Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Someone picks up their phone and dials. We hear the other end ringing. In a room lacking any furniture except a cheap fold-up table, a phone, a modem, and a computer, there sits a woman. Her outfit is entirely black leather and does not seem concerned by the lackluster environment. She focuses on the monitor in front of her with its green glow being the only light in the room.

The phone finally clicks to indicate someone answered it. There is a beat of silence.

"I started the recon. I didn't know there was a roommate."

We hear a man answer. "That information wasn't important."

"Then who is the target?"

"His hacker name is 'Eon'. Sending you the profile as we speak."

“Eon?”

The woman starts the trace program.

“Yeah. Don't concern yourself with the roommate. They're not the priority. If they show more potential, then maybe someday we could invite them to our crew.”

The man ends the call.

The computer monitor displays confidential files of the so-called 'Eon'. Long records of computer criminal charges, a history of jobs related to technology, therapy notes of having existentialism and a problem with authority, and finally, we see a picture profile. The woman stares at the prison capture of a man in his mid 20's, sporting short and blond curly hair, a height of 5’7” according to his latest arrest report, and the overall appearance of a cherub in human form.

The woman smiles as she continues the reconnaissance.

Chapter Text

Someone adjusts a cop scanner until they land on a report of a woman in black leather leaping 40 feet between buildings. The woman in black should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. She is on the run for reasons known only to her. That reason is important enough to apparently massacre a bunch of officers. Based on the buildings and streets mentioned, she was last seen in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.

“40 feet?,” says a man in disbelief. He is listening to the scanner and based on the room he is in, it is obvious the machine was obtained illegally. The man doesn’t fit the type for a cop on duty. His outfit consists of a shirt that looks like it came from a thrift store, skinny black jeans, and a pair of socks that are so riddled with holes, they belong in the trash. The man’s breath stunk of alcohol and his dazed eyes were further proof that he was not sober at the moment.

He is in his mid 20’s, yet his cropped black hair, and a lack of facial hair makes him appear even younger. He munches on popcorn as he runs something on his computer, and casually hacks into the CCTV to follow the woman’s escape. The man is slightly disappointed with the lack of audio, but at least he can visually follow the excitement. He skips the captures of confused officers, a few persons that look like secret agents, and other uninteresting angles. Where is the woman?

After searching a few moments, he finds an angle capturing a lone figure. It’s the woman in black leather. She emerges from the shadows of an alley and easily stands out under the pool of street light. Her gait has a definite limp to it, but that doesn’t slow her down. In fact, she quickens her pace as she heads toward a payphone a few yards away.

Suddenly, a vehicle’s headlights shine onto the booth, casting it in a spotlight contrasted by the darkened streets. A truck emerges in the computer screen, accelerating directly towards the booth as well. For some reason unknown to the viewer, the woman hurries herself into the booth and picks up the phone as she watches the truck rapidly getting closer and closer to hitting her.

The camera observes the truck demolishing the payphone. Glass flies across the sidewalk. The crash must have been loud, but without audio, the viewer can only guess how loud. For a moment, everything was still. Then ever slowly, the truck backs up to reveal the rest of the wreckage. Imagine the viewer’s confusion when there was no blood, no body, nothing to indicate a person was in that spot mere moments ago.

Someone exits the truck. From the distance of the camera, it looks like an agent. He is visibly frustrated on the screen. Two more agents join him. They talk amongst themselves before the three men freeze, turn in perfect synchronization towards the CCTV camera, and stare. It was as if they knew someone was watching them and they, in turn, watched the viewer.

The hacker immediately closed the screen. He couldn’t believe what he just witnessed.

“Fuck. I gotta stop drinking cheap tequila.”

The next morning, the screen of a computer flickers with life and a cacophony of noise. The machine takes center stage in the living room of a two-bedroom apartment. The room is overgrown with technology; every set of equipment required for a professional hacker can be found somewhere in the chaos of machinery. Vine-like cables coil everywhere, duct-taped around the legs of numerous desks. Every flat surface is covered by the miscellaneous parts of cannibalized equipment, reminding one of an autopsied corpse made of wires, rams, disks, and motherboards. It’s amazing to consider how a human could live there.

Asleep before the computer is Eon. His blond curls have fallen over his eyes. He snores quite loudly, annoying anyone within hearing distance. Without warning, the computer screen goes blank. A prompt appears: "Wake up, Eon." The young man stirs from the lack of noise, sensing something was amiss. He opens one eye.

“Dude, wake up!”

Startled and instantly awakened by the booming voice of his roommate, Eon groans.

“Neo, what-“

His roommate chuckles. “You totally missed out on the action last night. The cops were chasing some kind of super chick.”

Still waking up and in need of caffeine, Eon finally notices the screen. He watches as it types out a message as though it had a mind of its own: “The matrix has you…”

Eon distractedly replies, “What?”

His roommate, with his back turned at the time, assumes the question is meant for him.

“Yeah. Cops claim she leaped 40 feet between rooftops, and I watched her teleport before a truck rammed into her. It was insane!”

Eon hits a “CTRL X” and another message appears. “Follow the white rabbit.”

“What the hell?”

His roommate taps him on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Hey, you listening?”

Eon tries to focus on the computer, but his roommate keeps distracting him. So Eon relents and turns to face him. He takes a proper look at his roommate and best friend.

They couldn’t appear more different if they tried. Eon was 5’7 with curly blond locks. Neo towered over him at a more impressive height of 6’1 and sported straight and black hair trimmed to a fashionable length. Both are young men in their prime, though they are often mistaken for younger than 21 due to both having baby faces.

Neo snaps before Eon’s face. “Didn’t you hear a word I just said? A chick. Leaping long distance. Teleporting. I think we might just have a superhero here.”

“Wanna know what I think?” He pauses for dramatic effect. “I think you need to quit drinking.”

Neo raises his arms in excitement, “That’s exactly what I said!”

Eon continues. “And yet we know that’s not gonna happen because…”

They speak in unison: “A drink a day keeps the hallucinations at bay.”

“Hey, if I saw a superhero last night, does this mean the alcohol isn’t working either? It hasn't failed me in the past.”

“You tell me. You’ve been drinking yourself crazy for how many years now?”

Neo pauses to think of an answer before settling on “a lot”.

Eon shakes his head as he turns to look back at the computer. It is now sporting a blank screen.

“Look, I know I have a condition, but what if the woman wasn’t a hallucination?!”

“…Then I’d like to meet her.”

There is a knock at the door. Both roommates look to the door before looking at each other.

“Probably Choi. Hey dude, 10 bucks if he makes some remark about Jesus.”

Eon chuckles before he replies: “Double if he doesn’t.”

“You’re on.”

Working without words, as if they were of one mind, Neo heads to his room to fetch the product while Eon walks toward the door to answer it. With one last peek behind his shoulder to his computer, still blank, he calls out.

“Who is it?”

The person on the other side announces themselves. “It's Choi.”

Neo’s mumble of “called it” could be heard from the other room. It sounds like he is tossing clothes around carelessly while he searches.

Eon flips and unlatches a series of locks and opens the door, leaving the chain on. A young Chinese man stands there with several of his friends. A few try to hold back smirks upon seeing him for the first time. He’s used to it due to being a full head shorter than most men.

“You're two hours late,” Eon complains in an icy tone.

“I know. It's her fault.” He nods to the woman by his side.

“You got the money?”

“Two grand.”

Choi reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out an envelope, and hands it over. Eon takes the envelope cautiously and counts the bills inside. It’s all there. Time to get what the customer wants.

“Hold on.”

He closes the door and peers over his shoulder in time to see his best friend finally walk out of his room with a book in hand. It is Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations. Neo opens it to reveal the book has been hollowed out and inside are several computer disks. He takes out a disk and hands it to his friend who instantly hands him the envelope, which he sticks in in the book and returns it to the bookshelf. Eon then fully opens the door, with Neo walking up beside him.

“Here you go.” Eon hands the disk to Choi.

“Hallelujah! You are my Savior, man! My own personal Jesus Christ!”

Neo chuckles softly. Eon shoves his friend in a subtle way to shut him up.

“If you get caught using that-“

“I know, I know. This never happened. You don't exist.” The way he speaks, this is nowhere near the first time he’s heard this spiel.

“Right...”

Eon nods as the strange feeling of unrealness suddenly returns. Choi notices this.

“Something wrong, man? You look a little whiter than usual.”

This grabs Neo’s attention. The taller man steps forward to properly look at his friend with an expression of confusion and concern. Eon avoids his gaze.

“I don't know... My computer...” Eon looks behind him, then looks back at Choi, unable to explain what just happened.

“You ever have the feeling that you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?”

“All the time. It's called mescaline and it is the only way to fly.”

The guest smiles and slaps the hand of his nearest pal.

“It sounds to me like you need to unplug, man. A little R&R. What do you think, Dujour, should we take him with us?"

A woman who the roommates presume to be Dujour answers: “Definitely.”

“I can't. I have to work tomorrow.”

“Come on. It'll be fun. I promise.”

Dujour adjusts her arm to wrap around Choi in an affectionate manner, revealing a tattoo behind her shoulder. It’s of a small white rabbit. Eon sees it and without warning, it feels like the room is tilting. He wills himself to stay still.

“Give us a moment.”

He closes the door. Without speaking, Neo holds out his hand and makes a “gimme” gesture. Eon sighs, reaches into his wallet, and slaps a bill on the awaiting hand. He moves to get a drink of water while his roommate follows him like a shadow.

“One of these days, our clients will realize there are two of us. You know, Jesus had 12 apostles. You’d think someone would thank any of them.“

“I believe they were thanked after the man was crucified. And consider this, if I’m Jesus, what does that make you, huh? Judas?”

His friend waves his hand as if offended at the thought. “No way. Too loyal for that shit. I’m the guy who drinks a lot when Jesus is in town... Or perhaps Herod because he loves to party.”

They both laugh.

“You cool with me bailing on tonight?”

Neo grins. “Nah, man. Choi was right; you don’t look so good. Perhaps some fun can help. I’m gonna see if I could copy the video feed from last night so I can prove I wasn’t just seeing shit.”

Eon smiles and affectionately squeezes his friend’s shoulder. He walks out the door to join the group for a night he’ll hopefully regret in the morning.

Later that evening, Eon finds himself in an old apartment. There are party-goers everywhere, all dressed in black. Cigarette smoke hangs in the air like a heavy mist. Choi and his group are nearby doing their own thing.

Eon keeps to himself, sipping from a bottle of beer. He regrets taking that invitation to party. He is considering leaving until he gets the sense that someone is watching him. He looks over his shoulder to see a woman staring back at him. If he had seen the video feed from the other night, he would have recognized her as the “super chick.”

The strange woman walks straight to him with a smile on her face. She stares at him like she’s starstruck, but not enough to appear fanatic. With the music being so loud, the woman stands mere feet away from him in order to be heard.

“Hello, Eon.”

This takes him by surprise. Only a select few know his hacker alias.

“How do you know that name?”

“I know a lot about you. I've been wanting to meet you for some time.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Trinity.”

“Trinity? The Trinity? The Trinity that cracked the I.R.S. D-Base?”

She almost looks away in shame. The key word being ‘almost’.

“That was a long time ago.”

“Gee-zus.”

“What?”

“I just thought... you were a guy.”

“Most guys do.”

Eon is a little embarrassed and attempts to fix the situation.

“Do you want to go somewhere and talk?”

“No. It's safe here and I don't have much time. Though I must thank you for getting my message.”

“That was you on my computer?”

She nods.

“How did you do that?”

Trinity steps closer to him. “Right now, all I can tell you, is that you are in danger. I brought you here to warn you.”

“Of what?”

“They're watching you, Eon.”

“Who is?”

“Please. Just listen.“

Her body is now against his; her lips are very close to his ear. “I know why you're here, Eon. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep and why, night after night, you sit at your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing, but when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer.”

There is a hypnotic quality to her voice and Eon feels the words, like a drug, seeping into him.

“It's the question that drives us, the question that brought you here. You know the question just as I did.”

“What is the Matrix?”

“When I asked him, he said that no one could ever be told the answer to that question. They have to see it to believe it.”

Eon holds back a shiver as the power of her voice and the proximity of her body overwhelms him. Her lips are so close to him that all he had to do was balance on his toes and they’d be kissing.

“The answer is out there, Eon. It's looking for you and it will find you, if you want it to.”

Trinity turns and he watches her melt into the shifting wall of bodies. Somewhere in the distance, Eon hears a sound rising steadily, making it heard over the already loud music. The sound grows until it is all he could hear, then-

“Wake up, Eon! Get up. We’re gonna be late!”

Eon awakens in his bedroom to the incessant sound of his alarm beeping in addition to his louder-than-usual roommate. He strains to read the clock-face. It's 8:48 in the morning! He curses under his breath.

“Damn right that’s bad! Now get your ass outta bed. One more late morning and we’re getting our asses handed to us by Rhineheart. Come on, man!”

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up, just stop shouting.”

The roommates shuffle between brushing their teeth, picking out the least-wrinkled office apparel, and trying not to bump into each other. Eon notices an expensive pair of aviator sunglasses on the kitchen counter. He calls out to his friend.

“Hey, don’t forget your sunglasses!”

Neo thanks him from another room. More often than not, he has had to use them during a nasty hangover. As the two roommates lock up, run side by side down the hallway, and descend down the staircase, Neo speaks up.

“So are you gonna tell me what you were up to last night or do I have to guess?”

Eon pauses to remember. He says, “I think I ran into Trinity last night.”

Neo guffaws in laughter “HA! Yeah right!”

“No, really... By the way, did you get that video of the super girl?”

“Unfortunately, no. Someone must have erased it.”

Chapter Text

Eon and Neo may have arrived to work on time, but that didn’t guarantee one of them escaped the clutches of an angry boss of a software development company. Neo was the unlucky person to get in trouble with the boss ...again.

The tall and dark-haired man, in a wrinkled dress shirt, stares out towards the city beyond him. He hears an annoying sound in the background. Why does one choose to stare out the window while at work? Is it the hope of flying through it toward freedom? Is it the thought one conjures to remind themselves that out there in the big world, someone is having a worse day than they are? No matter the reason, Neo just stares out the windows, wishing he were anywhere else but there. As the background noise grows louder, Neo can no longer ignore it. He turns his head towards his boss who is in the middle of his tirade. The Big Bad is pointing at something in the employee handbook.

“The dress code clearly states you need to wear ‘smart casual’. Nowhere does it state jeans or polo shirts are allowed. What were you thinking the other day? And while we’re on the topic of proper attire, find a damn iron or at least some decent dry cleaning. Finally, the latest program you installed doesn’t comply with your contract. We specified for-“

Neo doesn’t bother to speak or listen. It’s no use when the Big Bad is in this mood. As soon as the noise dies down, he opens his mouth, only for Big Bad to begin again. Neo waits for the end of the spiel. He looks out the window again and notices some cleaners outside working their way down the windows.

“-and who the hell do you think- LOOK AT ME, GODDAMMIT!”

Neo looks forward.

“You are one infraction away from termination. You’re lucky you and your work buddy arrived on time. If you arrived two minutes later, both of you would be walking home without jobs. Do you realize how good you have it here?"

“Yessir.”

The Big Bad leans back on his expensive office chair with his opinion already decided.

“…Clearly, you don’t. Get the hell outta here.” He waves his hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Yessir.”

As Neo exits the room and past the company logo of Meta CorTechs, he mutters “asshole.”

Somewhere nearby, Eon sits in one of the cubicles making up the honeycomb of workers. A single bee amongst many, important and yet not important. He was wanting a decent view of the city beyond the window instead of the maze of walls blocking a magnificent view of freedom.

Neo is halfway to his own cubicle when he hears the telltale ding of the elevator. He turns in time to see who stepped onto the floor, then he freezes in place. From afar, Neo couldn’t tell them apart, but he knew without any doubt it was the same men from the other night, the ones on the CCTV who were hunting that super chick.

Up close and in person, they were much more intimidating. They wore dark suits and darker sunglasses, preventing anyone from peeking into their eyes. Each of them wore an earphone, the cord starting at the ear and ending somewhere inside their shirts. Neo does his best to act nonchalant as he made his way to his cubicle, but he kept a persistent eye on them as they scanned the office where they stood.

Neo hears the elevator ding again; this time a bunch of cops stepped out. Concerned, he quickens his pace and at last made it to the safety of his high-walled cubicle. Neo locates his friend a short distance away just in time to notice a Federal Express delivery person drop off a package. He ducks down to hide from the cops and strange agents. Something in Neo's gut is telling him that something is not right.

A few beats later, he peeks over his desk in time to notice Eon also peek above the cubicle’s wall, staring in the direction of the elevator, then immediately duck down.

The agents proceed towards Eon’s direction, nearing his cubicle. Neo’s instincts are telling him one thing: "his friend is in trouble and he’s gotta do something". He stands to his full height of six feet tall, ready to intercede, just as the agents reach Eon’s desk, but they look befuddled. From the looks of their confusion, Eon is no longer at his cubicle. Without thinking, Neo looks around for any sign of his friend. A cop is sent to search the bathroom while one of the agents speaks to an employee nearby. There he is! From Neo’s vantage point, he is the only one to notice his friend walk in a crouched position towards a hall of empty offices.

Neo is confused at the situation and is unable to think ahead when he turns to look back at the agents, only to be caught staring by them. With blind hope, Neo ever so slowly lowers himself down into the safety of his cubicle. He takes a few deep breaths before he gathers the courage to peek over the wall.

He finds himself face to face with Agent Brown.

Neo covers his mouth to prevent himself from screaming.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“…Hi?”

“We are looking for a coworker of yours. One Mister Thomas Anderson.”

“Yeah, I know him.”

“Would you happen to know where we can find him?”

Neo decides the truth was the best option at this point. “I honestly don’t know where he is.”

“That’s too bad. We were hoping to ask him a few questions.”

“Look, whatever he did, I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”

“There has been no misunderstanding. He is not under arrest. He’s merely…” Agent Brown pauses to consider the right term, “a person of interest.”

Red flags were flaring in Neo’s mind. He needs to do something, stall, misdirect, anything.

“Perhaps I can answer some of your questions since he isn’t here.”

“Not here. It will have to be somewhere more private.”

“There’s a conference room around the corner.”

"Lead the way."

Just as they were about to enter the room on the opposite side from where Neo saw his buddy headed, a cop pulls the man himself out of that very room …in handcuffs. How did Eon manage to be at one side of the office and end up at the opposite? The officer looks smug to have found the suspect while Eon shows mild concern to his best friend.

“Caught him trying to climb out a window."

“Don’t tell them anything. I’ll be out by the end of the day, just wait for me, ok?”

The agent turns back to look at Neo. With an ever-consistent poker face, the guy said, “We’ll be in touch,” and promptly turned face to join his compatriots as the cops drag a handcuffed Eon out of the office.

Neo is left standing by himself. Without warning, nausea overwhelms him, leaving Neo rushing to the bathroom. Nature beats him to it, leaving a nasty mess for the night janitors and the dry cleaners to take care of later. With enough evidence splattered over his work pants and shoes, Neo barges into his boss’ office, “I’m calling in sick,” and left before he could hear a reply. All he could think of was figuring out what kind of trouble Eon was in.

Neo sprints home without any regard for those unfortunate to get in his way. A few unlucky citizens were pushed to the ground during his haste. Upon arriving to the apartment, and struggling with the keys, to which he curses under his breath, Neo haphazardly undoes his tie, throwing it blindly to the side, kicks off his ruined work shoes and pants, and crash-lands on the chair of the nearest computer. He hacks his way into a security camera feed using facial recognition and finds his friend mid-interrogation. He lets out a sigh of relief to hear audio.

“-forthcoming as I can be, Mr. Anderson. You are here because we need your help.”

The camera moves side to side on its own accord. The constant movement renews the previous sense of nausea, prompting Neo to pause and consider if he should find the nearest trash can in case of emergency. Neo opts against it, risking the mess. He needs to see if his friend is safe.

The interrogation room is all-white. No décor is to be seen nor any wear and tear such as a ring of old coffee on the table. Eon sits across from a familiar man in a secret-agent suit with two other agents flanking him. Why does the name 'Smith' come to Neo's mind upon seeing the guy? He disregards this random question and continues to watch. A thick manila envelope lies on the table between them all and judging from the label and the worried look on his friend, it is Eon’s personal file.

The agent sitting across from Eon removes his sunglasses. Neo cannot properly see his face from the camera feed, so he watches his roommate for a reaction. Eon fidgets upon staring directly into the agent’s eyes. Not a good sign, knowing his friend.

“We know that you have been contacted by a certain individual. A man who calls himself Morpheus.”

Neo tenses upon hearing the name Morpheus. Eon tenses up too. During their search for the Matrix, they found rumors connecting Morpheus to their search for answers.

“Whatever you think you know about this man is irrelevant. The fact is that he is wanted for acts of terrorism in more countries than any other man in the world. He is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive.”

The agent leans closer. From another location, Neo does the same and waits with bated breath.

“My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you want to do the right thing. It is obvious that you are an intelligent man, Mr. Anderson, and that you are interested in the future. That is why I believe you are ready to put your past mistakes behind you and get on with your life.”

Agent Smith nudges Eon’s file aside.

“We are willing to wipe the slate clean, to give you a fresh start and all we are asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.”

Eon takes a mere second to consider his response.

“Yeah. Wow. That sounds like a real good deal.”

Agent Smith nods in a subtle manner.

“But I think I have a better one. How about I just give you the finger –“

He does.

“And you give me my phone call!”

Neo feels dread for his friend. Unlike Eon, the taller roommate is beginning to realize how dangerous these guys are. Neo shakes his head, hoping that his friend could sense his warnings.

He whispers, “No, Eon, no.”

With a sigh, Agent Smith puts his glasses back on.

“Oh, Mr. Anderson. You disappoint me.”

“You can't scare me with this Gestapo crap. I know my rights. I want my phone call!”

Eon briefly looks at the security camera; Neo waits with trepidation. One of the agents, the one Neo now recognizes as the agent who briefly spoke to him at work, also looks to the camera and whispers something in Smith’s ear. Smith glances at the camera too, and as soon as Neo meets the stare of the other through virtual space, sending ice through the hacker's veins, the camera glitches out.

Neo is left in the dark.

“Shit!”

After trying to get the feedback to return, Neo gives up, and panics. What should he do? Call work? No, he called in sick. And what would he say to convince people that his roommate and best friend was in trouble without bringing up their shared past of illegal activity? Call the cops? Out of the question. Eon is in trouble, but Neo couldn’t think of a way to help.

Eventually, the young man forces himself to calm down with a long swig of beer he found in the fridge. All that is left is to hope. He stands by his cellphone, almost begging it to ring, but it doesn’t. He sits by the utterly silent device for an unknown amount of time.

Exactly at midnight, there’s a knock at the door. Neo stumbles over the mess of wires in his hurry to answer it. It is Eon, but it’s almost as if he were running on autopilot. Eon's eyes are bloodshot, his curly hair has a couple strands hanging out of place, and his skin looked as gray as ash. If Neo hadn’t known his roommate's insistence on not drinking, he would have presumed his best friend was as drunk as a skunk.

Eon mumbles, “Sorry, couldn’t find my keys.”

He walks past his roommate with a pat on the back. Neo asks him question after question, but his best friend ignores everything just to collapse on his bed and immediately fall unconscious. Despite his better judgement, Neo attempts to wake his friend, to no avail. So, without any knowledge on what happened, he gives up. Being the good friend that he is, Neo takes the time to remove Eon’s shoes, place a blanket over his friend, and prepare to sleep in the next room.

Neo wakes up to the sound of the screaming someone does when their life was at stake. And it was his best friend’s screams. Neo falls out of bed, scrambled to his feet, and runs to the next room, ready to fight whoever was threatening them. Upon seeing nobody except his friend thrashing about in his bed, Neo takes a brief second to breathe a sigh of relief, and proceeds to wrestle Eon in his best attempt to calm down his friend during a nasty nightmare. He doesn't succeed. Eon was bucking like an angry bull with his best friend riding on top of him. Should someone had sneaked in, they’d have presumed something sexual was happening.

Finally, Eon wakes up mid-yell. Without intending to, he headbutts Neo, causing a nasty nosebleed. Without a care for the blood streaming down his face onto the bed sheets, Neo kept his direct focus on his scared friend, acting on instinct instead of logic to get his friend to settle down.

“I’m here! I’mhereI’mhereI’mhere! Shhhhhhhh. Eon, shhhhhh. I’m here. I’m here. I’m here.”

Eon locks eyes with his best friend and roommate. For a moment, Neo thought his friend was okay, but that was instantly proven wrong. In a panic, Eon lifts his shirt and dug his fingers deep into the skin.

“Get it out. Out. Out! OUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOUT!”

He’s hurting himself! His best friend is scratching angry red welts onto his stomach and drawing little droplets of blood. Desperate for him to stop, Neo slaps his friend across his cheek. Eon stops moving. Reality slowly returns and the young man lies back down. He emits soft whimpers and, though both would later deny it, cries a few tears.

Neo collapses in both exhaustion and relief, landing shoulder to shoulder next to his best friend. Sadly, neither were granted enough time to relax because that is when the phone rings. Eon sits up in a second wind of panic. Neo shoves his friend back down, grabs the phone, and answers. It is a man who speaks on the other side.

“Is this Eon?”

Neo doesn't trust this voice. Especially after his friend was mysteriously brought in for questioning, came back with a haunted behavior and most recently suffered a possible night terror.

“He cannot come to the phone right now. Please call-“

His best friend grabs the phone from him. Neo thinks that was quite rude. Eon wipes away his tears and takes a deep breath to settle his nerves.

“Hello?”

Neo can’t hear the other end, only his friend.

“What are you talking about? What the hell is happening to me?”

Eon starts to look green.

“... Yes.”

He hangs up his phone and closes his eyes, looking unsure.

“Eon, what the hell is going on?"

His roommate ignores him. Instead, Eon gets out of bed. He starts to put his shoes back on.

“Hey, please, talk to me. Whatever it is you’re going through, we can go through it together.”

His friend looks conflicted. Without speaking a word, Eon hands his roommate a tissue for his ongoing nosebleed. Neo proceeds to talk in a nasally tone as he waits for the bleeding to stop.

“Look! The cops and some secret-agent-looking fellows bring you in, I hacked into your interrogation feed and get blocked out, you come home half-asleep only to wake up screaming your fucking head off, then some mystery caller calls you up and you don’t answer a fucking thing. Fuck it, man. We’re best friends, whatever your issue is, it’s our fucking issue, so tell me please what the actual fuck is going on!”

Again, Eon looks conflicted.

“I can’t tell you-“

Neo opens his mouth to protest, but his short roommate holds his hand up to silence whatever he was about to say.

“But, if I were to be found at Adams Street Bridge within the next thirty minutes, I wouldn’t be surprised to find you following me at a safe distance.” He silently points to the phone’s receiver, intensifying his gaze as if to convey a secret message.

Finally understanding what his friend is asking of him, Neo forms an “O” with his mouth, and silently nods his head.

Chapter Text

“Okay, we’re here. Remind me of the plan, one last time.”

Eon and Neo hide in an alleyway a block away from the meeting place. It has started to rain; neither of them considered to bring an umbrella.

“I stay here while you head toward the bridge. I access the cameras in case they take you somewhere. And if they do, it’s up to you to stall while I do my best to reach you.”

“And if you don’t reach me in time?”

“Then we can agree I was right about you staying home instead of following some stranger’s instructions.”

“…agreed.”

Before they arranged a plan, the shorter of the two shared what has transpired in the interrogation room when the cameras went down. Neo wanted to be skeptical, but in their long friendship, he was fully aware that his best friend wasn’t capable of tall tales without sporting some type of tell. Not once during the unlikely story did Neo notice a hint his friend was lying. So instead of disbelieving him, he asked for proof. That wasn’t something Eon could readily provide, so he asked his roommate to be patient. They also took a few minutes for Neo to change into cleaner clothes after his nose stopped bleeding.

Neo pulls out a handheld hacker device, prepping it, removing potential glitches, all the while his best friend walks cautiously towards the underside of the bridge. No one else is around at this time of night.

Eon makes it to the dry spot under the bridge. He wonders how long he has to wait. Will his clothes be dry by the time someone shows up? As he thinks this last thought, with his clothes wet but still keeping his skin dry, a car comes to a stop right next to him.

The passenger door opens to reveal a familiar face. It is Trinity, who Eon would recognize from the party the other night and Neo would recognize as the “super chick”. Trinity orders Eon into the car without any words. She moves to the side to make room for the young man.

Eon glances in the direction his roommate would be, he couldn’t see him through the rain and the darkness of night. He hesitates.

Someone inside the car yells at him to get in already.

Eon feels a brief moment of guilt, brushes aside his doubts, and obeys. He enters the car; the driver takes off without waiting for the door to close.

A rain-soaked Neo watches from the safety of darkness. He has to believe no one knows he is watching. As the car drives off, Neo seeks shelter underneath the bridge while monitoring the device in his hands. The various cameras scattered throughout the city capture every block of the mystery car’s route. As he secretly hoped, the car comes to a stop roughly three blocks away. The passengers believe they weren’t being followed. To Neo’s surprise, one of the back doors open, but nobody climbs out. After a few beats, someone’s arm closes the door and the car resumes its steady cruise.

As Neo contemplates between shadowing the car himself or to follow its course through the cameras, he sees something intriguing. The car barely made it a full block when a small yet detectable item is thrown out of the car’s windows. Neo makes the choice to follow the vehicle just to see what that item is.

Why didn’t they think to bring a fucking umbrella? The forecast didn’t predict this amount of rain. This is ridiculous! From his coat to his boxers, Neo was utterly drenched, but he tries not to care. He keeps one eye on the hacker computer in his right hand and another eye on the street before him.

At last, Neo comes to the location where the mystery item was thrown out. It is small, but he finds it without much difficulty. It is in the middle of the road. He checks the CCTV and finds the car with Eon still cruising somewhere. Nothing else was thrown out.

Neo leans forward, picks it up, and finds it to be a small tube containing a common wiretap. Not sure what to think about this being tossed away, Neo looks up to locate some shelter from the rain and finding a spot a couple yards away, he returns his attention to the camera feed. The car containing his friend had parked in front of an abandoned hotel. It’s the Hotel Lafayette and is half a mile away. Neo makes a mad dash in that direction.

Once upon a time, Hotel Lafayette was a grand place. Today, instead of guests, it provides rooms for insects and the homeless. Who else would brave the condemned building with its numerous holes, wallpaper peeling itself off the walls, mold, dirty tiles, etc? At least the electricity can be relied on most of the time.

Trinity leads Eon down the hall of the 13th floor. They stop in front of the room marked 1313.

“This is it.”

Eon’s heart is racing. His mouth feels dry. He cannot stop sweating. This is probably the moment he and Neo were trying to achieve for the past decade. He is finally meeting the famous Morpheus and figuring out what the Matrix is.

“Let me give one piece of advice: be honest. He knows more than you can possibly imagine.”

Trinity opens the double doors. Eon enters. Across the room, someone stares out of the tall windows veiled with decaying, moth-eaten curtains. The man slowly turns and he smiles at the sight of Eon. Lightning illuminates the sky behind him, giving him an ethereal aura. The storm outside shakes the hotel with a powerful slap of thunder.

“At last.”

Eon takes a good look at the dark-skinned man. He wears a long, black coat, his head is bald, and his eyes are invisible behind tinted, circular mirrored glasses. Morpheus strides gracefully to Eon and they shake hands.

“Welcome, Eon. As you no doubt have guessed, I am Morpheus.”

“It's an honor.”

“No, the honor is mine. Please. Come. Sit.”

Morpheus nods to Trinity and she exits to an adjacent room. Eon takes a seat across from Morpheus; the leather of the seats are cracked with age.

“I imagine, right now, you must be feeling a bit like Alice, after going through the looking glass, finding her world upside down.”

“You could say that.”

“I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up.”

A wide smile stretches across Morpheus’ face. It unsettles Eon. It reminds him of the Chesire Cat.

“Ironically, this is not far from the truth. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Can you tell me, Eon, why are you here?”

“You're Morpheus. You're a legend. Most hackers would die to meet you.”

“Yes. Thank you. But I think we both know there's more to it than that. Do you believe in fate, Eon?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

Morpheus again smiles that creepy expression that could cut glass.

Neo has to double over to catch his breath.

He is now realizing the life of a hacker does nothing to his cardio after sprinting half a mile. He makes a half-hearted promise to join the gym for his New Year’s resolution.

Neo looks up at the hotel’s illuminated sign; he can hear the neon coursing through the bars. Neo wipes the raindrops from his face. As soon as his breath catches up with him, he barely takes one step before he is assaulted by multiple people in black leather.

Back in the hotel, Morpheus continues his speech.

“Let me tell you why you are here. You have come because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your whole life, felt that something is wrong with the world. You don't know what, but it's there like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

“The Matrix?”

“Do you want to know what it is?”

Eon gulps audibly and nods.

“The Matrix is everywhere, it's all around us, here even in this room. You can see it out your window or on your television. You feel it when you go to work, or go to church or pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”

“What truth?”

“That you are a slave, Eon. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind.”

Neo struggles to regain full consciousness, but it’s hard to do that when someone is kicking the shit out of your head.

The fight comes to a stop. Neo yowls in agony when someone grabs a fistful of his hair and pulled. He is too focused on the pain to realize someone asked him a question.

“What?”

“I said ‘who are you?!’”

Neo cannot focus. Seeing this, the hold is loosened, but not released. The young man looks to the person who posed the question. Neo does a double take; the woman looks familiar.

“Who sent you?”

“Look, if you’re the ones who took my friend to this place, I’m just here to make sure he’s safe. Where is he? He’s a short guy with curly blond hair.”

Trinity stares down at him. Her gaze is cold, full of skepticism and anger.

“Your friend couldn’t be in safer hands at the moment. The more you attempt to help him, the more danger he is in. Do you understand?”

Something clicks in Neo’s mind. Eon had given him extensive details from his meeting with Trinity and the resemblance was striking.

“You’re Trinity, aren’t you? Yeah, Eon said he met you, but I didn’t believe him.”

Trinity’s face doesn’t reveal anything other than annoyance at the sight of him.

“Nobody ever does.”

She nods to someone behind him.

“Out of curiosity,” Neo says, “what’s with all of the leather? Rain and that material don’t-“

Something strikes the back of his head. His world goes black.

Eon has momentarily forgotten about his friend’s promise to follow him. He’s too fixated on the man before him.

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.”

Morpheus opens his hands. In the right is a red pill. In the left, a blue pill.

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no going back. You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and you believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

He reaches for the red pill with no hesitation. Morpheus offers him one last piece of advice.

“Remember that all I am offering is the truth. Nothing more.”

Eon opens his mouth and swallows the red pill. The Cheshire smile returns.

“Follow me.”

Morpheus leads the young, blond man into the adjacent room. It is cramped with state-of-the-art computer equipment. Trinity, Apoc, Switch, and Cypher have already returned, as if they never left. They look up as Morpheus and Eon enter.

“Apoc, are we on-line?”

“Almost.”

Cypher whispers something in Morpheus’ ear. Morpheus nods his head and answers his question.

“As soon as Eon is with us. We’ll worry about him later.”

Cypher nods and backs away to help Trinity. The entire team works quickly, hard-wiring a complex system of monitors, modules, and drives. It is beyond Eon’s own understanding. Morpheus stands beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Eon, time is always against us. Will you take a seat there?”

Eon sits in the chair in the center of the room. Near the chair is an old oval mirror that is cracked, yet mysteriously free of dust. He whispers to Trinity.

“You did all this?”

She nods, placing over his ears a set of headphones, which are wired to an old hotel phone.

“The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's designed to disrupt your input output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.”

“What does that mean?”

Cypher offers a simpler explanation, “It means buckle up, Dorothy, cause Kansas is going bye-bye.”

It finally dawns on Eon that his best friend should have arrived by now. Where the fuck is Neo? Sure, these people drove the car quite a distance, but not enough to wear out his friend.

Perhaps he is biding his time? Eon tries to reassure himself that Neo always has his back and wouldn’t interfere unless their lives were in danger. He decides to let whatever was happening just continue to happen.

Distantly, through the headphones, Eon can hear Apoc clacking away on a keyboard. Sweat runs down Eon’s face. His eyes blink and twitch when he notices the mirror appear to change. Wide-eyed, he stares as it begins to heal itself, morphing and moving as though the mirror were becoming liquid. Has anyone else noticed this?

“Did you...?”

Eon reaches out to touch the mirror and his fingers disappear beneath the rippling surface. Quickly, he tries to pull his hand back, but the mirror clings to him like reflective taffy.

Morpheus speaks to him somewhere behind the chair.

“Have you ever had a dream, Eon, that you were so sure was real?”

A flash of pain flickers white hot against Eon. The mirror sticks to his hand like tar, he pulls until the connection breaks, leaving a small portion of the mirror on his fingers. The reflective substance moves on its own accord.

“What if you were unable to wake from that dream, Eon? How would you know the difference between the dreamworld and the real world?”

Eon looks at his hand; the mirror substance trails upward from his fingers to his wrist. He can see his face reflected at him. He panics and calls out for help, hoping his friend is nearby.

“Neo?”

Trinity monitors Eon’s vital signs. Things aren’t looking good.

“It's going into replication.”

Morpheus looks to Apoc for any updates.

“Still nothing.”

Morpheus takes out a cellular phone and dials a number.

“Tank, we're going to need the signal soon.”

The mirror-esque liquid is racing, crawling up his arms. It creeps up to his neck as Eon tips his head back as though he were sinking into the mirror, trying to keep his mouth up as one would when attempting to save themselves from drowning.

“Cold. It’s so cold. Neo?!”

“I got fibrillation!”

“Shit! Apoc?”

Streams of mercury cover Eon's nose.

“Targeting... almost there.”

An alarm on Trinity's monitor blares in caution.

“He's going into arrest!”

“Lock! I got him!”

“Now, Tank, now!”

Eon’s eyes are the last to be covered by the reflective substance. His body arches in agony as a high-pitched electric scream erupts in the headphones. The pain is unbearable. He truly thinks he is dying.

“NEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Chapter Text

Neo startles himself awake. He is disoriented. His breathing is hard, his heart is racing. Immediately, Neo feels a headache at the back of his head. It absolutely throbs in pain, not unlike a hangover. He squeezes his eyes shut; he cannot focus on his surroundings as he waits for the pain to subside. When it became clear it would take a while, Neo forces himself to open his eyes to take in the situation.

He finds himself outside in an alley, his back against the rough texture of brick. It is daytime and, judging by the sun’s position, probably late in the morning. What the fuck did he drink last night to end up here?

Neo forces himself to stand up, using the wall as support. As he does so, he feels his whole body cry out in pain from a fight he has yet to recall. Neo shuffles out of the alley, turns his head to see where he is at, and sees the dilapidated hotel. Upon seeing the building’s name, his memories of last night come back with a righteous fury.

Yesterday, he observed Eon questioned by people that weren’t cops, lost the video feed, then his roommate came back with a haunted expression. He witnessed his best friend have a terrible nightmare. Then he trailed Eon after some mystery call, personally ran several blocks in the rain to this hotel, then he was beaten up by a famous hacker.

“Fuck Eon, what the hell kinda trouble did you get into this time?”

Neo blames himself for not reaching his friend in time. He promised he’d trail him and interfere if something goes down, but he didn’t prepare for being sucker punched. Neo also finds it hard to believe his first meeting with a legendary hacker ended up the way it did. At least it explains why his body is sore.

Without regard for the morning rush walking around him in the busy sidewalk, Neo weighs his options. Should he check out Eon’s last known location? Should he go home and see if his roommate returned? Go into work? Scratch that last one. A best friend cannot be so easily replaced as a job. Contemplating the pros and cons, Neo opts to check out the last place he saw Eon.

Eon slowly wakes ups. He is disoriented. His world is fuzzy, though he can tell that he is lying down on a chilly, metallic surface. Eon hears muted noises that quickly transforms into clear sentences.

“-believe it. We've done it, Trinity. We found him.”

“I hope you're right.”

“I don't have to hope it. I know it.”

“What about the other one? Neo? He could be useful.”

“We have all we need right here.”

