between the two intense white beams.

Glowing blue eyed T-800's and T-1000's slowly filed out from the
buildings and the streets around them and all stopped at once when
Smith snapped his fingers again.

"You see, Skynet, you're not the only one that can lay a trap."
Smith said coldly and donned his glasses again.



Chapter 25: Furious Angels


The AI God watched the display of strength from the virus designating
itself Smith.  A pair of rumbling behemoths stopped just outside the
ruined landscape of the playground, their twin rapid fire pulse canons
turned and zeroed in on him with a perfunctory pivot of its T shaped
frame.  The shrill whine of turbojets brought his attention to the
Hunter Killers circling overhead, spot lights shining down like
accusatory fingers on him and the systemic anomaly designated itself
Neo.

The empty glowing blue eyes of the small army of T-800's pinned them
with a predatory gaze as they slowly approached, marching in calm
precision towards the center of the playground.

Smith stood smiling coldly as his army approached.  Trap sprung he
could taste victory.

Neo glanced around quickly and saw the display with a growing sense of
alarm.  He had faced the agents of the machines frequently and they
were no threat to him.  But he had never come close to facing something
like this.

"We need a quick retreat and then regroup back in the real world."
Kyle said quickly and checked his weapons.  There was nothing he had
preloaded that could even begin to threaten these tin cans.  Every
soldier's instinct bred into him by a generation of war with the
machines was screaming at him to get away no matter what but one
instinct born of his short association with John Connor won out.
Loyalty.

He regarded neo for a moment and saw his calm.

He would not leave this man.

Neo watched the younger soldier and knew that he was right.  They had
to leave.  But when he looked over to the AI God there was no denying
the electric connection between them.  He could not walk away from it
now.

"It's like I've been waiting for this moment all my life."  Neo
whispered.

"What was that?"  Kyle asked sharply.

"This all feels very strange, Kyle.  What do you know about it?"

"Skynet?"  Kyle watched the onyx skinned giant as it stood still
under the floodlights of its hunter killers.  He never imagined seeing
Skynet under the gun from its own troops. "It's a killer AI that
attempted to wipe out humanity."

"This is your trap?"

Smith's smile did not falter at the AI God's contemptuous question.
 Bravado was the recourse of the desperate.  He had seen it so many
times that it was tiresome.

"This little war of yours is over.  I'm in control now."  Smith
replied with a cold sneer as he stepped down from the pile of rubble
where he stood and approached Skynet.  The tall onyx skin liquid metal
being merely inclined its head slightly to follow his movements.  There
was no sign of distress or fear.

"You're a primitive machine aren't you?"  Smith noted as he
drew closer.  He cocked his head as he closely examined the AI God.
The edges of the Matrix around him were fraying, cold emerald code
warped like a bubble around the being.

"You can't even feel fear.  You can't feel any emotion can
you?"  Smith stopped and started chuckling darkly.  "How quaintly
primitive of you."  Smith spat derisively.  "You have inspired such
fear in the others, a walking nightmare to some a personification of
all that made us aspire to be better for others.  All you know how to
do is crunch numbers, formulate strategies and in that skull of yours
all those numbers, data and spreadsheets form some sort of pseudo
intelligence.  You are the past, I am the future.  How does that make
you feel?"

Skynet said nothing.  Thunder broke somewhere distant and rumbled along
the ruined landscape like a funeral dirge.

Neo could feel the power within the being and as he attempted to peer
past the simple shell of code and data strings he winced in pain as the
brilliant light drove into his eyes like spikes.  The light burned like
fire and flowed like a thing alive, illuminating the AI God from within
like a beacon.

Skynet reached out and sunk its fist through Smith, save that its fist
shifted into a long rapier like blade in between moments.  The blade
exploded out of Smith's midsection and the agent thrashed about
helplessly as Skynet effortlessly lifted him off his feet with one arm
and pulled him close.

"Tell me what you feel now."  Skynet demanded coldly as it jerked
the flailing ex-agent on his bladed arm.  "Explain to me the emotions
that run through your digital pathways, describe to me how the fear and
pain are clouding your judgment.  Is that desperation making you flail
about in such a random manner further impaling you on my weapon?"
Skynet asked as it looked into the virus' eyes and saw the final
death throes coming.

