Author's Note: Hey! I'm sorry! I meant to continue this story a long time ago… but I'm makin good on that promise now! The end is within sight… but it may not be the end that you are all expecting!! More reviews, Please!!!!! I'm only starting up again because so many people complained! I'm going to try to put some action in here ;) Thanks to all of you guys who reviewed!

There is always an instant of gut-wrenching delirium when your mind melds with that of the Matrix. A feeling that makes you want to clench your teeth to hold back the bile that threatens to rise at the unnaturalness of it all.

Out of thin air, we had arrived by phone. I waited a moment for the sparks to clear from my vision, gathering my thoughts around me like a shield. Then I reached for my gun, unconsciously fingering the cool grip as I withdrew it from its place beneath my left arm. With a curt nod to Switch, we moved out.

The old decrepit hotel was our exit and entrance to this world; here we were safe on neutral ground. Or so I had thought.

We went on foot; the club Tank had found for us was only a small distance from our hiding place-- no point in taking the car. The night air was slightly chilled as she and I paced the sidewalks, passing under bleak and garish neon lights that bathed everything with a sickly surreal glow. Strange how the Matrix portrayed these things as if the machines behind it could only render an echo, a reflection of what reality once was.

Faint cacophonic told me the destination was near. No words passed between us as the music grew louder, only the sound of our hard-soled shoes grinding the pavement.

"Here it is."

We made it that far without incident; I was feeling confident as we passed through the doors and into a different world.

In that place of black leather and naked skin, she stood out like a beacon, stark white against the shadows as music assaulted my ears. Bodies moved, grinding to the heavy beat as one seething, gleaming entity.

A part of myself was tempted to let the music wash over me, to join the throng of humanity and lose myself in it. It was like a living, breathing thing that called to something within me. But there she was again, always at the back of my mind, caught in the corner of my eye. Bliss, some say, is ignorance-- but at what cost?

Things seemed to blur and smudge and run into one another as we checked under every table, behind every closed door; the place came up clean, agent free. Switch contacted Tank as we left, verifying our exit. Things were so smooth, without glitch that we should have known better. Some say Luck can be a lady, but I also know she can be a b***.

I didn't see the agent coming-- or the bullet that penetrated my back. I staggered at the sudden agony as I felt the metal ball shatter a rib into splinters, rocketing through my chest. If the Matrix isn't real, why can it still kill you?

Author's Note: Heh. Heh. (evil grin) Want to know what happens? Is this the end??? Please review and tell me you want longer chapters!

Thanks, K.A.