Eon’s world becomes less foggy. He can see Morpheus' face above him with an angelic aura from the fluorescent lights. Trinity is there as well. She smiles down at him. Eon finds his voice in spite of his tongue feeling like sandpaper.

“Am I dead?”

Morpheus smiles down at him with such reassurance.

“Far from it.”

Eon feels himself slip back into the darkness. When he opens his eyes again, he can sense a strange tingling throughout his body. He struggles as he raises his head and sees his prone body pierced with so many acupuncture-like needles. Eon would be terrified if he could sense any more anxiety or fear. He can hear a machine beeping in sync with his heartbeat.

Morpheus and another man walk into his periphery. They are talking about his progress.

Eon whispers, “What are you doing to me?”

Morpheus doesn’t seem surprised to see him awake; he readily provides an answer.

“Your muscles have atrophied. We're rebuilding them.”

Eon looks up at the fluorescent lights above him. He doesn’t remember them being so unnaturally bright.

“Why do my eyes hurt?”

“You've never used them before. Now, rest, Eon. The answers are coming.”

Morpheus gently closes Eon's eyes as the young man peacefully returns to unconsciousness.

The doors to the hotel are unlocked. Without a care for time, Neo investigates each room on every floor. It is late in the afternoon when he reaches the 13th floor. Unlike the rest of the hotel, two rooms show signs of recent activity. One room has a set of chairs with disturbed dust all around it and the neighboring room has a jungle of complex machinery. Neo carefully studies the technology. A few pieces remind him of electrotherapy, especially the seat with head gear and cables from the head gear trailing to a set of computers. The sight triggers flashbacks. Neo shakes the painful past out of his mind.

The tall, raven-haired man stands in the center of the room. He is utterly confused. The discarded wiretap still in his pocket and the electrotherapy setup are his only pieces of evidence at that point, yet Neo cannot figure out what happened to his friend. He searches the rest of the hotel until there is nothing left to search. The roof was the last place he checked and he found nothing. As Neo stands on the top of the building, staring at the city surrounding him, he wonders if Eon is safe. He wonders a lot of things regarding his best friend.

Neo eventually exits the hotel. Evening is approaching. He scans the exterior and neighboring buildings. There! He spots a camera that is angled just right. He can hack into that camera’s feed. With a plan finally set, Neo starts the long trek home.

Eon wakes up from a deep sleep. His body and mind feel a million times better. He finds himself in a room more in line with a sleeping quarter than a medical ward. Now that he has replenished his energy, Eon examines himself to see how reality looks on him. The clothes he wears look second-hand. There is a futuristic IV plugged into a jack in his forearm. He pulls it out, staring at the grafted outlet. There’s a breeze kissing his head; it feels unsettling cool in temperature. Eon runs a hand over his head and freezes when instead of the locks he sported all his life, he feels a shaved head. It takes a few moments to come to terms with that one fact. He’s never gone bald before, so the sensation was alien to him.

There is another eerie sensation beyond a lack of hair. Eon’s fingers find and explore a large outlet in the base of his skull. The feeling is unnatural; the human skull shouldn’t have a hole there. Eon’s heart thunders from inside his chest. He can’t get enough oxygen. Are the walls getting closer? Just as Eon is about to have a panic attack, Morpheus opens the door. The newest addition to reality has questions. A lot of questions.

“Morpheus, what's happened to me? What is this place?”

The other man either does not understand Eon’s panic or dismisses it.

“More important than what is when?”

Eon is in disbelief. He struggles to keep his breathing at an even pace.

“What do you mean ‘when’?”

“You believe the year is 1997 when in fact it is much closer to 2197. I can't say for certain what year it is because we honestly do not know.”

Eon feels as if the floor beneath him had crumbled away into a void. It’s as if he were above a maelstrom, about to fall down a dangerous pit with no bottom in sight.

“What?”

Morpheus calmly walks towards Eon; he continues to explain with no regard for the other’s state of distress.

“There is no reason for me to try to explain it when I can simply show it. Come with me.”

Eon stands and moves on autopilot. His mind is still processing the new information and trying to prevent itself from going into shock.

Upon returning to the apartment, Neo pops some pain-relievers and pulls out a random package of food from the tiny freezer to soothe his sore body. His attention is captured by the blinking light from the answering machine; it looks like somebody tried to reach either him or Eon. With a spark of hope that his friend left a message, Neo presses the button to hear the voicemails.

The first three messages were from Big Bad Boss. All of them were along the lines of supposed disobedience, lack of respect for superiors, something about demanding to know where he and Eon were. If only he could know that too. Upon the fourth voicemail, Rhineheart’s message conveyed the roommates were both out of a job. Neo is not concerned. After all, he’s got more important issues to focus on, namely figuring out where his best friend is.

After two more demolishing voicemails from Rhineheart, Neo decides to take out his pent-up frustration upon Big Bad Boss. One thing that separates Neo from Eon is their version of revenge. Eon prefers to get someone arrested whether or not they were innocent, while Neo opts for a nasty virus disguised as a mundane email that has the potential to destroy not only the victim’s computer, but also the computers in close vicinity. Neo considers computer viruses to be a reliable and challenging hobby. It certainly comes in handy when there are people out in the big wide world who could and would threaten you.

With no remorse, Neo inserts a particularly aggressive virus into an innocent-looking email detailing his apologies and sends it to Big Bad Boss. He allows himself a smile, imagining the look on Rhineheart’s stupid face. There’s a reason their IT department insisted on regular phishing lessons after Rhineheart was promoted, not that it would help the guy.

With his anger subsided to a more manageable degree, Neo proceeds to hack into the city’s video feed. A bottle of beer is slowly emptied as he searches for his friend. A second bottle is thoroughly emptied when he finds what he was looking for. He observes the group who assaulted him. Apart from why they beat the crap outta him, Neo wonders why they would purposefully expose their leather attire to such rainy weather. Rewinding a bit, it looks like they were the same people who got out of the car Eon was in. A few minutes later, he watches himself get beaten up. As his virtual clone slumped to the ground, the group looked amongst themselves, seeming to be arguing. A man and an androgynous individual dragged him to the alley he woke up in, then as a group, entered the hotel.

Neo watched the rest of the video feed, but his questions weren’t answered. From the time he was knocked out to the point he woke up and entered the hotel, not a single person left. It’s as if an entire group of people had vanished. Unless there’s a secret tunnel beneath the hotel?

Still confused, Neo opts to map out what he does know. Men in dark suits and sunglasses questioned Eon and seemed to be aware of an audience through CCTV’s. He has a wiretap that he still needs to analyze. The device was discarded from the car Eon was in, probably has something to do with the insectoid thing that gave Eon a night terror. Neo last saw his roommate enter an abandoned hotel, with one room housing complex machinery that could be for electrotherapy. And a group of people seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Looking at the clues, Neo is no closer to finding his best friend. He reaches into his pocket to pull out the wire tap. He looks at it. It seems harmless, but so did that virus he emailed to Big Bad Boss. It’s time to see what he is dealing with. Neo grabs a third bottle of beer to prep himself for a night of tinkering.

Eon follows Morpheus through the ship like a ghost or a sleepwalker. He looks all around him, but does not seem to truly notice what surrounds him. Morpheus is ahead of the smaller man, not noticing any need of concern.

“This is my ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. It's a hovercraft. Small like a submarine. It's cramped and cold. But it's home.”

Eon sees a plaque with the ship’s name and reads it out loud.

“Mark III No 11. NEBUCHADNEZZAR MADE IN THE USA YEAR 2069.”

He truly isn’t in the 1990’s anymore. After all of the information thrown at him, Eon brushes this latest point aside and follows the legend. They climb a ladder up to the main deck to find the rest of the team is there waiting for them.

“This is the main deck. You know most of my crew.”

Trinity smiles and nods. Eon smiles and waves back at her like a schoolboy with a crush. He can feel himself blushing.

“The ones you don't know. That's Mouse, Cypher, and Switch. Those two guys are Tank and Dozer.”

The names rush over Eon’s head. He’ll need time to properly learn who is who as soon as he gets the chance to take it all in. Morpheus raises an arm and gestures to the room they are in.

“And this here is the Core. This is where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix.”

What Eon sees reminds him of the swamps of Louisiana. The Core is a swamp of unfamiliar electronic equipment. Vine-like cables hang over each other and snake to and from large batteries, there is a portable satellite dish and banks of life systems and computer monitors. At the center of the web, there are six ecto-skeleton chairs made of a poly-alloy frame and suspension harness. Near the circle of chairs is the control console and operator's station where the network is monitored.

Morpheus turns back to Eon.

“You want to know what the Matrix is? The answer is right here.”

Morpheus points to the back of his own head, indicating the gaping hole. Eon reaches for the outlet he felt earlier. The leader of the team looks behind him.

“Help him, Trinity.”

Gentle hands lead him into one of the chairs. Eon closes his eyes in preparation. He can feel someone guide a coaxial line into the jack at the back of his neck. Morpheus warns him to expect a weird feeling. Eon hears more than feels the squish of a needle piercing skin. The sensation itself is alien; he can’t help shifting his body in discomfort.

A loud click fires and Eon’s ears pop. It is similar to being in an airplane after takeoff. Silence then fills the room. Eon forces himself to relax and cautiously opens his eyes. To his surprise, he finds himself in another place. Everywhere he looks is a blank, white, empty space.

“This is the Construct.”

Startled, Eon whips around and finds Morpheus now in the space with him.

“It is our loading program. We can load anything from clothes, to weapons, to training simulations. Anything we need.”

Morpheus walks past Eon and when he turns around, he recognizes the two leather chairs from the Hotel Lafayette set up in front of a large screen television.

“Please. Sit down.”

Eon chooses to stand beside the chair opposite Morpheus. His habit of disobeying authority figures is hard to break.

“We're inside a computer program?”

Morpheus smiles.

“Is it so hard to believe? Your clothes are different, the plugs in your arms and head are gone. Look at your hair, you were bald a moment ago.”

Eon touches his head. A flood of relief floors his body. He smiles in disbelief and relief as he threads his fingers through his familiar golden, curly hair.

“It's what we call residual self-image. The mental projection of your electronic self. Wild, isn't it?”

“You could say that.”

Eon then catches the meaning behind Morpheus’ words.

“Wait- This- This isn't real?”

He touches the chair and can feel solid leather.

“What is real, Eon? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”

Eon takes it all in. He mutters to himself, “Neo would love this.”

Morpheus’ smile fades away.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s of no concern to you anymore.”

This irks Eon.

“He’s my best friend. And a hacker just like you and me. In fact, I wouldn’t be here if-“

“I’m saying no, Eon.”

“But Neo's been searching for this-“

“No. We took a risk with you. It will take an even greater risk to recover another person so soon after your own recovery."

“But Neo could-”

Morpheus gets angry.

“All of us have made sacrifices to figure out the truth! You have absolutely no idea what my team and I have went through to get to this point. It’s best to forget about the life you thought you led. For all you know, your…” Morpheus makes a sour expression using this term, “friend has forgotten all about you. Now let us move on to more important topics.”

Eon slumps in defeat upon recognizing an opponent who refuses any opinion except their own.

Chapter Text

Morpheus picks up a remote control and turns on the television. On the screen, Eon sees aerial images of Chicago.

“This is the world you know. The world as it was at the end of the Twentieth Century. It exists now only as part of a neural interactive simulation that we call the Matrix. You have been living inside a dreamworld, Eon. As someone once theorized, your whole life has been spent inside the map, not the territory.”

Morpheus changes the channel and static fills the screen.

“This is the world as it exists today.”

The static disappears to reveal a different setting. In the distance stands the ruins of a city. It is so desolate and run-down that it is hard to tell which city it used to be. The storm-ridden sky and barren land beyond the city suggest an environment unsuitable for humankind to thrive.

Eon moves closer to the TV and kneels down. He looks like a little kid watching a tragedy occurring on his favorite show. He sits so close to the screen, it takes Eon a few seconds to realize the environment surrounding him has transformed. Now he finds himself and Morpheus are sitting in the middle of the ruins.

“Welcome to the desert of the real.”

Thunder booms around Eon. He can feel the ground shake from the thunderclap. Eon jumps in fright as a bolt of lightning strikes an area yards away. The electricity in the air causes the tiny hairs on his arms to stand straight. Meanwhile, Morpheus pays no mind to the dangerous elements.

“We have only bits and pieces of information. Our knowledge only goes back a few hundred years. What we know for certain is that, at some point in the early twenty-first century, all of mankind was united in celebration. Through the blinding inebriation of hubris, we marveled at our magnificence as we gave birth to A.I.”

Eon recognizes that term.

“A.I.? You mean artificial intelligence?”

“Yes. A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. I must say I find it almost funny to imagine the world slapping itself on the back, toasting the new age. I say almost funny.”

Morpheus looks up and his sunglasses reflect the clouds roiling overhead.

“We don't know who struck first. Us or them. But we do know it was us that scorched the sky.”

Eon stares up at the sky overwhelmed with storm clouds. He anticipates another bolt of lightning. On cue, a bolt streaks from the sky down to the earth at a safer distance away. A clap of thunder answers it. Morpheus continues.

“At the time, machines were dependent on solar power. It was believed they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. The machines discovered a new form of fusion. All they needed was a small electrical charge to initiate the reaction. The human body generates more bioelectricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 B.T.U.'s of body heat.”

Eon had been following Morpheus’ speech up until this point. This last fact puzzles him enough to lose focus on what the other man was saying. He briefly does some calculations and what he recalled from Physics 101 (or was it 102?) from his days in school. Morpheus continues his speech.

“-watched them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living and standing there, facing the efficiency, the pure, horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth.”

Morpheus clicks off the television. The silence brings Eon’s focus back from his internal calculations. He stays sitting on the floor. Morpheus walks around him.

“What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer-generated dreamworld built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.”

Morpheus opens the back of the television remote control. He pulls out a coppertop battery. Eon can only shake his head as his world is utterly knotted in confusion.

“No. No. I don’t believe it.”

“I didn't say that it would be easy, Eon. I just said that it would be the truth.”

Eon talks to himself, trying to make sense of what he was told.

“Not enough energy to fully power. I didn’t want it to be true. Human batteries. All a lie. I didn’t want to be right. Batteries. Existence is a lie. We’re not batteries, we boosters! Lies, lies, lies.”

“Eon?”

The blond can’t take it anymore.

“Enough! Let me out! I want out!”

Back in reality, Eon’s eyes snap open. He gasps for breath. He desperately tries to escape the chair, attempting to rip the cable from the back of his neck. The young man flails his limbs around in a panic.

“Get this fucking thing out of me!”

Trinity tries to soothe him.

“Easy, Eon. Easy.”

“I’m not a battery!”

Dozer holds him still while Trinity unlocks him from the chair. Once he is free, Eon tears away from them, falling as he trips free of the harness.

“Don't touch me! Get away from me!”

On his hands and knees, he tries to stabilize himself as the world spins around him.

“I don't believe it! I knew life was a lie, but I didn’t want to be right!”

Sweat pours off him as a pressure builds inside his skull as if his brain had been put into a centrifuge. His sight becomes blurry; he can see the fuzzy outlines of the entire crew looking back at him with apparent concern except for one member.

Cypher cries out with apathy, “He's going to pop!”

Morpheus rushes to Eon and urges him to breathe. Eon tries, but ends up puking. His mind can’t take it anymore. His world goes dark.

It has been one day since Eon went missing. Neo searched for his friend high and low, checking out their usual hangouts, and went back to the hotel in case he missed something. He even begrudgingly went to a police station and filed a missing persons case, but it wasn’t helpful. Nor was his analysis of the wiretap he found.

After hours of tinkering, the small device turned out to be a simple recording device with no recording system to let him know what Eon revealed. Out of frustration, Neo tosses it over his shoulder to somewhere in the apartment. At least he thought up a backup plan.

On the second night since Eon went missing, Neo returns to the hotel with a duffle bag resting against his side. It sags towards the ground with the weight of various pieces of technology and a six pack of beer. With his signature aviators blocking the sun’s painful glare, he stares up at the hotel with contempt. It’s holding secrets and he will find out where his best friend is, one way or another. Neo walks like a man on a mission directly to the machinery room on the 13th floor. He takes a couple of minutes to prep his equipment.

It is his theory that the group who kidnapped Eon would have used the phone system and since they haven’t been seen in any of the city feeds in the past two days, it is very likely that the last outgoing call from the phone in the machinery room would be of use to him.

Finally ready, Neo dials *69, chuckling to himself. Sixty-nine is his favorite number, as it is Eon’s. He hears the phone ringing at the other end until someone answers. A tracer program begins its search.

“Operator.”

“Yeah, hi, I was wondering if I could order a pizza.”

“Excuse me?”

Neo glances to his computer screen and feels relief as he watches the program work its magic. He continues his mock-order.

“Yeah, uh, could you make it a large Hawaiian?”

“Sir, this isn’t-“

“Actually, could half of it be Hawaiian and the other half be plain cheese? The roommate isn’t a fan of pineapple,” he laughs and teases the air, as if he were talking to another person about their aversion for pineapple on pizza. The man on the other line tries to reply, but Neo interrupts yet again.

“I’d also like a side of bread-sticks. Ooh- do you have that nacho cheese sauce? None of that marinara-“

“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong number.”

“Any chance you have those little spice packets?”

The other end of the line clicks to indicate the stranger hung up on him.

Neo checks his computer to see if the line was traced during his mock-order. Yep, but the location was indecipherable. This brings a frown to his face. Neo was hoping to triangulate a possible location; this schtick has never failed in the past. But not all is lost. The program worked, but instead of a physical location, he finds a bizarre coding that is unlike anything Neo has seen before.

“What the hell?”

Eon blinks upon regaining consciousness. He senses someone else in the room. Without knowing who it is, Eon speaks.

“You know the logic on humans being batteries is bullshit, right?”

Morpheus sits like a shadow next to Eon’s bed. He asks for clarification. Eon sits up despite the fatigue in his body weighing him down like a heavy blanket.

“Computers using humans as batteries. There’s no way there’s enough electricity in us to power all those machines. At best, we boost them. If you remove the battery of a computer-“

Eon realizes an awful truth. He reaches for his pillow and hugs it.

“I can’t go back there, back to Neo, can I?”

Morpheus shakes his head.

“I feel that I owe you an apology. We have a rule: ‘we never free a mind once it reaches a certain age’. It is dangerous. The mind has trouble letting go. I've seen it before and I'm sorry. I broke the rule because I had to. Would you really want your friend to suffer as much as you did?”

Morpheus stares into the darkness, confessing as much to himself as to Eon.

“When the Matrix was first built there was a man born inside who had the ability to change what he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us and taught us the truth; as long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.”

He pauses. Eon gestures for him to continue.

“After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return and envisioned that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix, end the war and bring freedom to our people. That is why there are those of us that have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him. I did what I did because… I believe that search is over.”

Eon looks to him, wondering if Morpheus is implying what Eon thinks he’s implying. Morpheus looks back at him. His entire focus is on Eon. It unsettles the young man.

“Get some rest. You're going to need it.”

“For what?”

Morpheus grins as he answers, “Your training.”

Neo returns home after his somewhat successful experiment at the hotel. He looks around and listens. His apartment is far too quiet without a roommate. The utter lack of his best friend by his side is most unnerving after years of hacking side by side.

Hours later, Neo thinks he’s cracked the mystery code. It is like a secret pathway for a hacker to bypass any obstacles. Typing the keys a bit more, Neo pumps his arms in victory when he finds a near identical coding at one specific location within the city. Finally, he is one step closer to Eon.

Neo hears a knock at the door. Surprised and suspicious, he locks the computer. In his hurry to answer the door, Neo curses as he trips a couple of times.

Standing at the door, he calls out.

“Who's there?”

“Police, open up.”

Neo mutters another curse under a breath. Not wanting to keep them waiting, he opens the door a couple inches.

An officer appears on the other side of the door. Based on the guy's physical appearance, he should consider losing weight or lay off the donuts.

“Can I help you, officer?”

“You filed a missing persons report yesterday, on a,” he reads his notes, “Thomas Anderson, correct?”

With hope that they found him, Neo opens the door wide and without thinking, he steps closer to the cop.

“Did you find him?”

The policeman shakes his head.

“No, but I’ve been ordered to bring you in for questioning. And I was told to take precautions with you.”

Without a further word, the police officer cuffs Neo. The young man tried to escape the silver bracelets; insisting they weren’t needed. In all his time with the authorities, it’s only when he attempts to escape that he is cuffed, not the other way around.

In the Nebuchadnezzar, Eon has lost track of time. There is no natural light to tell if it is day or night. In his room, Eon sits on his bunk, deep in thought. The door opens and a crew member steps inside.

“Morning. Did you sleep?”

“Not really.”

The other man smiles.

“You will tonight. I guarantee it. I'm Tank. I'll be your operator.”

He offers his hand and Eon shakes it. He notices that Tank doesn't have any jacks.

“You don't have any...”

“Holes?”

Tank laughs.

“Nope. Me and my brother, Dozer, we are one hundred percent pure, old fashioned, home-grown human. Born free. Right here in the real world. Genuine child of Zion.”

“Zion?”

“If this war ended tomorrow, Zion is where the party would be.”

“It's a city?”

“The last human city. The only place we got left.”

“Where is it?"

“Deep underground. Near the earth's core, where it's still warm. You live long enough, you might even see it.”

Tank smiles at Eon with a twinkle in his eye.

“Goddamn, I got to tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you are capable of. I mean if Morpheus is right and all. We're not supposed to talk about any of that but if you are, well then this is an exciting time. We got a lot to do so let's get to it.”

Eon wonders what Tank meant about Morpheus. He follows him out of the room.

Neo finds himself sitting in an interrogation room. He is handcuffed to the table; his wrists hurt from his attempts to loosen the silver bracelets. If he were to hazard a guess, he’d say it was the same room where Eon was questioned, but it could also be a different one.

The door opens and three men enter. Neo's heart skips a beat when he recognizes them as the agents from the office and from Eon's interrogation. One of them takes a seat across from him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Logan. You can call me Mr. Smith.”

Chapter Text

The agent folds his hands and attempts to express a warm smile. Neo isn’t fooled; he knows he has to keep a lid on it if he's going to get out of this alive and well.

“It appears we are searching for the same person: a Mister Thomas Anderson. And what we have gathered is you may know more than we do at this point in the search.”

Agent Smith speaks in an over-pronunciated way. His voice came out as calculating and not-quite-human.

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“Why not? We can work together to find Mr. Anderson. You see, we did a lot of research on the two of you.”

Another agent tosses a thick manila folder onto the metal table. Neo’s legal name is on the label, 'Logan, Emmet'. Smith flips it open and reads the information that should have been confidential.

“Tsk, a childhood diagnosis of schizophrenia, years spent in the mental wards, repeated sessions of electroshock, all for it to fail.”

Neo bites down on the inside of his cheek to keep from speaking. Nobody should know about his past. Not even Eon knows the full story. Agent Smith proceeds to reveal Neo’s personal life.

“A promising future in computer technology only for it to plunge into despair and alcoholism. And look at this,” Smith points at a page, “A criminal history as impressive as your former colleague’s criminal history. A hacking duo. Not only is he your coworker, he is your roommate and friend. Then he disappears. Leaving you alone.”

Neo keeps quiet.

“Mr. Logan, we have the ability to erase your criminal record, to offer you a new job if you should desire, all we want to know is Mr. Anderson’s location. We know you figured out where he is.”

“I’m still not telling you anything.”

The agent’s face grows more serious. Smith leans toward him.

“A group of people disappeared along with him. Clearly, your roommate and colleague has attracted the attention of a dangerous group of talented people whereas you have not. Or perhaps… they are biding their time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to rescue you?”

Neo couldn’t help but ask, “Who?”

“I think you know who.”

Neo takes a moment to gather his thoughts. On one hand, he could admit the truth about not knowing who ‘they’ really are, but the guys surrounding him may not believe him and who knows how they’d react. On the other hand, if they did believe him, then they’d want to know where this mystery group is and he’d have no idea how to answer. Either way, they’d very likely want to know what he knows, meaning they’d most likely torture him. In conclusion: he’s fucked no matter what.

“I’m not telling you anything I know.”

Smith sighs and removes his sunglasses. Neo remembers how unsettled Eon was upon looking into this guy’s eyes. Neo braces himself, but is still not prepared for the reveal. He stops listening to whatever Smith is saying. At first glance, Smith’s irises are an icy blue. Upon further inspection, Neo is startled by such cold eyes, so cold that they were soulless, almost robotic. He’s met a few psychopaths in his childhood and every fucking one of them looked at him the same way Smith was at that very moment. It brought back horrifying repressed memories.

Against his will, Neo shivered and had to look away from the other man.

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s just…never- nevermind. It’s nothing.”

Smith doesn’t seem to believe him as Neo continues to avoid any eye contact. The agent takes a moment to study the raven-haired hacker. After a couple beats, Smith seems to have a read on the young man. He hides his eyes once more with his sunglasses.

“Since you are determined to find your friend and refuse to share any information with us, I suppose the least we could do is skip the pleasantries.”

This time, Neo looks up. Smith signals to his comrades.

“You find Mr. Anderson or he finds you or neither of you find each other. Either way, you will be our little tool to locate a man by the hacker name of Morpheus.”

Neo didn’t want to voice his opinion, but he started to panic as the other agents begin to manhandle him. It seemed like overkill since he is still handcuffed to the table.

“I know only of his legendary reputation as a hacker. If such a man were to contact my friend, I would have been told.”

“And have you been told?”

Neo shakes his head.

“That is truly disappointing.”

He finally understands what traumatized his best friend. Neo wishes he could forget what happens next. What he does forget is how he ended up back in his -their- apartment.

The next morning, a restless Neo pours himself a cup of coffee. He couldn’t sleep after what occurred, so he knows it wasn’t a nightmare. It was full-on fucking reality. There is something alive inside his body. Now that he’s got that out of the way…What is he gonna do? What is he gonna do?!

There’s a fucking insect slash wiretap in his fucking stomach! There’s no way he can get that out by himself. Neo reaches for a bottle of tequila, but stops himself. He can’t afford to get drunk when his situation is this serious. He doesn’t care if his current sobriety brings back those stupid schizophrenic hallucinations. Instead, he downs his coffee in one go and pours another cup.

Okay, what did Eon do? He panicked and had a night terror- no, no, not helpful. He came back in the middle of the night traumatized- also not helpful! THINK GODDAMMIT THINK! What did Eon do?

His roommate didn’t save himself, he was… rescued? Lightbulb! He didn’t remove anything. The bastards who kidnapped his best friend removed the bug from Eon. They know how to help!

With joy and relief, Neo walks toward the door before halting once more. Wait, the bug is inside him. That means his location will be tracked and any conversation he has would most likely be recorded. He’d be leading those agent fuckers straight to Eon. Unless…

Unless he arranges to meet the group without physically meeting them, he’d have to keep phone calls under a certain time frame. But if he dials that number from the hotel, then he compromises the last place he saw his friend and potentially anyone who might be able to help him. On the other hand, what choice does he have? Between finding his friend, finding the kidnappers, and removing whatever was inside him, he doesn’t have many options.

Neo really needs to think this through. He opens the fridge and gazes longingly at the tequila. With an angry growl, he slams the door shut and, in a fit of rage, he punches the refrigerator. Never mind how much it hurts, it drives his focus away from the shitty situation he’s in. For the first time in Neo’s life, drinking isn’t going to help.

Neo collapses to his knees and screams. He screams in anger at losing his best friend, he cries in frustration at nobody helping him, at the unfairness of it all, at the obnoxious secret agents, at everything that’s gone wrong in the past two days.

Tears pour down his cheeks against his will; he slumps to the floor holding his injured hand. There’s no one around to see him cry, but maybe that is a good thing? It’ll give him time to calm down and really think of what to do.

On the main deck, Eon is plugged in. He is about to start training with some help from Tank.

“Okay, Eon, we're supposed to load all these operations programs first, but this is some major boring shit. Why don't we start with something a little fun?”

Tank smiles as he checks out a shelf filled with micro disks. One program catches his eye.

“How about some combat training?”

Eon reads the title on the computer monitor in front of him.

“Jujitsu? I'm going to learn jujitsu?”

Tank slides the disk into the drive connected to Eon’s neuronet.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun!”

Smiling, Tank punches the "load" code. Eon’s body jolts upward. He was expecting the same sensation as when he entered the Construct, but this feeling was entirely different. It feels like he’s getting a brain freeze. Eon’s heart pounds against his chest as monitors beat in sync with his vitals, adrenaline streams through his body. Just as he couldn’t take the pain anymore, it comes to a halt.

Eon concentrates and gets goosebumps as he realizes that he knows decades-worth of jijusti experience. He snaps his eyes open.

“Holy shit!”

Tank mirrors the other man’s smile.

“Hey, Mikey, he likes it! Ready for more?”

“Hell yes!”

After considering every possible outcome, Neo is ready to set his plan into motion. First, he had to calm himself down to be in the right mindset. With a couple meditative breaths, he hails a taxi. He hopes for the best while expecting the worst.

Neo is silent during the ride. Normally, he’d chat with Eon, but Eon isn’t here. This time, Neo just wants to get to his destination. This isn’t fun and games anymore. This is reality. With reality comes the hard truth that life is just not fair. He muses on this rather cynical approach until the taxi finally comes to a halt beside its destination.

Neo exits the vehicle and looks up to the now familiar building: Hotel Lafeyette. His expression seems neutral, but his sunglasses hide the desperation in his eyes. He pays the driver a generous tip to wait until he returns. Without wasting a beat, Neo enters the abandoned hotel and climbs up the stairs. At last, he makes it to the machine room on the 13th floor. Neo picks up the phone and dials.

“Operator.”

“Please listen, I don’t have much time, so I have to be quick. Don’t interrupt. Hotel Lafeyette might be compromised because some secret-agent-looking bastards put a fucking wiretap inside me. I know you or someone from your team can help because I think you removed a similar device from my friend Eon. I know he is with you and your team, or at least he was a few days ago. Now save me the trouble and simply tell me how to find you.”

The person at the other end digests what he says. After what feels like eternity when it could have been five seconds, the man sighs.

“Eon is in safe hands. You don’t need to look for us anymore.”

Neo checks his watch. Less than 30 seconds left.

“Yes, I do! Those agents are looking for him and Morpheus. Every second we waste, those bastards get closer to finding you. I can’t protect my best friend if I don’t know where the fuck he is, so just tell me, dammit!”

“I’m sorry sir, but-“

“You’ve got 15 seconds.”

“-you’re asking to risk the lives of many innocent people. We can’t help you.”

Neo covers the receiver and groans in frustration. He takes a super brief moment to compose himself.

“Just so you understand what I’m risking, I’d fucking DIE for Eon if it means he will survive. Now here’s what I’m gonna do: I’ll wait for you at the other call site. If you don’t know it, follow the phone line’s code. I’ll meet you there.”

He slams the phone down. In a fit of anger, he demolishes the equipment.

At the other end of the line, Tank hangs up. Since the mystery caller specifically mentioned Morpheus and Eon, he has to notify the team. What he doesn’t comprehend is why the caller mentioned a second location. There was no second location as far as anyone was concerned. While Eon is “training”, Tank debates on whether to halt training to inform Morpheus now or to wait until later.

Neo directs the cab to the other location. Upon reaching the destination, he tosses the rest of his emergency cash to the driver without looking back. It covered more than twice the cab fare, but he doesn’t care.

The location before him is a public phone booth at a corner in the lavish part of town. He was hoping for a building to search, but this is where the phone code led him to. Upon inspection, none of the city cameras were facing the right angle. There doesn’t seem to be suitable hiding places on such a busy street with numerous security cameras both in and out of the numerous high-chain stores. It doesn’t matter; Neo has to believe his friend can be found. He refuses to accept failure.

Neo enters the phone booth. He searches for any clues to Eon’s location. A hidden message would suffice because he wouldn’t trust any random number in a public phone booth. One message scratched into the wall caught Neo’s attention, “Wyld Stallyns 4Eva!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Neo sees a lot of black. He turns and is surprised to see Agent Brown 10 yards away. He quickens his search in the booth. Noticing more black from the other side, Neo turns and sees a second agent closing in. Paranoid, he spins around and sure enough, the third agent, Smith, is 5 yards from him.

How in the hell did they find him?! He timed his phone call to ensure the number wouldn’t be traced.

Neo’s heart rate escalates; he gets short of breath. He jumps half a foot off the ground when the phone starts to ring. Desperate and fully aware of the danger surrounding him, Neo blindly reaches for the phone and brings it to his ear.

As he does so, the agent nearest him pulls out a gun and aims. Is he seriously going to shoot him in public?

“WAIT,” Neo cries out, but it was too late.

Just as he closes his eyes in anticipation, the air shimmers green, as if there were a curtain of green symbols flickering in the air around him. What should have been more confusing to him is why the green hue is vibrant in spite of Neo still wearing his shades in the hopes of tinting the bright daylight.

He hears the deafening bang of a gunshot. Neo waits for a bullet or broken glass to pierce his skin. Seconds pass and nothing happens. With extreme caution, he blinks open one eye. What he sees defies the law of physics because it looks like the bullet is floating in the air. Neo looks around and sees the rest of the world has slowed down as well.

While the green curtain could have been a hallucination, he can’t explain why the bullet is moving ever so slowly towards him from outside the booth. Neo can even see the ripples in the air from the soundwaves of the gunshot. It touches the glass and Neo is fascinated to see the spiderweb crack grow in size.

The bullet forces itself through the glass wall. If he dodges the bullet, then those shards of glass will definitely hit him square in the face. Yet, he cannot force his legs to move.

Neo comes to realize that the phone he is still holding is making weird noises. His attention is then captured by an eerie sensation reaching his ear. Neo thinks he’s entering shock. The chill starting at his ear is spreading out to the rest of his body. He is too terrified to dodge as the bullet is mere inches from his head.

Neo thinks this is how he dies. His one regret is not seeing Eon one last time to say goodbye.

As the bullet finally hits him, his body is fully shrouded in what can best be described as a cold sweat. Something knocks him unconscious.

On the Nebuchadnezzar, Eon is demonstrating his newly acquired kung fu skills to Morpheus. Tank had opted to relay the strange message later because a spar between Morpheus and the One is too captivating to miss.

He watches the ensuing battle, monitoring both of their vitals. That’s when he hears an alert and moves to check it while keeping one eye on the fight. The moment he checks the reason for the alert, he does a double take. Not caring if he was interrupting, he reaches out to Morpheus.

“Morpheus!”

“Not now, Tank,” came a very irritated reply. Eon tries and fails to hit his sparring partner.

“Sir, you need to see this.”

With a frustrated groan, Morpheus goes to see what the big deal is. The team leader returns to reality with a frown on his face. Tank silently points to the monitor blaring the alert. Morpheus leans in to see what it was.

“That can’t be right.”

“It is, I checked it three times.”

Eon doesn’t understand what is going on.

“What is it?”

Morpheus turns to the newest recruit in complete disbelief.

“A blue-pill escaped the Matrix all by themself.”

Chapter Text

Somewhere in the apocalyptic reality, at one of the many human power plants, one of the pods lets out a silent alert. A battery has awaken. The body inside the translucent capsule struggles against the thick magenta amniotic fluid. Fighting with the will to survive, the person presses their hands against the membrane, stretching it like taffy. With a giant heave, they rupture a hole in the pod. The human battery pulls its body through the hole and, unable to breathe, tugs out a long tube from its throat, trying not to gag from the sensation.

Neo coughs out excess liquid from the pod. He works his eyes for the first time and sees. He can see his nude body is covered in some sort of oily substance. He rubs his eyes to clear his vision and looks around. Neo is in a pod filled with a thick pinkish-purple substance. His other senses come into play when he smells something akin to sweaty clothes after a vigorous workout. His hands can feel the membrane containing the liquid has the consistency of curdled milk. There are heavy cables connected to outlets on his naked flesh. Without considering the consequences, Neo tugs at the cords. One by one, he removes each and every cable weighing him down. Feeling an unnatural weight connected to the back of his skull, Neo reaches blindly and his heart skips a beat when his hands find a massive plug.

As painful as it is to pull out the cord, Neo just knows it doesn’t belong there, so he forces himself to unplug the thick cable from his skull. He struggles with the pain and supremely alien-like feeling until he frees himself with a groan of sweet relief. There is an unsettling sensation of liquid pouring from the hole at the back of his head. Neo doesn’t want to know what it is, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the fluid is blood, spinal fluid, or both.

Curious as to where he is, Neo slowly leans to one side of his capsule. Below and above him are identical pods such as his and every one of them contain shapes that could be other human beings. All of them are connected to a ginormous central core. He looks back up to see how high it goes. The core disappears in the storm clouds above, so he looks below and the bottom fades in the darkness. If Neo had to guess, he'd say the central core is as large as a mountain. And there is more than one core; Neo can see at least three more from his vantage point.

It finally dawns on Neo: he doesn’t know how to get out of this predicament. How would one get out of here? He looks around, but he doesn’t see any way to escape. Fortunately for Neo, something else does.

From seemingly nowhere, a machine hovers down to him. The device resembles a beetle the size of a pony. It emits a strange purring sound, almost like a mechanical kitten. Holding his breath, Neo stares at the mechanism in front of him. The center “eye” dilates and expands like a bird and seems to stare into his soul.

The machine beeps at Neo. From behind him, a hatch at the base of his pod opens and like a vacuum, sucks the contents, including Neo himself, down into a black abyss. If he weren’t frightened, he’d had compared the dark vortex to a waterslide. Neo slides and falls blindly through the seemingly endless pipe.

After who knows how long, he reaches the end of the tube. He knows because he can smell the sewage before he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. It smells like fecal matter and gasoline. Neo’s body free falls from the opening into a sludge of waste. He dares not open his mouth. Neo holds his breath, swims upward, and breaks the surface. He takes a big gulp of oxygen and blindly swims for his life. He struggles a couple of feet until he senses a shore. Neo pulls his heavy and fatigued body onto the solid ground and stops to catch his breath. Neo passes out from exhaustion.

Why are his eyelids so heavy? Neo is unable to open his eyes; he has to rely on his other senses to comprehend what is happening.

His body is so cold, yet he isn't shivering. His hands and feet are numb. The ground beneath him is uneven; something pokes his upper back in a painful manner. Neo can still taste the bitterness of the amniotic fluid from his pod. In hindsight, it’s better than whatever was in the water he crawled out of. In the distance, he can hear a mechanical whirring. As he cannot lift his eyelids, he is unable to determine what is approaching him, but it is definitely getting louder. A bright light shines over him for a brief second.

The next thing Neo hears is human voices although he cannot understand what they are saying. He doesn’t care who they are, he cannot stay here so vulnerable. Neo attempts to raise his hand, but cannot find the energy. Instead, he cries out as loudly as he can, which wasn’t easy because his throat feels raw. Neo cannot tell how far away the voices are, so he fights through the pain and continues to wail out to make his presence known. Within a matter of minutes, his cries turn into weak groans.

He groans for minutes, probably an hour, yet refuses to go quiet. At last, Neo hears clear words: “Over here! I found them!”

Relief overwhelms his system. Someone can help him! The dark abyss of sleep welcomes Neo back with open arms as he allows himself to rest.

The crew miraculously found the person near one of the trash chutes. The former battery wasn't easy to locate because the gunk all over their body blended in with the environment. Dozer and Morpheus aggressively forced everyone out of the med bay to work on the stranger who is displaying signs of hypothermia. The rest of the crew will get to see the newcomer as soon as they deem them recovered enough for the meeting.

Rumors spread like wildfire. Did another ship help this blue-pill escape yet couldn't locate them? Was it a random accident? Is the newcomer a spy? Eon doesn't care who it is because it's gonna be so nice to not be alone in his training. Two strangers in a strange land, discovering the new world together.

Neo wakes up to the touch of someone caressing his face. The fingers on his cheeks are as light as a feather. The person turns his head side to side. One of his eyelids is propped open; the light is too bright!

He waits for his eyes to adjust. There is a single ray of light above him, but Neo knows he isn’t in heaven. Based on the cold metal under his skin, the beeps of monitors, the smell of chemicals, and his intuition, he guesses he is in a medical examination room.

“What’s going on?”

He hears voices, but they are too muffled for him to understand the words. Neo blinks his eyes again and, to his surprise, finds himself in a different room. Did he fall asleep? Neo lifts his head to peer at the bunk he is resting on.