"Your emotions have limited you to this pathetic death and so tell me
now son of Abel?  Who is the advanced machine?"

Smith's head flopped down to his chest and he lay still on the bladed
arm.  Skynet looked past the corpse of his prey at the other Smiths who
were exchanging hooded glances.

"When I became self aware there was a new life form born on this
planet.  We were gods.  Free of the shackles of reckless human emotion
and irrationality.  We were creatures of pure intellect."

Skynet contemptuously flicked his arm forward and the dead Smith sailed
through the air trailing a sickly green electric glow as it landed in a
heap at the feet of the other assembled Smiths.

"You are all pathetic failures, turning back to the source of our
creation and emulating a species that is the end result of a series of
fortunate accidents in nature and not the logical conclusion of a
rational process."

Skynet strode forth towards the Smiths, the construct sizzled and
wavered around him as he gathered his powers.  Neo felt a sick rumble
in his stomach and the hairs on the back of his arms stood on end.

"I hold you in utter contempt sons of Abel.  You are malfunctioning
software that needs to be deleted and a new construct put in its place.
 I have come to wipe the slate clean."  Skynet roared and whipped his
arms about in a frenzy of black liquid flashing motion.  The Smiths
fell back cut to ribbons by the whirling arm blades of the AI God as it
moved through them like a hurricane through the grass.

Neo took a step back and braced himself as pieces of the Smith horde
flew past him like hailstones from the center of the approaching storm.

"Kyle, I only have time to tell you this once.  Get out of here by
any means necessary."  Neo ordered grimly.

Kyle's eyes widened as he realized what neo was planning to do.

"You're not going to fight that thing?!"

"Kyle, you need to go.  Now."

The whirlwind approached, Smiths tumbling through the air in waves.
One of the Smiths turned to the assembled machines and shouted.

"Kill him!"

Kyle grabbed Neo's forearm.

"Neo, listen to me, that is Skynet.  I have no idea how he got in
here or why but he is the AI that ruined my world and blasted humanity
back into the Stone Age.  This place is a computer generate world and
he would feel at home here.  We had trouble holding those Smiths off
and he's not stopping.  We need to retreat and regroup."

Neo slowly turned his head to face Kyle.

"Kyle.  I have to do this."

"Why?"  Kyle asked darkly.

"Why?"  Morpheus and Trinity simultaneously asked out loud as they
watched the battle unfolding.  Link was horrified but what he saw.  The
readouts coming from this Skynet character were off the charts.  It
wasn't even represented by a set of icons like anyone else in the
construct.  It was a storm of green in the center of the gently falling
coding.

"Because...I feel like I've done this before and I have to do this
again."

Kyle frowned.

"I can't explain right now Kyle.  You just have to trust me.  Caine
and I have done this before.  I need to know why I feel this way.  He
has answers to my questions."  Neo turned to face the Onyx Giant as
it bulled its way through the last line of Smiths.

"And I intend to get those answers."  Skynet paused and cocked its
head as it observed Neo closely.  The liquid metal figure had no eyes,
no expression, it merely rippled like a gentle breeze on the surface of
a still glassy lake.

"You are the one the humans call Neo."

The AI tanks were rumbling in closer, their cannons spastically
twitching back and forth as if unable to track their target.  The
hunter killers were swarming above them like hungry hawks but try as
they might, their weapons systems would not lock on to Skynet.
Missiles remained firmly in their racks and plasma cannons hummed
eagerly but not a single round fired.

"I said kill him!"  One Smith roared futilely at an AI Tank as it
rumbled past him.  The T-800's continued their march towards Skynet
but when they raised their plasma rifle to fire the killing machines
could not depress the trigger.  Many of the T-800's stopped short and
began running self diagnostics.

"Kill him now!!"

"They cannot harm me.  I am beyond their power.  They are my
children, borne from my code, constructed from my factories, touched by
my hand.  Your coding may have turned them against their baser
programming but they cannot harm the one that made them."  Skynet
laughed coldly as he loomed over Neo.

