I've come to understand that bliss
Is quite impossible and if
I'll ever find a way
I'll claim another life

Bright lights assaulted his senses as he awoke. He was immediately aware or his new encasing. His eyes darted around the room as he inhaled his first real breath. The air coursed through his lungs filling every inch of him with sweet sense. The rest of the crew stood around him.

"My God Bane, that was a close call!" One of them said.

Bane, so that was his name. He pushed himself off the chair and rose to his full height. He stretched his hand out feeling every inch of himself. I feel so trapped. He thought immediately as he began to sweat anxiously. His eyes continued to dart around the room gathering every piece of information he could hold.

"What happened down there?" Another said.

He looked towards her. "I..." He began to say as he used his voice for the first time. "I don't really know. Agents came and they almost had us." He made up decidedly.

He clenched his fists together as he stood in the middle of them. He didn't like this feeling. He didn't like it at all. He could feel the heart beating in his chest. That was interesting. It beat fast with anxiety. I feel so weak, I hate it! He ground his teeth together feeling much like a trapped animal.

"I don't feel so good. I need to lay down." He partly lied wanting escape. The crew looked at him and nodded understandingly. He felt panicked. I need to get out of here. The humans are all around me with their filth and sweat. I can smell them. I can smell them even more so then in the Matrix. This disgusts me! Look at this place! It's filthy; I hate it!

He felt a nauseating feeling in his stomach rising as his vision blurred. He swayed as he felt the bile rise up in his throat. What is this? Am I dying? Can this body not accept my program? He suddenly puked all over the floor. Oh disgusting. This body is rejecting me. He dropped to the floor weak and sick. The crew members reacted in surprise.

"Bane!" One of them yelled. "Oh God, are you ok?" He said as he rushed to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Take him to his bed." The captain said with worry.

A woman rushed up to him and grabbed his other arm as they lifted him up.

Their touching me! With their filthy sweat their touching me! Smith thought repulsively.

The two crew members carried him into a small room and laid him down on a cot. They looked at each other worriedly and then one of them said, "We'll come back and check on you in a bit. Just try to get some rest; you've had a really trying experience. I'll bring you some water." And they left the room.

Smith laid on the cot with his eyes closed sucking in gasps of air; feeling sickened and repulsed. This is going to take some getting used to. He thought. As the words crossed his mind he felt himself slipping out of consciousness and losing control. He briefly struggled with it but his limbs felt sluggish and his eyes like lead. He eventually gave in as the blackness closed in around him.

It was a dream but he was not aware of it. He was walking down a lone city street. He looked all around him but it was barren and empty. He passed a window and caught his reflection. His normal appearance was back. Good. He grinned inwardly. But then he stopped suddenly. Wait. He thought incredulously. I feel Human. Panic rose inside him. What the hell is going on? He looked around anxiously and then down at himself. Shit. He growled to himself.

Suddenly he heard the crunch of a boot behind him. The sound was like a boulder falling in the stark empty streets. He spun around and saw the face of his enemy. Contempt welled up inside him and spread all across his face.

Neo stood still in the empty street; hands to his side. He stood there and stared at Smith with complete serenity.

Smith let a malicious grin spread across his face as he walked to face his enemy. He stopped in front of him and stared him down. "Mr. Anderson." He began to say but Neo was suddenly upon him as he threw a punch that sent Smith flying down the street. Smith crashed into a distant building. Panic and fear welled up inside Smith immediately. Something he had only once felt before in his life. The first time Neo destroyed him. Where are the clones? Smith thought panicked. The clones should be here. They should be attacking Mr. Anderson right now. Where are they?!

Before he could think another thought Neo was above him, fist careening into Smith's face. Over and over he pummeled Smith with no relent. Smith was helpless as he lay motionless on the ground. Neo grabbed smith by the collar and tossed him with force. He flew across the street and crashed through a window. He came to rest in an empty room. Smith had never felt so utterly and completely helpless in his life. In fact he was scared. Dead scared.

I'm going to die. Smith though. He's going to kill me. Neo came floating up to the hole in the window. Smith saw him and his heart froze in his chest. An evil grin slowly spread across Neo's face and Smith screamed.

His scream reverberated through the halls of the ship as the crew members came running to his quarters. They threw upon the door and saw him screaming upon his cot. One of them grabbed him and shook him hard. "Bane! Bane!" He yelled as he shook him.

Smith came back into reality his blue eyes opened wide with fright. "What happened?" He choked on his words. Sweat dripping down his entire body. "It was just a dream." The man said to him concernedly. "Dream?" Smith echoed. Suddenly realization spread across him face. "Yes of course." He said. "Just a dream." The other man nodded and then patted him.

The humans left the room as Smith laid back down on his cot. Anger boiled up inside of him. This was an emotion he was well acquainted with. For he often felt anger towards Humans, The Matrix, his existence. But the anger he had felt as a machine had never felt such as this. He put his hand to his heart. The anger burned inside his chest. He imagined such as fire would. He gripped his shirt hard and inhaled deeply as he let the anger course through him. He felt it run through every vein in his body.

A dream? He thought. The machines were well aware of the Human dream but could never quite understand it. Never quite grasp it. He supposed in a way the Matrix was like a dream. They existed in a subconscious world created by the machines. So in a way they existed in their own mind. Or the self that was them in the Matrix was a projection of their real self. The machines were aware that when a human dreamed they left the Matrix. For a while the machines had a hard time understanding where they went. But it was noted that they always returned when they awoke. It was concluded their subconscious returned to the body during sleep and resided in the deepest recesses of the mind. In a way living out their own personal Matrix. How is it decided upon what is dreamed of? Smith never would have thought of such a silly question when he was still in the Matrix but this bothered him now. He never thought a dream could be so real. He never thought he could be capable of dream. He didn't like it at all.

His eyes closed tightly as he remembered his experience. Anderson, He growled. Hate and anger welled up again inside of his chest. If I can't kill you in the Matrix then I will kill you in this world. You will not hide from me. I will make you suffer. I will make you pay.

He squeezed his fists tightly as his fingernails dug into his flesh. Pain, he thought. He dug his fingernails harder into his palms as blood started to trickle out of the wound. This human body is so frail. Disgusting. How easy it would be for us to destroy them all. Crush these complex bags of blood in to the dust. Kill them all.

Smith realized that to destroy all humans would mean the destruction of his kind as well but he did not care. He wanted to fade away from this wretched existence. But before he did that he wanted to kill them all first. Destroy everything and leave nothing behind. Not man. Not machine.

He sat there with vengeance in his heart and decided he liked that feeling.

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More chapters to come!