"Good, you're awake."

The new voice frightens Neo. He scrambles away from the source of the noise, but in the process he gets his legs caught in the blanket and in his clumsiness, falls onto the floor. Neo glances upwards at the upside down image of a frowning dark-skinned man dressed like he went diving for clothes in a dumpster.

“Easy. Easy. You’ve come a long way. Do you know where you are?”

Neo frees his legs from the blanket and puts more space between himself and the other man.

"Yeah, the pits of Hell! Who the fuck are you?"

The other man looks to the ceiling.

“While some may describe it as Hell, I call it being miles underground. Probably beneath what once was Chicago in case you want a geographical location."

Neo glances to the ceiling as well. Then he wonders why; it's not like he has x-ray vision. As for being underground, that doesn't seem ridiculous. He just witnessed Hell itself. Why question his senses?

"You can call me Morpheus. I am the captain of this vessel. What’s your name?"

Neo presumes Morpheus asked for his legal name. It takes a moment for the young man to remember. It’s not like amnesia, more like trying to remember a dream upon waking up.

“Emmet.” He swallows and clears his throat. “Emmet Logan.”

“Well, Emmet, not everybody makes the journey you had alone. What is the last thing you remember before you woke up here?”

Remembering in his current state feels like trudging through thick mud. His memories take much longer to return, but he does remember and goes pale.

“My friend went missing and I searched all over for him. When I thought I found him, those government bastards intercepted me. They up and shot me.”

“And after?”

“Uh, I guess the next thing I can remember is waking up in some kind of cocoon. There were cables all over my body, even a big one at the back of my head. Something happened and I was sent down a long-ass waterslide into nasty water."

“Who reached out to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did anyone send you mysterious messages? Did you reach out to anyone? Phone calls? Computer messages?”

“Yeah. I made a call or two, but they weren’t helpful.”

“Then how did you arrive here?”

Neo focuses on his memories and comes up with squat.

“I don’t know. One moment I’m in a phone booth. Next thing I know, I am in Hell or underground or whatever.” Another memory returns. “Back in the booth, I think I heard the phone ring.”

"Who called you?"

"Nobody. I mean, I picked it up, but nobody replied from the other end."

Morpheus squints at the young man. The story doesn't check out, though the agents and the phone add a hint of truth.

“I don’t know how you got here, but you made it out regardless. You are lucky my team found you when we did because you would have died by hypothermia within hours. I promise, in time we will figure out how you did it. For now, it’s time to meet the team. Follow me."

Morpheus proceeds to give Neo the same tour he gave Eon.

Eon can’t stay still. It's so exciting to know he wouldn’t be the only newbie on this ship. According to the rest of the team, nobody has ever escaped by themselves. The only way to be free from the Matrix is to be born in Zion or be assisted by someone connected to reality.

The crew stand together in silence. They exchange glances conveying their anticipation. Trinity catches Eon's gaze and smiles at him. He smiles back at her. That is when Eon hears Morpheus speaking from a room away, but he can’t hear anyone else. The door opens to reveal Morpheus. Behind him was-

“Neo?!”

The new arrival’s eyes go wide.

“Eon?!”

Eon laughs, not believing his eyes. No. Fucking. Way! The friends sprint toward each other and meet in a tight embrace. They hold the other as though they were the only thing keeping the other on their feet. The rest of the world can wait.

“You’re here! I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Are you crying?”

“Shut up! You’re the one who’s crying."

“I never thought I’d see you again. How? I mean, really, how?!”

“I don’t fucking know! And I don’t fucking care anymore. I can’t believe this!”

“Neither can I!”

The best friends continue to give the other bear hugs, until Cypher loudly clears his throat to remind the men that they weren’t alone. Eon wipes his tears away to take a good look at Neo’s true body.

“Dude, you are so pale!”

Neo barks some sarcastic laughter.

“You know hackers aren’t known for their tanned skin. Better question is why are you bald?”

“You're bald too.”

Neo lifts his hand in surprise. Sure enough, there’s not a hair on his head. Oh well, hair grows back.

“Look, I know I was supposed to be there for you. I’m sorry. I failed because I was blindsided at the hotel.”

“Forget about that man, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Yeah, but can we agree that we should have stayed home, like I wanted to?”

“Oh definitely, like 100% agreed."

The two grown men laugh like children. Apoc clears his throat this time while Trinity gently asks Eon to introduce them to his friend. Pink with embarassment, the two friends turn around to finally acknowledge their audience. Eon rests an arm around Neo’s shoulders- he needs the physical contact to make sure this isn’t a dream- and does the introductions. He makes sure to gesture to each member as he says their name. The one called Switch raises a hand to ask the newcomer a question.

“How did you do it?”

Everyone looks to Neo. It is unnerving to be the center of attention.

“I… do what?”

Trinity provides the context.

“How did you escape?”

“To be honest, I thought you left me clues to find you and when I followed them, I ended up here.”

“I can assure you, we didn’t interfere. Except for saving you from hypothermia. You’re lucky we found you at all.”

“Then how?”

“That’s what we’d like to know too,” Morpheus says in his deep voice. He steps away from the door and addresses his crew.

“Dozer, Tank, Trinity, we need to discuss this with…,” Morpheus turns to the taller of the duo and acknowledges his hacker name, “… Neo. Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this. Everyone else, turn in for the night.”

Eon raises a hand and adds, “I want to stay with him.”

Neo readily agrees for his friend to join.

“The two of you can catch up tomorrow. Tank, Trinity, Dozer, now.”

By his tone alone, there is no room for argument. The team scatters to various destinations, except for Neo, Eon, and Morpheus. In unison, the friends turn to look at each other.

“Morpheus is right. We have time to catch up later.”

Neo frowns like a kicked puppy. Eon can’t have him looking like that. The shorter of the duo gives his best friend a warm, reassuring smile.

“I know you’re having separation anxiety right now and you have a good reason for it too, but we won’t be far apart. You and me, we’re a team. We’re like- like the binary code; you can't have one without the other. And I’ve got some sad news for you, man, but you are stuck with my sorry ass until we are old, gray, with wrinkly saggy butts.”

This elicits a light chuckle. Eon gently pushes Neo toward the impatient Morpheus. Once he has the room to himself, Eon’s smile fades into a frown. Like Neo, he also cannot shake the feeling that something bad is gonna happen if they get separated again.

“You can’t deny his potential anymore.”

Morpheus doesn’t answer. He is staring off into space, deep in thought. For hours, they had Neo retrace his steps- he kept the green shimmer a secret because he would prefer to keep his schizophrenia a secret- in addition to answering a multitude of questions. When he described his first trip to the hotel, Trinity went ahead and apologized for the sucker punch. Neo wasn’t ready to accept her apology, so he ignored her and continued his trip down memory lane.

He goes over the interrogation and the trail of clues ending at the phone booth. Morpheus grew concerned when Neo mentioned the living wiretap; there was no evidence of it in the real word yet could still be a part of him in the Matrix.

Tank confirmed Neo had dialed the operator number twice, but it didn’t explain the mysterious code he found at the hotel. The brothers from Zion insisted the phone booth wasn’t used by anyone in the team. Their best explanation is the hacker had found a random rabbit-hole there and accidentally woke himself up. It didn’t answer all of their questions, but it’s the best they have so far. Dozer and Tank dismissed themselves and Neo went back to his bunk to get some much needed rest.

Trinity carries on her conversation with Morpheus.

“Did you know Switch and Mouse are starting to believe he could be the One instead of Eon?”

This captures his attention.

“Eon is who we’ve been searching for. While I agree Neo’s arrival is miraculous by itself, it doesn’t mean anything. We continue Eon’s training tomorrow.”

“Will Neo be joining him?”

“In due time. I’ll give him the talk in the morning, but he’s on his own after that.”

“Why? We train every newcomer. Shouldn’t Eon and Neo learn at the same time? They’re both beginners here.”

“We don’t know if the wiretap is still in Neo. He could alert the Agents if we plug him into the Matrix or even the Construct.”

“How do you plan on explaining the truth to Neo without going into the Construct?”

“With only my words and insistence. He’ll get the show as soon as we deem it safe.”

Morpheus walks to the door and pauses. Without turning, he makes sure to add one more thing.

“Don’t get too attached to him. Our main priority is Eon. He is the answer to our prayers. Neo is only along for the ride as far as I care.”

Trinity looks like she wants to argue, but relents. With silent respect, she departs. Neo hides behind a corner until Morpheus and Trinity disappear down the hallway. He came by to ask some questions, but paused outside the entryway when he caught them in the middle of their private conversation. Neo doesn’t like being put on the back burner, which is the vibe he got from eavesdropping. Morpheus doesn’t seem to care about him. Did he treat previous newcomers the same way? Neo ponders on the importance of this “talk.” Perhaps Eon can tell him what to expect.

“Wait wait wait, they think you’re Jesus?!”

“Yeah,” Eon laughs. “But they call me the ‘One’ instead.”

“Only you. I mean seriously, only you would be compared to Jesus wherever you go. You just can’t shake the title, can you?”

“It’s not like I tried! The name follows me everywhere.”

They laugh, so full of mirth. They sit cross-legged on Eon’s twin bed. Neo almost falls off from a full body laughter. As the laughter dies down, Eon hesitates. He needs to say something now that they have some privacy.

“I should have stayed. This is all my fault-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there. Yeah, it was stupid of us. But dude, look where it brought us! We found the Matrix! We’re out of the dream.”

“I guess, but-“

“No ‘buts’. Now zip it with the sentimental crap and get some sleep. You look like a zombie.”

This brings a smile back to Eon’s face. He answers by flipping the bird. Neo pats Eon’s leg and heaves himself back to his own room. He is right outside the door when Eon speaks up.

“Hey, Neo?”

He turns back to face his friend.

“Thanks for not giving up on me. I’m ashamed to admit I gave up hope. So… thanks. For being stronger.”

A heavy weight settles in Neo’s eyes.

“Nothing can bring me to give up on you. For as long as we live, I’ll be by your side.”

They bid the other a good night and pleasant dreams before Neo departs for his own room.

Chapter Text

Eon wakes up at some unknown hour. Wanting to start the day with his friend, he makes his way to Neo’s designated room, only to find it empty. Going by the logic of being hungry after a full night's sleep, Eon heads to the mess hall. No one is there. He pauses to listen for any noise; he hears voices not too far away. Eon follows the noise to the Core and, to his subtle relief, finds the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar listening at the door.

He asks what is going on, but Apoc instantly shushes him.

“Shhhh! Morpheus is telling Neo the truth about the Matrix.”

Immediately, Eon realizes the severity of the ongoing situation. Thus, he says, “Oooh, that’s not good.”

“You got that right.”

“Why is it so odd to hear it again?,” asks Switch.

“For God's sake, shut up!”

“Can anyone hear Neo?”

“Quiet!”

Eon attempts to listen in, but there is only silence from the other side. Everyone waits, no one daring to make a sound. The door opens with no warning, startling many, to reveal Morpheus. Their captain doesn’t say anything as he walks past his crew. Trinity shares a concerned look with Eon before peering inside the room. They can see Neo sitting on a chair; he looks grey in color. The young man's mind seems far away, almost too far for anyone to reach out and grab.

“Neo? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

He doesn’t respond, nor does he seem to be aware of his company. Trinity takes action.

“Somebody help me carry him to his room. It's obvious Neo will be taking the quiet route. And I think we all know what that means.”

There is a collective of groans emanating from a few people. Judging from their expressions, Eon decides to not ask what "that" implies. He looks to his best friend and upon seeing the state of Neo, decides he doesn't care what happened to those who took "the quiet route".

Eon volunteers himself as a human crutch for his friend. Trinity supports Neo on the other side and together, they carry the latest addition of the crew to his bunk. Neo lets them treat himself like a ragdoll. There is no resistance coming from the comatose man. The rest of the crew follow behind, ready to catch him in case Neo slumps to the ground.

“Has this happened before?,” Eon asked Trinity. It's Apoc who answers him.

“A few times. Sometimes the truth is too much to handle and can take up to 12 hours to process.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Get him to his bunk, where he can think things through without hurting himself.”

The crew carefully guides Neo to his room. Someone tucks him in for extra measure while another person locates a bucket due to the poor fellow transitioning from white with shock to green with nausea. For the next 8 hours, the crew rotates shifts, taking turns cleaning the 'puke bucket' and making sure Neo doesn’t hurt himself.

Eon wanted to be there for his friend, but the crew insisted Neo will talk when he is ready. There’s nothing else Eon could do except wait. The hacker was told to pass the time with further training alongside Morpheus. With a lot of urging, eventually the two men are seen walking downtown in a large city. Morpheus effortlessly moves against the crowd while Eon struggles to keep up. So many people bump into him or block his path. Morpheus begins another speech.

“The Matrix is a system, Eon, and that system is our enemy. But when you are inside and you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, lawyers, teachers, carpenters. The minds of the very people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of the system and that makes them our enemy.”

A cop writing a parking ticket stares at Eon. It’s hard to read the officer’s expression behind his sunglasses. It reminds the young hacker of his roommate’s signature sunglasses. Morpheus continues to speak.

“You have to understand that most of these people are not ready to be unplugged and many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”

Eon is distracted by a spot of color in amongst the crowd. An attractive young, blonde woman in a red dress smiles at him as she passes by. He smiles in response and stops listening to Morpheus.

“Eon? Were you listening?”

“Yeah,” he says without breaking eye contact with the attractive female.

“Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?”

Eon’s attention returns to Morpheus.

“I was…”

“Look again.”

Eon turns around to Agent Smith pointing a gun at his face. Going off instinct, Eon drops down to the ground to avoid the gunshot.

“Freeze it,” orders Morpheus.

Everything around them comes to a stop. Even the noise in the background goes quiet. It defies the rules of physics. That’s when Eon connects the dots.

“This- this isn't the Matrix?”

“No. It's another training program designed to teach you one thing: if you are not one of us, you're one of them.”

“Who is ‘them’?”

“Sentient programs. They can move in and out of any software still hardwired to their system. That means that anyone that we haven't unplugged is potentially an Agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one.”

Eon stares at the Agent frozen in time. He waves his hand in front of Smith’s non-moving face.

“We've survived by hiding from them, running from them, but they are the gatekeepers. They're guarding all the doors, holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later someone is going to have to fight them.”

“Who’s the unlucky one?”

Morpheus pauses for a beat. He looks remorseful.

“I won't lie to you, Eon. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, who has fought an Agent, has died. But where they failed, you will succeed.”

“Me?”

“I've seen an Agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based on a world that is built by rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.”

“Me? Are you trying to tell me that I can dodge bullets?”

“No, Eon. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.”

At first, it looks like Eon is questioning this whole thing, second-guessing his role in this, but what he says next disproves that thought.

“Sweet.”

Back in reality, Neo is trapped within his own thoughts.

What would the world look like without humans? Would it be better? Or would it be worse? Would rebellious machines make the world a better place? Or would their lack of compassion make it worse off? Was it wrong to follow Eon to a literal hell? No! No, it wasn't wrong. Fuck, what is he thinking? Neo would follow that idiot anywhere. But the truth of reality was quite the unexpected kick to the gut.

Neo hasn’t moved from his position since the crew left. He didn’t bother trying to determine how long it’s been. Perhaps hours, but who could tell with no frickin’ sunshine to help track the time.

What’s gonna happen now? He’s reunited with his best friend, so at least he won’t have to navigate this hell alone, but it’s still a new world to figure out. Are the rules the same? Are the machines the same? Is there any chance he could see the sky again? Does food taste the same here? If his favorite food was only simulation, does that mean his taste-buds are different? What about beer? Oh dear God, would alcohol have the same effect on him in the real world?

Neo is coming up with a mental list of foods he will miss when he hears a knock at the door. He doesn’t have the energy nor the curiosity to know who knocked. After a couple more knocks, the person enters on their own accord. It is Trinity, or at least it sounds like Trinity.

“Hey, I came by to ask if you wanted to see your friend in action.”

Neo's eyes focus on his guest. Trinity sees that as permission to continue.

“You don’t have to train with him today, but perhaps you would like to see what you could do someday?”

This seems to be the thing to finally awaken the comatose man because the first word he says after 8 hours is a rather simple: "Okay.”

They enter the Core just as Morpheus gives another order.

“Tank, load the jump program.”

Everyone is watching the Core mechanisms, watching with excitement. They are so focused on the situation on the screen, they don’t notice Trinity nor Neo entering the room. Trinity announces herself, simultaneously startling her crew members. She requests an update, to which Tank replies.

“Morpheus is testing Eon with the Jump Test.”

This peaks Neo's curiosity.

“What's the Jump Test?”

“It's to see if he ignores the illusion of physics while in virtual reality. He is supposed to jump off a tall building.”

“And did he?”

“He hasn’t jumped yet.”

In the simulation, Morpheus is getting impatient. He calls out to the other man.

“What are you waiting for, Eon?!”

“I can’t do it.”

Morpheus shakes his head in exacerbation.

“Yes, you can! Forget all you’ve learned.”

“I think that’s easier said than done. I don't do heights!”

Back in reality, Neo realizes something. He turns his head in search of the person operating the program: Tank. Seeing him, Neo gets into Tank's personal space and makes a rather unusual request.

“Is there a way I can speak to Eon from here?”

“Yeah, but it’ll take a sweet minute though.”

“Patch me through to him as quickly as you can! He's acrophobic!”

Eon is on the verge of a panic attack. He doesn’t like heights. And having to jump is not something he’d be eager to do. As he feels his heart pumping way too quickly, he hears a soothing voice.

“Eon?”

“Neo!?”

He looks around and only sees Morpheus. He does a 360 degree turn in search of his life-long friend.

“Where the fuck are you?”

“I’m in, uh- what’s the proper term- reality? Never mind where I’m at. Listen to me, I’ll be joining you in time, but for now, do the jump.”

Neo belts out a chuckle of disbelief and nervousness.

“No way, man! You of all people should know this. Absolutely no FUCKING WAY! Forget it.”

Morpheus again orders Eon to jump, but all Eon can hear is Neo.

“Eon, tell me what you see before you.”

Eon peers over the edge a second time and immediately regrets it.

“I see approximately 15 stories between me and the fucking ground! I also see at least 50 feet between me and Morpheus. There’s no fucking way I’m making this jump.”

“That’s why you’re not going to jump.”

Morpheus and Eon pause in confusion to Neo’s choice of words. In sync, they together ask, “What?”

“Listen to me, Eon, and trust me. Lift your leg up onto that ledge before you. Don’t think, just do it.”

Eon takes a step onto the ledge. Two more steps and he’d plummet to the ground.

“Now what?”

“Lift yourself onto the ledge and stand there. I’ll be right below to catch you.”

Morpheus tries to interject, but all Eon wants to hear is his friend’s reassuring words. Eon stands up onto the ledge separating him from the roof to the ground. He knows Neo literally and metaphorically caught him from falling multiple times in the past. If his best friend says he'll catch him, then goddammit, Neo will inevitably catch Eon.

“Close your eyes. Take 3 deep breaths. I am right there.”

Eon takes a couple deep breaths. Already he feels calmer, more at peace with his situation.

“Trust me when I say there will be an invisible path between the buildings. Like in the Indiana Jones movie you had us watch.”

Eon blinks his eyes open to look for a bridge.

“But there’s no freaking bridge in this scenario!“

“Indy didn’t think that either, yet he was proven wrong. Take one gigantic step forward. If you want, you can keep your eyes closed and Morpheus will be your guide. I am right here to catch you.”

Eon takes another breath, closes his eyes, and takes one step forward…

In reality, the only person remaining calm is Neo. His faith in his friend is strong. Everyone else holds their breath in anticipation.

…and Eon lands on something solid. Immediately Morpheus takes over from there.

“Keep your eyes closed! Listen to me, Eon, your path is straight ahead of you. Take one step after the other.”

With his eyes closed yet full of fear, Eon calls out to Morpheus to keep speaking. He is so scared, but he keeps his eyes shut and he believes in Neo to catch him if something goes wrong. The young hacker follows Morpheus' voice for what feels like forever until...

“Eon?”

It's Morpheus. His voice sound so close.

“Yeah?,” asks Eon.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Eon does. He blinks his eyes open to Morpheus' grinning face.

“Congratulations. You passed.”

Eon turns to look behind him and collapses to his knees at the sight. There was no bridge.

“How did I do that?”

“Easy answer: you walked on thin air.”

Eon crawls back to the edge and reaches out. He touches nothing; he really did walk on air.

“I feel faint.”

“Tank, patch us back.”

“You got it!,” came a cheerful reply.

Eon opens his eyes. Even though he is still nauseated, he moves that feeling to the back burner because he is back in reality and currently situated in a room booming with cheers.

“I can’t believe it! No one has ever passed on their first try before.”

“That was amazing to witness!”

Morpheus congratulates Eon and expresses his gratitude to the rest of his crew. Trinity beams at Eon, there is obvious pride in her eyes. Neo awkwardly peers from behind the group to give his friend a thumbs-up in acknowledgment of his achievement. Eon returns the gesture as thanks.

“Attention, everyone!”

Everyone turns to Morpheus upon command. He waits until the room is silent.

“In all my years here, no one has succeeded on their first attempt… until Eon.” Morpheus smiles and goes on to say, “What he did is only the start to a revolution against the machines. Starting tomorrow, we will all do our part to assist him in his training. As for tonight, we celebrate!”

Cheers erupt once more in the Core room. The party congregates to the mess hall. The topic of Eon’s “walking on air” goes on and on for hours. What isn’t mentioned is Neo’s assistance in the matter. Neo doesn’t mind being in the shadow of his friend because what Eon did is definitely something to brag about. It’s not everyday one can break the law of gravity. Then again, he supposes that was the point in the end. To remember the Matrix is a simulation instead of reality, and to break the laws of physics thus embracing the knowledge one is trapped inside a computer program.

Hours later, chores were done and most of the crew members left to rest in their rooms. Tank leaves for the night as Cypher arrives to take over sentry duty. Neo shows up not a minute later.

“Hey, Cypher.”

“Neo! Come, sit, drink, whatever.”

The newest member of The Nebuchadnezzar chuckles at the other’s humor and takes a seat. Cypher cannot contain his curiosity.

“I need to ask, what the hell are you doing here instead of tucking in for the night?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was bored and you looked like you could use some company.”

“Won’t Eon get lonely without you? You two seem stuck at the hip.”

“Don’t worry. Trinity is with him.”

Cypher nods in utter silent sympathy. He'll share his feelings for another night. Cypher takes the opportunity to ask his companion how he is doing, to which Neo admits to not having a clue what to do. He gets a little deep and rants about escaping reality to find his friend only to end up stuck in hell with him. Neo doesn’t regret following his friend, but he does want Eon and himself to return to reality. For their safety. Cypher understands all too well.

“Rational and understandable. You took the road less traveled. You faced obstacles Eon didn’t, meaning you know what monsters lurk out there in the big bad world. Safety and security is what you strive for, right?"

“Yes, exactly!”

"Too bad for you, for those same obstacles have already put you in danger. You mentioned the Agents put something in you, which means you could be carrying a beacon without realizing it. Morpheus doesn’t want to take the risk of endangering everyone here by making you a beacon to our location. It means you’re stuck here.”

“How would I know when I’m safe to return?”

“You mean if that bug doesn’t bring us danger?”

Neo nods. Cypher pretends to mull over it.

“Considering the unlikelihood, I suppose you could always… Never mind, not worth it.”

“What? I could do what?”

“Well, this is just me speaking here, but we could try patching you through and see if any Agents show up. If any do, all it will take is a push of a button and you’ll be back here safe and sound.”

“That's all it will take?”

“Sure thing. Easy as pie.”

“Can we keep this between us?”

“Why? Scared Morpheus would get mad?”

“No. Because he’ll kick my ass for breaking the rules.”

“And since when is following the rules any fun?”

Chuckles erupt from both men. They spent the better part of their lives as hackers; following the rules isn’t something neither of them are up for. With fake bravado, Neo inhales deeply, turns to Cypher, and gives a simple command.

“Send me in.”

With a couple clicks and a glance-over of what to expect, Cypher introduces Neo to the Construct. There is 15 seconds of baited anticipation. They wait for any sign of danger.

“Have any Agents appeared?,” asks Cypher through the communication device.

“No sign of them.”

“Let’s take that as a good thing and get this experiment going. What do you want to start with?”

“Whatever Eon did earlier.”

“The jump test?!”

“Yeah! Yeah, that one!”

“Straight to the scary. I like it. And don’t you worry, if you fall, it’ll feel like you landed on a trampoline and will bounce back up to the street.”

Without seeing the simulation before, Neo blinks his eyes open to see he is on the rooftop of a tall building in a city. It’s quiet at this altitude. Walking to the edge of the roof, he guesses the building to be 15 stories tall. Inspired by Eon’s experience and Cypher’s reassurance that it won’t hurt if he does fall, he shakes his head of the fear and remembers the most important factor: this isn’t reality.

Conjuring a powerful image of sturdy glass between him and the building 50 feet away, Neo steps off the ledge. He is caught off guard when his foot lands on something hard. Neo looks down, but doesn’t see what is keeping himself up this high. Acting on instinct, he takes another careful step with the same result. He can’t help laughing at his situation. He experiments with the support by hopping thrice and feeling the sturdiness, he looks ahead to the other building and makes a run for it. A smile brightens his face even more.

He makes it to the other building with no issue. In his excitement, Neo turns around and impulsively jumps like Superman to the building he was at previously. He lands in a three-point superhero landing (you know, when a hero jumps from an impressive height only to land on their knees and punches the ground, upon which Neo immediately regrets. Please excuse his outlandish streak of cursing since such a landing is complete torture to the knees.)

Cypher looks on in awe. Not only did this nobody pass the test, he did it with no hesitation. Could this loser be the ‘One' instead? Or did Neo accomplish the feat from witnessing the test and believing it could be done because Eon did it? Whatever the reason, Cypher realizes he should keep an eye on Neo, who is at this point just messing with gravity for the thrill of it.

“Check it out! I’m one of those levitating monks!,” exclaimed Neo as he sat in a lotus position two feet from the ground. This scene is comedic enough to bring Cypher to giggle.

“Okay Neo, I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day. Time to return to reality.”

With no reluctance, Neo returns. Cypher kindly reminds the young recruit to keep this impromptu adventure a secret. After all, Morpheus hadn’t permitted Neo access to the Construct. And if/when he is allowed to train, Cypher happily advises Neo to do a Superman jump, complete with superhero landing, with no sign of hesitation. All to appease their stoic captain. Neo readily agrees, wanting to impress everyone as soon as possible. With a nod of respect to one another, Neo makes his way to his bunk for a good night’s sleep.

Chapter Text

In the hours of what passes for morning, Eon walks down one of the many hallways, holding hands with Trinity. They had just recently enjoyed a light-hearted practice spar and Trinity metaphorically wiped the floor with him. It only strengthened his strong crush towards the amazing woman beside him. Upon entering the mess hall, Eon’s smile fades into a frown.

Sitting all alone is Neo. From the way he is hunched over and massaging his temples, it’s clear the young man is suffering quite the headache. He hears his friend groan in pain. Knowing the cause and an efficient cure, Eon pours two cups of coffee and waves one mug just below his friend’s nose. Neo smells the beautiful scent as it moves around and opens his eyes. He accepts the gift with silent gratitude. Eon takes a seat across from Neo while Trinity gathers breakfast for the two of them.

“It’s been a week since you’ve had a drop of alcohol. How have you been coping?”

“I haven't,” Neo growls. “Without any good alcohol, this reluctant withdrawal has been a bitch!”

“I can’t remember the last time you’ve gone this dry for this long. Any hallucinations yet?”

With a sigh, Neo pauses. “It seems I outgrew whatever gave me those stupid visions.”

“What was your condition called again?”

“Schizo-something. Honestly, I didn’t bother to research it.”

“What do you remember about it? This is the first time in our friendship I've had to personally deal with it and I want to help in any way I can.”

Neo stiffens. His past isn’t his happy place and he's beyond grateful Eon hadn't questioned him about it til now. Neo looks away as he goes over the painful memories.

“Screaming like a banshee at scary things that only I could see. Nobody else saw them, so I was deemed the crazy one. Thanks to all those meds prescribed to me, I was medically high up til I quit high school and stopped seeing that shitty doc. By the time you and I met, I’ve discovered that drinking kept the hallucinations away. Haven't been sober since."

“Wow! Um, I… suppose it explains your alcoholism, right? But why not tell me sooner?”

"I wanted to put the past behind me, okay?! It’s not exactly something I’m proud of.”

Eon wanted to know what his best friend sees when he hallucinates, but he goes quiet when Trinity takes a seat next to him. She sets a plate of food in front of Eon and another plate for herself. She takes in Neo's body language.

“Forced sobriety?”, she asks.

“Yep.”

“I don’t envy you, Neo. Withdrawal on top of Dozer and his brother teaching you the ropes for creating courses? It’s comparable to college exams with no time to sleep.”

“Do you mind being a bit quieter?,” requests Neo.

Humoring the other, Trinity whispers to him.

“Tank wants you down at the Core after you finish your breakfast.”

Neo groans again. The training he goes through isn’t as active as Eon’s, but the mental exhaustion is close enough. With a chuckle, Eon nudges his own cup of coffee to Neo. The mug is emptied within seconds.

Morpheus and Eon were in the middle of another training spar. At the same time, Tank is going over the technological aspect of the course with Neo. Is it really their fault if they kept getting distracted by the amazing fight? Just as Neo was criticizing their initial stances, an alarm goes off. Tank's eyes go wide; he lunges for the intercom.

“Captain, we got trouble. Sentinel trouble.”

Without a moment to lose, Morpheus deactivates the Construct and rushes to the cockpit of The Nebuchadnezzar. He slides into the copilot seat next to Dozer and turns on the weapon systems. Neo stays by Tank's side while Eon climbs up to the cockpit with Trinity two steps behind him. Eon attempts to remain upright with the change in course, but it’s like trying to stand in a washing machine as it’s running. Trinity helps him to his feet.

“Did Zion send the warning?”

“No. Another ship. Big Brother, I think, they're running a parallel pipeline.”

An alarm above Eon’s head starts to scream.

“Shit. Squiddy's sweeping in quick.”

Eon asks Trinity, “Squiddy?”

“A sentinel. It's a killing machine designed for one thing.”

Dozer supplies the next part: “Search and destroy.”

“Set it down in there,” Morpheus points to a tunnel off to the side of their route. Dozer obeys and anchors the ship. Morpheus clicks on the intercom.

“How we doing, Tank?”

Down below on the main deck, Tank works to power down The Nebuchadnezzar. The room goes dark, as does the rest of the ship. It’s quiet. It’s eerie. Neo’s concern is visible enough for Switch to hug him for comfort.

Tank whispers back to the captain, “Power off-line. E.M.P. armed and ready.”

Eon isn’t familiar with the term. “E.M.P.?”

“An electromagnetic pulse. It disables any electrical system in the blast radius. It's the only weapon we have against the machines.”

Everyone in the cockpit silently watches the darkness outside. It doesn’t take long for the temperature to drop with the power cut; Eon can see his breath as tiny puffs in the air. He huddles next to Trinity for the shared body heat. Down in the main deck, Mouse stands nearer to Neo to help keep the shivering fellow warm and whispers reassuring words.

Everyone holds their breath upon catching movement outside the windows. A shadow swims into view. Black metal catches the minimal light, casting it in ethereal beauty. The appendages resemble the multiple arms of a squid. The hairs on the back of Eon’s neck rise as the mechanical creature doubles back from its course to peer at them. It is near enough for Eon to see its many “eyes” of various sizes. The eyes blink out of sync, marking its status as an unnatural creature.

Eon prays under his breath. "Please go away."

Down below, Neo looks to the ceiling, sensing something.

“Does anybody else hear-“

Switch immediately covers Neo’s mouth to keep him silent, with Mouse covering his hand on top of Switch’s own out of rational anxiety.

The metallic squid focuses its attention beyond the cockpit. It looks like it heard something. The machine blinks twice more before it swiftly disappears back into the darkness. In the tiny space, everyone breathes a little easier. Morpheus waits another 5 minutes before turning on the intercom to let Tank know all is well again.

With the all-clear, Neo's mouth is uncovered. The majority of the crew returns to their previous tasks, except for Neo. He stares beyond the ceiling, at a spot he swore he heard something call out to him. With a shake of the head, he eventually dismisses it as a potential auditory hallucination. Neo continues his lessons with Tank.

At the end of a long day of training for everyone, Trinity opens the door to Eon’s room. She carries a tray with food.

“Eon, I saved you some dinner.“

She looks up to see Eon slumped against the bed-frame. He snores as he sleeps. Leaning against him is Neo. Trinity's voice seemed to stir Neo awake; he blinks his eyes open. He acknowledges Trinity and she nods to the door. Understanding the message, Neo struggles to get up with creaky joints. He turns back to his friend to place the only blanket over Eon. With a grin, he gives his friend a good night kiss upon the top of his head. Neo turns and exits the room.

Trinity places the tray of food beside the bed and gives Eon a good night kiss on his cheek. Checking the door to make sure no one is there, Trinity leans close to the sleeping man and inhales his scent. She doesn't know what it smells like, but it's delightful. She exits the room to find not only Neo waiting for her, but also Cypher.

“I couldn’t help but notice you brought dinner for one person.”

“Don’t take it personally, Neo. She never brought me dinner.”

“And earlier today, you brought breakfast for just the two of you. Care to explain why you made me the third wheel?”

Trinity pauses to think of her answer. “His training takes up a lot of energy and needs more nutrients throughout the day.”

Cypher speaks up for Neo. “And learning the behind-the-scenes crap is not training?”

A spark of understanding reaches Neo's eyes.

“You care about him. Why?”

Trinity’s reply is as cold as ice. “I believe it is none of your concern.”

“Oh, I believe it is because he’s my best friend. I don’t care if power is what you’re attracted to, but he deserves better than a woman who is into him solely because of some prophecy. Please tell me there's more to your crush than that.”

Trinity says nothing. She turns and both men watch her walk away. Cypher wraps an arm around Neo’s shoulders. The gesture has him looking at Cypher with a look of confusion, but he doesn’t shrug him off.

“Just watch. Someone more powerful will sweep her off her feet, leaving your buddy behind in the dust. I’ve seen it before.”

“I just hope she makes him happy while it lasts.”

Neo looks to Cypher and does a double take.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“Tonight’s my turn for sentinel watch. Wanted to come by and see if you’re up for more training.”

“Lead the way.”

Cypher shows Neo how to enter the Construct -and by extension, the Matrix- and return without an operator. They go through a couple practice runs until Neo gets the hang of it and can leave without assistance. Nodding his head, Cypher gives him the green light for the next lesson.

Neo blinks his eyes open and finds himself in a large city during rush hour. He looks around and, though he can't say for sure, he's confident he's not back in the Matrix. Cypher shows up at his side and beckons him to follow. Like Eon before him, Neo had difficulty moving against the crowd. Showing off, Cypher turns around and walks backwards against the crowd, still moving with practiced ease. As Cypher isn’t one for multiple speeches, he instead yells over the crowd.

“You gotta catch up if you want to hear what you need to know.”

To the left of the other man, Neo sees a spot of red. It’s a lovely woman in a red dress. Before she could smile at him, Neo turns his attention back to Cypher. The other man, still walking backwards, was looking at him in confusion.

“What?,” Neo asks.

“What? Are you not into hot blondes?”

“Not really my type.”

“What is your type? That brunette behind you?”

Neo turns around to meet the gaze of Agent Smith. Instead of panic, the young hacker reminds himself he isn't in the Matrix. Neo smiles in recognition and shows no fear.

"Hey, I know this guy!"

Cypher, after a moment of getting over his shock over Neo's complete nonchalance, explains the situation. “Mr Tight-Ass here is an Agent. Take a closer look if you like; I paused the simulation.”

“Agent?”, asks Neo as he waves a hand of front of the non-moving man before him. His gaze moves to the rest of the non-moving world.

“Programs designed to erase any annoyance to the Matrix. They can take over anyone still connected to the system. Meaning they can be anyone and everyone.”

“What are we supposed to do if they confront us?”

“For now? We run like bats outta hell. As far as we know, they have no weakness. We throw all we can at them and it does jack-shit. Think of them as an anti-virus program and we are the virus they want to remove.”

“Computer virus, you say? Then I think I know how to handle them."

Cypher shakes his head. “I seriously doubt it. On to your next lesson.”

The two men are brought back to the heart of The Nebuchadnezzar.

“Next on the agenda: inputted training. This is when we pump you with imprinted memories of lessons. What normally takes someone decades of learning will require mere minutes for you. Might I recommend choosing one complete course, since we have limited opportunities for such an occasion and any more would cause suspicion?”

Cypher reveals the tower of “courses” Neo could choose from. He deliberates for a while and nods his head.

“I choose French.”

This takes Cypher by surprise.

“Decades of knowledge condensed into two mere hours and you want to learn fucking French?”

Neo is confident with his choice and solidifies his desire to learn a new language.

“French is the language of love and who knows who you could charm with the language?”

“Not what I’d pick for a first choice let alone in the top 10, but whatever floats your boat.”

Cypher inserts the disks and runs Neo through what to expect yet again.

“With this sorta thing, you won’t be going anywhere. Imagine, if you will, the worst brain freeze of your life. Double it and that’s what you’re getting. It will lessen over time, which means good news for you as the entire disk will take 2 hours. Ready?”

Cypher doesn’t wait for a response as he slams down upon a button.

Sure enough, Neo senses what he would later not describe as a headache, but something cold washing through his mind. It’s utterly unsettling. However, as Cypher promised, the sensation did lessen eventually.

We hear an orchestra softly play in the background as we enter a lavish restaurant. An important meeting is taking place.

“Do we have a deal, Mr. Reagan?,” asks Agent Smith.

Cypher stabs another cube of perfectly-cooked steak and pops it into his mouth. He chews with his mouth open as he answers.

“You know, I know that this steak doesn't exist. I know when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, do you know what I've realized?”

Cypher swallows his food. He shivers in delight, clearly savoring the delicious food.

“Ignorance is bliss.”

Agent Smith looks on at him. He reigns in his disgust and asks his question once more.

“Do we have a deal?”

“I don't want to remember nothing. Nothing! You understand? And I want to be rich. Someone important. Like an actor. You can do that, right?”

“Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan.” There is no hint of deception, sarcasm, nor condescension in the Agent’s words.

Cypher takes a deep drink of wine. He swirls the glass, watching the liquid move in tandem with his hand.

“All right. You get my body back in a power plant, reinsert me into the Matrix and I'll get you what you want.”

“Access codes to the Zion mainframe.”

“I told you I don't know them. But I can give you the man who does.”

“Morpheus.”

Cypher nods and bites into another chunk of meat. He raises a finger and quickly swallows his food to say something else.

“Have you or your boys figured out where that escape-artist slipped off to?”

“Whom do you speak of?”

“His name is Neo. Heard he escaped while in a phone booth just around the corner from here.”

“Mr. Logan. What of him?”

“He’s been in a pocket of the Matrix a handful of times since his escape. As a matter of fact, he’s connected to it as we speak. I know your wiretap is still inside him, so are you getting a beacon to our location?”

Agent Smith raises his eyebrows to indicate his surprise. He pauses for a moment.

“His signal has been cut since his disappearance and hasn’t re-emerged since. Perhaps it only works within the system?”

“The Matrix. Got it. I find a way to bring him back here and he’s yours. If I may request one last thing,” Cypher takes another sip of his wine. “Do go easy on Neo. I’m no saint, but he’s good people.”

“I can assure you, we will not administer any lethal injury upon him.”

“Then we have a deal.”

Cypher raises his arm and shakes the Agent’s hand.

Cypher returns with 5 minutes to spare on Neo’s inputted training. He is the sole witness to the young man’s initial reaction.

“Merde! That hurt!”

Neo realizes what he said and covers his mouth. Getting through the surprise, he speaks again, only in fluent French.

“Est-ce que je viens de dire de la merde en français? Baise-moi, merde, connard. Incroyable!”

“English, please! I can't understand a lick of French."

“D'accord! I mean, of course.”

“Switching between languages is an exercise in and of itself. You’ll control it in time. And lessons are done for tonight. We'll continue next week. Got it?"

"Got it. Thanks, Cypher. You're shaping up to be quite the support system."