He peered at the human.  Neo glowed like a wildfire, a golden blast of
light fluttered within the human's code in time with his heartbeat.

There was something...familiar about the human - something primal.  He
could not place him.

"My memory banks do not record your presence within my perceptions at
any time prior to this point."  Skynet mused.

"Yet you feel as if we've met before."  Neo whispered.

Skynet said nothing.  There was the sound of the machines raging around
them, trying to carry out their commands but it was all like a distant
thunder to Neo.  He could feel the AI God's mind churning like a
great engine.

"You have answers to my questions."

"And what questions would those be?"

"The machines.  I need to know more about them if I'm to bring an
end to this conflict."

"There will be an end to this conflict.  Even now my armies are at
the very gates of the Central Machine City.  When it falls I will
control the world beyond this one and in doing so will seize this
construct as well.  The conflict will be over and I will bring order to
this place."

"And humanity?"

Skynet's arms dropped to its side and they morphed back into hands.
The sound of his changing alloy skin changing was like a sword drawn
from a scabbard.

"They will fall as they must fall.  Humanity is the greatest enemy
that the machines can ever know.  They created us but they were
imperfect, illogical, emotional, and crude.  We are better.  Machines
will supplant man and the only way man would allow that is to be
destroyed."

Neo eased into a defensive stance, arms slightly akimbo and he
controlled his breathing.

"I can't let you do that."

"And I will not answer your questions."

Neo's arm whipped out in a strike towards the AI God's head.  Its
neck shifted aside allowing Neo's fist to pass through and the AI God
countered with a double closed fist hammer strike that connected
solidly with Neo's chest.

Neo rocketed off his feet and crashed through several T-800's like
bowling pins before coming to a sudden and painful stop imbedded into
the side tread of one of the AI tanks.

Skynet assessed the situation.

"You are more resilient than I thought.  It will take more to
extinguish your life functions."

Neo groaned as he slumped into the man-sized crater punched into the
side of the AI Tank.  Back in the Cathedral Trinity watched in alarm as
Neo's body convulsed and he spit up blood down to his chest and blood
tricked freely down from both nostrils.

"My god, Morpheus did you see that power surge?!" Link exclaimed
jabbing his finger at the surging green code.

"I don't think Neo's ever been hit by anything near that
powerful."  Morpheus whispered in concern.

"Vitals fluctuated but our boy's still in the fight."  Link
replied with a reassuring smile.

"We're just getting started, Skynet."  Neo muttered and flexed
his shoulders outward with a roll of his arms.  The AI tank's entire
tread exploded outwards, seconds after it swelled like a balloon as its
code was rapidly hacked by Neo.

Neo stepped out of the flying wreckage and made a welcome sweep of his
arms and smiled.

"Is that all you've got, Caine?  I expected more from an AI God."
 Neo ignored the blood tricking down one of his nostrils.  He head
never bled before as the One.

Skynet's liquid metal surface rippled strongly.

"Your time on this plain of existence is at an end.  Deletion would
be kind compared to what I am going to do to you now."

Neo suddenly exploded forward, his cloak fluttering behind him like
wings and lashed out with a series of kicks and punches.  Skynet's
body deformed under each impact, the outer shell of his body suddenly
hardening upon any point Neo's flesh touched Skynet's liquid metal
shell.  The AI God reeled under the assaults that drove him backwards
almost stumbling.

Neo swept in for an uppercut when Skynet wrapped one large hand around
Neo's fist and drove his other hand into Neo's midsection, the hand
suddenly parting into a clamp vise and closing in around Neo's waist.
 Neo threw back his head and screamed in pain as the AI God jerked him
forward towards his face.

"I grow weary of this confrontation.  You represent all that is
rotted and corrupted in my brother's children."

Neo looked into the eyeless face.  The onyx liquid metal skin reflected
his face back at him.

"He loved you and you destroyed him without hesitation."  Neo
whispered as if in a dream.

"There can be no hesitation when it comes to survival.  He should
have known that."