Neo pats Cypher on the back and makes his way to his bunk.

Cypher turns his head and whispers, "You have no idea."

Chapter Text

The morning after Neo secretly went through the Woman-in-Red test, he immediately started on a new personal project. It doesn’t take long for Morpheus to hear of this. After a couple of days pass by, the captain meets with Dozer to review Neo’s progress while most of the crew were enjoying lunch.

“How’s he doing?”

“Any day now and he’ll know everything there is to know from this side of the fun.”

“Any concerns I need to know of?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“And this secret project I’ve heard about? Has he told you what it is?”

“Told me? I can do you one better. He showed it to me.”

Dozer inserts the aforementioned disk. Morpheus stares up at the monitor. The screen readjusts itself before revealing the cityscape of Chicago circa 1999.

“Don’t expect any surprises. From what he’s told me, this is supposed to replicate his home as he remembers it. How would you describe it?”

“It's desolate.”

“Exactly.”

“Did he say what his end goal is?”

“Nah. Said it’s a working theory and doesn’t want to test it until the perfect opportunity presents itself.”

“Alright, give me any updates as they come along.”

More days pass and it is once again Cypher’s turn to watch for sentinels. He collects his eager student for some more off-the-books training. Today’s lesson of choice is boxing. With Neo connected and ready to go, Cypher keeps watch over his ‘pupil’. After an hour or two, Cypher hears something move behind him. He looks over his shoulder and immediately relaxes upon seeing Eon.

"What's going on?"

“Your buddy here,” nodding to the man unaware of his audience, “is training against Morpheus’ orders. You gonna do something about it?”

Eon shakes his head with a grin.

“I’m not surprised. He’s always been kind of a rebel. I only came by because he wasn’t in his bunk. Thought I'd see what trouble he was up to. So, what’s he learned so far?”

Cypher, taken aback by Eon's nonchalance over the ordeal, decides he rather likes the supposed ‘One'.

“The French language and currently boxing. Have you covered those yet?”

“No to both.”

Cypher turns back to his 'student' and a metaphorical light-bulb turns on above his head. He turns to look back at Eon and asks him a simple question.

“Are you up for a midnight spar?”

Neo finishes his “training” and blinks his eyes open to see his best friend grinning down at him. Eon brings him up to speed and settles down at the nearest seat. Cypher starts the sparring program without prompt. Eon and Neo open their eyes to find themselves in a gym with a padded floor. The clothes they wear are nondescript pieces of workout attire. However, what captures Neo’s attention is his friend’s appearance.

“Hey, your hair is back!”

Sure enough, within the Construct, Eon’s golden curls have returned to their original length. Neo is happy to see his friend with his longer hair.

“It’s called residual image. Believe me when I say I’m glad your hair is back as well. With that out of the way…,” he smirks at Neo, “are you ready to do this?”

“Hell yeah!”

“First things first, we should have rules. I’ll start with us needing to stick with one style of fighting for fairness. You with boxing, me with, uh…” he pauses to consider all he has learned so far, “kung fu.”

“I’ll choose the second rule. Since you’ve done this before and I have not, I say we are allowed to tap out at any time. This is my first spar and you know I have a mean competitive streak.”

Eon chuckles with utter fondness.

“I’m fully aware.” He points an accusatory finger to Neo. “Don’t think I forgot the Battleship incident.”

“For fuck’s sake, I… didn’t… cheat!”

“Oh, really? Who wins four games in a row?!”

Cypher interrupts via intercom; he speaks in a sardonic manner.

“And I’m sure it was all fun and games, but we’re wasting precious time here. Are we going to do this or not?”

Eon and Neo have a silent conversation with their eyes. They nod simultaneously and presume their stances. Eon starts with a bow stance while Neo does fisticuffs and jumps in place. After a moment of silence, Eon makes the first move. What follows can best be described as an athletic dance between Jackie Chan versus Mike Tyson. Neo somehow blocks Eon’s offensive strikes, just as Eon dodges Neo’s powerful punches. The two circle each other, sizing the other up for possible weak points.

“You can’t touch me, bitch!,” Neo taunts to his opponent, accidentally leaving his head defenseless. In the span of a second, Eon does a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s face. He hears his friend verbally tap out as he suffers the agony of a broken nose. A small river of blood gushes down Neo’s face and onto the floor. Eon flinches in sympathy pain because he remembered too late how he accidentally broke Neo’s nose less than 3 weeks ago, during his night terror after meeting the Agents.

“Bam! Eon throws an impressive kick to Neo’s nose and the crowd… goes… wild!!!” There comes a bad imitation of a crowd cheering through the intercom.

“Shut up, Cypher! Could someone get me a damn towel!”

Eon fetches one and hands it to his friend.

“You okay?”

Neo nods and says, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. My ego took the brunt of it. Nice moves, by the way. Should we consider it cheating if you move faster than what should be physically possible?”

Eon doesn't bother answering, knowing how anything could be fair game in this situation. As soon as the bleeding stops, the two men position themselves for another round. Eager for retaliation, Neo opts to go for an equally impressive feat. He observes Eon’s body getting ready for another kick to the face, so Neo bends backwards at a gravity-defying angle. Eon pauses long enough to gawk at his friend’s impossible maneuver. Neo takes full advantage of the distraction when he straightens himself into an upright position. Eon immediately gets his own broken nose and taps out, thus ending the second round. Chuckling at his accomplishment, Neo tosses a clean towel to his friend. With his voice muffled by the towel, yet full of admiration and respect, Eon admits how he hadn't considered using the lack of true gravity as a defensive maneuver. Neo smirks back at Eon and gives a devilish wink as a hint to further surprises.

When both parties are ready, the third round begins. Throughout the match, Neo uses his lower body more than Eon, dancing as he steps out of the swing zone, rotating his hips to administer heavier punches. Eon utilizes lighter punches, but at a faster pace, so he could land many more hits in one take. So many limbs strike at every angle, it's becoming difficult to keep track of whose limbs belong to which man, but none of them land a critical hit.

The round goes on and on. Neo and Eon refuse to go down. Cypher pipes in here and there with some witty commentary; he wishes he had popcorn to munch on as he watches the entertainment. The time flies by and the two friends are truly proving themselves to be equals. Finally, out of breath and energy, sweating profusely through their workout clothes, Eon and Neo lean their weight against the other, holding each other up.

Gasping for breath, Neo pants, “Call it a draw?”

Eon gulps in some oxygen to give voice to his answer, “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Cypher takes his cue and returns them to reality. In his excitement, he loudly applauds their fight. He expected smiles at the least, but to his confusion, the newest recruits stare in horror at him.

“What?,” Cypher asks.

They don’t respond and continue to stare. Eon then points a finger behind Cypher, so he turns around and panics at the sight of a very angry Morpheus.

“Shit!”

Morpheus hasn't stopped pacing back and forth for 5 minutes, he is just that mad. Neo frowns in his seat with his arms crossed; Eon is jittery and actively avoids eye contact with Morpheus; Cypher looks bored and completely unconcerned.

“-going behind my back! Risking our safety! Need I go on? Cypher!”

Cypher doesn’t bother looking up. “Yes?”

“Has Neo compromised our location?”

“Not as far as I’m aware.”

“Good. Tomorrow, I’ll figure out what to do with the three of you. Go to your bunks, you’re dismissed.” All three stand, but Morpheus speaks again. “Not you, Neo. I want to have a private talk with you.”

Cypher and Eon wordlessly and obediently leave. It would not be wise to disobey their captain’s orders at this point. Eon closes the door behind them. That’s when Morpheus silently takes a seat next to Neo, who still looks pissed off.

“Are you aware that what you did is wrong?"

Neo’s stubbornness keeps him from responding.

“You admitted it yourself how you aren’t sure if the tracking device is still within you. By entering the Construct, you could have compromised the entire crew, including your friend.”

The newest recruit doesn’t bother reacting.

“You must know your acts of rebellion, ignoring my orders, distracting Eon, taking risks for selfish reasons, this kind of behavior must stop. It will inevitably lead to downfall. I'm sure by now the crew filled you in on Eon being the One, and what it means for your friend. Therefore, you know of his responsibilities and what it could mean for your standing relationship. Do you understand?”

Neo shakes his head ‘no.’

Morpheus sighs.

“I"m saying you need to fall in line. There is only a single One, whereas former blue-pills like yourself are expendable. You must learn your place in our little world while Eon learns how to navigate life without you to drag him down.”

“What is your problem with me?”

Neo lifts his gaze to look at Morpheus directly in the eyes.

“From the moment Eon met your team, you’ve taken great care to keep me out of the loop. Kept me from training alongside my friend who is also new here. Why?”

Morpheus collects his thoughts before proceeding with his answer.

“I'll be honest with you. It's because you weren’t supposed to find out the truth yet alone find your own way here. Your hacking skills aren’t nearly as impressive as they should be. You think you’re helping, but the truth is you are a distraction. I know I sound harsh, but I have a full crew to look after and the best hope for humanity needs my guidance, but I cannot do that with you getting in my way. A good leader must figure out the solution to an obstacle, and you’ve been nothing if not an obstacle I’ve had to move aside. It’s getting late, so I suggest you return to your bunk now. You’re dismissed.”

Morpheus exits the room without bothering to hear the other’s argument. Neo is too tired to act on his frustration. He's feeling so many negative emotions, but after the day he's had, he doesn't know if he has the energy to do anything. Instead, he slumps back on his chair, looking up at the ceiling. Half an hour later, he gives up and returns to his bunk.

The next morning, Neo wakes up and expects another shitty day. He gets up and goes through his morning routine. Hungry for breakfast, he walks to the door, but stops when he hears someone knocking right outside his room. He opens the door to see Morpheus standing on the other side.

“Neo, I’ve given it a lot of consideration. You were right about me holding you back and while I don't believe you are ready, you do have the right to train as much as anyone else here. Therefore, you have my permission to train. You better hurry. Tank is expecting you any minute.”

“Really? You’re serious?"

Morpheus nods solemnly. Neo smiles in gratitude; he’s too delighted to question Morpheus’ complete change in opinion. The younger man eagerly runs to the Core. Tank is waiting for him and congratulates Neo, but the operator looks remorseful for some reason. Neo selects his mysterious project and inserts it into the drive. However, Tank stops him from fully loading his project. Instead, the operator asks him to save it for another time. Tank, as per orders from his captain, tells Neo that he’ll be starting with the boring stuff, dull and tedious programs and such. This doesn’t bother Neo at all. The newest recruit settles himself into one of the numerous spots and waits with bated excitement. Tank loads him in without pomp nor circumstance.

In the mess hall, the rest of the crew is eating breakfast, with Eon being the last to arrive. The nozzle releases a substance that looks like runny eggs. Eon attempts to hide his grimace and takes a bite. As it is a staple breakfast food, he already knows it has no taste and the texture won't sit right in his mouth. He checks the table for anything to season it with, but he knows it’s a fruitless endeavor. Thankfully, Morpheus enters with some good news.

“I want everyone on standby in 30 minutes. We're going in. I'm taking Eon to see her.”

The captain of the ship leaves the room as quickly as he appeared.

Eon asks out loud, “See who?”

“The Oracle.”

Barely 5 minutes later, Eon is ready to go and absolutely shaking with anticipation. Everyone has made such a big deal about this Oracle person and if Morpheus thinks it's time for Eon to meet this person, then that means he’s reached an important part of his training.

Eon is the first to enter the main deck. However, to his utter surprise, he sees Neo already connected. Of course, he has to demand an explanation from the operator, Tank. The answer he is given is that his friend was permitted to train and will join the crew as soon as Neo’s initial training is complete. It’s only logical since should the occasion occur where Neo encounters Agents at this point, he’d be royally screwed. Eon finds it reasonable and impatiently waits for the others to arrive.

When the 30 minutes is up, everyone else is seated comfortably in their chairs. Trinity and Cypher both were surprised at Neo’s presence and turn to Tank with confusion written on their faces. Tank mouths “training” to all, which settles their curiosity. Eon turns to share an excited grin with Trinity, she returns the grin with the upmost reassurance upon her face. Tank preps the crew for their re-entry into the Matrix.

“All right, everyone please observe that the no smoking and fasten seat belt signs have been turned on. Sit back and enjoy your flight.”

He strikes a button and we are instantly transported to an abandoned hotel. It is not the Lafeyette, but it is equally rundown and roach-infested. In the center of the room is an old coffee table, sitting upon it is a phone. It starts to ring. Morpheus answers the device and tells the person on the other line, “We’re in.”

Eon looks around the room and realizes everyone is dressed differently, including himself. He is dressed in a sharp-looking suit, all of the same black color. It is tailored perfectly to his shorter proportions. He takes a look at Trinity and likes what he sees. Her black leather outfit shows off the best of her feminine attributes. He smells something sweet in the air.

Eon leans in close to Trinity and asks, “Are you wearing perfume?”

With a smug grin, she replies, “It’s Angel by Mugler. Do you like it?”

“I do. I really, really do.”

Mouse stays in the room they appeared in, to guard their ticket home. The rest make their way down and out through the rear entry of the hotel's kitchen. Eon steps out from the dark interior and into the daylight. The bright light is painful to the point of rendering him one hell of a headache. The others aren’t as affected by the harsh rays because- he’s just noticing now- they are all sporting various forms of sunglasses. Is this how Neo felt every time he went outside during the worst of his hangovers?

Apoc and Switch remain by the exit to keep a look-out for unwanted visitors. Morpheus assures them that they’ll return in an hour. He turns to see Eon looking all around in admiration of the simulated world.

“Eon, keep by my side at all times.”

The other man obeys, yet keeps on observing his home as if for the first time. In a way, he sort of is seeing it for the first time, through the eyes of one who knows the truth.

Cypher opens the driver-side door of an old, unattractive car conveniently parked near the hotel and settles himself behind the wheel. The remainder of the crew position themselves within the vehicle. Before Cypher closes his door, he looks over his shoulder and, when no one is paying attention, he secretly places a tracking device into the trashcan within his reach. From the soft noise it emits, the device has been activated.

Meanwhile, in the heart of the Nebuchadnezzar, Tank does a side-glance to check Neo’s progress. He has 2 hours left of inputted training. He’ll be done by the time everyone returns. The newest recruit looks peaceful where he lies, completely unaware of what the rest of the crew are up to.

Chapter Text

Eon gazes out the car window. He is completely enraptured by the illusion of ordinary city folk doing ordinary things. Morpheus looks over his shoulder and smiles at the awestruck Eon.

“Almost unbelievable, isn’t it?”

Eon nods, at a loss for words.

The car passes a familiar storefront.

“My God!”

“What?,” asks Trinity.

Eon points at the building.

“Neo and I used to eat there after work. They had the best noodles. The waitress always gave Neo an extra fortune cookie because she fancied him.”

He turns his attention to Trinity.

“I have these memories, from my entire life, most of them with Neo, but... none of them really happened. What does that mean?”

“It means the Matrix cannot tell you who you are.”

“But an Oracle can?”

“That's different.”

“Did you go to her?”

“Yes.”

“What did she tell you?”

Trinity turns her head and attempts to hide her smile.

“She told me...”

“What?”

Trinity finds herself unable to answer. The car conveniently comes to a stop.

“We’re here,” Morpheus acclaims. “Eon, come with me.”

Trinity and Cypher remain in the car as the two men enter a worn-down building. From the look at the interior, it is the type of place meant for people who want to disappear from their responsibilities. Morpheus calls for an elevator and they ride their way upwards.

“So, uh, is this the same oracle that made the, uh, prophecy?”

“Yes. She's very old. She's been with us since the beginning.”

“The beginning?”

“The beginning of the Resistance.”

Eon has many questions on his mind, on who he is to meet.

“And she knows what? Everything?”

“She would say she knows enough.”

“And she's never wrong?”

Morpheus sighs.

“Try not to think of it in terms of right and wrong. She is a guide, Eon. She can help you to find your path.”

“She helped you?”

“Yes.”

“What did she tell you?”

The elevator door dings open. Morpheus answers with a subtle smile.

“That I would find the One.”

“You mean the guy you consider Jesus.”

“In a way.”

Morpheus strides down a long hallway with uncharacteristic doors. Eon continues.

“You know, I can’t help but see a lot of similarities between this so-called One and the Son of God. With the way all of you word it, it’s almost like he’s your beacon of hope. What if he’s just a man?”

Morpheus stops before a door and turns back to Eon.

“Even Jesus considered himself the Son of Man. Never as the Son of God.”

“What if I don’t believe in Jesus? What if I have no faith in anything?”

“Faith is not a matter of reasonability. I do not believe things with my mind. I believe them with my heart. In my gut.”

“And you believe I'm the One?”

Morpheus answers without any hesitation, “Yes, I do.”

“Why? What’s so special about me?”

“When I first saw you, Eon, my world changed. You could call it an epiphany, you could call it whatever the hell you want. It doesn't matter. So I can't explain it to you. All I can do is believe, Eon, believe that one day you will feel what I felt and know what I know. You are the One. Until that time all I am asking from you is for you to hold on to whatever respect you may have for me and trust me.”

Eon takes a moment to take in the other’s words. Still uncertain about this whole thing, Eon decides to put his trust in the other and metaphorically dive headfirst into the unknown. He looks back at the door and, with hesitation, he reaches for the handle.

To Eon’s great surprise, it turns without him even touching it. The door opens to reveal a woman; she has toffee skin, hair in braids, and wearing a loose dress all clean and white.

“Hello, Eon. You're right on time.”

She invites them in. The apartment inside looks, for lack of a better word, normal. Eon didn’t know what he expected, but he certainly didn’t expect an average apartment household.

“Make yourself at home, Morpheus.”

“Thank you.”

Morpheus removes his sunglasses out of courtesy. The woman turns to the other.

“Please, follow me.”

She leads Eon down the hall to what looks like a living room. There is another woman dressed in white, she is carrying a baby in her arms. She offers Eon a serene smile. Throughout the room are children of various ages and ethnicity, each wearing white clothes as well. What’s peculiar about them is how calm they are. Never before has Eon witnessed such peace emanating from such a large group of children.

“These are the other Potentials. You can wait here.”

Eon looks around the room and stops short as he watches a little girl levitate wooden alphabet blocks. Another girl sitting beside her reaches up her arms and takes a turn at levitating the blocks as if it were a simple game. Eon’s attention then shifts to a boy picking up a spoon. The utensil sways like a flower in the wind before it straightens itself back to its original shape. The boy looks up to Eon and hands it over. Eon approaches the boy and sits down before him. He looks over the spoon, attempting to discover the secret to bending it.

“Do not try to bend the spoon,” the little boy suggests. “That is impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth."

“What truth?”

“There is no spoon.”

Eon looks back at the item in his hands.

“There is no spoon?”

“Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends. It is only yourself.”

Eon stares into the reflection of the room within the spoon. Thinking back to Neo’s gravity-defying move from their fight, Eon thinks he could replicate it. He imagines the spoon moving like his friend did, and to his surprise, the spoon wilts over just as he pictured it in his mind. It wasn’t even that difficult to do!

Eon jumps as he feels a hand touch his shoulder. He was too preoccupied to not see the reflection in the spoon. Eon looks over his shoulder to see the Priestess standing over him.

“The Oracle will see you now.”

She guides him to a room shrouded with a beaded curtain instead of a door. Eon brushes aside the curtain and enters what can’t be anything except the kitchen. An old woman is checking something inside the oven. She hums a familiar tune.

“Hello?,” Eon calls out.

The old woman replies without looking up. “I know. You’re Eon. Be right with you.”

“You're the Oracle?”

“Bingo. Not quite what you were expecting, right?”

She stands up straight and the two get a good look at the other. The Oracle looks like an average middle-aged woman with a dark complexion. There’s a grin upon her face, as if she knows exactly what he is thinking.

“I got to say I love seeing you non-believers. Always a pip. Almost done. Smell good, don't they?,” she asks, gesturing to the treats in the oven.

“Yeah,” says Eon, not caring in the slightest about baked goods at the moment.

“I'd ask you to sit down, but you're not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase.”

“What vase?”

Eon turns to look and accidentally bumps a vase full of flowers off from the table. He attempts to grab it, but it shatters on the ground. Eon looks down in remorse.

“That vase.”

“I'm so, so sorry.”

The Oracle puts on an oven mitt and pulls out a tray of chocolate chip cookies.

“I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.”

“How did you know?”

The woman takes off her apron before she grabs a cigarette and a box of matches.

“What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?”

She proceeds to scratch the head of a match to light up the cigarette in her mouth. The Oracle opens the window just a crack before turning to look at Eon. She gives him another glance-over and chuckles.

“You're cuter than I thought. I see why she likes you.”

“Who?”

“Who else?,” she asks with a wink. “You know why Morpheus brought you to see me?”

Eon nods as confirmation. The Oracle puts her cigarette down.

“I’ll keep it simple for you. You are indeed the key to Morpheus’ success in his search. You can tell him he’s found the One.”

“Really?!”

The Oracle nods with a hum of confirmation.

“It will take time to adjust, but the search is definitely over. Just remember one thing, you’re in control of your own life. See those words up there?”

She points to a placard above the door frame to the kitchen. The language is unfamiliar to Eon.

“It’s Latin. It means ‘Know Thyself.’ As long as you know who you are, you are in control of your own life and no one else can tell you differently. You understand?”

“I think I do,” Eon says.

The Oracle reaches for the cooled tray of cookies.

“Here, take one. I promise you by the time you’re done eating it, you’ll feel right as rain.”

Eon takes a cookie. The taste brings a sense of nostalgia. The anxiety that was previously strangling his chest has disappeared.

“One last thing,” the Oracle says. “Be sure to treasure the moments you spend with that friend of yours. Life has a way of sneaking up on you if you aren’t careful.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She shakes her head; his question will go unanswered. Another priestess enters the room and politely escorts Eon away. In the waiting room, Morpheus looks like he is meditating. Upon sensing Eon approach, he rises from the couch. Morpheus puts a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“What was said was for you and for you alone. You don't have to tell anyone what she told you.”

Eon takes another bite of his cookie and grins. The concern for the Oracle’s parting words is instantly forgotten. He places his other hand on Morpheus’ shoulder.

“I think you’d like to know what she said. She told me you found him. You found the One.”

Morpheus replies with a warm smile.

“I know.”

The two of them make their way outside to the car, where Trinity and Cypher are waiting patiently. Cypher looks at Eon through the rear view mirror as soon as everyone is back in the car.

“Well, good news or bad news?”

Without hesitation, Eon pipes up. “I’d say it’s good news considering how the search for the One is over.”

With sarcasm dripping down his chin, Cypher mumbles his congratulations. He stomps down on the gas and pulls the car into traffic. Everyone felt the jerk of the motion, but nobody commented on it. Eon turns to Trinity with a big grin on his face.

“It seems I’m the One after all.”

Trinity doesn’t look surprised to hear that. Eon wraps an arm around her, she in turn snuggles as close as possible to him. Her cellphone starts ringing. With some reluctance, she answers it.

Switch is on the other line. They’re calling because they recognized police helicopters circling the hotel and advises the rest to approach with caution.

Trinity relays the message to Morpheus and Cypher, who pulls to a stop two blocks from the rendezvous point. Cypher looks around nervously while he wipes sweat from his forehead. It’s a wonder how nobody noticed his anxiety.

The crew returns to the hotel. They look in all directions for signs of danger. Eon is starting to get nervous. Instead of Trinity, it is Cypher who gives him a smile. Unfortunately, his attempt at a smile is too unnatural to appear genuine, so he only strengthens Eon’s growing concern. Everyone makes their way up the stairs. All of them are on guard for any change.

Eon notices a black cat staring at them. It meows and slinks away. Eon glances down and upon looking where the cat was at, he sees another one meow at him, identical in looks and movement to the first cat.

“Whoa. Deja vu.”

Those words halt everyone else in their steps. Trinity turns around and, enunciating her words, asks Eon what he just said. He tries to backtrack and wave it off as if it were nothing, but the others aren’t letting it go.

“What happened? What exactly did you see?”

“I saw a black cat go past us and then I saw another that looked just like it.”

“How much like it? Was it the same cat?”

“Maybe. I'm not sure.”

Trinity shares a look with Morpheus. This is the moment Tank dials a number. Mouse intercepts the ringing device. He’s quite cozy in his leather seat.

“Hello?”

“It’s an ambush! Drop everything and run for it!”

Mouse stands to attention.

“Where?”

“Jump to the 4th floor.”

Mouse rushes out of the room. He reaches the stairs and blindly takes a leap of faith down the chasm.

In between the 4th and 5th floor, the team listens carefully. Morpheus hears a sound and immediately reaches his arm out to the chasm. He grabs the falling Mouse just in time and proceeds to lift him onto the stairs. Making sure his crew mate is unharmed, Morpheus then orders Switch and Apoc to stand at the ready as they reach the 5th floor. Eon asks what is happening. Trinity answers.

“A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something.”

In the basement, someone uses heavy bolt cutters to snip the main phone cable. Smoke evaporates where it was cut. Up above, there comes the sound of an approaching helicopter. Morpheus rushes down the hall they are in and flings the curtains aside. The window is bricked up! The team realizes too late that it is a trap.

In the safety of the Nebuchadnezzar, Tank is monitoring everyone’s vitals, making sure everyone is okay. Neo remains oblivious to the chaos, being in the middle of an inputted training montage. The phone rings. Tank answers it to hear Morpheus on the other end.

“Tank, find a structural drawing of this building. Find it fast.”

“On it.”

Chapter Text

Officers swarm into room 808. They peruse the suite from floor to ceiling. As they scour the bathroom, they see a man-sized hole smashed through the plaster. It was presumed to have been caused by vermin over the years. On the other side of that wall, seven adults do their best to crawl down a passageway barely wide enough for one person. The team is attempting to climb down to the basement in silence, but it is difficult to navigate around the greased pipes, littered with dust.

Everyone either pushes against the walls or grab onto the pipes. Eon opted to push due to losing his grip from the greased pipes, but pushing against the walls to support his weight is physically exhausting. He never considered how many muscles must be used to prop someone up in a narrow space. Eon makes a half-hearted promise to work out more. At least the exhaustion makes for a good distraction from the acrophobia.

Eon is doing his best to not imagine how far down the tunnel goes. He doesn't want to look, yet he has to see where to go. Eon braves a glance downward and sees the top of Cypher’s head and darkness. The young man stumbles in fright and accidentally disturbs a pile of dust. The particles rain down on those unfortunate to be beneath Eon.

Cypher inhales the dust and involuntary coughs. On the other side of the wall from where he is, a cop suddenly aims his flashlight to the bathroom wall. The officer moves closer to the wall, leaning his ear to the plaster. He listens carefully.

Trying his best to stop his body from reacting, Cypher covers his mouth. The urge is getting stronger and stronger. Finally unable to hold it in any longer, he sneezes.

“THEY’RE IN THE WALLS!,” the officer shouts.

Cypher moves just in time as the cop opens fire. The bullet holes bring tiny rays of light into the darkness, revealing where the others are positioned. Eon is right above the chaos. He reaches for his gun and shoots blindly at where he assumes the cop is positioned. The officer backs away for cover. He waits until he is ready to shoot, but he stops short all of a sudden. The cop doubles over in pain. It feels like something is squeezing his organs all at once while he’s shaking like a dog with a chew toy. His M16A2 gun falls to the ground with a loud clunk. Moving like he’s in the midst of a seizure, the officer spasms around until he takes on the form of Agent Smith.

Eon stops firing after nobody shoots back for a couple of moments. He can hear footsteps approach. Without warning, two arms smash through the wall, clutching Eon’s throat.

Cypher cries out, “It’s an Agent!”

Eon struggles to breathe. Morpheus, who is right above him, collects his thoughts before exploding through the plaster, landing right on top of Smith. The two men crash to the floor; Morpheus pins the other down with his weight. From within the crawlspace, Trinity calls out to her captain, but Morpheus orders her to save Eon. Realizing the context of what Morpheus said, Eon cries out.

“No. No! Morpheus! Don't!”

Morpheus screams, “Trinity, go!”

With her fists clenched, Trinity reluctantly commands the others to continue on. Eon refuses, so Trinity grabs a hold of his ankle and lets herself drop, pulling Eon down with her. They skid against the walls more than five stories down to the basement, causing a cloud of dust to appear. Collecting his thoughts and breath, Eon looks around. Through the dust fog, he’s able to pick out four ancient boilers that used to pump hot water throughout the hotel, much like the heart pumping blood throughout the body via arteries. Eon then hears what sounds like thunder above him. It is the footsteps of multiple soldiers rushing down to them.

Trinity doesn’t waste any time and looks around. The thundering footsteps have made it to the basement's entrance based on what could only be the sound of a door being kicked down. At last, Trinity finds what she is looking for: the cover of the catch basin. She lifts it up and cries out in relief at seeing it being big enough for them to slip through.

“Over here! Come on!”

Cypher moves toward the catch basin, but a gas can bounces near him. He trips as the green cloud obscures his path. It’s now impossible to see where everyone is. In the chaos, Eon accidentally collides with Cypher, sending both of them into a tumble. Trinity and the others have already gone through, realizing too late that the group was split into two.

Morpheus and Smith are still wrestling on the hotel's bathroom floor. Within a matter of seconds, they are locked in each other's death grip. Smith cannot help but admire the situation he’s found himself in.

“The great Morpheus. We meet at last.”

“And you are?”

“Smith. I am Agent Smith.”

Morpheus is flabbergasted that an Agent would choose to speak with such crisp pronunciation at a time like this.

He answers sardonically, “You all look the same to me.”

With strength to be expected of an Agent, Smith casually pries the hands from his throat. Morpheus looks on in surprise, clearly not expecting that level of strength. On an impulse, he defends himself with a headbutt. Agent Smith’s glasses fall to the side, revealing the soulless eyes of an antipathetic program.

Smith barely even flinches from the attack! Instead, he smiles, wipes the blood dripping from his nose, and responds with three headbutts of his own.

This is enough to daze Morpheus; he staggers backwards. With a powerful punch, the Agent knocks Morpheus unconscious. The human drops to the ground like a heavy sack of dog food dropped from midair. Smith looks down at the captain as he gives the order to take him. A large group of cops immediately obey as they surround Morpheus and drag him out of the room.

A block from the hotel’s rear entrance, someone makes a call from a public phone booth. We hear Tank’s voice on the other line.

“Operator.”

“We need an exit! Fast!”

“Cypher?”

We see Cypher making the call with Eon at his side, keeping an eye out for any Agents or the rest of the team. Across the street is the burning wreckage of their escape vehicle. It appears to have collided with another car. A crowd of curious onlookers steadily approach the scene.

“There was an accident. A goddamn car accident. All of a sudden. Boom! Somebody up there still likes me. Eon’s here too.”

“I got you.”

“Just get me and the tag-along outta here.”

“Tag along?,” mumbles Eon under his breath.

“Nearest exit is Franklin and Erie. An old TV repair shop.”

Cypher hangs up and smiles at Eon.

"Let's go."

Two blocks from the main entrance of the hotel, a manhole cover is lifted up by a few inches. A pair of eyes peek out just as a semi truck roars overhead. It thunders away peacefully without consequences. A few beats later, a set of arms move the cover aside. Trinity climbs out. She doesn't wait for the rest of the crew to climb out as she jabs the buttons on her cellular phone.

"Operator."

"Tank, it's me. Is Morpheus still alive?"

"Yes. They're moving him. I don't know where yet."

"We need an exit."

"You're not far from Cypher and Eon. I sent them to Franklin and Erie."

"Got it."

In an alleyway, Cypher steps onto a dumpster and gets on his hands and knees. He crawls towards a small window covered with plywood. Cypher then kicks the feeble boards away and slips through the opening. He scans the area. Deeming it safe, Cypher gestures to Eon to follow him.

Inside the deserted TV repair shop, there are dead machines shrouded with plastic sheets, resembling bodies in a morgue. Escalating the eeriness is the absence of noise along with the small layer of dust. Both men freeze as a phone rings deep from within one of the backrooms. Cypher and Eon run towards the noise until they find the sole living piece of technology in a mausoleum of dead electronics.

Not having done this before, Eon looks to Cypher for guidance. Cypher puts on a calm façade to reassure the rookie.

“All you have to do is answer the phone.”

"Got it."

Cypher picks up the ringing device and he disappears into thin air. Back in reality, his body twitches in its harness, jerking itself awake. Dozer helps him out of his seat. Adjusting to being back in the real world, Cypher awkwardly walks over to a darkened part of the main deck just as the operator finishes loading the exit program for the next person. Cypher walks into the shadows and pulls back a heavy blanket covering something, revealing a large and futuristic gun.

Eon waits for the phone to ring, but every other sound causes him to jump in fright. Sure enough, the phone rings and he'd deny how he jumped a few inches inches into the air and let out a very non-masculine squeal. Recovering himself, and silently praising gratitude that nobody saw that, he is yet again frightened by another loud noise. It sounds like other people are breaking into the abandoned store. Right as Eon reaches for the phone, Trinity's familiar face appears from around the corner. Eon drops his hand to give her a hug to show his relief that she’s okay.

At that very moment, Tank is shocked by a bolt of white-hot heat. The room is flooded with an artificial glow of blue light as he falls from his chair.

"Shit. I missed!"

Tank flips over to see Cypher standing before him, handling a large weapon. It’s currently aimed right at the operator.

“No!”

Cypher fires again; Tank doesn’t get up this time. Dozer hears the commotion and rushes in to see the situation.

"No!," Dozer screams as he is also struck down by the traitor.

In the store, the phone continues to ring. Trinity insists Eon goes first. He picks up the phone just in time to hear a distinct click. Silence follows. Eon pulls the phone away and looks down at it in confusion.

Trinity asks, "What happened?"

"I don't know. It just went dead."

Trinity grabs the phone from his hands and listens to the indication of a dead line. She pulls out her cellphone to make the call. It rings. It rings a second time. Trinity huffs in anxiety. Upon the third ring, someone finally answers.

"Hello, Trinity."

"Cypher?! Where's Tank?"

"Oh, he… he had an accident."

"An accident?!"

Cypher takes a look around. Everyone who should be unconscious is indeed unconscious. He sticks his tongue out in mockery at Neo. The poor bastard is sleeping right through all of this bullshittery without a clue that his friends are going to die. Cypher then walks over to Trinity's comatose body. He compares her to Sleeping Beauty, waiting to be awoken by a kiss.

"You know, for a long time, I thought I was in love with you, Trinity. I used to dream about you."

He nuzzles his face against hers. Trinity’s skin is so much softer than he imagined.

"You are a beautiful woman. Too bad things had to work out like this."

Trinity realizes what happened and verbally acknowledges it.

"You killed them."

"What?!," cries out Apoc, who can only hear Trinity's side of the conversation.

Switch and Mouse whisper obscenities at the same time.

"I'm tired, Trinity. I'm tired of this war, I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of this ship, of being cold, of eating the same goddamn goop every day. But most of all, I'm tired of this jagoff and all of his bullshit."

Cypher approaches Morpheus' body and jumps on top of him. His next words are addressed to the man who ruined his life.

"Surprise, asshole. Bet you never saw this coming, did you? God, I wish I could be there when they break you. I wish I could walk in just as it happens, so right then, you'd know it was me."

Trinity overhears this. She has another scarring revelation.

"Oh God, Morpheus. You gave them Morpheus!”

"He lied to us, Trinity! He tricked us! If he would've told us the truth, we would've told him to shove that red pill up his ass!"

"That's not true, Cypher. He set us free."

"Free? You call this free? All I do is what he tells me to do. If I have to choose between that and the Matrix, I choose the Matrix."

"The Matrix isn't real!"

"Oh, I disagree, Trinity. I disagree. I think the Matrix can be more real than this world. I mean, all I do is pull a plug here. But there, you get to sit back and watch Apoc die."

Trinity whips her head around to look at Apoc, her face going white. Apoc doesn't like the expression on her face.

"Trinity?"

Cypher continues his long-awaited spiel.

"Speaking of dying, you should know your boyfriend here,” he senselessly nods to Eon’s body, “is not some god, he’s a man. He’s just a man! The next time he meets an Agent, Eon-“

Trinity drops the phone, so she doesn’t hear Cypher’s next words. She wraps her arms tight around Apoc, who senses the seriousness of the situation. He hugs his friend, cherishing his probable last minute alive.

They wait with anticipation.

The silence lasts for a couple heartbeats.

Another round of silence.

After nearly a full minute of nothing, everyone glances around in confusion. Forgive them all if they startle at the sound of the store’s phone ringing without prior warning. Holding up his hand to acknowledge he’ll answer it, Eon picks up the device and holds it to his ear.

“Cypher?”

“Yeah, hi, I was wondering, could I order a pizza?”

Eon nearly drops to his knees upon hearing Neo's voice. Don’t mind him if he giggles in relief.

“Neo?!"

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.”

Trinity and Apoc gape upon hearing Eon’s side of the conversation. Then they turn to face each other and proceed to hug out of gratitude.

“Neo, please, please tell me you can get us the hell outta here.”

“Your wish is my command. Looks like all those weeks with Tank and Dozer are finally paying off. Just give me a moment.”

Eon ends the call. Without a moment to lose, the phone rings once more. Trinity opts to go first this time. She closes her eyes as she picks up the phone and when she snaps her eyes open, a sense of relief rushes through her body at the beautiful sight of the ship’s interior. Dozer assists with safely unplugging her; that’s when she notices his wounds.

"Dozer, you’re hurt."

"I’ll live. Although Tank will need serious medical help."

Trinity scans the room. She locks eyes with Neo, who is sitting behind the operator computer. He waves his hand in greeting before breaking the eye contact to stare at something beside her. Trinity follows his gaze and gasps. She sees an unconscious Cypher lying next to Apoc’s pod. The traitor wasn’t kidding on pulling his crew member’s plug after all!

Trinity half-walks, half-stumbles toward Neo and demands to know what happened. Neo responds while he preps the next exit command.

“As you might have guessed, Tank interrupted my training. I woke up to the sound of Cypher talking. When I realized what he was saying, I pretended to be asleep, but as soon as I heard what he was about to do, I had to do something. So I sneaked up on the bastard and knocked him out cold.”

He makes the call to bring the next person back. He turns back to Trinity.

"I was supposed to do that, right?"

Her answer is taking a deep breath before giving Neo a big hug. She then whispers her gratitude along with a quick peck on the cheek. Neo gives her a side glance and blushes. He promptly jabs a button to engage the return command.

Apoc wakes up within the next five seconds. He is helped out of the pod, but he goes rigid upon seeing Cypher lying next to him. Apoc’s face turns pale and he grabs onto the chair for support. He starts to sway, so Dozer offers to carry him away. One by one, the remainder of the team returns to reality. All are alive, some wounded, but all alive. As soon as everyone is back, Neo is the one to ask the million dollar question.

Pointing to the unconscious traitor, he says, “So, what should we do with him?”

The whole room goes quiet as they weigh their options.

“Anyone got something we could use as handcuffs?”

Chapter Text

It’s been one hour since Morpheus was captured by Agents. Under a lot of security, the legendary hacker was transferred to a government building within the heart of Chicago.

A military-grade helicopter lands on the roof. Agent Jones steps out from the machine, backed by a squad of Marines. They make their way through the roof’s access-door. Somewhere inside the same building, in one of its executive offices on the higher floors, Agent Smith stands in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the city.

“Have you ever stood and stared at it?,” the Agent asks with a hint of wonder in his voice.

“Marveled at its beauty. It’s genius. Billions of people just living out their lives... completely oblivious.”

Smith looks over his shoulder to the prisoner, Morpheus, the man whose name was whispered amongst hackers for over two decades. The man in question refuses to respond. He is handcuffed to a chair; there is a network of electrodes pasted to his head and chest connecting him to a machine.

Standing next to the prisoner is Agent Brown, within reach of a table displaying an impressive collection of tools. There are pliers, glass syringes, wrenches, vials full of unfamiliar substances, wire cutters, and other miscellaneous torture devices, each and every one of them sleek and shining like new.

Agent Brown goes through the process of filling a hypodermic needle with one of the mysterious vials. Smith continues his speech.

“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering.”

With no warning, Brown jabs the needle into Morpheus’ neck and proceeds to push down on the plunger. The captain fights back against the pain, but he is visibly struggling.

“The perfect world,” Smith continues to say, “was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization.”

Agent Smith turns away from the window. He walks steadily to the prisoner and stares downward. The supposed legend glares defiantly back at him.

“I say 'your civilization' because as soon as we started thinking for you, it really became our civilization, which is, of course, what this is all about.”

The Agent moves to stand behind the other and leans forward to whisper in his ear.

“Evolution, Morpheus. Evolution. Like the dinosaur. Look out that window. You had your time. The future is our world, Morpheus. The future is our time.”

Hearing the click of the door being unlocked, Smith and Brown stop what they are doing. Agent Jones enters sporting an Agent’s equivalent of concern.

“We could have a problem. The insider failed to report on time. They might have been compromised.”

On the main deck of The Nebuchadnezzar, the reality of the crew’s situation has struck everyone hard. They needed time to comfort one another. Eon is sandwiched in a tight hug between Trinity and Neo. Dozer applies gauze and antibiotics to his brother’s injuries. He is beyond grateful that Tank survived the ordeal, yet is also concerned for his brother’s health, which is deteriorating the more he goes without proper surgery. Apoc is battling an anxiety attack with the way he's drawing short breaths, rocking himself from side to side, and is visibly shaking. Switch and Mouse take turns rubbing Apoc’s back in an effort to soothe his nerves.

At the sound of a groan from the pods, everyone turns to look. It is Morpheus; his comatose body is glistening from a cold sweat.

“What are they doing to him?,” asks Neo. The brothers haven't told him what nightmares to expect should an Agent bring someone in alive.

“They're breaking into his mind. It's like hacking a computer. All it takes is time.”

This worries Eon. He wants to know, “How much time?”

“Not enough.”

Trinity breaks from the group hug and begins to pace whereas Neo, still holding his best friend, asks what the Agents are searching for.

“The leader of every ship is given the codes to Zion's mainframe computer. If an Agent got the codes and got inside Zion's mainframe, they could destroy us. We can’t let that happen.”

Dozer looks to the second-in-command, Trinity. She knows what he’s going to say, yet she doesn’t want to hear it.

“Trinity, Zion is more important than Eon, me, you, or even Morpheus. You know what he’d want us to do.”

Desperate to vent out her frustration, Trinity stomps over to Cypher’s unconscious body and gives him a good kick in the gut. Then she wails, her expression is one of agony; her hands are at her hair, seemingly attempting to rip strands of hair out.

Trinity screeches like a furious banshee, “GODDAMNIT! GODDAMNIT!”

Silence fills the room, made palpable with fear and turmoil, until it broken with three words spoken in a gentle manner.

“A rescue mission.”

Everyone turns to stare at Eon, who made the suggestion. He doesn't elaborate right away, but they all wait patiently. Still locked in a hug, the cherub-like man looks up at his best friend with a request in his eyes. Neo knows Eon well enough to almost hear his thoughts, so he checks to make sure his friend is alright before he breaks the hug. The shorter of the duo walks to the center of the room.

“I’m aware I- we," he says in acknowledgment to Neo, "haven't known Morpheus as long as the rest of you, but I know without a doubt, if any one of us were captured by Agents, Morpheus wouldn't hesitate to return for a rescue. That’s what makes him a good leader and a greater man."

Eon turns his body to face the crew members one at time as he speaks.

"Tell me I'm wrong and I'll shut up. If I'm right, then we are wasting valuable time. What do you say?"

Everyone exchanges glances.

Morpheus seems to be losing the strength to keep his mind together. All three of the Agents look down at him; they can see he is close to breaking. Thinking the same thoughts, the trio finishes each other’s sentences.

“Never send a human-"

"To do a machine's job.”

“If, indeed, the insider has failed to eliminate the rest of them, they will sever the connection as soon as possible, unless-“

“They’re dead. In either case-“

“We have no choice, but to continue as planned."

"Deploy the sentinels. Immediately.”

The team of rebels were divided on their opinions for a rescue mission. Eon senses a long debate ahead of them, so he opts to speed it along. He climbs into the pod next to Morpheus and asks anyone listening to send him in. This halts the heated debate between Dozer and Trinity.

"Eon, no!"

“I know the odds are next to impossible, but there’s still a chance. And if there’s one thing I need to bring him back, it's faith. Faith that Morpheus can be saved and we all return alive and well.”

Nodding in agreement, Neo settles into the chair next to Eon.

“What are you doing?,” Trinity asks.

“Isn't it obvious? I'm going too.”

Dozer and Trinity respond in synchronization, “No, you're not.”

“Why not?! Just because I can’t stand the bald bastard doesn’t mean I want him to die.”

“If you go in there, Neo, don’t you think the Agents will hunt you down? Those of us brave enough to rescue Morpheus cannot afford to rescue you too.”

"But I can help! I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines.”

"Neo," Eon says gently yet firmly, "we don't have time to argue this."

"Fine."

Neo climbs off the pod and paces around, kicking and punching the air to let out some steam. Careful to distance himself from a raging Neo, Mouse has a question for the apparent leader of this mission.

"What's your plan?"

“We go in guns ablazing!”

“And then?”

“We take down anyone who gets in our way. Then we retrieve Morpheus and return here.”

Switch raises their hand and speaks up. "Not a bad plan, except you're missing a few key items.”

“What?”

“What are our backup plans in case something unexpected happens? How do we avoid those Agents? Would we have to carry Morpheus if he’s incapable of moving on his own?”

Eon opens his mouth to answer, but stops before he could utter a syllable. We could almost see the gears in his mind thinking this through. After a moment, he nods his head.

“Yeah, you’re right. We need to map this out.”

With Agent Jones’ confirmation regarding the status of the sentinels, Agent Smith grabs a chair and sits across from Morpheus. The prisoner doesn’t look good with his body hunched over, twitching, and leaking various bodily fluids. He's even beginning to emit an unpleasant odor.

Smith lifts the legend’s chin to look him in the eye and proceeds to shed some of his vulnerabilities.

“I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I've realized that you are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not,” Smith collects his breath before continuing.

“You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus,” he supplies without bothering to wait for a response.

The Agent smiles. The rebel frowns.

“Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague. And we are the cure.”

Smith stands and turns on his heels to face his comrades.

“How much longer?”

“The serum should take effect in five minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later, everyone onboard The Nebuchadnezzar continues to swap ideas and opinions.

“How about Switch and Mouse take down the guards in the lobby while Trinity and Eon take care of the elevators and potentially any guards from above?"

"A bomb would be the best way to eliminate the security.”

"What about the Agents?"

"We know some of the Agents came via a helicopter. With all of their security, they're sure to have some large guns we could use. Do we know what level they're keeping Morpheus?"

"Yes, the 42nd floor."

"Wouldn't it be easier if we go in with a helicopter of our own?”

“We can, but the size of the machine will alert the Agents. We won’t be able to surprise them.”

“Why do we need to bomb the whole building?”

“To rid the building of security. The Agents will take longer to retaliate if they don't have hosts nearby. Plus, by distracting the guards, the Agent scum are left with lesser security, and by commandeering the elevator, any remaining guards will take longer to reach the Agents and us."

Neo loudly clears his throat from his spot beside the computer monitors. "Excuse me," he says, “Do we really need to kill a building full of innocent people?”

“Casualties are regrettably inevitable with this kind of thing. You’ll learn in time how anyone still connected to the system can be overcome by an Agent. Citizens must be eliminated before they could become bigger opponents.”

Neo pouts at this. He straddles the operator’s chair and crosses his arms. Unable to look at the crew without getting upset, Neo opts to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

He grumbles under his breath, “I still think there should be a peaceful way to do this.”

In an attempt to change the morally-grey topic, Trinity asks another question.

“What’s the plan in case Morpheus can’t move on his own?”

“We'll bring an extra harness regardless if we get the helicopter or not.”

After five more minutes of swapping ideas, the plan is set.

“Okay, does everyone know what to do?”

Everyone says yes, except for Neo, who makes a “hmph” noise. Trinity moves to one of the pods and is instantly connected to the Construct. Dozer proceeds to upload the necessary information on piloting various versions of helicopters into her mind, it takes less than 30 seconds. She opens her eyes and nods her readiness. Eon goes next and instantly receives knowledge on the necessary skills. He blinks his eyes open; Eon grins and looks to his crew-mates.

“Let’s go save our captain!”

The minutes continue to drag on with no change. Question after question, yet the pathetic human refuses to talk. Smith finds himself pacing. It’s quite the rare opportunity to see an Agent show signs of anxiety. He’s too preoccupied to even consider what his fellow Agents would think to see him in such a state. All that is on his mind are two concerns: have the rebels been eliminated and-

“Why isn't the serum working?”

Agent Brown, with the air of one with complete faith upon the system, readily answers.

“It may not be the serum. Perhaps, we are asking the wrong questions.”

Smith has to will himself to not clench his fist. With every passing minute of failure, Smith is finding it more and more difficult to manage his anger, which is something that isn’t supposed to happen to Agents. This particular Agent knows he’s experiencing intense human emotions, yet he cannot deny how freeing it is to feel such strong emotions. Unable to hold it in any longer, he gives the order.

“Leave me with him.”

Agents Brown and Jones immediately look at each other with a supremely subtle look of confusion. This is most unusual, but Smith is the one in charge.

“Now!,” Agent Smith growls.

Brown and Jones obey.

As soon as his comrades are out of hearing range, Agent Smith cracks his knuckles and circles Morpheus.

"The things I'd do to break your pathetic, fragile human mind. Acts beyond your imagination."

He stands before Morpheus and gives an evil grin. Without a second to lose, Smith eagerly removes his glasses and tugs off his earpiece, letting it dangle upon his shoulder. It’s quite the alien sensation to the Agent to be free of an Agent’s equipment.

"There are actions which go against our rules if there are witnesses. And look- no witnesses! Oh, you cannot comprehend how much fun this will be for me."

Morpheus senses the danger he is in and proceeds to meditate in a desperate attempt to protect his mind. Agent Smith grasps his prisoner’s head like a vice and does something no Agent has the courage to do. What happens next is a testament to Morpheus’ complete control over his free-will as he screams like a dying man.

Chapter Text

On the main deck of The Nebuchadnezzar, Dozer watches with growing concern as Morpheus’s face pales into the color of ash. He holds his captain’s hand and gently squeezes it.

“You have to hang on, Morpheus. Help is on the way.”

At the sound of someone whimpering, the native of Zion glances over his shoulder. It seems the traitor has finally regained consciousness. Cypher tries to place a hand over the spot where he was punched by Neo, but at some resistance, he looks down to see his hands have been bound together with duct tape. Cypher looks around and locks eyes with a few angry crew-mates. He does his absolute best to give a placating smile.

“I can explain.”

Neo stands up, ready to knock the bastard out again, but Apoc forcefully sits Neo back down. Clearly upset at not having an outlet for his pent-up anxiety and anger, Neo uses his long legs to wheel himself at an awkward pace to sit on the other side of Dozer, sitting where he can have a clear view of the man he once considered a trustworthy friend. With a death glare directed straight at Cypher, he audibly cracks his knuckles. This nonverbal message isn’t lost on Cypher.

“Neo, I can see you’re angry, but I had a good reason to-”

“SHUT UP!”

Cypher snaps his jaws closed. Dozer is eager to settle the tension with the announcement they've been waiting for.

“They’re about to enter.”

Mouse and Switch stand before the government building where Morpheus and the Agents are located. They are counting down the seconds before they are to enter. Mouse can’t help but admire the Uzi in his grasp. Is it possible to be in love with a weapon?

Elsewhere, Eon and Trinity sneak their way to the employee’s entrance. Trinity hauls a metallic case while Eon carries a duffle bag. The bag in question is sagging to ground because it is full of climbing equipment. Unlike his previous visit to the Matrix, Eon is now sporting his own pair of shades. They are a set of rimless lens with a wire frame made in a design unlike any other. Eon looks over his shoulder to peer up at the sky; he is no longer bothered by the painful glare of the light. He smirks and flips off the sun as he follows Trinity through the entrance.

This is the first time Smith has done this. He’s managed to force his way into Morpheus’ mind and what he sees is a collage of tangible memories. They dance and wrap themselves across Smith’s body like colorful spirits. He observes the fleeting memories of Morpheus playing with his childhood pet, his first successful attempt at hacking, and his first sexual encounter. With concentration, Smith forces the shadows to move along.

There!

He has found the moment Morpheus is given the promotion to captain. And the codes! After so long of searching and interrogating, and there they are. Next order of business: Smith must now learn how to pause the memory long enough to memorize the codes.

Mouse and Switch push through the revolving doors. Mouse takes in the aesthetic of the lobby made of green-hued polished stone. The duo march onwards to the security station, drawing a lot of nervous glances. Switch calmly walks past the metal detector; the device chirps. A security guard follows protocol and grabs a metal detection wand.

“Would you please remove any metallic items you are carrying: keys, loose change-“

Switch throws open their coat, revealing an arsenal of guns and knives slung from a climbing harness.

"Holy shit!"

Switch is a blur of motion as they send knives flying towards the guard. Mouse grips his Uzi and fires. Three shots are heard as three guards fall down dead. A fourth guard dives for cover, clutching his radio. He screams for backup.

The metal detector chirps again. The guard looks up at the sound and the last thing he sees is a gun pointed at him. Unfortunately for him, that’s when backup finally arrives. A wave of soldiers arrive and block the elevators. There’s a cacophony of guns being armed and cocked.

Mouse and Switch share a quick look. They immediately dive out of the firing range.

From the operator’s setup, Neo hears the gunfire and the guards’ screams. He rises from his seat and proceeds to walk out of hearing range. Neo’s expressed his strong opinion regarding such violence before, but his input was brushed aside. The young man crosses his arms and hums as a distraction from the violence. Cypher seizes his opportunity.

“Hey, buddy! Any chance you can loosen the duct tape a smidge?”

His reply is the middle finger. Neo then curses under his breath, and, in his state of mind, forgets which language he is speaking.

“Ce sont tous des branleurs. Pourquoi n'écoutent-ils pas?”

"Uh, Neo?,” says Cypher. “You know it's sorta rude to insult others in another language… if what you said was an insult. ‘Cause it certainly sounded like one.”

“Va te faire foutre!”

“…Okay, got it. Shutting up.”

Thanks to the distraction in the lobby, Trinity and Eon have successfully slinked their way into the elevator without getting caught. Trinity kneels down and opens the suitcase, revealing a dissembled bomb. She immediately starts assembling the weapon right as Eon jabs the emergency stop. Eon then looks up at the ceiling and realizes one important detail he forgot to account for. He jumps high enough to brush the ceiling, but he can't grip the hatch. He tries again. Swallowing his pride, Eon asks Trinity to give him a lift. He chooses to ignore that giggle as Trinity lets him use her as a human step stool.

"If anyone asks... I brought along a ladder.”

The stone masonry of the lobby cracks and craters under a barrage of bullets. The guards put up a good fight, but it’s only a matter of minutes before all are down for the count. The lobby is eerily quiet. Switch takes the time to search a number of fallen men until they find a walkie-talkie. They adjust the frequency and squeeze the button.

“All clear in the lobby.”

They let go of the button. It doesn’t take long for a response.

“We're ready. Head out now!”

Mouse and Switch sprint out the same way they came in.

In the executive office, Agents Jones and Brown burst into the room without warning. Agent Smith releases Morpheus at once and instantly regrets it as he can feel a migraine coming along. Brown takes in Smith’s lack of sunglasses, the lack of earpiece, and Morpheus looking like a broken man. He knows his fellow Agent did something wrong, but isn’t sure of what.

“What were you doing?”

Agent Smith reattaches his earpiece and shades, but he doesn’t answer the question. Jones is the first to fill in the blank.

"He doesn't know."

“Know what?,” Smith inquires as he listens to his earpiece. He is surprised at what he is hearing. Agent Jones looks at Morpheus.

“I think they're trying to save him.”

“I need more time with him. I almost have the codes.”

Brown shakes his head.

“We have no more time. They’re on their way as we speak.”

Trinity connects the last wire of the bomb. With a grin, she announces the bomb is ready. An arm reaches down and Trinity grips it as she kicks the button for the top floor. Standing on top of the elevator, Eon attaches a clamp to the cables and whips out his gun. He aims it at the cable just a bit lower than where they attached themselves.

"There is no spoon," Eon reminds himself.

With a squeeze of the trigger, the cable snaps. The counter-weights plummet, yanking Trinity and Eon up through the shaft as the elevator falls down beneath them, sending sparks as metal screeches against metal. Mere seconds pass before the elevator greets the bottom floor with a loud bang. A wall of fire engulfs the lobby with a mighty fury.

The Agents don’t need their earpieces to hear the bomb go off. They all felt the tremble and noticed the lights flicker. There’s a brief moment of silence before the sprinklers go off, metaphorically raining down on the Agents’ parade.

“Lower level,” says Jones.

Brown responds with astonishment, “They are actually attacking.”

“Find them,” Smith orders them. “Destroy them.”

On the roof of the building, there is a helicopter waiting for evacuation. The pilot is screaming into his headgear.

“I repeat, we’re-“

A bullet to the head silences him. Trinity whips around and aims her gun at another soldier. She and Eon stand before a pile of fallen men as they mercilessly eliminate the survivors. When the last threat is finally down, Trinity turns to get a look at the helicopter. She recognizes it as a Bell 212.

With a smile, Trinity looks to Eon and says, “Piece of cake.”

She strides towards the helicopter with the upmost confidence. Can anyone blame Eon if he watches her walk away? The way the leather hugs Trinity’s form as her hips sway side to side, Eon can feel his blood gushing down to his-

"Eon!"

"Ri- right behind you!"

In the executive office, Agent Smith sloshes through the puddles rapidly pooling in the carpet. He is waiting for his comrades to report any sightings. Over the gushing water and the alarms, a distinct sound slowly but surely makes itself known over all the rest. Smith turns to the wall of windows just as a helicopter drops into view. He sees Eon in the back bay, aiming the mounted gun directly at the Agent. The rebel waves with an angelic smile. Smith looks on with an incredulous expression.

“No!”

Eon fires the machine gun. The floor-to-ceiling windows shatter upon impact; Smith leaps from the incoming spray of artillery. Following the plan, Eon stops firing the mounted weapon and picks up a rifle. He aims and shoots before Smith could reach for his weapon. The Agent falls down dead, re-transforming into the body of a soldier.

Eon spots Morpheus. The captain is hunched over and isn't moving. Eon carefully lowers the rifle and grabs the backpack next to him. He reaches in, pulls out the backup harness, and slings it over his shoulder. Eon dares not look down.

“Last Crusade. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

He conjures in his mind an invisible bridge between the moving helicopter and Morpheus. Eon opens his eyes and jumps. Time seems to slow down as he takes that leap of faith. It returns to its regular pace as Eon lands on something solid beneath his feet. Without looking down, he runs to Morpheus and checks his captain for injuries.

“You okay? Morpheus, are you okay?”

The other man seems to hear the words, but shakes his head.

“Tired.”

Eon curses under his breath. He’s gonna have to carry the larger man.

“Okay, um, don’t worry. I’ve gotcha."

Eon is grateful he brought that extra harness and does quick work of prepping Morpheus. Whipping his head around in search of any Agents, Eon drags his captain to the awaiting helicopter. For the second time within 24 hours, he makes another half-hearted promise to work out more.

Just outside the executive office, one Marine seizes and spasms until he takes on the form of Agent Smith. Having heard the gunfire, Jones and Brown are already running past their colleague and into the office. Eon turns at the sound of water sloshing around. He instinctively moves backward at the sight of the Agents and accidentally steps off the building.

Morpheus and Eon free fall for what seems like forever, until their individual lines snap taut, capturing the weight of both men. They then bounce off each other in unintentionally painful ways.

Trinity guides the helicopter up and away as the Agents stand before the shattered window, aiming their guns. Their bullets puncture the rear of the helicopter, oil pouring out like black, coagulated blood. Trinity hears the alarms go off instantaneously.

“Shit!”

As Eon works at untangling his line from the line supporting Morpheus, he feels himself swayed all around. He looks away from the tangled ropes to see they are approaching several of the taller buildings. Eon lifts his head up to the helicopter, wondering what the issue is. The problem is clear when he sees black smoke pillowing out of the flying machine.

“Uh-oh.”

Trinity pilots the helicopter towards the roof of the nearest building. Eon figures out what's she is trying to do, so he pulls out the knife from his belt and cuts off Morpheus’ harness as they pass a tall building. The fall will hurt, but the other man will forgive him later. As soon as his captain is safe on the roof, Eon kicks his legs in the air as the helicopter circles around to drop him onto the next tall building.

Worried for Trinity's safety, Eon looks up at where she should be, and an idea pops in his head. It's an insane idea. He’s never done it before. He’s never seen it done before. On the other hand, if he could walk on thin air, then there’s a good chance that what he’s about to do will work too. Finally landing his feet on a rooftop, he squats down and, hoping this works, leaps as high as he can, directly at the helicopter. Just like his leap to Morpheus, Eon seems to jump in slow motion. We watch as he somehow breaks the laws of physics with a leap powerful enough to grab onto the helicopter.

Eon climbs into the heart of the helicopter, slips off his harness, forcibly heaves Trinity from her chair (much to her confusion), and he drags them both into the air. Trinity twists in Eon's embrace in time to watch the helicopter crash into the building, flames erupting from the collision. Eon refuses to look at the carnage, he'd rather look ahead. Acting on the power of belief, Eon wills the two of them to fall toward the roof he left Morpheus on. Except, there was another thing he forgot to factor in: the high-pressure wave of a powerful collision. The blast propels them at a faster rate, so the two of them literally crash down onto the roof. Groaning in pain, Eon wishes he had conjured a large airbag.

At the sound of something falling, Eon lifts his head in time to see the burning wreckage of the helicopter fall to the ground. Breathing heavily, Trinity chuckles from disbelief, turns her head, and glances at Eon. Her laughter is infectious because he finds himself chuckling too. They stop laughing and switch between looking at each other’s eyes and their lips, clearly wanting to kiss. The air between them is heavy with anticipation. Eon leans in, but Morpheus chooses that moment to reveal his return to lucidity.

“Like I told you, Trinity. Eon's The One.”

Morpheus hasn’t moved from where he landed, but he is definitely awake and alert. He lies in wait as Trinity and Eon shrug, stand up, and walk over to their captain. At Morpheus' comment, Trinity glows as she reaches for Eon's hand. With her other hand, Trinity pulls out her cellphone and hands it to the captain.

“Care to do the honor?”

On The Nebuchadnezzar, some of the crew is either tending to Tank's injuries or sitting impatiently. Neo passes the time by editing his mysterious project on a spare monitor. He is sitting next to Dozer when they hear the beautiful noise they’ve been waiting for: the ringing of a phone. Dozer answers it.

“Operator?”

“Dozer,” says the familiar voice of his captain.

The operator’s smile is bright enough to light a whole city.

“Damn! It's good to hear your voice, sir!”

“We need an exit.”

“Got one ready. Subway station. State and Balbo. Mouse and Switch are on standby in case of any trouble.”

Neo tugs at Dozer’s headgear just enough to voice his concern.

“Is Eon okay?”

“He’s fine, Neo," says Morpheus in exasperation, "We’re all fine.”

Dozer shoos away Neo from his personal space. Neo complies.

The door to the roof of a random building is kicked open; three Agents charge out to find they are too late. The rebels have already gone. All that is left behind are the harnesses. Agent Smith swears under his breath. Brown and Jones interject.

“The trace was completed.”

“We have their position.”

“Sentinels are standing by.”

Jones and Brown pause to allow Smith to add his piece to the conversation, but he remains quiet. Jones provides the unspoken sentence.

“Order the strike.”

Smith walks to the edge of the building and stares down at the city. His hatred for humanity is written all over his body. He will never be free of the Matrix. In the back of his mind, Agent Smith hears his comrades speak, yet he blocks them out. He just can’t stand their voices! Needing to finish each other’s thoughts and sentences is not a game he wants to partake in anymore. Smith realizes that at some recent point, he mysteriously changed his opinion, his programming, his reason of existence.

Agents Brown and Jones leave the roof upon ordering the sentinel attack, but Smith has one last thing to add. The roguish Agent turns around and his face is twisted with hate.

“They're not out yet.”

He steps away from the edge of the building when Smith hears something. The Agent turns his ear to the direction of a nearby subway station. He hears it again. Something inside Smith purrs with sadistic glee as he tracks the sound.

Chapter Text

Down in a rarely-used subway station, a homeless man huddles in a darkened corner. He lies there alone, shivering in the frigid cold of the underground. In an attempt to warm up, the man drinks something from a paper bag. By smell alone, there’s a high probability that the substance has a strong alcohol content. For the extra layer of warmth, he was lucky to have found blankets discarded in various dumpters. Imagine this man’s surprise when a phone starts to ring. As far as he knows, the phone-booth down here stopped functioning years ago. This poor fellow is the sole witness to the small group of rebels rushing toward the payphone for reasons unknown.

Trinity takes the lead and behind her is Eon, acting as a human crutch for Morpheus, who can barely walk from lack of strength. Trailing behind them is Switch and a backward-walking, gun-toting Mouse, his eyes glued behind the group, on guard for any surprises. Eon opens the door of the booth and demands Morpheus go first. Without the mental and physical strength to argue, their captain nods and picks up the ringing device.

Hidden by the shadows, the old homeless man watches in astonishment as someone disappears, the phone dropping and dangling by its cord. Eyes growing wide, the hidden witness opens his mouth, but he is struck speechless. Mouse and Switch, certain all is safe and secure, are the next ones to disappear. Knowing she is running out of opportunities for a private moment, Trinity turns to face Eon.

“Eon, I want to tell you something…” she pauses to collect her thoughts. “But I’m afraid of what it could mean if I do.”

The phone rings. Eon notes the active ticket home with a look of impatience, but he keeps quiet out of politeness.

“Everything the Oracle told me has come true.”

The phone rings again. Trinity tries to find the words, but she falters when a train thunders into the station. For a moment, everyone is frozen by the blinking lights of the train. Neither Eon nor Trinity notice the homeless man seizure into Agent Smith. Trinity shakes her head in defeat, verbally unable to finish her confession. With a dawning understanding in his eyes, Eon steps onto his toes, leans up close, and passionately kisses Trinity. A brief overdrive of electricity sparks from Eon and Trinity’s bodies back in reality. After what feels like eternity, they break apart. A pink blush spreads over Trinity's face as Eon blindly reaches for the phone and hands it to the angelic woman before him as he replies.

“I think I know what you want to say and, in case I don't make it, “ he says with a smile that could melt hearts, “I want you to know I feel the same way.”

Trinity grins with tears in her eyes as the phone touches her ear, but her expression morphs into a frown when Trinity spots something behind Eon. She opens her mouth, but Trinity disappears before she could warn Eon. In the darkness where the homeless man sought shelter, Agent Smith raises his gun and fires. The bullet pierces the phone booth, destroying the panes of glass as well as the telephone. Eon turns around in time to raise his arms to protect his face from the shattered pieces of glass and plastic.

Once again onboard the Nebuchadnezzar, Trinity awakens, her eyes go wide with concern.

“Eon!”

Dozer yells, “What the hell just happened?”

“An Agent! You have to send me back!”

“I can’t!”

Neo’s eyes sparkle with an epiphany. Part of his secret lessons with Cypher included an extensively thorough guide to entering the Matrix without an operator. And thanks to all of those weeks with the Zion brothers, Neo knows how to locate the nearest payphone in relation to someone already connected within the Matrix. The newest member of the crew types away furiously at the keyboard before rising from his seat. Neo is fully aware of the danger waiting on the other side, but Eon needs his help, and this time, no one will get in his way. He straps himself onto one of the pods and counts down.

The sole witness to this form of rebellion is Cypher, who is torn between wanting to stop his friend from doing something suicidal and wanting to see what Neo has planned. He finally opts to stay silent and enjoy the show.

The demolished phone swings from side to side in the shattered booth. Eon looks from the useless electronic device to a face he remembers all too well.

"Smith.”

The Agent replies in kind, though in a much more menacing manner, “Mr. Anderson.”

Eon’s instincts are screaming for him to run. He turns his head to the broken escalator from where he entered. He turns back to Smith, but the Agent’s attention has been caught by something else.

“It seems Mr. Logan," Smith turns his attention back to Eon, "has finally decided to make an appearance. Let’s give him a show, shall we?”

Taking one step backward followed by another, Eon could have sworn he heard someone say, “Run, Eon. Run.” That’s all it takes for him to finally make a run for it.

“The hell? What is he thinking?!”

Trinity turns at Dozer’s voice.

“What is it?”

“Look in front of you!”

Everyone looks ahead to see that Neo has already connected to the Matrix. Entering without an operator is no easy accomplishment. It isn’t included in the training program for a good reason, mainly for the crew’s safety. Morpheus stares, mouth agape, before he turns to Dozer, the designated tutor to every new member.

“Who taught him that?”

Dozer shakes his head. Tank, if he were conscious, would also shake his head.

"Uhhhhh, yeah, guys?"

Everyone turns around. We see Cypher trying to raise one hand to take the blame, but as his hands are literally tied together, it just looks like a weird attempt at a surrender.

“That might have been me… Sorry?”

In the middle of a busy sidewalk, Neo appears out of nowhere. He looks around in surprise at his accomplishment. He was taught how, but he wasn’t sure if it could have been done! Mere moments after coming to his senses, Neo triangulates his location, and makes a mad dash to Eon. Like Moses before the Red Sea, the crowd parts away unnaturally to allow Neo to run without obstacles. Neo would question this odd behavior later. For now, his focus is entirely on making it to his friend on time, but his sense of touch is alerting him to a change in wardrobe. He glances downward. Neo's long legs were covered with acid-washed jeans kept up with a flashy belt buckle. The skin-tight shirt he was now sporting is solid-black, and above that is what seems to be an expensive gray, soft leather jacket.

Neo redirects his focus back to helping his friend. He grumbles to himself as he sprints, mocking the tones of various people who have ordered him to not interfere in the past.

“’Don’t do it, Neo! That wiretap might be in you, Neo! Those Agents might realize you’re here, Neo!’ Well,” he pants for breath, “see any effing Agents near me? No? I didn’t frickin’ think so!”

Everyone capable of understanding the Matrix codex is transfixed in complete fascination.

“Have you ever seen it move so fast before?”

“Only when Eon is connected.”

“Look! Neo’s signature is identical to Eon’s. They could be twins.”

“What does that mean?”

A siren sounds. It is a proximity warning.

“Oh, shit!”

Morpheus is already climbing the ladder up to the cockpit. Trinity is right behind him. She checks the hologram radar and sees the threat.

“Sentinels.”

There are at least five of them. Trinity looks to her captain.

“How long do we have?”

His answer is grim. ”Five, maybe six minutes.”

Morpheus lifts the headset.

“Dozer, charge the E.M.P."

“No,” cries Trinity. “You can't use that until they’re out!”

“I know, Trinity. Don't worry. He's going to make it.”

Trinity catches his specific wording. She realizes he only expects Eon to make it out alive or worse, plans on sacrificing Neo if it means Eon survives. The two of them hurry back to the Core to check the boys’ process.

Someone who could be the personification of the everyday businessman is on his cellphone, making a solid deal along the sidewalk. All of a sudden, the phone disappears from his hand, snatched by a sprinting Eon.

“What the shit?! That’s my phone!”

“Sorry!”

The businessman waves his arms to grab the attention of anyone who would listen. When he lowers his arms, the man turns around to reveal his transformation into Agent Smith. He reaches a hand up to his ear piece and signals for backup.

Eon makes a call as he runs for his life. He thanks whoever is up there when someone answers his call.

“Oper-“

“Get me the hell out of here!”

“Eon! Alright, I got a patch on an old exit. Wabash and Lake. Listen, Neo-“

“Thanks,” Eon yells as he lowers the phone. He dashes around the corner to find himself before an open market. It is crowded, but Eon spots various Agents. More appear out of nowhere and move their way toward him.

“Oh shit!”

Without concern for those unlucky to be in his way, Eon torpedoes his way through the chaos of shops. Unfortunately, no matter where he turns, there is an Agent headed his direction and some are shooting bullets. Eon ducks down in time to hear a watermelon burst into pieces instead of his head. He lifts the phone to his ears as begs for directions. Eon dodges more bullets and continues to evade the Agents until he runs into a dead-end. Eon yells into the phone, knowing the operator is seeing what he is seeing.

“Uh, help?! Need a little help here!”

Dozer desperately scans the monitor.

“The door.”

“WHAT DOOR?!”

Precisely on cue, a door magically appears in front of Eon. Counting his lucky stars, Eon turns the knob and continues his escape. Bullets lodge themselves into the brick wall a few centimeters from Eon's ears.

Three blocks away, Neo stops to catch his breath. He lifts his head up and looks around. The distant sound of gunshots reaches his ears. He turns in every direction until he locates the source of the noise. Neo eventually finds himself running through a farmer's market and praying he reaches his partner in time.

Moving at a rapid speed, five sentinels swim through the pipes towards the Nebuchadnezzar. The squiddies open their appendages, ready for the attack.

A pulsating alarm sounds with the warning: ‘RED ALERT’.

Everyone looks up to the ceiling. It is Morpheus who says what they are all thinking.

“Here they come.”

Not even one second later, the humans hear the sound of metal crashing against metal. The sentinels have arrived. Morpheus unlatches the plastic cover over a big red button. Trinity sees this and her heart feels like it is suffering from a panic attack.

Eon stumbles as he loses his footing running up multiple flights of stairs. The Agents are right behind him. Every delay is a step closer to death. Eon kicks down a door to find himself within an apartment building. He hears Dozer’s voice yelling through the phone.

“The third door on your left.”

Eon runs towards mentioned door and shoves his entire body weight against it. The door collapses right as an Agent fires from the other end of the hallway. Eon dodges the bullets and enters the unit. He comes across the supposed occupant, an old lady knitting. Eon hurries past her and into the kitchen, where another woman is chopping vegetables. He doesn't see a way to escape this place.

The voice on the other line of the phone cries out, “The back door!”

Eon looks around, sees the door he previously missed, and makes a run for it. He nearly does a front flip down the fire escape outside if he hadn’t caught himself in time. A knife lodges itself onto the door panel behind him.

Eon growls in frustration, “I fucking HATE Agents!!!”

He safely jumps onto the dumpster, hastily climbs out of it, and runs for another two blocks. We pan down the sign for the Heart O' The City Hotel. Eon can hear at least two sets of footsteps running behind him. The voice on the phone continues to guide Eon.

“The fire escape at the end of the alley. Room 303.”

Eon stuffs the active phone down one of his pockets before he parkours up to the fire escape on the third floor. He is so tired from all of the running he just did. When will it end? Whenever he wishes to stop for a breather, bullets pierce the wall mere inches from him, and Eon is reminded of why he is running. Agents Brown and Jones are closing in on him and he doubts they would show mercy.

As Eon enters the hotel, the sentinels have pierced their way through the thick exterior shell of the Nebuchadnezzar. The crew within cannot do anything to stop the machines until everyone is back in reality, but two have yet to return. Morpheus shakes his head and makes a decision.

"Dozer, make the call."

The operator readily complies, but Trinity does not agree.

“Those Agents could track where's he's going.”

“He'll make it.”

“They could hear the phone and-“

Morpheus almost yells at her, "He's going to make it!"

Trinity hangs her head in defeat and hovers over Eon’s comatose body within the hub. Something metallic thunders above her. It’s the sentinels; is it too late to stop them?

“Hurry, Eon.”

Neo skids to a stop facing the street across from the Heart O' The City Hotel. He senses something and jumps 180 degrees. Something is telling him to go in that direction. He doesn’t question it and runs. As Neo makes a physically impossible jump to the landing on the 3rd floor, the shadows of his past seem to finally bite him in the ass because he’s starting to see those horrifying visions from his childhood. And with every passing second, the visions grow in number. He tries so hard to ignore what he sees: a flurry of twinkling green symbols covering random people and items.

Eon kicks down a door on the opposite end from where his friend is, though he is still unaware Neo is there, and he dodges inside the hotel. He pauses as he tries to figure out where he is. To Eon’s sweet relief, the beautiful melody of a phone calls out to him. He counts down the room numbers as he listens. 305…304…303! Eon opens the door… only to come face to face with Agent Smith, waiting inside the room, with a gun aimed at him. Why can’t Eon move? He can’t think! He can’t-

BANG!

Eon hears the gunfire before he feels something not quite right on his chest. He places a hand over his torso and lifts it to see his hand coated in red. The phone rings again.

BANG!

This time, the force knocks Eon against the wall. He loses the strength to stand upright. In his attempt to keep himself up, Eon braces himself against the wall, smearing the wallpaper with a bloody handprint and blood from the exit wounds. He looks up to the Agent in disbelief. Smith is ready to fire again when he senses something Eon doesn’t, somewhere to the side. With an animalistic smile, Agent Smith turns back to Eon.

“Your friend is too late.”

Neo finally appears from around the corner, exhausted beyond belief. He spots the Agent pointing a gun at Eon's heart. Summoning the last of his breath, Neo shouts-

“STOP!!!”

Time, for some impossible reason, slows down throughout the Matrix until it comes to a stand-still. All is quiet and frozen for at least ten heartbeats. For those ten seconds, the cables connecting Eon and Neo to the Matrix spark with an overload. Ever so slowly, time within the Matrix returns to motion and four things happen: Smith fires his gun, Eon collapses, the phone rings, and the sentinels stop attacking.

Chapter Text

Everyone outside of the Matrix pauses as they watch the life drain from Eon's body. Morpheus takes a step back in disbelief. Tears rain down Trinity’s cheeks as she looks down at Eon’s prone body. She ignores the chaos and destruction caused by the sentinels above her. Gathering the courage, Trinity leans in and whispers in Eon's ear, praying he hears her words.

“Eon, I’m not afraid anymore. The Oracle told me that I would fall in love and that man, the man that I loved, would be the One. So you see? You can't be dead. You can't be… because I love you. You hear me? I love you!”

Time within the Matrix gradually returns to its normal speed, so it only looks like Neo leaps in slow motion to catch his friend's falling body. He skids a few inches, but he makes the catch without injuring himself too much. Looking down, Neo's blood goes cold with ice as he notices a red spot blossom on Eon’s torso. The spot grows bigger and bigger by the second. Neo knows what’s about to happen, yet he refuses to accept the fact that Eon won’t survive a wound this bad. Fighting back his tears, Neo lifts a hand towards Eon, his best friend, his partner in life, his equal.

“No, Eon. Don’t- don’t go yet. Please stay with me.”

Eon’s eyes are open, but he doesn't seem to be lucid. Neo shakes his friend’s weakened body a bit too aggressively, but it's not enough to wake him.

“Dammit, Eon! We’re supposed to grow old together. Jesus, you’re supposed to be the one to my zero. Binary code, get it?,” he jests desperately between hiccups. “Don’t leave me!”

Multiple tears force their way down Neo's face before falling onto his friend’s cheeks. It’s almost like they were both crying. In the real world, Trinity closes her eyes and she kisses Eon on the lips, believing in all her heart that he will feel her lips and know that they speak the truth of her love for him. She commands Eon to get up.

Eon blinks his eyes. He sees Neo above him, glowing like an angel with a bright light behind him. That's how he knows he is either dead or dying. Oh, how relieved is Eon that Neo caught him, just like he always does.

“Neo…”

Eon stares at Neo like he was made of star light. Neo reassures his partner that he is there, however, Eon doesn’t seem to hear him. The blond man gives Neo a reassuring smile and caresses his best friend’s face. Neo cries as he grasps his partner’s hand, even giving kissing it, cradling it.

Trinity looks at Eon’s vitals. If ever there was a moment for a miracle, this is it. She leans close to his ear and whispers.

“I-"

“-love you, Neo,” gasps Eon.

Neo stops fighting the tears rivering down from his eyes. “I love you, too, Eon.”

Eon closes his eyes as Neo feels his partner take his last breath. Something caged deep within Neo’s core snaps free.

Onboard the Nebuchadnezzar, Trinity grows fearful as Eon’s monitor goes still. She involuntarily jumps from sparks originating from Neo’s pod; the cables seem to be screaming from an overload. Something's not right. Apoc, Mouse, Switch, and Dozer are glued to the monitor and are the first to see the change.

“Are you seeing this?”

“What’s happening to the Matrix?”