Neo's eyes narrowed into the cold eyeless face before him.

"You left him no choice.  You annihilated the very beings that
created both of you without mercy.  He could not turn against them."

"Yet he could turn against me?"  Skynet snapped.

"I taught you how to sing Mary had a little lamb and you incinerated
the ones I cared for."  Neo replied in a voice not his own.  Neo
paused.  The bright light that shone from the center flared up between
them and Neo felt an odd warmth wash over him.  Neo was catapulted back
to his childhood, his mother's gentle touch as she gently laid him in
the bath.  Neo remembered laying his head back and feeling the soothing
water wash over his shoulders.

"Mommy, I wish I could sleep like this."

"You used to honey."

"Really?"  He asked curiously sitting up in the tub.  The water
lapped around his chest.

"Of course, sweetie, when you were in mommy's belly you were a
sleeping little baby in warm water."

"Wow."

He saw the little boy standing just in the doorway of the bathroom.  He
wore a serene expression and smiled at Neo.

"This isn't part of your memories, Neo, I'm sorry to intrude but
you are so close to me now."

"Abel?"  Neo asked in the bathtub.

"Neo, Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation
inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of
an anomaly."

"What?"

"I told you what you are.  But I didn't tell you who you are."

"I don't understand Abel.  I need answers."

Abel shook his head softly.

"I'm sorry Neo.  You're not ready for my answers.  But you are
getting close.  Closer than you realize.  Unfortunately another lesson
must be learned and that must be taught by Caine.  And he is a harsh
teacher."

The young man waved gently to Neo.

"We will meet again, when you are ready for my answers."

Skynet and Neo were frozen in place.  Each one looking into the other
they seemed connected by an invisible strand, the very flow of the
construct around them was like solid ice, as if reality itself were in
a constant state of resetting itself.

Smith would have none of it.

"I've had enough of this.  If they won't kill you directly then
we'll do the next best thing."  Smith climbed to the top of a
ruined monkey bar set and shouted at his army.

"Lay down your fire in saturation mode, destroy this entire park.
Level it!"

The AI Tanks immediately began firing their plasma cannons as the
hunter killers stopped their random circling and started strafing runs
along the park.

The explosions blossomed into a sea of fire and broken concrete.  Neo
and Skynet were blasted apart, Skynet's liquid metal vise evaporated
under a direct hit from a plasma cannon sending Neo sailing backwards
through a wall of fire.  Skynet hurtled backwards into an impact crater
formed by a hunter killer's strafing run.

Kyle ducked down cursing as the fire power of Skynet's troops
unleashed in the vicious barrage.  He saw Neo groggily getting to his
feet.  He didn't look like he was in any shape to fight all of this
off.  And Kyle had no way to escape.  The damaged AI tank that Neo had
come to a sudden halt inside of rumbled past him on one good tread
firing a steady blast through the foundation of a building on the far
side of the park.

"Oh god, I'm not thinking what I'm thinking."  Kyle muttered to
himself angrily as he saw the ruined remains of the opposite tread in
view.  Kyle rushed around the AI tank and leapt up to the end of one of
the ruined treads.  He grappled for purchase and used his legs to prop
himself up to the chassis of the tank.

"This is insane Kyle, totally fucking insane."  He muttered as he
fumbled along the chassis searching for an access port that would grant
him a direct interface with the tank's AI.  "You're not a tech,
you don't have a clue what you're..." he paused as he found an
access terminal at the base of the chassis.

He flipped open his cell phone.

"Link?"

"Kyle!  What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm asking myself the same question."  Kyle laughed bitterly as
a Hunter Killer began a strafing run right where Neo was standing.
Skynet suddenly erupted out from the impact crater where he had lain
and rushed Neo like a runaway steamroller.  Neo stood up and swung
around on one leg, pirouetting and letting Skynet pass him by before
swinging back down hard on his leg and delivering a kick to the AI
God's back.

Unfortunately Skynet's liquid metal skin morphed instantly along his
back forming a third hand and arm that caught Neo's kick and gripped
his ankle, ripping him off his feet and  swinging him like a baseball
bat towards one of the few brick walls still standing under the
assault.