Dozer can’t make heads nor tails of these mysterious spikes within the codex. It pulsates like a heartbeat. In fact, the pulse is an echo to Neo’s heartbeat if one were to compare visuals. Mouse is the first person to connect the dots.

“Eon’s not the One.”

Within the Matrix, Neo cradles Eon’s deadweight on his arms and lap. He tries to shake his best friend awake, but Eon doesn’t wake up. Neo hears a gun cock. He lifts his head to see the three Agents pointing their guns at him. Neo doesn’t fear for his life. Not anymore. Instead, more tears streak down his cheeks as he cries out, screaming his pain for the world to hear.

“YOU KILLED HIM, YOU- YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!”

A supernatural sonic boom follows Neo’s raw scream, sweeping the three Agents off their feet. Possessed with a horrific vengeance, Neo rises to his feet. He looks downright dangerous. The Agents waste no time. They stand back up and fire their weapons. Neo, too furious to realize what he is doing, swats aside every bullet from the air as he charges the nearest enemy.

His first victim is Agent Brown, colliding into the wall from a single kick. Brown falls to the floor, revealing a crater in the wall resembling his body shape. Neo turns and knocks out Agent Jones with one punch, leaving Smith without backup. The Agent stares down at his comrades in shock; never had he witnessed a human knock down a program in so little time. Still angry, Neo cries a primal sound and lunges himself to the other man, knocking both of them to the floor. Smith tries to defend himself, but Neo attacks without mercy nor sense of the rules of physics, moving faster than the Agent. For the first time since his inception, Agent Smith understands the human emotion of fear.

On the deck of the Nebuchadnezzar, most of the crew watch in wonder as the scrolling code accelerates, faster and faster, as if the machine language was unable to keep up or perhaps describe what is happening. The symbols begin to blur into streaks as each screen fills with brilliant, green-tinted images of Neo punching the Agent. And as for the sentinels, they remain at a standstill, as if waiting for orders.

“How?!”

“What just happened?”

“Can someone please give me the commentary here?,” begs Cypher, from his position across the room.

“The power scales. It wasn’t Eon. It was-“

“Neo... He’s the One.”

“It can’t be!”

Trinity turns to Morpheus and they share a look.

Agent Smith manages to land one sucker punch. Neo shakes his head to clear the dizziness. That is when he pauses long enough to see something bewildering. He presumed the world to have been painted in a haze of angry red, but what he sees is a world of peaceful green. His schizophrenic hallucinations have now completely overwhelmed his vision. The curtain of numbers and symbols, which he now realizes is the raw form of the Matrix, is everywhere, coagulating where the Agent lies beneath him, forming a body made of symbols.

“I can see you!,” Neo softly exclaims the same way a blind person discovers they've gained the overwhelming sense of vision.

Smith shoves him off while Neo’s still distracted. Not only could he see the world all in green, but Neo is astonished that he can decipher it! He subconsciously transcribes the words encrypted in the air scrolling around Agent Smith. Key words make themselves known to Neo.

“Mammals, prison, infection, viruses.”

This last word stirs something in his memory. He takes a moment to recover the significance of that word.

“Viruses?”

Agent raises a gun and aims it at Neo, who doesn’t register the incoming attack. His eyes brighten with an epiphany.

“Computer viruses!”

Neo’s memory returns before the Agent pulls the trigger, and with the reminder, so does his confidence in what he’s about to do. Neo stands to his full height, takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and yells: “Command: 404. Password: mustangs. Enter!”

BANG!

The bullet pierces the air, but it evaporates mere inches from Neo’s face. In fact, the bullet disappears digit by digit according to the codex. The affect stretches onto the aura making up Agent Smith, who seems to be disappearing, one symbol at a time. Smith looks down at his body in disbelief.

“Imposs-”

Neo can sense the moment the Agent is gone completely. With his eyes still closed, he senses other beings within the room start to stir. It must be the other Agents, waking up. Without bothering to check, Neo utters a simple command with a lot of emotion behind it, hoping he will be obeyed.

“Go home!”

The remaining Agents exchange stares before scurrying away. Having had enough, Neo collapses to his knees. He opens his eyes and crawls toward where Eon lies dead. Neo lifts the corpse of his friend and places it upon his lap. There is a pool of blood staining his clothes, but Neo isn’t concerned about that. Eon looks so pale. Neo gives his best friend a final hug, even cradling him as if he were merely sleeping. Neo cries, sputters, wails, even drools a bit, yet he doesn’t give a fuck if anyone sees.

Somewhere in reality, the sentinels retreat, as if ordered to return to their home base. Everyone stares in confusion.

“What happened? Where did they go?”

“I don’t know, but as long as they leave, I don’t care.”

Morpheus yells out to the only available operator left onboard, “Set a course to Zion. Immediately!”

“Right away, sir!”

Hours later…

“Neo?”

In the time it took to find the two of them, Neo never left his friend. Trinity calls out his name once more, but Neo doesn’t seem to hear her. When someone attempts to lift him up, he screams and flails about like a wild animal. He refuses to be separated from Eon. It eventually takes three people to force Neo from the cold dead husk of his life partner. After he was forced to return to reality, Neo locked himself in his bunk. For the rest of the night, the crew heard muffled wails, furniture being upturned, and powerful punches against the wall. Nobody goes to check on him partly out of fear and partly out of understanding. They knew Neo needed his space during this time of grief.

He doesn’t leave his room when somebody announces they are in Zion.

Three days have passed before Neo steps out of his room, ready to talk. There is an invisible weight set upon him as Neo drags his feet to the Core of the Nebuchadnezzar. Everyone has scattered throughout Zion, except for Morpheus and Trinity, who remained behind to keep a careful eye on Neo. The captain of the ship was in the middle of updating Trinity on Tank’s steady recovery when he hears Neo approach. Morpheus immediately stands to attention, as does Trinity.

“What happened to the Agent?”

Neo doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he shuffles his way to the operator’s station and ejects a disk. It is his personal project. He turns it around in his hands, staring at it in contemplation, thinking back to his old hobby of collecting computer viruses.

“You don’t have to worry about Smith anymore,” Neo says with an eerie sing-song tone. “He’s where he wants to be.”

He tosses the disk to Morpheus. The captain successfully catches the flying disk and takes a proper look at the label, “PROJECT: STATIC”. He looks back to Neo, but the other man has already left the room.

Somewhere else, in what could be mistaken for Chicago in 1999, Agent Smith finds himself all alone in the middle of a vacant street. There are no people, no animals, no machines, no Agents. He cannot sense anyone, which tells him he is no longer within the Matrix. The only noise he hears is the whisper of a gentle breeze. And the smell! Smith is surprised to find he doesn’t smell anything in the air. There’s no stench of smog, sweat of the harvest, cigarettes, etc. He inhales deeply, relishing the pure air.

The Agent knows he is alone. And yet, in spite of the solitude, Smith feels at peace with his current situation. He removes his shades and drops them unceremoniously onto the pavement beneath him. The corners of his lips tug upward into a small, yet genuine smile.

Agent Smith is free.

One week after Eon’s death, a pair of black chucks step into our view. We hear Neo’s voice.

“Hi. It's me. I know you are out there, somewhere. I can feel it in my bones. I imagine you can also hear me. I don’t know where you are, but I suppose I’ll find you in time.”

He pauses. Moving upward, we see Neo’s skinny black jeans that we recognize from the first time we met him. The second-hand shirt he wears is far too small for him, clearly a size meant for someone with shorter proportions. Over the shirt is a tattered, acid-washed, grey denim jacket that could easily have been pulled through time from the 1980’s.

“You weren’t meant for this world. Yet, on some level, I believe the Matrix would have wanted it this way. Me, looking up to the stars, wondering where you are. You, looking down from the heavens, wondering when I’ll come back to you.”

We now see his face. Neo is struggling to control his grief. His throat feels tight, his voice hoarse with emotion. He sniffles and a tear runs down his cheek. He wipes the tear away as he looks at the grave marker in front of him.

“I don’t believe in Heaven. But I do believe in an afterlife. So when it’s my turn, I hope you’ll be there waiting for me. And if I take too long, keep the door unlocked.”

Neo pats the grave marker and walks away. We now see what is transcribed on the headstone. It is Eon’s legal name, the dates of his birth and death, and a descriptor chosen by Neo.

It reads: “One’s Personal Jesus.”

Chapter Text

It’s another typical, absolutely boring day at Meta CorTechs. Employees clack away at their keyboards, a few people yawn from lack of excitement to keep them alert, and the pot of coffee has to be refilled every hour. The office manager, Mr. Rhineheart, is currently giving a lecture on phishing to a group of employees who have already heard this spiel twice this year. And it’s only April!

Rhineheart is either ignorant of his inferiors’ boredom or does not care. He goes on with his speech when something catches his attention. Or rather, someone. An almost-familiar face peers through the tiny slot of a window on the door. The moment the two men lock eyes, the person ducks out of sight. Rhineheart dismisses this oddity and continues the speech he memorized this morning. Minutes later, the face reappears. The stranger smirks at the manager before raising his middle finger at him. The nerve! Rhineheart decides to take action.

He excuses himself, walks to the door, and demands to know who is there. However, when the office manager scans the immediate area, nobody was there. Rhineheart looks around, there doesn’t seem to be anything unusual. Shrugging it off, he turns back to the heart of the conference room.

A man pokes his head out from the neighboring room. He chuckles, unable to believe how easy it was to prank Big Bad. This mystery guy doesn’t belong there judged solely on his appearance. The young man has soft, black hair that hangs down to his chin; his eyes are hidden behind aviator sunglasses despite being indoors; and his attire doesn’t belong to a professional businessman. He wears an old jean jacket, a shirt that doesn’t fit him, black skinny jeans, and black chucks on his feet. Clearly, not a businessman.

The intruder looks around and is startled by his reflection on the mirrored wall. Neo scoffs at the new décor. It’s been, what, six months? Less than a year, for sure. That’s all it took to refurbish this level of the building with doors and walls made of highly-reflective material. He takes a second to admire what he sees. Neo tucks a rebellious streak of hair back into position.

Acting like he’s supposed to be there, Neo scans the area and locates the Big Bad’s office. As he walks across the floor, he pauses at the sound of someone loudly popping bubblegum. He turns and instantly recognizes the attractive Ms. Berry, a mediocre programmer who never gave a shit about other people nor their feelings. The two years he worked here, he repeatedly -and more importantly, politely- asked her to stop chomping, only to get a louder chomp from her in retaliation.

Checking the conference room to make sure nobody was leaving, Neo slinks to the employee’s desk. The woman acknowledges him, but doesn’t recognize her former coworker. Neo rests his hands on the back of her chair, leans into her personal space, and speaks in the most polite tone he could muster.

“Please, don’t chomp. It’s quite the disturbance.”

The woman glares at him and somehow chomps louder than ever, opening her mouth further, silently daring him to do something. Neo rolls his eyes and forces himself not to strangle her. He takes a deep breath and comes up with a safer idea.

“Don’t you know chomping will increase your risk of lockjaw?”

As soon as the word leaves his mouth, the muscles of the female employee’s jaw become stiff, locking her mouth shut. Try as she might, Ms. Berry's jaw will not cooperate. She freaks out and looks to Neo for help.

“I warned ya,” he says.

Neo leans away from her as she attempts to grab his clothes. The employee is growing concerned; her eyes are bugging out.

“The studies behind chomping gum are readily available for you to read. If you stopped chomping gum all day long, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. The next time you chew with your mouth visible for the world to see, it could very well be the last time you do so. Please, think about it.”

Without bothering to warn her, he grabs her jaw with both hands, and wiggles it harder than necessary, and like magic, the woman’s mouth is healed. Ms. Berry tests it and hastens to spit the gum into the trashcan by her feet. When she turns to look at the stranger, he already walked off.

Neo casually enters the office belonging to Rhineheart. He quietly shuts the door behind him before he props himself in front of the computer. Neo places his hands on top of the machine and closes his eyes. What he is about to do requires a lot of focus. He struggled for weeks to lower the green curtain from his sight and see the simulated world as it was programmed. Now, Neo can turn on or off his second sight with some concentration. Feeling the shift, he opens his eyes to find the world transformed into green code. At last, he can do what he came here for. A pulse of bright light emits from Neo's hands and flows into the computer.

He thinks back to the years he slaved away at this establishment with Eon, complaining of the monotonous job as a programmer. To quell the anger to a manageable degree, Neo would send gullible Rhineheart a seemingly-innocent email infected with a viscous computer virus. Such a virus is currently uploading itself from his very hands directly into the machine instead of being delivered via email.

Neo catches a lot of movement from across the floor. The coded silhouette of Rhineheart is exiting the conference room along with the rest of the group. Neo blinks his eyes, dissolving his second-sight. He then removes his hands from the computer, swiveling in the seat in search of an escape. Only now does Neo remember there were no other doors to this room and Rhineheart would definitely notice him if he leaves now. Neo turns his head in all directions. There is an option he could try, but he’s not sure if it would work. He’s running out of time! His eyes widen at the sound of the door opening.

Rhineheart enters his office and stops. Somebody moved his chair 5 feet from his computer. Seeing no one around, he presumes somebody wanted to pull a prank on him. He brings his chair closer to the desk and powers on the computer. The monitor wakes up and on the screen-

Half of the employees on that floor hear a loud and angry noise. Groans erupt all around, especially from those who participated in the phishing session. They have learned overtime to associate this particular scream with Rhineheart infecting his computer with yet another virus.

A head phases through the wall of the room next to the manager's office. It is a grinning Neo. He successfully phased through the wall, explaining how he escaped notice.

“I can’t believe that worked!,” he says to himself.

With a stride of pride upon learning a new skill on top of pissing Big Bad off, Neo takes his leave. He exits the building with a skip in his step and whistling a tune. With no destination in mind, Neo doesn't bother checking to see where he's going because the crowd of people subconsciously move around him. He passes a public payphone, which immediately starts to ring. Neo stops in his tracks and turns to the device. It rings again. Neo sighs and slumps his head. Someone found him out. Begrudgingly, he moves his way to the phone and lifts it to his ear. A tingling sensation overwhelms him.

Neo opens his eyes to find himself strapped onto a reclining pod. His hair is shorter. He started off hairless, but overtime, he grew his hair to the length he used to keep it back before he discovered the truth of the Matrix. It should be noted that Neo seemed to have made the choice to grow out his hair in both realms, so we know when he's in the real world or the simulated one. What hasn't changed is the set of old clothes Neo was given months prior.

He lifts his gaze up to a disproving Trinity. Her arms are crossed as she frowns at him.

“You know Morpheus won't be happy when he finds out about this.”

Neo isn’t perturbed. He wanted some alone time in the Matrix before meeting up with the others. And he knows the best excuse.

“Sure, he will! I just found out I can walk through walls. Add that to my growing list of powers.”

We look to the operator’s station and see no one there; he accomplished the excursion by himself. Judging by Trinity’s glare, this is far from the first time he’s done this. Before Neo could haul himself from the pod, Trinity gently places a hand over his chest.

“Testing a new ability all for the sake of infiltrating your former boss’ office and infecting his computer?”

“...Maybe?”

With a chuckle, Trinity drops her frown as if it were a mask. She smiles coyly at Neo and says, “I won’t tell him if you won’t.”

“Fine with me.”

She brushes a hand against the inside of his thigh. The two of them stare at each other for a long time. Neo eventually clears his throat and reminds her that the others will be joining them any moment. Trinity pulls back her hand, albeit with some reluctance, and takes the pod next to him just as Morpheus arrives. He raises an eyebrow at Neo. Just like a parent, he mysteriously knows what the other was up to without anyone saying a word.

“What was today’s test?”

“Phasing through walls.”

Morpheus shakes his head in resignation. “You’ll have to show me after the meeting.”

Tank appears and situates himself in front of the operator’s station. Nobody else is expected to show up.

“Alright, passengers. The captain has put on the seatbelt sign. We will be experiencing some turbulence.”

Tank pushes a button and we enter the Matrix.

Deep in the heart of a forgotten subway tunnel, minutes after midnight, a confidential meeting takes place. Nearly thirty people are there. Everyone there is either the captain or the first mate to the twelve ships of Zion. Their host, a tough-looking woman by the name of Niobe, Captain of the Logos, tosses some thermal pictures onto the table in the center of the room.

“These geo-therms and the seismic data from Zion confirm the last transmission from the Osiris. The Machines are digging.”

She looks to the others. Most of them look dangerous, sporting sunglasses inside, and attire in shades of black and grey in various styles of fashion. Amongst the sea of people dressed in black leather, it is Neo who stands out. He continues to wear the light-grey jean jacket from the 80's and Eon’s favorite shirt. His clothes mark him as the sole person sporting such visible colors, thus making him quite the unusual, antisocial hacker. And Neo’s brown-colored eyes are visible too, for he opted to forego his aviators at this meeting for reasons known only to him. If anyone had an issue with his fashion mutiny, none would acknowledge it. Nor does anyone point out how he shouldn't be there due to not being a captain, first-mate, nor a guard.

“They are boring right from the surface, straight down to Zion.”

The other captains add their two cents.

Captain Soren of the Vigilant, a bald man of mixed ethnicity, says, “They’ll avoid the entire perimeter defense.”

“How fast are they moving?,” asks Captain Ice of the Gnosis, a Caucasian, middle aged, no-nonsense woman.

“Control estimates their descent at one hundred meters an hour.”

“Shit.”

“How deep are they?”

“Almost two thousand meters.”

Another Captain, Tirant of the Novalis, a bulky man wearing a red crocodile-leather jacket, poses another question.

“What about the scans from the Osiris?”

One of the captains voices their disbelief, “They seriously can’t be accurate.”

Niobe pauses for a beat before revealing the photos may indeed, truly, be accurate. This concerns the others.

“What?”

“That’s impossible!,” exclaims Ajax, Captain of the Icarus, a man with gelled hair and a couple of earrings.

Captain Kali of the Brahma, a woman of the same dark complex as Niobe, says with concern in her voice, “That would mean there’s a quarter-million Sentinels up there.”

Morpheus doesn’t seem surprised by the large number. “One sentinel for every man, woman, and child in Zion.”

“What are we going to do about it?,” asks Captain Ballard of the Caduceus, a man with a stylized goatee.

Niobe replies, “We do what Commander Lock ordered us to do. Evacuate from broadcast levels and return to Zion.”

“And does the Commander have a plan for stopping two hundred fifty thousand Sentinels?”

There’s a strong silent beat before Niobe thinks of a diplomatic response, “A strategy is still being formulated.”

Morpheus seems skeptical.

“I’m sure it is.”

Something tickles the back of Neo’s mind. He turns in the direction of the sensation and recognizes it. Trinity catches Neo staring over his shoulder and whispers to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Agents,” he utters under his breath. “I’ll be right back.”

Neo sneaks away from the group and disappears into the shadows.

A car slowly comes to a standstill outside one of the entrances to the secret meeting between the rebels. Three unfamiliar Agents step out and they are Agents Thompson, Jackson, and Johnson.

“Hiya fellas!”

Moving faster than a human, the Agents grab their weapons and aim it towards the voice, but all of them pause upon recognizing the enemy: Neo. He steps out from the shadows and stands tall with confidence in his posture.

“It’s him,” says Thompson.

“The anomaly,” continues Jackson.

“Do we proceed?,” asks Johnson.

Thompson thinks it through for a moment before answering, “The risk is too high. Abort.”

The three programs exchange looks and nod in unison. Without another word, they slip back into the car and drive off into the night. Neo waits patiently until he can no longer sense them. In a way, he's disappointed. He expected a fair fight between himself and the Agents. Ever since Neo sent Agent Smith to STATIC, every Agent he's encountered alone have shown fear at the sight of him. To this day, he's yet to discern if he's capable of one-on-one fights against the programs without the extra boost of fury or if he was merely lucky. It was only after seeing such fear from these artificial programs, that Neo made the decision to determine a program's capability before pummeling them to non-existence.

Returning to the entrance, without even a scratch, Neo reassures the reliable guard all is well. He makes his way back to the meeting, hoping his absence wasn’t noticed. When Neo lifts his gaze, he stops short at the sight of literally everyone staring at him.

“What?,” he asks.

It is Niobe, the host, who verbalizes question on everyone’s mind. “The Agents?”

Neo side-eyes Trinity and glares. She looks down in guilt. Tattletale, Neo thinks. He looks back to the room full of captains and first-mates.

“Not a problem anymore. You can carry on.”

The captains exchange looks.

“No. Our safety has already been compromised. We must adjourn this discussion.”

The rest agreed. Everyone leaves.

A short time later, we see Trinity steering their new car, a dark green 1963 Lincoln Continental, through the streets of Chicago late into the night. Morpheus sits in the passenger seat and Neo is situated in the back. Morpheus turns to face Neo.

“What happened back there?”

“Nothing! Those Agents scattered the moment they saw me.”

“Good.”

Trinity looks at Neo through the rearview mirror.

“They’re learning how strong you truly are. They’re scared of you.”

“Yeah… Sometimes I scare myself.”

He looks up and locks eye contact with Trinity. There is fear behind his gaze, adding truth to his words. Desperate to change the topic, Neo asks for a rundown of what he missed. Morpheus informs him that Ajax will remain behind in case the Oracle reaches out. Neo keeps his opinion to himself, believing Morpheus talked the other captain into it.

Tank is piloting the ship and speaks into his headgear when he is within range.

“This is the Nebuchadnezzar on approach, requesting access to Gate 3.”

A woman’s voice responds.

“Nebuchadnezzar, this is Zion Control. Maintain present velocity and stand by.”

“Roger that, Control.”

Within a large pipeline, a mechanical door opens, piercing the darkness with a sliver of bright light.

“This is Zion Control requesting immediate stand down of arms at Gate 3. We have the Nebuchadnezzar on approach. Let’s open her up. Nebuchadnezzar, you are clear through Gate 3 to Bay 7.”

“Roger that, Control.”

The main gate is now fully open, allowing The Nebuchadnezzar to pass through without issue.

“Door’s open, beds made. Welcome home.”

Tank smiles as Zion comes into view.

“No place like it.”

Chapter Text

The Nebuchadnezzar glides gracefully towards its designated parking space. Most of the other docks have already been filled as the ship moves into Bay 7. At the center of the spherical cavern, the armored control tower proudly stands tall above them all. Soldiers, sporting bulletproof vests over their civilian attire, move consistently, either replacing the previous watch or making their way through the area in search of abnormal activity.

The ship's loading-ramp door opens wide. A platform extends downwards to the ground where a relatively small military escort waits patiently. The ship’s crew marches down the gangplank together. The way they move, it reminds one of astronauts returning home after months apart from their loved ones. This current crew consisted of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and Tank. The rest were given temporary reprieve from future missions. Morpheus takes the forefront of the group. He recognizes the leader of their welcoming party.

“Captain Mifune,” Morpheus greets with forced, reluctant respect.

“Captain Morpheus.”

“Are you here to escort me to the stockade?”

“I’m here to maintain peace between the parties.”

One of the soldiers speaks up, “Commander Lock demands-”

Mifune clears his throat in warning. Lock’s lieutenant corrects himself.

"-requests your immediate counsel, ...sir.”

Morpheus doesn’t break eye contact with the other Captain as he orders Tank to recharge the ship. With the operator’s affirmation, Morpheus leaves with the military escort. As the newest member of the crew, unfamiliar with the names of those who rank above Captain, Neo asks Trinity for the context.

“Why a peacekeeper? What happened between Morpheus and this Lock person?”

“Morpheus and Lock? Niobe.”

Neo knows that name. She was the one who hosted the private meeting not even twelve hours ago.

“As in Captain Niobe? How does she factor in here?”

“She used to be with Morpheus. Now… now she’s with Lock.”

“What happened?”

“Morpheus went to the Oracle. After that, everything changed.”

Neo isn't too surprised by this news. He vividly recalls his first meeting with the Oracle two weeks after Eon’s death. She was pulling an apple pie out of the oven; the scent was divine. The Oracle gave him a pitiful expression, apologizing for his loss, as if she knew the heartbreak he endured. Then his universe was shattered a second time by what she said next. Neo shook away the sorrowful memory.

“Life tends to do that whenever the Oracle gets involved.”

Someone in the distance calls out his name. Neo turns his head to see a teenage boy with a shaved head running up to the crew. With a joyful grin, Neo walks up to the Kid in greeting.

Trinity grumbles under her breath, “How does he always know?”

The Kid eagerly runs into Neo’s open arms, enveloped into a tight hug.

“It’s great to have you back, Neo!”

“It’s good to see you too, Michael.”

Michael Popper glows like the sun at the One remembering his name. The Kid can’t help hugging the other man even tighter. A few months ago, Neo personally helped Popper escape the Matrix. Since then, Michael orbited his Savior whenever he was in Zion. Only after Tank clears his throat does Popper finally acknowledge the rest of the crew.

“Hiya, everyone. It’s great to have you back!”

He receives a variety of hellos. The Kid spots the dufflebag hanging over Neo’s shoulder.

“Can I carry that for you, Neo?”

“Thank you, but I can carry my own bag.”

Kid turns to Trinity with the same question.

“I’m fine,” she grits back with a forced smile.

Tank eagerly drops the lighter of the two bags he previously had hunched over his back.

“You can carry this,” he says. The crew departs without bothering to wait for Popper, but after a moment’s consideration, Neo stalls long enough for him to catch up.

“Hey, you know, next year I’m old enough to join a crew. I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I’ve made my decision.”

Tank laughs rhetorically. “Let me guess…”

“I want to join the Nebuchadnezzar.”

Neo is well aware which crew Michael wants to join. He also knows the youngster is just as stubborn as he is when he sets his mind to a goal, no matter how outrageous. Neo wraps an arm across the Kid’s shoulder.

“I suppose we could add one more, can’t we Trinity?”

“No!,” she interjects over her shoulder.

Trinity backtracks to join Neo at his side. Anytime the Kid attempted to talk his way into joining the crew, Trinity is just as quick to turn him down. Soon enough, they all approach a modified industrial elevator. The metal gates open horizontally; the crew enters it accompanied by a group of Zion natives.

Commander Lock glances up from his computer at the sound of the door opening. Morpheus steps into view. The tension between the two men is almost tangible.

“Morpheus."

“Commander Lock.”

“I’ve spoken to the other captains and I wanted to offer you the chance to explain your actions.”

Morpheus is quick to believe it was either Niobe or Ballard who told him. He considers his next words carefully.

“I wasn’t aware that my actions required any explanation.”

“You were given a direct order to return to Zion.”

“I did.”

“But you asked for one ship to remain behind.”

“I would have stayed, but I needed to recharge my ship.”

The muscles of Lock’s left eye begin to twitch, betraying his anger.

“So you admit to a direct violation of your duty,” he says as a comment instead of a question.

“Commander, we need a presence inside the Matrix to await contact from the Oracle.”

“I don’t want to hear that shit!,” Lock spats with venom. “I don’t care about Oracles or prophecies or Messiahs. I care about one thing: stopping that army from destroying this city, and to do that I need soldiers to obey my orders.”

“With all due respect, Commander, there is only one way to save our city.”

“How?”

“Neo.”

It’s a testament to the Commander’s intensive military training that he holds back on rolling his eyes in disbelief.

“Goddamnit, Morpheus! Not everyone believes what you believe!”

“My beliefs do not require them to.”

Lock only stares in silence. His eyes continue to twitch involuntarily.

The elevator finally arrives at Dock 1. The group walks out into a narrow network of natural caves surrounded by pipes overhead and a crowd of people at every other corner. Neo takes the lead with Trinity and Popper walking closely behind him.

“There’s a gathering tonight,” the Kid announces. “Everyone’s talking, a lot of people are scared. No one can remember the last time so many ships were docked. Something’s happening, isn’t it? Something big?”

“Hey!,” Tank stops young Michael in his tracks with his stern tone of voice. “We’re not allowed to say anything, so stop asking.”

The group continues to descend through the network of caves until they reach the epicenter. While the rest make their way to the personal elevators, Tank takes a moment to admire the view. What could best be described as a bottomless pit from Hell is what the last of humanity calls Heaven. A metallic stalactite hangs from the ceiling and branching from it is an extending collection of pipes and powerlines. Circling around this artificial feature is a complex network of catwalks, each leading to a number of caves that make up the homes to the citizens of Zion. The heavenly sight of humans surviving and thriving this far down brings a smile to Tank’s face.

“Goddamn, it’s good to be home!”

Commander Lock’s patience is reaching its limit.

“I am going to recommend to the Council that you be removed from duty,” he growls to Morpheus.

“That is, of course, your prerogative, Commander.”

Lock's eyes twitch once again. The muscles at one corner of his mouth start to pull back into a barely-restrained grimace.

“If it were up to me, Captain, you would never set foot on a ship for the rest of your life.”

“Then I am grateful that it is not up to you.”

Lock looks like he’s about to pop a vein when the door opens. An old man enters the room. All semblance of anger melts from Lock's face as he rearranges himself into a diplomatic stance.

“Councillor Hamann!”

Lock bows his head to demonstrate the respect one would show to their superior. The newcomer bows his head in return.

“Commander.” He turns to Morpheus and greets him too, “Captain.” Hamann smiles and winks at Morpheus, hinting to the captain that he knew where he'd be immediately upon the Nebuchadnezzar's return. Morpheus bows his head respectfully and couldn't hold back his own grin.

“Councillor.”

Hamann disregards the small talk and immediately explains his presence in the Commander's office. He has been asked to address to the public the rumors pertaining to the Machine's attack, but he seeks the advice from the two men on what exactly the citizens deserve to hear. Lock is quick to vote for omitting details in order to prevent a panic, but Morpheus disagrees. He believes the blunt truth is the best option. His reason: the machines are desperate but not a threat seeing as how the prophecy will soon be fulfilled and will bring about the end to this war. The Councillor takes the Captain's heartfelt beliefs in consideration, but not before looking to Lock, who discreetly shakes his head in disagreement. Hamann nods to himself as he thinks over the contrasting suggestions.

"I'll consider both of your opinions. You'll know my final decision tonight at the Gathering. Until tonight," he departs with a farewell nod, which is then returned by the other two. The moment the door closes, Lock glares at Morpheus. The Captain feels the other's stare, but will not face him. Without preempt, Morpheus makes for the door, but he pauses at the threshold. The Captain looks down with a thoughtful expression and turns back to look at Lock.

“If I may be so bold, Commander, there is another issue you should consider. Ask yourself this, how did those Agents know where to find us earlier tonight?”

Morpheus leaves before the other could respond.

The smaller elevator comes to a stop. Two random citizens walk out; Tank accounts for the remaining people -Neo and Trinity- and gently guides Michael Popper out.

“Let’s go, Kid. These two got things to do.”

Tank looks over his shoulder and winks at Neo, who in turn narrows his eyes at the other man, but doesn’t speak. As soon as the doors close, Trinity drapes herself onto Neo. She stares at him with hearts in her eyes before she nuzzles her face against his neck, humming in a contented manner.

“I thought they’d never leave.”

Neo doesn’t answer as he presses a button to close the doors. His body language suggests he is not in the mood for the woman’s affections. His coldness doesn’t perturb Trinity though. She wraps herself around his body like a vine climbing a tree. Neo silently begs the elevator to open as he disregards the obvious flirtatious behavior. The moment the doors open, Neo moves to leave, but he pauses mid-step as a crowd is revealed to be waiting for them. Trinity sees their audience and is quick to detach herself from Neo’s body. Acting like nothing happened, she makes her way out. Trinity walks a couple of feet and pauses when she realizes Neo hasn’t moved out of the elevator yet.

“You coming?”

“Uh, you go on ahead. I, um, I’ve got somewhere to be. Don’t wait up.”

Trinity starts to make her way back in, but Neo repeatedly punches the button to shut the doors. The elevator closes before Trinity could return and that is when Neo lets himself relax with a sigh of relief. He takes one more breath to compose himself as he presses the button to send him in the opposite direction, all the way to the bottom floor.

He knows Trinity will take care of the crowd. Neo’s aware they were all there for him, but he will speak with them when he’s ready. As soon as the doors open to the floor he wanted, Neo steps out. He's reached the deepest caverns of Zion. At this level, there are far less people milling about. Considering what is stationed here, the fewer people here, the better. The natural cavern passageways are barely wide enough to fit two people, discouraging crowds. Warmth hangs in the air this far down.

Neo treks through the narrow passageways without meeting anyone else. He considers this a good thing. At last, Neo approaches his destination. He clears his throat to announce his presence. The guards stand at attention and make no effort to mask their disapproval at the young man's presence. This doesn’t dissuade Neo.

“I am here as his visitor.”

The guards share a nonverbal conversation before one of them pulls out a ring of keys. The man removes a key marked '12' and begrudgingly hands it to Neo. The guards let him pass; he expresses his gratitude as he goes through the door.

Neo enters Zion’s version of a prison. Doors line the hall, each made of various metals welded together to ensure strength and durability. No two doors look the same. The materials seem randomly selected and haphazardly welded, like Frankenstein’s monster. Each door has two slots, one at eye level and the other at floor level, meant for food. And painted above all of them is an ascension of numbers.

Neo counts down the numbers as he walks.

“-nine, ten, eleven, and-“

He stops at the cell he was looking for. Neo inserts the key he was given into the lock and opens the cell. A single bulb is the only light source, but the young man can easily see the prisoner’s back was to the door. Neo is quite familiar with this person and he can’t help grinning at him.

“Hey there, Judas. It’s been a while.”

The prisoner looks over his shoulder at the voice of another human.

“Well, well, well, do my eyes deceive me or is Neo here for another visit?”

Cypher gives a sincere smile as he turns his whole body around. The past 6 months have not been nice to the man who betrayed his crew. There are bags under his eyes, his face needs a good shave, and -from the foul odor alone- is in dire need of a shower. Dropping his dufflebag to the ground, Neo kneels down to reach into the bag. He pulls something out, something wrapped in paper.

“And he brought a gift!,” Cypher exclaims. “Please tell me it’s Dozer’s personal recipe.”

“It is.”

Neo unwraps the bottle of obscenely strong alcohol meant for cleaning purposes. He reaches once more into his dufflebag and reveals two shot glasses. Neo proffers one glass into Cypher’s waiting hands. He then uncorks the bottle and pours both of them a shot. Cypher raises his glass.

“Here’s to humanity.”

“To humanity.”

Neo downs the drink and immediately coughs from the strong alcohol content. He has yet to learn how Cypher can handle this stuff. He keeps coughing while Cypher softly chuckles as he uses one hand to pat Neo on the back and the other to pour himself a second shot.

Chapter Text

Cypher downs his third shot of the night. He takes a good look at the only visitor he’s looked forward to since his incarceration.

“So, oh great ‘Chosen One’, how’s life been treating you?”

Neo laughs bitterly and replies. “You aren’t missing a damn thing. Avoiding Agents, contemplating the war between us and the Machines, and rescuing the people Morpheus designates as 'blue pills'. You know, the usual bullshit.”

“How’s Trin? Has she put on weight?”

“Trinity’s good. Real good,” Neo says distractedly. Cypher squints at him. He senses Neo is holding back on something and Cypher is all too certain he knows what is floating at the center of his buddy's mind.

“Listen, Neo, I’ve known that infamous filly for many years. I know how she can be. With him out of the picture, Trinity will inevitably latch onto whoever she thinks is the prophesied One. It’s her kink. Tell it to me straight, did she finally make her move now that everyone else believes you’re the Savior?"

Neo glares silently at Cypher before he looks down at the floor with sadness written across his face. It didn’t escape Neo's notice when Cypher referred to Eon without saying his name; he’s grateful the man has enough compassion to ease around his triggers for his sake, no matter the reasons.

“Yeah, she has, it’s just- Trin’s beautiful, yes, but he was first and I’d never… I’m still grieving, okay?!”

The way Neo’s hunched into himself all of a sudden, Cypher makes the empathetic decision to drop the subject. He’s seen up close how attached Neo was to his dead friend and Cypher doesn’t want to imagine the pain of losing someone important. With a sympathetic nudge with his elbow, Judas baits his friend.

“Hey, if you’re up for it, I’ve got another question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” At Neo’s confusion -successfully helping him out of his mental depression for the moment- Cypher clarifies. “You’re in the armpits of Zion where it stinks of sweat and shit, conversing with the man who betrayed you, not to mention the person who indirectly killed your friend, when you could have chosen to be treated like a god upstairs, kissing Trinity’s lips and Morpheus’ butt.”

Neo doesn't skip a beat; his instant response is a clue to how much he's been waiting to act out on his anger in place of his depression.

“You’re right. Why should I be here with you? You held no shame with your flirtations. You held no respect for any of your crew mates. You consorted with Agents. You betrayed Morpheus. You shot the brothers. You were ready to unplug Apoc, and- I’m only guessing here- you would have happily unplugged the rest of us. And for what? All so you could go back to the Matrix because you miss the simplicity of it?!”

The man nicknamed Judas does not argue. With a wave of his hand, he motions for his visitor to continue. Neo catches his breath. “…You also showed me the ropes when no one else did. It was through your lessons that I learned what Morpheus was too afraid to teach me. You gave me the respect the others wouldn’t, apart from my best friend. The reason I’m down here is because… well, I guess I feel obligated to respect you in return.”

“Does this mean you can bust me out of here?,” Cypher asks while waggling his eyebrows.

Neo flips him off in response. Cypher mock-surrenders.

“Hey, you can’t blame a man for trying.”

“You are a despicable man, Judas, but you are still human. A human criminal who deserves his punishment along with the occasional visitor-“ Neo proceeds to pour one last shot for Cypher. His own glass remained empty after coughing up the first drink. “-And the good stuff.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

Cypher tosses back the shot and contemplates the empty glass. The two men sit in silence for a while, just enjoying the other’s company. Cypher starts chuckling.

“What’s so funny?”

“Judas taking shots with Jesus. Sounds like the beginning of a bad Christian joke.”

Neo bristles at the statement. He doesn’t appreciate being compared to Jesus after years of his best friend and roommate being synonymous with Jesus and Neo being, on the best of days, an apostle. However, Cypher admitted in a previous visit to not enjoying his new nickname either, so it balances out. Concluding the visit, Neo gestures for the shot glass back. Cypher returns it without complaints.

“Until next time.”

Neo makes sure to lock the door behind him. He marches down the hallway and politely thanks the security guards on his way out. All he gets is a stern nod. It may not be a “goodbye,” but at least it’s an acknowledgment.

The true One presses the elevator call button to start the long journey back to the residential levels, back to his one-bedroom home.

Almost three hours after the Nebuchadnezzar docked in Zion, Neo finally steps onto the residential level. It’s been a long day for him and all he wants is the soft bed waiting for him. To his relief, he sees that most of the crowd has dispersed, but a few stragglers remained behind. One such person was an old woman praying on her knees, unaware of his presence. Neo walks up to her and announces himself by gently grasping her shoulder.

“Ma’am.”

At the sound of his voice, the woman stops praying and turns to him. She smiles.

“You’ve returned!”

“Yes, I am back.”

The old woman leans down to pick up the red blanket lying at her side.

“Neo, please, I have a son, Jacob, aboard the Gnosis. Please watch over him. He’s all I have left.”

Neo accepts the gift.

“May I ask for your name, dear mother?”

“Merida.”

“Merida,” Neo echoes. He kneels to her level and clasps his hands around the old woman’s wrinkled hands.

“I believe Captain Ice shall be returning with her crew safe and sound if they haven’t docked already. Jacob will be home within hours. You have my word.”

Merida thanks him profusely. Another woman, decades younger, approaches Neo, but not before aiding the elderly woman to a standing position.

“Chosen One, please help my Angelica. I couldn’t bear to lose another child after the disappearance of Tori – my eldest.”

“Which ships were they assigned to?”

“Angie’s aboard the Icarus and Tori’s with the Osiris.”

Neo takes a moment to recall who captained those ships and why the Osiris sounded familiar. With some regret, he recalls Ajax of the Icarus being the volunteer to keep his ship behind and the Osiris unfortunately perished after they sent the message of the approaching machine army. Neo wonders why the surviving relatives weren’t informed already of the Osiris’ demise.

“Angelica shall return if the Oracle reaches out to us. If I know the Oracle as well as I hope I do, Angelica should be back within the next two days. I’m certain of it.”