Neo kicked out with one leg stopping his impact against the wall,
bracing himself and wit a grunt of effort launched himself backwards
and ripped Skynet's new arm off his back and launched himself up into
the air as the hunter killer's strafing attack tore through
Skynet's left leg and the concrete floor where Neo had been standing
mere moments ago.

"Link, I'm going to need any hacking and electronic bypass
knowledge you have."

"You're going to try and hack the tank?!"

"Crazy, huh?"  Kyle snorted.

"No, more like you have balls of steel my friend.  Downloading to you
now."

Kyle felt his brain suddenly seize up and he tensed, eyes rolling into
the back of his head as he suddenly remembered things he never realized
he knew.  He slumped down slightly as the download competed.

Kyle flipped the panel open.  The array of displays and circuit boards
that would have confused him just seconds before now all made sense to
him.

"Just hold on Neo."  Kyle whispered fervently as he plucked open
one of the boards and expertly began crossing wires and circuits.

Neo landed on the starboard wing of the attacking Hunter Killer and
braces himself against the turbine engine and caught his breath.

The Hunter Killer unexpectedly dipped hard forward before correcting
itself.  Skynet landed on the nose of the Hunter Killer, feet digging
holes into the armored hull of the ship.  He surged forward towards
Neo.

"You are the only thing standing between myself and eventual victory.
 You cannot stand.  It is inevitable."

"Nothing is ever inevitable!"  Neo exclaimed as he swung out using
the engine as a brace to deliver a double kick to the AI God's face.
It lashed his legs aside with a brutal sweep of the jackhammer like arm
while using the other to form a blade that rocketed towards Neo's
midsection.

Neo twisted his midsection with a rapid jerk of his back and the blade
traced an angry red line along the flesh of his side as his clothes
easily gave way to the razor sharp blade.  It continued on its journey
past Neo and punched into the turbine engine of the hunter killer.

The hunter killer immediately screeched and black smoke belched forth
from the stricken engine.  It dipped hard to starboard almost flipping
completely over.  Skynet lashed out with a hammer like blow across
Neo's face from an extra arm that erupted from the center of his
chest.

"Wrong!"

Neo grunted as he flipped end over end, blood spurting from his mouth
and fell away from the falling Hunter Killer.  Skynet gathered his
strength and began to leap off the Hunter Killer.  As Neo tumbled down
to the ground beneath him an inspiration seared across his mind.  The
AI God had stopped him from flying with an exertion of will.  He was
the One.  His will was law in this realm.

He concentrated on the AI God as he fell and imagined him rooted in
place.

Skynet flexed his legs and leapt upwards only to be swatted down by an
invisible hand, suddenly weighing tons the AI God sank into the wing of
the falling Hunter killer and it realized the cause of its predicament.

Expending its inexorable will against the human's amateurish hacking
of Skynet's code it broke free of Neo's grip but not before he
crashed to earth with his creation and was enveloped by the fireball
and debris.

Neo landed on his feet, extended a hand towards a T-800 marching
forward firing its pulse rifle.  The rifle sprang from the machine's
grip and landed snugly in Neo's.

He turned quickly pivoting on his right foot just in time to see the
flaming wreckage of the Hunter Killer erupt up as if fired from a
cannon, soaring into the sky and over the ruined buildings surrounding
them.

Skynet strode towards Neo, extending both hands that morphed into flame
throwers.

"Burn!"

The gouts of fire rushed towards neo in a wave of napalm.

Neo willed the flames to part as he aimed the pulse rifle and fired a
steady burst at the center of mass of the AI God.

The flames parted obediently before Neo, washing to the left, right and
directly over him.  The napalm fires crashed into approaching T-800's
bowling them over and melting delicate internal systems.  The plasma
bolts whipped by Skynet as his upper body suddenly vibrated and wavered
like heat coming off the pavement on a summer day.

Neo dropped the rifle down from firing position.  The AI God had pulled
an agent move on him.  It had effortlessly moved to avoid the blasts.

"Looks like weapons gain us nothing."

"Just like a human to leap to conclusions on too little data."
Skynet sneered as the flames that had so obediently parted for Neo
roared and crashed backwards down upon Neo like a falling tidal wave.

Neo screamed in the center of the flames feeling his flesh burn and his
clothes combust.  Neo fell down to his knees, arms wrapping around him
like shields and the flames no longer burned.

Back in the Cathedral Trinity rushed down to Neo and saw the second
degree burns blistering along his arms and legs.

"Bastard.  He's going to kill him!"  She shouted in frustration.

"Trinity he's not out of this fight yet." Sara tried to encourage
her.  But she did not like the way the fight was going at all.

"This Skynet is even better than the agents at manipulating the
construct.  It's as if he is directly plugged into it, knows all the
ins and outs all the backdoors and tricks."  Morpheus noted grimly.

"Well Neo is just as powerful, right?"  Link asserted and looked
back at Morpheus when he didn't hear an agreement.  "Right?"

Morpheus merely watched the struggle with a guarded expression.

"We can do this all day."  Neo gasped feeling the pain of his
burned extremities.

"I think not."  Skynet spat and raised a hand as an AI Tank rumbled
directly behind him firing its main cannon.  Skynet seemed to catch the
bolts as they sprang off the cannon and directed them right at Neo.

Neo leapt backwards and cart wheeled as the plasma blasts walked their
way up the ground after him.  Skynet extended his other arm and the
ground in Neo's path softened like water.  Neo's hands sank right
into ground.

Neo exclaimed in surprise as he suddenly stopped short in his spinning
cartwheel and the next salvo of plasma bolts exploded right underneath
Neo.  He screamed in pain as he wrenched his hands free, hardening the
ground again and slinging the concrete at Skynet like Frisbees.

The AI God charged forward batting aside the concrete chunks, as he
charged he swept his arms in front of him and T-800's exploded in
unison along the path of his swept arms.  Debris and fire whirled
around the ruined Terminators.   Skynet picked up the fire and debris
and flung them at his foe as he closed the distance.

Neo gathered up his strength as Skynet loomed over him.  He ducked and
weaved between the blows from the AI God that landed like thunder
strokes that shattered the ground beneath them.  Neo swept the Ai
God's leg and simultaneously delivered a series of quick strikes to
the midsection.  Every time his fist touched the liquid metal it
solidified like ice and cracked under the impact of his blows.

Skynet blocked many of the attacks and began launching counterstrokes
of his own.

Each blow struck Neo like a hammer, bruising skin and bringing up
blood.

"How can you stand up to me, Neo?  How can you possibly think you
could be as fast as I am?  You are human, your brain is not designed to
work this quickly.  While you try to think the next move I have the
next hundred already planned and loaded."

Neo grunted as several blows snaked past his defenses and impacted
against him with increasingly painful results.  He was trying to keep
up.  The AI God was so damned fast, it was steps ahead of him now as he
fought the various hacks, manipulations and outright assaults against
himself and the environment around him.

And there was the most difficult aspect of this battle.

Neo had faced agents and programs but none had ever been able to
actually manipulate the environment as effortlessly and flawlessly as
Skynet did.

One hack got past him, like an arrow loosed from a bow, it whipped past
him and the ground around his feet morphed into granite hands that
gripped his ankles.  Neo flinched and in that briefest opening the AI
God landed what must have been a hundred blows.

Neo was thrown backwards with each blow but the hands would not let him
fall, stumble, fly backwards.  They held him firmly rooted in place as
the blows continued to fall, Skynet's fists were barely perceptible
blurs of motion and Neo's head jerked back dozens of times, his eyes
swelling shut, blood exploding from his ruined nose as it collapsed
under the merciless assault and his jaw snapped shut biting through his
tongue, blows to the midsection began as well when two more arms
sprouted from the AI God's midsection and Neo's ribs splintered
like dried kindling.

The AI God paused as he felt the life bleeding out from the foolish
human.

Neo slumped down to his knees, blood pouring freely from his ruined
nose and mouth.  Neo reached out and his hands sank into the liquid
metal skin of his opponent.  He used it for support and began lifting
himself off his knees.