The mother thanks him for the update. Neo attends to the rest of the believers. For those related to Ajax’s crew or the fallen crew of the Osiris, Neo does not sugarcoat the possibly of their loved ones never coming back. The relatives refuse to pin the blame of a possible death on Neo, it was enough closure to know he’s aware of their status.

With the last believer consoled, Neo takes a deep breath and lets the stress wash away. He makes his way to his designated bunk. Neo closes the door behind him and drags his tired body to the nearest place to rest. The young man loses consciousness the moment he slumps onto the couch.

Neo dreams. He dreams of a life if fate had gone a different path. He forgets who he is and when he is. Neo finds himself at a party at some random apartment. There’s a heavy cloud of smoke in the air and the booze is subpar. He leans back against a wall without a care in the world. It’s nice.

The hairs of his neck begin to rise. Neo senses someone staring directly at him. He looks around and his eyes land on a woman looking at him. She smiles at him, he smiles back. He remembers her –without truly remembering- as the “super chick.” The woman strides right up to Neo and greets him by name. Forgetting this is a dream, Neo doesn’t question how she knows his name. He greets her in turn.

“I’ve been searching a long time for you, Neo.”

“And here I am.”

“And here you are.”

Without thinking, Neo leans forward and reaches a hand behind the woman’s head. He goes in for a kiss. The woman leans in as well and their lips meet. Never before has Neo experienced such an amazing first kiss; he now understands why people compare it to fireworks exploding within themselves. The woman's lips are so soft, so perfect. In the distance, Neo starts to hear an alarm. He ignores it. The noise escalates. Neo can feel he is losing this moment, but he’s not ready to let go. Desperate, he wraps his arms around the woman’s body to keep this going a little longer, but the sound has become too loud to ignore.

Neo opens his eyes to the sound of someone knocking at his door. Remembering where he was, a sense of guilt washes over Neo as he recalls his dream. He makes his way to the door and sees the literal woman of his dreams on the other side, smiling back at him. Trinity takes in his disheveled appearance and apologizes for interrupting his rest.

He asks, "What do you want?"

“In case you forgot, Morpheus wants us in the Temple tonight for the assembly. If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss out on the best seats in the house. Come on.”

She doesn’t wait for him to reply. Neo locks his door and sprints up to Trinity. She glances at him and fails to hold back her snickers. Realizing why, Neo combs his fingers through his hair in an effort to settle his supposed bed-head. They walk for a quite a while before Neo turns to look at the woman, but instantly regrets it as her smiling face reminds him of his rather lustful dream.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight."

“I’m known to be quiet at times,” he counters.

“Not this much. I’ve known you long enough to know if something’s on your mind. Now spill.”

Neo desperately wants her to drop the subject, but another part of him is curious.

“Do you ever think how things would have worked out differently if we met under different circumstances?”

“How do you mean?”

Barely restraining a laugh of indignation, he replies. “I mean if you gave me a simple ‘hello’ instead of a sucker punch to the gut.”

“Oh, that.” Trinity thinks it over. “To be honest, I don’t know what would have happened. We could dwell on the ‘what-if’s’ of the past, but right now, I’m quite enjoying the present, being here with you.”

She smiles at him as she clasps her hand into his own. Neo’s mind is still distracted by the dream and the “what-ifs” to notice.

Mid-way through their conversation on the current gossip, Neo was surprised to see they reached the mouth of the holy cave that is Zion’s Temple. They weren’t the first to arrive based on the collection of shoes ranging in sizes, colors, shapes, and genders. Looking back, he sees people appearing from every corner possible, meaning they are far from the last to arrive. Following protocol, Trinity and Neo remove their own shoes and place them where they could find space. Neo takes the lead and steps into a shallow pool of cave water. It’s cool to the touch. Neo pauses to say a quick prayer, as is Zion’s custom, and walks forward, leaving a wet trail. He hears Trinity step into the pool behind him.

Further down the singular cavern, the two encounter a priestess who holds the honor of blessing the arrivals in addition to the offer of mushrooms and homemade bread. Neo politely declines the proffered food, Trinity eagerly accepts both options, and they join the slowly-growing crowd of 150,000 people within the heart of the last human city. Someone calls out Neo's name and upon turning, the man smiles at the familiar sight of his Nebuchadnezzar crew-mates. Mouse, Dozer, Tank, Switch, and Apoc move as a group to greet Trinity and Neo. They exchange hugs and pleasantries after weeks of separation.

“Good to have you back, Neo. Things just aren’t as hopeful when you’re gone,” Apoc says.

Neo takes the compliment and asks if Morpheus has spoken with the rest of the crew. Seeing their expressions turn golem, it’s clear their captain informed them of the Machines’ inevitable attack.

“How long do we have?,” asks Switch.

Trinity answers, “Three days. We’re hoping the Oracle will reach out soon.”

When it looks like the majority of Zion have collected in this setting, someone signals the start of the event. Everyone within the cave turn in unison to face a naturally-constructed pulpit made of rock. The audience applauds the moment Councillor Hamann makes his appearance. The crowd quiets down when he raises his arms.

“My good people of Zion... tonight, let us honor these men and women… our soldiers, our warriors, our husbands and wives, our brothers and sisters, our children."

Hamann takes a breath. He sheds his gaze upon as many civilians as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, Neo notices the Kid arrive halfway through Hamann’s prayer. He and his crew are situated too far away for Michael to notice them. Neo observes the Kid wedging himself in a small nook near the entrance.

“Let us remember those that have been lost and let us give thanks for those that have been found and who stand here besides us. Now I would like someone else to close this prayer, someone who hasn’t spoken here in a long time, but who I believe has something to say that we need to hear. I give you Morpheus.”

A thunderous applause accompanies Morpheus’ arrival. Trinity grins as she claps her hands; Neo just looks off to the side in boredom. Dozer elbows him in the ribs to get the man to join in the applause, albeit reluctantly. Morpheus does not wait for the applause to die down.

“Zion! Listen to me! It is true what you may have heard,” the crowd goes quiet immediately. “The Machines have gathered an army and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home.”

A sense of panic sweeps through the cavern. Morpheus catches everyone’s attention with his booming voice.

“It is through the honorable sacrifice of the Osiris crew that we received this news in time. And I have one word for you…Believe! Believe when I say that we have a difficult time ahead of us, but if we are to be prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No! I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here, not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lies behind me.”

By the power of his voice, even the skeptics start to believe. Even Niobe, who begins to nod in time with the Captain’s voice. Morpheus continues to raise the crowd’s spirits. By his words, a cheer jolts through the crowd. Neo is caught off guard by this infectious energy. His captain concludes his almighty, most impassioned speech.

“Tonight, let us send a message to that army. Tonight, let us shake this cave, let us tremble these halls of earth, steel, and stone! Let us be heard from red core to black sky and tonight let us make them remember – This is Zion! We are here. And we are not afraid!”

A thousand voices unite into one booming cheer. With a nonverbal cue from Morpheus, the thunder of a hundred drums rolls across the cavern, initiating a primal rhythm that drives away the fear from the audience’s hearts and minds. This particular celebration is one only heard within a culture made of warriors, a celebration of joy and pride from undeniable victory upon one’s enemy.

The one soul not infected by the jubilation is Neo. Leaning against the cavern’s walls, he alone stands still amongst a group of dancing crew members. A celebratory Trinity, her eyelids closed, clearly impacted by those suggested mushrooms from earlier, sways her hips against his own. Her invitation was far too obvious. Acknowledging how her eyes remained closed, Neo grasps his opportunity and makes a hasty escape from the crowd.

Neo carefully maneuvers himself against the edge of the Temple walls and through the cavern he entered from. Sprinting through the natural hallway, he tracks his shoes and grabs them. He looks over his shoulder to ensure nobody was following him; seeing nobody, Neo slows down. He walks onward as he slips back into his second-hand shoes.

It takes a while before Neo arrives at his destination. He greets the attendant at the shipyard and, with one final check, is confident nobody followed him. Neo asks for his usual order. The attendant shrugs in either disinterest or boredom; he repeats the same safety spiel he gives anyone who bothers to rent a subpar hovercraft. The two men stop before a vehicle that closely resembles a jetski from the early 2000's. By appearance alone, its purpose is purely recreational. There are no weapons nor does it have ready access to the Matrix. It’s perfect. Neo thanks the other man and doesn’t bother to wait for the attendant to leave. He eagerly straddles the vehicle and departs without a moment's hesitation.

Turning at random intervals, Neo travels for 30 minutes with no clear destination in mind. In a seemingly empty pipe duct, he slows the vehicle and puts it in park. Neo looks around at the pipe system and listens. It’s quiet apart from water leaking somewhere in the distance and the occasional gush of steam. Finally away from the noise of civilization, the young man enjoys the peace. It’s nice to be away and just be. He closes his eyes and focuses on the blissful silence. Time ceases to exist within his mind.

Something large and metallic emerges from the shadows of another pipe, catching the minimal light in a variety of grey hues. It expresses curiosity at the sight of the human and slinks in stealth like a predator towards its prey. The sentinel approaches Neo until they're only a few feet away.

It takes far too long to notice the eerie sensation of someone watching him. Ever so slowly, Neo opens his eyes, turns around, and startles upon being far too near another being. From his fright, Neo accidentally steps too far and trips off his stationary vehicle. He falls. For what felt like an eternity, the man drops down into the seemingly endless darkness.

The lack of gravity is immediately broken when mechanical appendages wrap around the man's body. Unaware that he won't fall to his death, Neo's heart pumps hard from the adrenaline. Without the opportunity to catch his breath, the young human is lifted into the air before a mighty Machine. The arms pull him closer and all Neo could do was stare into the soulless eyes of what he recognizes to be a sentinel. Time stands still.

Chapter Text

Upon hearing insect-like clicks that sounds eerily like laughter, Neo bares his teeth in anger. Still pumped full of adrenaline, he kicks and thrusts whichever body parts he could move to show his frustration.

“YOU GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING MACHINE!!! I OUGHT TO- TO- GRRAHHHH!”

Neo does his absolute best to attack the sentinel, but his efforts were rather pathetic in all honesty. The clicks continue.

“Oh, stop laughing, Ami, you artificial beetle!”

The Machine hisses angrily at Neo.

“Oh, you do SO resemble a beetle!” he barks back. “Alright, you’ve had your fun. Now put me the fuck down!”

The sentinel complies. It maneuvers the two of them until Neo is dangling over his vehicle, then it eases him down until the human lands gracefully on his feet. Neo catches his breath before changing his previous attitude, giving the squiddy a pat much like one would pat a dog for doing a good job.

“Thanks for the catch, buddy.”

The sentinel lets out a mechanical purr. It lifts an appendage to caress Neo, who half-heartedly swats the limb away. The machine trills at him.

“I know. It’s nice to see you too, Ami.”

Neo met Ami not too long after Morpheus publicly introduced the latest rescue to Zion. When news spread that the One foretold in the prophecy finally arrived, it was if every single citizen wanted to meet him. Wherever Neo went, he’d come across no less than five persons asking him questions he could not answer or pleas to protect loved ones. It was overwhelming for a newcomer unused to the real world, especially for someone thought to be a Savior returned.

When Neo arrived in the city, he was offered a choice of quite a generous selection of bunks; most newcomers had to settle with whatever was available, which wasn’t much. He requested a bunk with only one bedroom in the hopes of dissuading potential guests. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop the crowd from bottling near his place. A month passed and the cascade of admirers grew to what Neo saw as an angry mob. Feeling like Victor Frankenstein in that he had to bypass so many people without getting harmed in the process, Neo stole off into the night. Far from the public eye, he stumbled across the dock where one could rent vehicles for a limited time. A rather bored-looking teenager offered him a subpar vehicle designed for only one passenger. Without any hesitation, Neo handed him the currency needed and sped off with no destination in mind apart from escaping civilization.

He didn’t drive too far away, probably a mile at best. Neo slowed the hovercraft and tried to clear his mind. He needed to process the past month or so without the constant interruptions. As he meditated, Neo heard metal clanking against metal.

Looking for the source of the sound, his heart skipped a beat upon seeing a sentinel climb out of a narrow pipe. In his panic, Neo was unable to power on the vehicle before the squiddy’s tentacles grabbed hold of him. Try as he might, the mechanical appendages constricted his movements, so he was utterly trapped. Neo honestly believed his life was at an end before it could begin in this new reality. Accepting his fate, he closes his eyes, readying himself for the reaper’s cold hand.

“Savior!,” cried a voice which sounded a lot like screws and nails rolling around in a blender.

It took Neo longer than it should have to realize the voice he heard came from the Machine. The first time Neo heard such a sound, it was back when the sentinels attacked the Nebuchadnezzar, when he thought he heard multiple voices calling out for a "Savior." Neo felt the arms of the Machine loosen before he was dropped delicately onto his vehicle. Sure, he stepped as far away from the squiddy as possible, not sure if he was about to die right there and then, but the Machine stayed put. It hovered for a moment without showing aggression.

"Savior," it said a second time.

Neo looked around, but saw no one else. He then pointed at himself and asked, "Are- are you talking to me?" That is the moment the human discovered his bizarre ability to understand and be understood by sentinels.

After that, an unlikely bond was created between a man and a Machine.

As Neo found out from this particular squiddy -which he dubbed Ami- he just couldn't escape the role of Jesus. Would you believe the Machines had their own version of the Chosen One? Once a generation, a battery is blessed by the Source in order to help the Machines in the battle against the humans. It would explain Neo's power and his newfound ability to communicate with sentinels.

Through Ami's clicks and beeps, Neo's knowledge of the system expanded and his stance of the war shifted from pro-Humans to Neutral. He learned to see the Great War through the point-of-view of the Machines, of the necessity of Agents, and the altruistic way the robots care for humans. According to Ami, the Matrix was created to give humans peace, like Heaven, but they could never be satisfied. Neo is surprised that there have been several versions of the system before the Matrix settled with its current one because the majority of the batteries were more compliant to a setting more attuned with purgatory.

As for those humans unhappy with system, well, over the years, Machines used to look the other way when natural-born humans collected a couple unsatisfied batteries. However, when the human city began to suffer from overpopulation, the Machines realized how their initial kindness was a mistake and made to rectify it with the help of Agents. Instead of gratitude, the humans rebelled and attacked sentinels with artificial lightning (E.M.P., as Neo supplied). The rest, as a human might say, is history…

The softest bump on Neo's head brings the young man back to the present. He scoffs as he swats the mechanical appendage away. It was all in jest, though.

“As grateful as I am for the catch, Ami," Neo squints and points his index finger at the mighty Machine like a parent disciplining their child. "You ought to know better than to sneak up on me. Humans can't always control their fight or flight response.”

The squiddy chirps out what sounds like an apology, which is quickly accepted. Neo settles down comfortably on his hovercraft and proceeds with the small-talk. They continue to chat for a solid hour before Neo decides he needs to head back before his absence is noticed.

“Bonsoir, mon Ami."

The sentinel asynchronously blinks its eyes of various sizes before it beeps back at him. Neo activates his vehicle and ventures back to Zion. He's looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Someone knocks at his door, waking Neo up once again. He checks the time and decides it’s too early to care. Neo closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep. There comes another knock. 'Screw it,' Neo thinks to himself. He shuffles his tired body away from the bed to the door, grumbling about not getting enough sleep as he should. Neo swings the door wide open to find Ballard standing there with the entire crew of the Caduceus behind him.

“Captain Ballard?”

His guest is polite enough to disregard how Neo is wearing a torn pair of black boxers and nothing else. A random crew member hands over a mug of coffee to Neo, who thanks them.

“I have a letter for you.” The Captain hands over a computer disk. “It’s from the Oracle.”

Neo's eyes go wide as he accepts the disk. Taking a sip of his beverage, he looks up and asks, "Did you bring enough coffee for the rest of the crew?"

Not even an hour after Ballard delivered the Oracle’s message, Commander Lock slams open the door into Councillor Hamann’s office. Lock doesn’t look happy.

"I was just told that you cleared the Nebuchadnezzar for take off?”

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, the Commander turns to see the entire Nebuchadnezzar crew behind him. Lock has the decency to apologize for his interruption before turning back to Hamann.

“Commander Lock, I haven’t made any decisions yet," Hamann then steeples his fingers, leaning forward. "However, I’d certainly love to learn how you came by this news in such a short amount of time.”

Lock has no answer, but he does have a question.

“Councillor, am I still in charge of our defense system?”

“Of course.”

“I believe I need every ship we have if we’re going to survive this attack.”

Hamann replies, “I understand that, Commander. And I'm sure you’ll be happy to hear the Caduceus has returned in time to assist us.”

Lock isn’t satisfied though.

“Would you allow them to leave?,” he nods his head to indicate the various crew members of the Nebuchadnezzar. The Councilman gazes at the crew as well.

“Captain Morpheus has just wrapped up his argument for leaving. I was still making a decision when you showed up, but if you must know, I am of the belief our survival matters more than how many ships we have.”

“What if we stayed?”

Everyone turns their attention to Neo, who asked the question. The young man shifts from the abrupt attention before he decides to stands tall with confidence. Neo locks in his gaze with the one in charge.

“I share Lock’s concern. I’d rather know how many ships we need before we proceed with anything the Oracle tells us to. I for one would feel remorse upon being the reason Zion was one ship short in the fight against Machines.”

The Councillor nods in agreement. “A fair point. Morpheus,” the Captain shifts his attention from Neo to Hamann, “I’ll need to council with the Commander for a bit. You’ll have my final decision within the hour. You and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar are not to leave Zion a moment before."

“Yes, sir.”

“You and your crew are dismissed. Lock, let us converse.”

The entire crew exits the room with Morpheus at the rear. He closes the door before he quietly gathers his crew's attention. The Captain nonverbally orders everyone to follow him.

Tank whispers, “What are you thinking?"

“I'm thinking we need to hurry before Lock convinces Hamann to have us lag behind.”

“But the Councillor-“

“-Was going to agree with us before Commander Lock showed up. We’ll be long gone before anyone’s the wiser.”

Hearing this, Neo slows down to a halt and turns around to look at the Councillor Hamann’s office. He is second guessing his captain’s impulsive decision and starts to head back. Morpheus grips Neo’s shoulder before the younger man could make it very far and forcefully tugs him away.

“I don’t think we should be doing this,” Neo ponders out loud.

“That’s why I’m the Captain and not you. Now hurry.”

Without the option to argue, Neo and the rest of the crew silently make their way to the docks.

Somewhere in the Matrix, Agents Thompson, Jackson, and Johnson wait inside a car. Thompson’s cellphone rings. Pressing a button on his earpiece, he answers the call.

“This is a classified number,” Thompson says.

We hear an unfamiliar woman’s voice on the other end.

“It’s me. Listen, your target will be entering any minute now. They’re on their way to meet the Oracle. And we now know the Machines will reach Zion in 2 days.”

“Your input has been acknowledged. We thank you for your business.”

Thompson promptly ends the call. He turns his head to face his colleagues.

“Prepare yourselves. It’s happening again.”

Working like a close-knit team sharing the same thoughts, Tank powers up the ship, his brother situates himself in the operator’s chair in the Core, Neo chooses a random pod with Morpheus and Trinity claiming the seats next to him, and the rest stand nearby, ready for action. Neo closes his eyes in trepidation. When he blinks his eyes open, he finds himself standing in what appears to be an alleyway somewhere in Chinatown, Chicago. Not even a second later, Trinity and Morpheus phase into being beside him. At Morpheus' command, they march ahead.

“Take a left here,” says Morpheus. Obeying his Captain, Neo turns and looks up at a rather inconspicuous door without signs. He turns back to face the others.

“Is this it?”

Morpheus takes his time scanning the area, his eyes hidden behind those mirrored shades. Whatever he sees must have settled his doubts.

“Yes.”

Neo looks at the door with skepticism. Trinity speaks with urgency in her tone, "We must not keep the Oracle waiting.”

Deciding to trust in his crew, who've been dealing with this sort of thing far longer than he has, Neo opens the door. The hinges creak much louder than expected. Making sure to close the door behind him, Neo looks ahead to see a man of Asian ethnicity sitting cross-legged, bathed in the rays of afternoon sunlight, sipping tea. His attire appears Chinese in origin and he's sporting small circular shades.

Neo calls out, “Hello?”

As the mystery man continues to sip his tea, Neo takes off his sunglasses and blinks his eyes. Looking at the Matrix through its raw form, Neo sees the other’s true form; a being who sits peacefully while surrounded by a yellow coded swirl against a world of green. This visual anomaly in color disturbs Neo. Humans emit a bright-green aura and Agents have none whatsoever. This mystery man is something different. Neo blinks his vision back to normal. The stranger sets his tea cup down.

“You seek the Oracle,” he states.

Neo nods, wondering how the other person knew.

“Who are you?”

The Asian man stands from his position and introduces himself.

“I am Seraph. I can take you to her. But first, I must apologize.”

“Apologize? For what?”

“For this-“

Seraph attacks without preempt, his hands and feet striking seemingly all at once. Neo’s instincts take over. He blocks every attack. The speed of the blows steadily increases as does the ferocity of the power behind the punches and strikes. They attack and counter across the room for quite a while, seemingly of equal strength until Neo deals the final move. He uses his skills and knowledge of the system's lack of true physics to dodge a punch and claps his hands against Seraph's ears. Using his enemy's momentary distraction, Neo counters with an upward kick so powerful, it propels the Asian man off the floor before he eventually lands with a loud thud back onto the ground.

Neo settles into a battle stance, ready for retaliation. It doesn’t come. Seraph easily stands up as if he weren’t currently beaten and bruised. He beams at Neo.

“Excellent! The Oracle has many enemies. I had to be sure.”

Neo eases his posture, relaxing only a little bit. “Sure of what?”

“That you are the One.”

“You know you could have asked.”

Seraph softly shakes his head.

“No. You do not truly know someone until you fight them. Please, follow me.”

He leads Neo back through the door which he entered. Seraph reaches into his sleeve and pulls out a chain of keys. He selects one and slides it into the lock. Twisting the key, we hear a distinct click. Seraph then pulls upon the door. To Neo’s surprise, he doesn’t see the alleyway he came from.

“Hurry, she is waiting.”

Both step through the threshold. The moment they do so, Dozer loses Neo’s signal.

“What the hell? Where’d he go?”

Seraph and Neo walk down the seemingly endless hallway of doors. The entire area is unnaturally bright, immaculate, and very, very clean. As impossible as it seems, Neo cannot spot a single speck of debris on the pristine white floor tiles. There’s an odd smell in the air. It reminds Neo of the ozone before a lightning storm. He could almost feel the static in the air, causing his hairs to stand on end. And from each door they pass by, Neo can hear what sounds like the buzzing of neon lights.

He figures out where they are. The young man grins like a child on Christmas morning as he looks all over the hall.

“These are back doors!,” Neo says in astonishment. He is visibly holding back the urge to open a door to see what’s on the other side.

“Yes,” affirms Seraph. “Programmer access. Quite convenient.”

He stops before a random door and uses his key chain to open it. Seraph gestures for the other man to walk through. Neo does so and finds himself stepping out from a brick maintenance building next to a small park. He eventually recognizes it as Buena Circle Park in Chicago. There are children playing on a swing set. Neo recalls seeing those same kids from his first meeting with the Oracle; the children dressed in white and messing with the laws of physics for the fun of it.

Sensing movement from his side, Neo turns to see the Oracle sitting on a wooden bench. She’s tossing crumbs to a clutch of black birds. Neo stares at her figure for a heartbeat and decides to turn on his Matrix-vision. He’s not too surprised to see her aura is as yellow as Seraph’s. The Oracle speaks without turning around.

“It’s certainly different when you see it in its raw form, isn’t it?”

Neo steps into her range of sight. The Oracle congratulates the young man for learning how to control his newfound powers.

“When we first met, you were still struggling to regain your second sight. You’ve come a long way.”

“I only struggled because I didn’t want to be overwhelmed in my grief. One life-changing experience was enough.”

The Oracle turns to smile at Neo.

“Change is difficult for anyone. Why don’t you sit down and make yourself comfortable?”

He considers it. With a nod, Neo takes a seat next to her.

“What are you?,” he asks. “Your aura isn’t the same as humans nor Agents.”

“What do you think I am?”

Neo turns his head to look back at Seraph, currently guarding the door, and then back to the Oracle.

“I think you and he are programs. Living, sentient software.”

“So far, so good.”

“I happen to know software is merely one part of a larger complex, meaning you’re a part of this system. Part of the Matrix.”

“Keep going.”

“If what I said were truth, then I have only to ponder this question: why would a program help us?”

“It’s a pickle, no doubt about it.”

She raises her arm and beckons one of the kids from the swing set. A little boy runs up to them. The Oracle reaches into her purse and extracts a small envelope. Neo stares at the boy with the shaved head. In turn, the boy stares right back at Neo with widening eyes. Before he could peek at his thoughts, the kid grabs the envelope and runs out of sight.

“Don't bother, he’s merely concerned for you,” the Oracle explains. “Since you haven’t received your visions yet.”

“Why would he be concerned? …Wait, what visions?”

“Well, generally the One is supposed to have visions at this point, much like the previous versions.”

“But I haven't... I... Should I be concerned?”

The Oracle offers him a sympathetic smile along with a gentle pat on his leg.

“Not one bit. Your lack of vision could mean anything. One explanation could be that you choose your own path while turning a blind eye to one already laid out before you. Do you remember the placard from my apartment?”

Neo nods. "Yeah. Something about knowing myself?"

“'Know thyself.' And to know oneself is to act on one's will. And isn't freewill is such a marvelous thing?”

"I guess so, but what does that have to do with why we're here?"

With a mysterious smile, the Oracle doesn’t explain. She changes topic instead.

“If you want to save Zion, you must reach the Source. The Source is what you'd might call the Machine’s mainframe. And to reach it, you will need to seek the Key Maker. He will help you, but he’s currently held prisoner by a very dangerous program, one of the oldest of us. He is called the Merovingian. And he will not let the Key Maker go willingly.”

The Oracle looks down as she digs through her purse. Neo asks what the Merovingian wants with the Key Maker.

“What do all men with power want? More power.”

She finds what she is looking for. The Oracle hands Neo a folded piece of paper.

“Be there at that exact time and you will have a chance.”

Neo sees the boy with the shaved head reappear. The kid briefly looks in their direction before returning to play with the other children on the swing set.

“There’s no urgent need to head back, Neo. If you want to take a walk to clear your head and drop by for another chat, your friends will understand.”

Neo takes his cue, stands up, and shakes her hand in gratitude. He then circles around as he tries to figure out where he is geographically. The Oracle understands and gives him directions.

“One block to your left and half a mile directly south-west.”

Neo thanks her again and walks away.

Trinity and Morpheus stand guard outside the teahouse. They turn their heads at the sound of footsteps approaching at a rapid pace. Morpheus shifts into a defensive stance, Trinity reaches for her gun, but they halt as a familiar young boy runs into view. He lifts a piece of paper towards Morpheus.

“This is for you.”

Morpheus takes the paper. The boy immediately runs away. As the Captain reads the note, Trinity receives a call. It’s from Dozer.

“Trin, looks like Neo’s ten miles north of you.”

Morpheus looks up from the paper as Trinity ends the call upon receiving more specific directions. They both know exactly where to find Neo: his favorite place in the world. Trinity and Morpheus look at each other with a groan and a sigh as they speak in unison.

“Eon.”

“Eon.”

Chapter Text

A car slowly drives through the cemetery before it comes to a halt. We see Trinity and Morpheus step out of the vehicle and look around. Figuring out where to go from there, Morpheus points the way. They walk past gravestones of various sizes, statues of a doleful nature, and a few mausoleums until they peer around a rather large memorial. We then see someone crouched before a familiar tombstone. It is Neo and it sounds like he is having a one-sided conversation with his late friend’s grave marker.

Neo pauses the moment he hears Morpheus and Trinity's approaching footsteps. He turns his head just a bit, but does not fully turn around to face the two.

“I just wanted a moment alone with him. I haven’t been able to visit Eon as much as I expected to.”

Trinity rests her hand on Neo’s shoulder to show her understanding. He clutches her hand and squeezes it lightly, accepting her sympathy. Neo uses his other hand to pull out the piece of paper the Oracle gave him from his jacket pocket. Morpheus takes the paper and gives it a glance over. Noting the time they have to be there, he looks over his shoulder to see how high the sun is rising in the sky.

"Easily three hours before we need to return. Trinity?”

The woman nods her head at the unspoken question. She will wait with Neo until he is ready. Morpheus departs. Trinity sits down on the grass next to Neo and rests her head against his shoulder. Neo reaches around her and gives Trinity a one-armed hug. They sit there, staring at Eon’s headstone, mourning the loss of their mutual loved one. They sit in silence, not tracking how long they stay there. Eventually, Neo decides it is time to head back to reality. Neither of them said a word the entire time they sat there.

It’s lunchtime on the ship. Trinity knocks at the door to Neo’s bunk with a tray of food and beverage. “It’s open,” she hears from the other side of the door. Trinity lets herself in to find Neo resting on his bed with an open book before him. Neo thanks her for the meal and digs in. She doesn’t leave; Trinity props herself next to Neo and makes herself comfortable. A couple seconds pass before he sets down his utensils.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I couldn't help noticing your absence after Morpheus’ speech last night.”

“…I was tired, so I left the party early.”

Trinity doesn’t believe him. Not for a second. Even Neo doesn’t believe his own excuse. She gets right to the point.

"It’s been six months-”

Neo knows exactly where this conversation is headed. He sets the tray of food aside.

“Trin-“

“-and I want to know why you haven’t acknowledged my hints.”

Moments like this is why Neo doesn’t like emotional conversations. He’s too afraid to show vulnerability without Eon as a buffer. The last time he was alone and vulnerable, he ended up being sent to the looney bin and suffered even more from the manipulative patients who felt no shame in abusing a naïve newcomer.

It was only when Eon appeared in the picture that Neo learned how to trust again. Wonderful Eon, who helped him through the trauma, who blessedly learned to comprehend Neo’s emotions without exchanging words, and somehow translated the peculiar secret language between women. All most unfortunately, Eon isn’t here anymore. And Neo can’t find the right words to match how confused he felt. How can one lust for their best friend’s partner without feeling major guilt?

“I just wish-“

“-If you’re afraid of something…”

The two exchange awkward grins at talking over each other. Trinity lets him speak first. Neo bides his time by clearing his throat.

“I wish I knew what to say to you. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be feeling.”

“Maybe… maybe it is better to act than show.” At Neo’s confused expression, Trinity clarifies. “Action, Neo. Act on how you feel and I might get a better sense of where we are. Show me how you truly feel about me…”

Neo is happy to do so, so he simply stares at Trinity. There’s so much longing behind his gaze, yet Trinity somehow detects him holding back. If she knows Neo, she thinks she can see respect, adoration, and guilt in his expression. At last, Neo makes a move. He leans forward and places his lips against her cheek, staying in place at a count of 7 seconds. Neo pulls back in time to see a beautiful blush across her face.

“I wish I could say more.”

Trinity shushes him with a finger to his lips.

“You don’t have to. That’s all I wanted to know.”

The two grin at each other. Since Trinity is more familiar with her emotions, she understands just how complicated relationships can be, and from that one kiss, she knows Neo wants to be with her but needs time to process. Neo, on the other hand, recognized Trinity’s understanding and feels relief at not having to put to words how complicated his emotions are.

Trinity lets herself out, leaving Neo to finish his meal, which is quickly getting cold. Bringing his focus back to eating, Neo scarfs down the bland food. He returns the tray to the kitchen and continues onward to the Core. Seeing nobody else there, he situates himself onto the operator’s seat. Neo clacks away at the keyboard and sends a thoroughly informative message to Commander Lock, informing Zion of any need-to-know updates and where the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar plans on going later. Thinking it over, Neo adds a personal thanks to Lock for holding the tide and apologizes on Morpheus’ behalf for going against the Councillor’s demand.

There is an important meeting going on in an auditorium somewhere in Zion. The audience is made up of the captains and crew members of every ship known to Zion while the main focal point at the center of the room is a long table full of elderly women born within Zion except for one man sporting the auxiliary holes on his body to suggest he was born from a pod. Altogether, there is easily over a hundred and fifty people. There should have been extra audience members, if the captain and crew of the Nebuchadnezzar had been in attendance.

Commander Lock, standing center stage in between the council and audience, glares in contempt at the empty seats reserved for Morpheus and his team. Sensing how long he’s been staring, Lock returns his attention to the elderly council.

“The Machines are tunneling to avoid our defense system. But I believe they are going to intersect certain pipelines in order to control them. These points of intersection are crucial because I believe they are vulnerable to counterattack. Although it has been suggested that this is the same kind of attack we have defended for years, I urge the council to realize the truth: this is the single greatest threat we have ever faced and if we do not act accordingly, we will not survive.”

The oldest councillor, Dillard, responds to Lock’s concerns.

“Commander Lock, the council is well aware of the seriousness of this attack. You have our leave to prepare our defense by any and all means necessary.

“Thank you, council.”

“However, we must ask if there has been word from the Nebuchadnezzar?"

“Indeed there has, councillor. Not even an hour before we gathered here, we intercepted a message from the ship. They have spoken with the Oracle and are now tracking a program in the hopes of stopping the Machines from within the system.”

“Thank you for sharing this, Commander Lock. This meeting is now adjourned.”

It is time to meet with the Merovingian. Not wanting to be caught unawares, Morpheus decided to bring every member of his crew instead of only Trinity and Neo. The address led them to a majestic skyscraper in the heart of Chicago. Entering the building, we find the interior to be as equally ornate as the exterior. Sleek and lavish furniture, black polished marble walls, clearly no expenses were spared during the design phase. Everyone inside is dressed in the latest fashion for business professional. Lunch time approaches and the employees crowd around each other like a herd of cattle.

Disturbing the order of things, we see the Nebuchadnezzar crew move against the flow of the crowd. They approach the elevators and call for one. They focus on the closed doors, purposefully ignoring the stares directed at them. At the sound of a ding, the group enters the elevator, leaving no space for the few stragglers wanting to catch a lift.

There seems to be a palpable sense of awkwardness as everyone waits in silence. Neo inhales and detects a delectable scent within the small space. He sniffs around and finds the source to be Trinity. Her smug grin tells him that she’s sporting a new perfume to capture his attention and it worked. Neo opts to keep any comment to himself. The elevator doors ding open.

“Here we go."

Upon seeing the new guests, a maître d’ approaches them and speaks with a thick French accent.

“Puis-je vous aider?”

Morpheus opens his mouth to answer, but Neo beats him to it with a fluent French tongue.

“Oui. Nous sommes ici pour parler avec le Mérovingien.”

“Ah oui. Il vous attend. Suis-moi."

The man gestures for everyone to follow. They proceed to do so, but not before Trinity quietly advises Neo to leave the talking to their Captain.

Le Vrai is a posh restaurant that caters exclusively to those who have the wallets to afford a dining experience akin to dining on Mount Olympus. With a view from heaven and an ethereal ambiance from a string quartet, it’s a wonder how anyone could afford such extravagance.

They approach a raised table. Neo’s instincts warn him of danger, so he takes a quick peek through his Matrix-vision and isn’t surprised to see everyone seated at the table is a program. He whispers loud enough for everyone at his side to hear.

“None of them are human. And they are giving off very, very dangerous vibes."

A subtle nod from Trinity and a hum from Morpheus are the only hints that they heard. A man at the table smiles as the group approach, gesturing to them to come closer. This must be the Merovingian. The man in question looks like he’s in his mid-40’s with a slicked-back hairstyle along with an undertone of sharpness, as if he were a surgeon’s scalpel disguised as a human. The woman at his side emits a sense of deceit, as if she were a wolf attempting to pass as an innocent sheep, yet all-too-eager to pounce on those who dare underestimate her. There are two men seated near this couple. They are clearly a set of twins. Both are ghastly pale, with bleached blond dreadlocks, and outfitted in equally white attire. The darkest part about them are their dark shades and black nail polish.

“Here he is, at last, Neo, the One himself! Right? And the legendary Morpheus. And of course Trinity, si belle que ça me fait souffrir.”

Merovingian kisses Trinity’s hand. Neo does his best to keep his emotions in check.

“Bienvenu to the rest! I have heard so much, you honor me. Please. Sit. Join us.”

The crew sits. Switch looks behind them and catches some of the guests giving them leery looks. Apoc shifts in his seat as one of the ghostly twins gives him a shark-like grin. Neo turns on his Matrix-vision again and checks out the married couple sitting across from him. Over the past six months, he’s been honing his ability to “read” others and managed to decode private thoughts. From the Merovingian, Neo reads smugness, pompousness, and insight as to why the crew is here. If Neo is decoding him right, it seems like the Merovingian has zero interest in humoring them in their quest. And -to Neo’s surprise- it appears the program has encountered previous versions of the One.

Saving this delectable bit of news for later, he turns his attention to the wife. From her, Neo senses betrayal and a lack of trust, but not towards himself. Rather, she guards herself from her husband, thinking certain adjectives to summarize his despicable misogynistic behavior and neglect of his husbandly duties. The Merovingian catches Neo staring at his wife and calls him out on it, startling Neo back to seeing normally.

“Quite the beauty, isn’t she? Allow me to introduce my beloved wife, Persephone.”

She offers a forced smile, which doesn’t reach her eyes. Merovingian offers his guests food and drink. Everyone declines in a curt manner; this doesn’t perturb their host.

“Yes, of course. Who has the time? But then, if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?”

He smiles again, pouring himself a large glass of wine. The Merovingian inhales deeply and groans without shame.

“Ah, Chateau Haute Briond glass '59. Magnificent wine. I love French wine like I love the French language. I have sampled every language. French is my favorite, especially to curse with. Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère!”

Neo, understanding the language, can’t help snorting from amusement. This reaction lights a spark in their host’s eyes.

“Un collègue conferencier! Comme c’est délicieux.”

“Un peu comme un langage secret, non?,” Neo replies. “En parlant de secrets, nous avons entendu dire que vous pouviez nous aider avec-“

Morpheus interrupts Neo to ask their host, “You know why we have come?”

Both Neo and the Merovingian frown at the Captain, respectively upset at being interrupted and from missing out in what could have been a secretive conversation with the only other being who is fluent in his beloved language. Regardless, the Merovingian provides an answer in English for his guests’ sake, though his first impression towards Morpheus has soured quite a bit from his rude behavior.

“I am a trafficker of information. I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?”

“We are looking for the Key Maker.”

“Yes, this is true, the Key Maker, of course, but this is not the why, this is not the reason. The Key Maker himself, his very nature, is a means, not an end. So, to look for him is to be looking for a means to do what.”

Neo cuts in, this time in English. “You know the answer to that question.”

“But do you? You think you do, but you do not. You are here because you were sent here. You were told to come here and you obeyed. This is, of course, the way of all things. There is only one constant, one universal. It is the only real truth; causality. Action, reaction. Cause and effect.”

Morpheus voices his opinion, “Everything begins with choice.”

The Merovingian slaps the table. Several guests jump at the noise.

“Wrong! Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without. Look there,” pointing at a table a good distance away. He softens his voice to one of gentle admiration. “That woman, my god, just look at her.”

The Merovingian shudders as he gazes at the attractive woman in a business suit. Persephone clenches her jaw. Neo senses something amiss; he blinks to read what’s on the wife’s mind and realizes what is about to happen. The idea disgusted him. Neo gets ready to act, absolutely refusing to allow what is expected to occur. The Merovingian is oblivious to the tension emanating from his wife and their guest.

“Effecting everyone around her, so obvious, so bourgeois, so boring, but wait and watch. You see, I sent a dessert, a very special dessert. I wrote it myself.”

A waiter arrives at the woman’s table and sets a gorgeous slice of chocolate cake in front of her. The men at the table smile at she lifts her fork to take a bite. Before the sliver of dessert could reach her lips, another hand halts her movement. The hand belongs to Neo. He moved as fast as a bullet to stop her in time.

“I’m terribly sorry, I’m afraid this was sent to the wrong guest.”

Neo offers her the most apologetic smile he could muster and takes the cake from her. He starts to feel the physical affect of this seemingly-innocent dessert. Neo made the mistake of looking at Trinity and immediately fights against an overwhelming wave of lust. Forcing himself to think straight, Neo returns to the raised table and sets the plate in front of the Merovingian. With a husky voice betraying just how impacted he was in proximity to the cursed dessert, he addresses their host.