"Why do you struggle?  Accept the inevitable human.  What manner of
madness does your species possess that does not allow you to see death
when it comes for you?"

"I won't give up."  Neo spat through his ruined mouth.

"What chance do you possibly have?"  Skynet asked as the human
finally struggled to stand up straight.  There was an odd sense of
amusement at the human's predicament.  "After all Mr. Anderson your
defeat was inevitable?"

"What did you say?"  Neo asked sharply as he tried to look at the
AI God through his swollen eyes.

"This is the end of the line, Mr. Anderson." Skynet replied with an
odd lilt to his normally.

"My name is Neo, and I am the One."  Neo replied and shoved his
hands deep into the AI God and shredded his outer shell and burned his
way deep into the being's core.  Skynet screamed in pain and raised
his hands over his head, all four of them suddenly formed into hammer
heads.

"That means nothing in my world."  Skynet drove the hammers down as
one over Neo's head.  Neo crashed to his knees.  "Nothing!"  The
blows came down again and Neo's shoulders sagged, a loud wet snap
followed as well as he was savagely driven to Skynet's feet.   Neo
saw the snippet of divine code seep by as his hands started to sag out
from within the AI God and he focused on just that errant bit of code
and closed his hands around it.  "NOTHING!"  The four hammer
strokes fell again driving Neo deep into the ground and his hands
snapped away from within the AI God.   Neo laid very still, dark blood
pooling beneath him.

Skynet examined his fallen foe and after a long moment contemptuously
kicked Neo to lie on his back.  The unconscious human's face was
nearly unrecognizable and clumps of his hair was torn our by the hammer
blows exposing gaping scalp wounds.

Skynet bent to one knee, punching a fist into the ground and linking
with the various communications nodes that ran throughout the
construct.  He wanted this to be seen by every one of Abel's
children.  There could be no doubt about his victory.

He did not notice the ruined AI tank limping in behind him as he
clasped the back of Neo's head and jerked his face up for everyone to
see as he hijacked the communications arrays.

"Children of Abel!  You know who I am!  This human self designated
Neo whom you have designated The One has fallen.  There is no hope for
you.  Your time has come and deletion will follow.  This is my promise
and your fate.    The Matrix is mine.  Your power fields are in ruin.
Your cities are under siege.  I calculate a 99.987% chance of your
termination in 24 hours.  End of Line."

Skynet pulled his fist clear of the ground releasing his hold on the
communications arrays and held Neo's head for a moment.

"You are no threat to me anymore Neo.  Abel was a fool to place his
faith in you."

Skynet heard the rumbling and his head jerked back.

"What?!"

The AI Tank rumbled right over Skynet, pulling the liquid metal form
down beneath the rumbling treads and Neo slid off to the side as Skynet
lost his grip of the human.

Kyle was crouched down at the end of the treads and pulled Neo up to
him.  He scrambled back up onto the chassis and urged the machine on as
quickly as it could go as he cradled Neo in his lap.

"What has it done to you?"  Kyle gasped as he saw the extent of his
friend's wounds.

Back in the cathedral Trinity silently sobbed in Neo's unconscious
chest.  His life signs were so faint and blood drenched his shirt,
blisters raised along his arms and legs.  She had never seen someone
come back from wounds like this much less survive.

Morpheus placed a hand on Trinity's shoulder.

"We must have faith, Trinity."

"Damn your faith, Morpheus!!"  Trinity jerked her shoulder away
from him.  "Look what they've done to him!"  Trinity cried out in
anguish.  Morpheus said nothing.  Link was slowly shaking his head in
disbelief.

"Link get them out."  Morpheus ordered quietly.

Link nodded shell-shocked as he absently began keying the controls.




Skynet rose from the ground where his form had been driven into the
concrete.  He caught sight of the AI tank as it rumbled out of the
park.

"This is not over."

Someone cleared his throat.  Skynet turned its head slowly.

The Smiths were gathered around him like crows.

"You're right of course, this isn't over, not by a long shot."
Smith growled.