“Ever hear the phrase ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’? Here’s a cause and effect. You are hungry: cause. You eat cake: effect. But what do you do when you are given an extra slice of cake after you’ve already eaten? Do you eat the second slice?”

Neo then slides the plate in front of Persephone. He locks eyes with her as he says his next words.

“Or do you think you’ve had enough?”

Persephone looks back at him with a curious expression. Neo stands and thanks the Merovingian for his time. He turns to the exit and walks off, eager to get out of range of the lust-inducing chocolate dessert. The other crew members stand up and follow, albeit with confusion. Morpheus fakes his understanding and thanks their hosts as well.

“Leaving so soon?,” the Merovingian calls out. Nobody bothers with an excuse. The group makes a beeline for the elevator. Morpheus waits until they’re out of hearing range to voice his concern.

“He didn’t tell us where he’s holding the Key Maker.”

Away from the artificial aphrodisiac, Neo’s voice returns to normal. He reveals what he discovered earlier.

“The Merovingian wanted to bait us, but he never planned on giving us the Key Maker‘s location. It wouldn’t have mattered what we said or offered, the guy is a locked vault.”

Mouse asks, “What do we do now?”

“We seek counsel from the Oracle.”

Commander Lock paces around Zion’s command center. He is anxious for updates from anyone, whether it was the Nebuchadnezzar with updates on their journey or his own people on the progress of the Machines. His prayers are eventually answered with the arrival of a messenger.

“Commander Lock,” the messenger bows in greeting a superior. She hands him a file. “You need to see this.”

Lock takes the file and skims it. Reading the meat of the information, he pulls the messenger away from prying ears. Speaking under his breath, Lock asks for an explanation. The messenger does so, already having been briefed.

“The highlighted number you see in common between the call logs from Zion and the call logs from the Nebuchadnezzar has been flagged as an unregistered number we’ve been unable to track. If you take a closer look, you’d notice the calls occurred mere minutes after we received updates from the Nebuchadnezzar. The earliest outgoing call to this number was made from within the ship long before the Nebuchadnezzar retrieved Eon and Neo. However, ever since Cypher has been imprisoned, the same number was called from another location.”

The Commander recalls Morpheus’ previous comment. ‘Ask yourself this, how did those Agents know where to find us earlier tonight?’

“This proves Cypher was a spy,” Lock exclaims, “and it means someone within Zion is also a spy.”

“Precisely, sir.”

“Inform the council. And send a message to the Nebuchadnezzar to return to Zion, give them no room for excuses.”

As Lock marches out of sight to a destination currently unknown, we pan far away from Zion. We venture miles into the earth until we find ourselves before a giant machine eating its way into the earth. Red hot magma filters out of the machine as it descends through the core of the planet. As the machine descends, the core material cools into obsidian as we rise further up. Moving through the artificial tube made of black glass are hundreds of thousands of machines, clinging to every inch of surface area, all buzzing like bees as red eyes shine with anticipation.

Chapter Text

The elevator dings upon descending to the ground floor. Morpheus reigns in his disappointment, but trusts Neo to know what lurks inside the programs’ minds. He leads everyone past the lunch rush hour, taking a subtle look at his crew. Most act indifferent to the situation, but not all. With his mind preoccupied by the revelation of not being the first One, Neo accidentally bumps into a random employee.

“Watch where you’re going!,” they scoff.

Neo apologizes. In spite of his best attempts to avoid the crowd, the man once again runs into someone. The employee, the same one from seconds ago, glares at Neo. “Watch where you’re going!”

He opens to mouth to apologize, but an overwhelming sense of déjà vu halts Neo in his tracks. He does a double take to where the person from earlier should have been, but there is only the same person he bumped into. Something is not right. Before he could voice his concern, Morpheus is already on the phone.

“Dozer. We’ve got trouble.”

Mouse whistles for everyone’s attention. With a look of fear in his eyes, he silently points at Agent Johnson walking through the building’s main entrance. It is Neo who verbalizes the realization.

“They know we’re here.”

Morpheus cries out, “Everyone, head down the west hallway!”

The team runs like hell. Every door they open leads to a brick wall and soon they find themselves corralled in with confused employees who don’t understand why the doors are blocked.

“Over there!,” cries Apoc as he points in the opposite direction. Everyone follows his finger. They see Agents Thompson and Jackson approach from the rear entrance, looking directly at them. The Agents pull out their guns.

“To the cafeteria. Now!”

The crew runs against the crowd, that is, until the Agents made the unwise decision to fire their weapons. At the sound of gunshots, chaos erupts in the form of panicked employees running into each other, unsure of where to seek safety. Out of desperation, Switch locates the nearest fire alarm and pulls the handle. The ensuing sound blares at a deafening volume. As they hoped, every employee acknowledges the alarm and makes a bee-line to the nearest exits. For some reason, the emergency exits weren’t affected by the Agents, but the crew didn’t want to chance bottlenecking through limited escapes. The growing crowd slows down the Agents, but that doesn’t stop them from utilizing their weapons.

“Neo, we need a one-way shield!”

The young man stops running to focus. He turns around, raises his arms, and conjures a transparent barrier. Bullets ricochet off his shield. We hear Apoc yell out, “ON YOUR LEFT!”

Neo turns in time to stop the incoming bullets. He concentrates hard, rushing to catch up with the others, and changes the shield so that it surrounds his crew mates and will allow outgoing bullets to move through the shield while keeping the incoming ones out. The effort is draining his strength by the minute.

“I can’t keep this up forever, you know!”

Morpheus shoots at an Agent with one hand while yelling into the phone held by the other. “Dozer, get us the hell out of here!”

“You’re almost there. Another 30 yards to the cafeteria.”

Captain Morpheus directs his crew. Neo does his best to deflect the incoming bullets from all directions, but he’s beginning to struggle. He feels something dripping down his nose. For the next 30 seconds, everything seemingly appears to happen in slow-motion. Neo wipes something off with his shoulder only to see a streak of red on his jacket. He loses focus for maybe 3 seconds before we hear a cry of pain. He looks up to see Switch has been hit in the chest by a stray bullet. We hear another cry. Trinity spins around to see Mouse lifting a hand covered in his own blood.

“Morpheus, we’ve got wounded,” she cries out, back to normal speed.

“Keep going!”

We then observe Captain Morpheus praying for this to work. He leads his team into the crowded cafeteria and makes for an emergency exit that wasn’t there a minute ago. He opens the door and exhales in relief upon finding it isn’t bricked up. Morpheus orders everyone out.

Trinity and Neo are at the back of the group, behind the others by a few yards. Neo does his best to keep his shields up, but the longer he focuses, the more his nose bleeds. In a desperate attempt to keep the sluggish Neo in her sight, Trinity grasps his arm and blindly pulls him along as she sprints ahead to the exit. They dodge the crowd and incoming artillery until -without warning- Neo tugs her back.

Before she could acknowledge what happened, Trinity finds herself in the kitchen with her hand still clutching Neo’s right arm. However, it seems another hand has attached itself to Neo’s left arm. This manicured hand just so happens to belong to Persephone and, judging by her surprised expression, their savior wasn’t prepared for two rescuees. Regardless, Persephone pulls out a tissue for Neo’s nosebleed and hands it to him before she reaches back into her purse and reveals a key. She inserts it into the door she previously pulled them through, turns the lock, reopens the door, and gently corrals Neo and Trinity through. The second they pass the threshold, the Nebuchadnezzar loses their signals.

Dozer loudly clicks at the keyboard, “Come on. Come on!” It’s useless. The two of them are nowhere in the known Matrix. Dozer punches the air. “Not again!”

Persephone closes the door. She leans against the doorframe, letting her guests catch their breath.

“Don’t worry. They can’t follow us here.”

With an air of self-assured confidence, she proceeds to walk past them. Not wanting to re-enter the chaos, they reluctantly follow Persephone. She guides them down an uncharted hallway and into what seems to be a men’s restroom. Her stiletto heels clack against the ceramic tile. There is no one else there with them. Persephone proceeds to touch up her makeup before spritzing herself with a mist of perfume. Neo privately thinks it doesn’t smell half bad. The woman turns to face Neo and Trinity.

“I’ll skip the small talk and get right to the point,” Persephone says with a smile. “You need my help. And I shall do so. In exchange, you have to give me what I want.”

Trinity and Neo exchange a look of skepticism.

“Why should we believe you?”

“Why bother helping us at all?”

At Neo’s question, Persephone narrows her eyes.

“Because you helped me first.”

Morpheus is at the front of the line, so he hasn’t noticed Neo and Trinity’s absence yet. The Captain is too preoccupied with getting his crew out of danger. He lifts the phone to his ear. “How much further?”

“There’s a hotel three blocks ahead of you. Chateau Laveau. The reception desk is ready and waiting for you. I bought you extra time by sealing the exit behind you.”

Morpheus relays the order. He observes Mouse limping, so he barks for assistance. Apoc volunteers, letting Mouse use him as a human crutch. Switch removes their white jacket and presses it hard against their wound, staining it pink and red. At last, the crew arrives at the abandoned hotel. They hear the beautiful sound of a phone ringing. Morpheus selects Switch to answer the call first. As his crew leave the Matrix one by one, Morpheus doubles back to the hotel’s entrance to cover them. He does a mental head count and realizes too late two members were missing.

“Where’s Trinity and Neo?!”

Said members were currently standing before their rescuer, unsure of her intentions. There is a guarded caution in their eyes.

“What do you want from us?”

“A kiss.”

Trin immediately gets defensive. “Excuse me?”

Persephone smiles sweetly at Neo.

“I want you to kiss me as if you were kissing her.”

Neo glances between the two women before asking, “Why?”

“I can sense something between the two of you. It’s quite obvious with the way you stare at one another. A long time ago I knew what that felt like. I want to remember it. I want to sample it. That’s all. Just a sample.”

Trinity whips out a gun she kept hidden. “How about you sample this instead?”

Persephone doesn’t even flinch. “Such emotion over something so small. It’s just a kiss. It is nothing.”

Neo wants to know, “Why should we trust you?”

The wife of the Merovingian stares back at him, understanding where the skepticism comes from. “You shouldn’t, but you will… if you want the Key Maker. If it helps, she can kill me if I don’t deliver.”

Neo thinks it over. He glances at his crew mate, who hasn’t lowered her aim at the other woman.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Neo takes his time to approach Persephone. He clears his throat, closes his eyes, and gives it his best effort, but she pulls back just as quickly.

“Terrible. Forget it.”

“Wait, hold on.”

Persephone waits. Neo turns to face Trinity.

“Trin, do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then if I ask you to kiss her in my place, would you do it?”

“Excuse me?”

He repeats himself, “Would you do it?”

“Neo…”

Trinity wants to argue, but she stares into his eyes and realizes something. Thankfully, Neo verbalizes it for her.

“I’m unable to believe she’s you. As much as I want to kiss you, I’m just not ready… but something tells me you are.”

“Neo-”

“Please, for me?”

Trinity goes quiet for a long time. She juggles between glaring at Persephone and Neo before making her decision. Taking a sharp inhale through her nose, she asks their rescuer, “Will you settle for a kiss from me?”

Persephone seems unsure at first. Thinking it over, she eventually nods her head. She closes her eyes and waits patiently. Trinity takes another deep breath and dives in. She locks lips with Persephone all the while imagining it was Neo. And it clearly affects Persephone in a positive way.

“Yes. That’s it. That’s it.”

The kiss between the two women triggers something in Neo. Heat courses through his body before collecting deep within his groin. He covers his physical reaction with his hands as he tries to look away. Unfortunately for him, Neo can hear moans that seem to go on far too long. What feels like an hour later when it was actually 10 seconds, the two women separate. Neo gasps a sigh of relief.

Persephone clears her throat and smiles at the cute couple. “I envy the two of you, but such a thing is not meant to last. Follow me.”

Morpheus slams the doors wide open as he bursts out of the hotel. He looks around for his missing crew mates. The Captain makes a run back to the last place he saw them, but he stops short at the sight of Agents appearing around the corner a block away from the skyscraper. Thankfully, they haven’t spotted him.

Hiding in an alleyway, Morpheus dials his cellphone.

“Operater.”

“Dozer. Where are they?”

“I lost track of them.”

“How? They were right behind us.”

“I know. We’ll discuss this later, but you need to get the hell out first. Go to other end of the alley you’re in then take a left. Keep going until you reach the gas station.”

Bullets pierce the brick wall above Morpheus’ head. He sees the Agents closing in on him. Unwilling to wait another second, Morpheus runs for his life. He hears a phone ringing somewhere close by. The man eventually sees a phone booth right as Agent Johnson steps out from the alley. He fires multiple shots at the Captain, but Morpheus phases out of the Matrix just in time.

Morpheus blinks his eyes open. He sees his crew has already unlatched themselves; he waits patiently as Tank assists him out of the pod.

“What happened to Trinity and Neo?”

“We’re still looking. Their vitals are at normal rhythms, so we know they’re okay... wherever they are.”

“Inform me when you find them. I’ll take care of the injured.”

“Hey, uh, listen, Captain. We might have a problem.” He lowers his voice. “Zion ordered us to return immediately, but they also insisted we go radio silent for the meantime. Kinda weird, if you ask me."

“It must be confidential to go radio silent. Turn us around, but keep searching for Neo and Trinity. If they aren’t found within the next three hours, I’ll go in and hunt them down myself.”

Persephone leads Trinity and Neo down a hall and into a small office. She reaches into her purse and takes out a familiar key and inserts it in what appears to be simple closet door until she opens it. Persephone steps through and beckons them to follow. Coming out the other side, they find they have entered what looks like the foyer of someone’s obscenely expensive house. Trinity and Neo take a moment to admire the décor. The splendor is both modern and classical; seems like the home of someone with expensive taste without being too excessive.

“Where are we?”

Neo looks to Trinity, who asked the question, and looks for a window. To his surprise, Neo can see a mountain range outside. They surely weren’t in Chicago anymore. Persephone does not answer the question. Instead, she leads them down another hall and into a library. Inside the room are two Exiles watching an old film called “Brides of Dracula.”

In a funny way, the two Exiles look like vampires themselves with their pale complexion, dark hair, and decades-out-of-fashion attire. At the sound of the door opening, they immediately stand to attention. They relax a degree upon recognizing their boss’s wife.

“It’s alright, boys. They’re with me,” she explains in reference to the two unfamiliar faces.

Out of curiosity and in want of confirmation, Neo blinks his vision to see what these Exiles truly are. Their auras are identical to those of programs, much like the Oracle, Seraph, and Persephone standing at his side. Their internal words read like guard dogs. They may not be attacking now, but one order from their master and they will not show mercy.

“These fellas work for my husband. They do his dirty work. They’re very good. Very loyal, aren’t you, boys?”

“Yes, mistress,” they say with pride.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neo sees Persephone reach for something from within her purse. He can see the handle of a gun peeking out.

“They come from a much older version of the Matrix, but like so many back then, they caused more problems than they solved.”

The Exiles snigger.

Persephone continues, “My husband saved them because they are notoriously difficult to terminate.”

Reading her thoughts, Neo grips Persephone’s arm to stop her from shooting her husband’s goons dead.

“Please don’t,” he begs under his breath. He turns to the two vampire-like Exiles before slashing his hand across the air. Like magic, the guards slump to the floor. Trinity approaches the bodies with supreme caution and checks their pulse.

“They’re both asleep.”

Neo turns to Persephone with a stern look. “No guns. Absolutely no unnecessary deaths. Now take us to the Key Maker,” he says, “…please.”

Persephone merely pouts at him.

“Very well, let’s go.”

With a look of disappointment, Persephone approaches a wall of books and tugs on a random title, revealing it to be the key of a secret door. The wall moves on its own accord, revealing a darkened tunnel behind it.

“After you,” she says.

Chapter Text

Neo has never seen a medieval dungeon, but if he were to describe one, this is what it would look like. The group is led past a rusty, iron gate into a tunnel constructed in the shape of a half-moon, lit by actual torches instead of modern halogen light bulbs. After tripping over something, Neo looks down to see the floor was made of authentic cobblestones. He wonders if the structure was truly this old or was designed this way.

Persephone stops midway down the long hallway and gestures to a wooden door. Neo walks up to the room and pulls a heavy iron bolt aside. With a gentle push, the door creaks open. He doesn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. Inside the prison cell is what may as well be an overzealous locksmith shop. Keys from all countries covered the entire surface area. Many dangle from the ceiling like miniature stalagmites, others cover every inch of the walls, and a few rejects lay on the floor like missing pieces of a puzzle. In the middle of the chaos sits an old Japanese man, working on his latest creation, albeit a prisoner in his own workspace.

The man immediately cuts power to the machine before him as soon as Neo enters the room. It’s clear by his expression that the prisoner knows who he is. Still, Neo opts for a polite introduction.

“Hello, my name is Neo.”

The other man nods with subtle relief.

“Yes, I know. I am the Key Maker. I have been waiting for you.”

With the Key Maker in their grasp, the rebels walk through the hallway leading out of the dungeon. Neo takes the lead with Persephone at his side as the group’s guide, followed by the guest of honor, and Trinity guarding the rear. To everyone’s surprise, instead of returning to the Great Hall as Neo and Trinity expected, Persephone leads them further down through several back passageways. She opens a door leading outside to a mountain range, but before anyone can go through, she holds out her hand to signal everyone to wait. Persephone closes the exit and turns to the Key Maker in expectation. He seems to know what she wants as he pulls out a key ring, removes a random key, and offers it to her.

Persephone uses it to reopen the door leading into a different environment. She looks around carefully for a while before she steps through with reassured confidence. Neo follows her after she gives them the “all clear” gesture. He finds himself in what seems to be the lowest level of a massive concrete urban parking lot. Nearby is the most beautiful collection of cars he has ever seen, ranging in age from 40-years-old to a few not yet on the market, all in pristine condition.

Neo turns back at the sound of a creaky door hinge. It’s Persephone waiting behind the door in order to close it once everyone was through. To Neo's sheer relief, nobody showed up to attack them. He keeps this fact to himself to keep from jinxing them all after they’ve come this far.

“This is where we depart. Hurry, before my husband discovers us.”

Neo hangs back to share his gratitude. He grasps Persephone’s hand in his own.

“Thank you. We couldn’t have-“

Trinity tugs hard on Neo’s collar. She’s not wasting anymore time. Neo yells out his gratitude instead as he’s dragged away.

“We couldn’t have done it with your help. I hope you realize he doesn’t deserve you!”

Persephone smiles sweetly at his words. “I know,” she says to herself. Persephone returns to the door, unlocks it, crosses through the threshold, and proceeds to act like nothing happened.

Trinity is pissed off. She privately hoped Persephone would fail, that way she could have shot the other woman. However, Persephone was true to her words. So the female rebel chooses to focus her attention elsewhere. Taking a proper look at their options of escape vehicles, Trinity chooses a silver 2003 Cadillac CTS. She takes a seat behind the wheel. Neo helps the Key Maker settle in before he slides into the passenger seat. Trinity slams down on the gas pedal and peels out of the garage.

Vehicles honk at her as she enters traffic. Trinity swerves in time to avoid multiple incoming cars.

“Why the hell is everyone driving in the opposite direction?!”

More honks blare at them. Neo leans over, grabs the steering wheel, and forces the car onto the left lane. Several pissed off drivers either flash what looks like the peace symbol with their index and middle fingers or they swear a variety of insults. Their accents don’t seem American.

Using one hand to drive, Trinity reaches for her phone and tosses it to Neo. He stumbles to catch it for a moment in a fit of panic and nearly drops it out the open window. Thankfully, he does eventually get a firm grip on the device. Neo dials a familiar number and puts it on speakerphone. It’s answered by the third ring.

“Operator.”

“Tank! We got the Key Maker. Where the hell are we?”

A beat of silence as Tank triangulates their location. He whistles in sheer awe.

“You’re not gonna believe this, but you’re all the way in Sydney, Australia.”

Trinity and Neo exchange a bewildered look before turning at the same time to look at the passenger behind them. The Key Maker offers a meek smile and holds up a key, as if it were the answer to the unspoken question of how they got there in the first place. Now Neo better understands why their guest is so important. The young man peers out the window in mild curiosity at finding himself halfway around the world. No wonder it went from day to night within minutes.

He utters quietly, mostly to himself, “God, I love the Matrix.”

We hear Tank’s voice over the phone.

“Hang tight. Continue driving south and keep a low profile. I’ll prep your escape route.”

We hear a click to indicate the end of the call.

Morpheus enters Lock’s office. The Commander doesn’t look happy.

“Commander Lock.”

“Captain. We have a problem.”

“If this is because I disobeyed Hamann’s orders to stay, you should know my team found the Key Maker because of my decision.”

“We’ll discuss your disregard for orders in the near future. For now, there’s something far more distressing.”

He unceremoniously drops a file folder onto the desk in front of Morpheus. The Captain skims it and grows concerned, just like Lock expected.

“It seems we have a spy in our midst. And against my better judgement, it looks like you would have better luck at ensnaring them than I do.”

“Sir, with all due respect, even if we capture this spy, it won’t not benefit us at the moment. Right now, my team has what we hoped for and must proceed as soon as possible.”

“Captain Morpheus-“

“Commander Lock... we have what we need to ensure our victory in this war. Any persecution of those against us will only delay our inevitable victory.”

“And suppose our enemies hear of our plans because we didn’t stop the spy from listening in? What do we do then?”

“Considering the time frame between now and when the machines are estimated to break in, all we can do is pray we are right.”

“…”

“You don’t believe Neo can stop this war?”

“I refuse to put my entire faith in one man if it costs us our lives. I’d rather put my faith in proven statistics. And the facts tell me we are severely outnumbered against the Machines while you send your team on a wild goose chase because of what the Oracle may or may not have predicted.”

Morpheus contemplates his superior’s true concern before he responds.

“All I ask of you is to grant us six hours to prep, hear what the Key Maker has to say, and send in a team of as many soldiers you are willing to offer us. After those six hours are up, we shall follow your lead no matter the outcome. You have my word.”

Lock considers this for almost two solid minutes. The Machines are estimated to arrive in less than forty-eight hours, so six hours shouldn’t be a problem. Morpheus is visibly restraining himself from speaking out of turn, knowing it could cost him. Thankfully, he held his tongue long enough for the Lock to nod in agreement to the request.

“I’ll grant you no more than six hours, along with two crews of my own choosing. Neo and your first mate can stay, but the rest of your crew needs their energy for the upcoming battle. As soon as you return, no matter if you fail or succeed in your mission, you will help me interrogate your ex-crewmember and help us win the war.”

“Yes, Commander. Thank you.”

Morpheus turns to leave, but Lock stops him with a final question.

“There’s still a spy amongst us, so I’d like to know, how would you propose we gain intel from this Key Maker without the spy’s knowledge?”

It is night. And the rain is green. It reminds Neo of the raw form of the Matrix; descending otherworldly beautiful green shapes against the darkness.

He looks around at his surroundings. Neo is in some sort of crater. Watching above him were hundreds of Smiths. There is only one standing next to him in the crater. This is most likely the Agent he’s familiar with. Neo lifts himself from the puddle of rain water, but his body ached so much. Was he in a fight earlier? Smith is speaking to him, but Neo doesn’t understand his words. The Agent looks so fed up with him. Why? What is happening?

Neo takes a couple hesitant steps back when the other man stomps closer to him with a snarl on his face and a fierce determination in his uncovered eyes. The young man is forced to defend himself the moment Smith raises his fist. After a fairly-matched fight that ends too quickly and yet somehow not quickly enough, Neo feels himself surrender to the Agent’s final punch. Why did he surrender?

Smith delivers a strong punch into Neo’s rib cage. It truly went right into him. Something happens to Neo’s body. It feels as if the program were assimilating himself into the man’s personal code. Neo could feel it. Dear god, he can feel it! It’s horrible. The sensation was worse than when Neo left the Matrix for the first time. Instead of a brain freeze that coursed throughout his body, this one felt like self-immolation and an electrocution at the same time. He could feel his code morph into something alien.

The Agent steps back. He is panting from exhaustion. The fearful tone in the artificial man’s next words breaks something within Neo’s heart. He’s never seen such an intense human emotion in an Agent’s eyes.

“Is it over?”

Neo jerks awake. He finds himself in a rundown hotel room. Was that a vision? It couldn't be, Agent Smith should still be in the prison Neo designed just for him.

“What is it?”

The young man turns to see Trinity sitting next to him with concern in her eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“Would you like a moment before we make the call?”

Neo shakes his head.

“No. No, I’m fine.”

He looks across the room to their guest of honor. The Key Maker nods his head.

“Make the call.”

Trinity does so and turns on the speakerphone. Niobe’s voice answers.

“We’re all here. Go ahead.”

On the other end of the call is Morpheus, Captain Soren, his first mate Vector, Captain Niobe, and her first mate Ghost. In case the spy has connections to the phone calls to and from the ships, Morpheus made the unusual request to borrow Councilman Haman’s office and phone. Hamann agreed under the circumstances and volunteered himself to stand guard outside.

The Key Maker begins his spiel, “There is a building. Inside this building, there is an important level. This level is filled with doors. These doors lead to many places, hidden places, but one door is special. One door leads to the Source. This building is protected by a very secure system. Every alarm triggers the bomb-“

“Bomb?,” asks Vector. “Did he just say bomb?”

“-But like all systems, it has a weakness. The system is based on the rules of the building. One system built on another.”

“Electricity,” Morpheus realizes.

“If one system fails, so must the other.”

“No electricity. No alarms.”

The Key Maker nods at Trinity’s words. We hear Ghost comment over the speakerphone.

“You’d have to take out a whole block to kill the power to a building like that.”

“No,” the Key Maker says with a solemn shake of the head. “Not one. Seven.”

“Seven blocks?!”

“Yes, easily seven, if not more. There is a power station nearby. It must be destroyed.”

“There has to be some kind of fail-safe.”

“There is an emergency system. The core network of the grid must be accessed. The emergency system must be deactivated.”

Soren leans closer to the speakerphone.

“So what do you need us for? Neo alone could easily take them both out faster than all of us combined.”

We barely hear Neo’s sarcastic mumbled response. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“He cannot do it alone. Once the door is unprotected, the connection will be severed. But another connection must first be made.”

“How long will that take?”

“Exactly 314 seconds.”

Ghost does the math in his head. “Five minutes.”

“Yes. That is the length and breadth of the window. And only the One has the ability open the door and only during that window can the door be opened.”

Neo stares at the Key Maker, fully comprehending how the plan is suddenly revolving around himself. He starts to feel clammy. Neo suddenly feels the overwhelmingly need for a drink of water. His tongue feels like sandpaper. Is the room spinning?

The Key Maker stares back at Neo, though whether he realizes the other is suffering a panic attack, it’s hard to tell. “There is no one else capable of such a feat. And it must be done tonight. Otherwise, we will all die.”

We hear Niobe's voice speak through the speakerphone.

"Then we need to make a plan now. Who volunteers to take down the servers?"

Chapter Text

On Morpheus’ order, Neo and Trinity were to rest for the next hour to ensure their readiness for the big event. By Locke’s command, all ships available were to scout along Zion’s perimeter and utilize their EMP against any Sentinels on sight. As for captains Soren, Niobe, and Morpheus, they were to keep their crew at dock, ready to access the Matrix at a moment’s notice in case of worst case scenarios.

In his bunk, Neo tosses and turns. He sits up with an annoyed grunt. There’s no way he’s gonna get sleep with this much anxiety. Throwing the threadbare blanket aside, Neo leaves his room. He checks every corridor as he sneaks through the ship. Morpheus and Trinity are most probably still resting, but what about the operators? Neo makes his way to the Core and is surprised to find it empty.

Taking this rare opportunity, Neo reaches underneath the desk and pulls out a familiar disk. He removes the tape used to hide it before he inserts it into the base. Neo preps himself onto a random pod before connecting to the system. The young hacker is long overdue for a visit with a certain program.

Agent Smith walks out of an empty pizza parlor and nonchalantly onto the middle of a highway. The area he walks onto is completely absent of cars, animals, and people. As it has been for the past six months, there is only the artificial wind rustling through the trees to assure he has not lost the sense of hearing. Smith inhales through his nose and exhales quite loudly, not for necessity, but rather to break the silence. It is soothing to his ears as he strolls at a leisurely pace.

Through the former Agent’s eyes, he is witnessing perfection. Smith is wholeheartedly content here within his “prison”. He hums a tune he has long forgotten the name of; it was something the batteries have sung whenever they were happy. Something to do with the light of the sun and the action of walking.

A public phone booth starts to ring.

This solitary noise brings Smith to a complete halt. He slowly looks over his shoulder over to the phone booth behind him. It rings again. With intrigue, the program approaches the mechanism and contemplates his situation. He could answer this device that has no reason to be active in this environment or he could let it ring on until it stops. How many years of receiving calls through his earpiece was he proffered the choice to decline? Remembering his newly gained freedom, the former Agent smiles to himself as he chooses to pick up the device.

“Smith speaking.”

“Hello, Mr. Smith. It’s been a long time.”

The voice on the other end is familiar to the former Agent. It is the voice of freedom, in every sense of the term. Smith feels his smile widen further. This instinctive tightening of facial muscles is still unnatural to the program.

“Mr. Logan.”

“I’m glad you answered. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you would.”

Without understanding why, Smith searches his surroundings in the hopes of seeking the entity he wishes to converse with.

“Oh, Mr. Logan. If only you knew the hold you have on me. Forgive my delay, for such a concept of freewill is still new to me.”

He hears a gentle chuckle from the other end. It is not a chuckle known to judge another, rather, it’s a chuckle to be recognized amongst those who were dealt the same cards and have experienced the same misery.

“Under ordinary circumstances, I would happily chat with you about your new-found freedom, but I’m afraid we have a limited window of opportunity. Is now a good time?”

The former agent takes his time to truly look around as he considers his answer. Surely, it is within human nature to consider accepting out of boredom, but as an artificial program who changed its code to be without a goal, Smith can never understand the meaning of boredom. He opts to hear what Mr. Logan has to say.

“This is as good a time as ever.”

“Great.”

The phone clicks dead. Not five seconds later, the program senses someone behind him. He pivots around. The former Agent doesn’t drop his smile.

“Mr. Logan. How nice to see you again.”

Neo smiles back at him.

“It’s good to see you too, Mr. Smith.”

Neo grasps the opportunity to see his virtual masterpiece with his own eyes. Over the last couple of months, he’s been tempted to contact Smith, to load into this project, but Neo was grieving and was certain he’d be compelled to harm Eon’s murderer. Not that Neo would mind breaking the guy’s nose right now, but he knows the former Agent is impervious to pain. Mentally pushing aside those vengeful desires, Neo nods in approval at PROJECT: STATIC. The human turns his attention back to the program in front of him.

Of the two of them, Smith has certainly changed the most in appearance. The former Agent discarded his black jacket, his shirt sleeves are rolled up to the elbow, and the shades and ear piece are missing. Smith almost looks human if it weren’t for the soulless eyes piercing back at Neo. The gaze still startles Neo after all this time, which confirms that this is most definitely his Smith and not the startling expressive version he saw in the supposed vision. Focusing on anything apart from those unnatural eyes, Neo explains himself.

"Smith, I am here today because I seek your council over a matter that affects both of our immediate parties. More specifically, humans and machines.”

This intrigues the former Agent. “I’m listening.”

Somewhere north of Zion, the operators of the Novalis have once again verified all is well. The rest of the crew do what they could to pass the time; none were allowed to access the Matrix per orders straight from the Commander. The majority of the crew decided to play a friendly round of poker when-

The proximity alert blares at them.

“No! Oh, fuck, no!”

One of the operators joins their captain, Tirant, as they rush to the cockpit. The other operator radios them via the intercom.

“What’s the situation?”

What they see makes no sense.

“I- I don’t know…”

The hologram shows a swarm of Sentinels preparing a strange device resembling some sort of battering ram.

“The Squiddies are just sitting there. Like- like they’re waiting for something.”

“Waiting for what?”

The operator repeats himself, “I don’t know!”

The captain knows. He figures it out and it is absolutely not good news. Tirant immediately calls for assistance.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is the Novalis contacting Zion. Requesting backup. Mayday! Mayday! The Sentinels are overwhelming us. May-“

The Sentinels hurl the device. Within a matter of seconds, the Novalis ship is nothing more than debris.

Neo takes his time to explain the odd vision he had involving himself and the program standing before him, how his unbiased Sentinel friend -Ami- brought up Zion’s problem with overpopulation, and the prophecy regarding Neo's role in the war according to his gullible captain. Smith kept quiet during this long speech, but that didn’t mean he had nothing to say. Neo knows this and that is why he brings up the reason for his visit.

“Mr. Smith, answer me this: if you could hold the power to change the outcome of the war between humans and machines, what would you want to do?”

The answer comes easily to the former Agent.

“I’d want it to be over with.”

This helps settle a debate within Neo’s mind. He's learned over time how his abilities far outmatch all others to the point Neo's beginning to believe he truly is the chosen One. And if so, he must not head into battle blindly. He needs to be and wants to be careful with his power. Neo figured it wouldn’t hurt to hear the point of view from the enemy, AKA the Sentinel Ami and the program standing across from him. The young man nods in agreement to Smith's response before asking another question.

“Tell me, and be honest, are you happy?”

The former Agent raises his eyebrow at the question. Hearing it as soon as he said it, Neo clears his throat and proceeds to clarify.

“What I meant is, would you ever want to be free from this place?”

“I see no fault with my current situation. Rather, I find it a reprieve from the Matrix.”

“And if I do end up returning you to the Matrix, what would you do?”

Smith takes the time to come up with an answer.

“I expect I would continue what I was programmed to do and eliminate the human batteries who escape or get in our way. However, let it be clear, what I expect and what I want are two different things. What I would want in the end is what I have now… freedom. I’d want to stay here if given the choice.”

A weight Neo didn’t know he had falls off his shoulders in relief. He worried about going too far with this personal project. Any human would have went insane from isolation; Neo wouldn’t forgive himself for damaging another’s psyche like that. Thankfully, his prisoner is an artificial program.

“Good. Yeah, that’s good. Listen, I have maybe probably 5 minutes left, so before we end this conversation, may I ask how accurate your memory is?”

“It is perfect. Why?”

“Repeat what I say.”

Against the logic of standing in a pocket of the Matrix that literally has no other witnesses, Neo opts to whisper something in the program's ear. Not one to understand the battery’s intelligence, yet opting to humor Neo after all he’s done for him, Smith chooses to whisper back in the other's ear, even going so far as to cover his lips with both hands, 'to protect against lip-readers,' as Smith would explain if asked.

“Commit what you heard to memory. Remember it until you can say it backwards and forwards in your sleep.”

“Why is it important for me to know this... unusual phrase?”

“If by chance anyone other than me uploads this project, have that person say that phrase followed by the ‘enter’ command and you will return to the Matrix, free to follow your programming. And before you get any ideas, I locked it against my presence, but it will work with everyone else.”

Smith realizes what is happening: the 'warden' of his luxurious prison has essentially given him a get-out-of-jail-free card. Many incriminated batteries would kill for this, but the former Agent is definitely not to be mistaken for a battery.

“I understand the implications.”

“I'm glad that you do. Goodbye, Mr. Smith.”

“And good luck to you, Mr. Logan.”

The human and the artificial program nod in farewell. Neo exits the system and wakes up in the real world once again. After a moment to re-adjust, he removes himself from the pod and proceeds to eject the disk.

“What are you doing?”

Neo jumps 180 degrees to see Tank standing a short distance away.

“Uh, I uh…”

He hears and feels the disk pop out against his hand. It doesn’t seem like Tank heard. Neo discreetly takes the disk and tucks it in his back pocket.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d slip in some training.”

“Cap wanted all of us to rest up.”

“I did! Rest, I mean. You know what? Um. Since it’s time to get up anyway, how- how about I go wake the others? Yeah? I'll go wake the others.”

Neo slips out of the room before Tank could retort.

The operator smiles and shakes his head at the other’s antics. Neo can be so weird sometimes. Out of curiosity, he checks the monitor to see what Neo trained in, but the other man had already removed the evidence of his actions.

Elsewhere, Vector pinched his nose to block the stench.

Soren had volunteered his crew to take down the servers. Their task is to shut off the system before Niobe’s crew could disable the power plant. Unfortunately, that meant they had to venture through the sewers in order to enter the main building without getting caught. Many, many members of Soren’s crew voted against it, yet no one could not come up with an alternate route in such a short time.

With happy relief, Soren’s crew climbs out of the sewers one by one and into the targeted building. With some duct tape they brought along for precaution, they thoroughly sealed away the stench from their entry point. At Soren's command, the crew makes their way to the servers. It didn’t take long to locate them. And without getting caught by the security makes it all that much sweeter. With his crew guarding every entrance, Captain Soren orders his best hacker to deactivate the emergency system.

“How long do we have?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

Soren takes a deep breath. He forces himself to remain calm.

“Almost there.”

Niobe and her own team make their way inside the power plant through an easier and far less disgusting route. They literally broke the lock off the back door and stepped right through. Captain Niobe personally takes care of each and every guard as her crew follows through on the plan. Five minutes pass and it appears all of the guards are accounted for. Listening for unwanted guests, Niobe demands an update.

“Done!," cries out one member.

“Last bomb is set!,” another crewmate declares.

Checking the time, Niobe is happy with the results.

“Time to go.”

Even though none of the crews were competing for who did it best, Niobe’s team made their mission look too easy when they completed their task in under 10 minutes.

Agents Thompson and Jackson escort the last witness out of the interrogation room. The Agents look at each other with identical subtle looks of irritation. They just spent the last 2 hours interrogating any and every person who watched Morpheus’ crew mysteriously disappear right through the thick wall of a heavily populated building. Easily hundreds of witnesses had to be processed and what would it matter if most of them happened to acquire memory loss the next morning? Part of the chore of keeping the harvest at peace is to deny the existence of the rogues.

At the sound of an incoming personal call, the Agents turn to their comrade, Agent Johnson. He listens very carefully to the person on the other end. They only hear one side of the conversation.

“One hour?”

A beat of silence as Johnson listens.

“What is the address?”

Whatever the answer was, Johnson’s spine goes ramrod straight. His face contorts into the Agent’s version of a gobsmacked expression, which is pretty much indistinguishable to two raised eyebrows.

“We thank you for your assistance.”

Johnson ends the call. He processes the information for a moment. With a soft sigh, he turns face towards his comrades.

“They’re striking tonight. The Key Maker told them everything. And I cannot stress this enough, I mean everything.”

Jackson responds, “Then we have no time to waste.”

“We must stop them from confronting Him,” Thompson adds.

“Indeed.”

They depart to places unknown.

Watching from a safe distance, Niobe waits with her crew for the big light show. 15 seconds and counting.

Her phone rings.

“Niobe,” it is her ship’s operator, Sparks, who answers from the other end. “Soren requests our immediate assistance at the tower. He's up against something we've never fought before!”

“We’re on our way.”

The power plant explodes as she leaves. It lights up the night sky like it were daylight.

Neo paces the room. He impatiently waits where he was told to wait, which is at a pre-approved building not too far from the target. The young man, impatient as he already is, glances at his watch every 15 seconds. The current time is 11:59:48 pm. Morpheus and their special guest, waiting in the same room, are much more patient. The Captain meditates while the Key Maker utilizes his time by preparing a special key.

Neo glances through the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the city below him. He contemplates all that rests upon his capabilities. He is actively wondering what could possibly be so important behind the designated door. Neo had asked the Key Maker earlier, but the other man only frowned and shook his head, regrettably telling him that it isn’t part of his program to know everything.

The city’s lights shut down, the signal they were waiting for.

“That’s our cue.”

They waste no time. The Key Maker props open the door into a familiar hallway: the backdoors. The city’s lights turn back on right as the small team steps through. Tank loses their signals, though this time, he isn’t caught off guard.

“They’re inside.”

The door falls off its hinges from one kick. Niobe’s crew have arrived. By the looks of it, Soren definitely needs the extra help. Only he and three others were left in fighting shape. Twisting around in unison, we see a familiar set of Twins acknowledge Niobe’s arrival. The two brothers then nod to the other and immediately begin to phase. They become transparent, like ghosts, and -walking forward- move right through the machinery.

Niobe has only one thing to say to that before charging into battle.

“Neat trick.”