"Before all else, be armed." – Niccolo Machiavelli
The sky above was grey and dust-filled, the clouds stirred as if it were brewing up a storm, but the air was still, breezeless, warm. About them were the large frames where buildings once stood, where some walls were still standing, where rubble littered about their feet; brick, sheets of metal and glass.
They looked about them, stood in their team formation waiting for an occurrence, waiting for something to happen.
Edward glared about him, "Looks like Mouse high-tailed it."
'Smart choice.' Trinity frowned.
'When do you think this thing starts?' Neo asked his team, but no one answered. Roy narrowed his eyes and ran for a wall, ducking behind it and taking out a gun in preparation. Neo rolled his eyes, 'Roy! What are you doing?' He shouted.
Roy's finger pressed firmly to his lips and signalled for his team to duck down behind the wall with him.
'What's up his butt?' Apoc laughed, placing his hands akimbo.
"Roy's in military mode." Edward confirmed; his face went serious.
'Which means?' Trinity asked.
Edward pointed out towards the horizon, in the distance; a glint of plastic caught their eyes. "The mission's already begun." Trinity and Apoc followed the point of his finger and slowly, a breeze began to pick up and the air went cold. The silence they had once been disturbing with their words was no longer being troubled by their voices, but by the footsteps that were slowly nearing closer. A whole line of them breeched the horizon line.
'Holy shit.' Neo murmured.
Suddenly, an agent leaped up from behind Roy's wall, pulling out his gun. A gun shot erupted through the air. He fell to the ground motionless. Roy blew the barrel as if smoke was rising from it, smiling smugly.
'Right in the head.' Apoc whistled in awe.
"Can't say that was hard; are all of them going to be as easy as this?" Roy smirked, rising to his feet from his vantage point.
'You've just raised the bar for us. They get worse with each kill.' Switch growled, 'Thanks to you, the shit just hit the fan.'
"Well we're not going to get any better at fighting if we just sit around avoiding them are we?" Roy shouted. "Neo, you're the team leader, right? What are your orders?"
'We head for the flag, and kill agents as we go.' Neo nodded decisively.
"Lead the way." Roy said with military seriousness. Neo put his back to the wall, and with a cautious glance, peered over it.
Edward shook his head, laughing, "Come on." He motioned for them to follow him and he ran past their wall and further into agent territory. Trinity and Apoc ran up behind him.
'Clier? Shouldn't we approach this with a little more caution?' Trinity asked.
"What's the point?" Edward shrugged, "The agents are going to get us anyway, so the sooner we get going, the more we meet, the more we kill, and the sooner it's over."
Trinity nodded, the edge of her lips perked up. 'Right.'
-/\*_;)(-
'Do you think the flags were necessary?' Mouse asked, spinning around in his computer chair beside Morpheus.
'It gives them a goal to reach, besides kill points. But, I'd like to see what they make of this program. And more importantly, what choice they'll make' he laced his fingers in concentration.
'Choice, Boss?' Mouse glanced up at him with an air of confusion, ceasing his spinning.
'You'll see.' Morpheus smiled to himself.
-/\*_;)(-
Agents jumped out from their hiding spots. Their guns were out and poised. Gun shots echoed. He put his right arm up to deflect them. The bullets hit with a force and ricocheted. With each time he tried to punch forward, another bullet flew for him. An agent ran forward, his bullets traced at Edward's feet, he jumped and flipped back. As his feet hit the ground, he bounced to the air. The agent was just beneath him, looking from side to side.
Don't' look up!
The agent glared up and pointed his gun at him.
Shit! Not now! I'm not dying now!
A bullet skimmed his side. He put out his left leg and his foot imbedded itself into the agent's face. With a sickening crack, the agent fell and lay on the floor and with some effort, Edward pulled his foot out of the mess. The tread mark was obvious, the blood was unnerving, and the grey matter even worse, but the disfigurement made his stomach turn. He clutched it and tried to avert his gaze, but the mangled face was imprinted on his mind.
"I think I'm going to be sick." His face went pale.
Apoc laughed, patting his shoulder. 'That's a fine job you did, though a gun would've been better.'
"I'm trying to save my ammo for the harder agents." Edward scowled.
'Not a bad tactic then.'
"You could've helped me, you know."
'Hey, your agent, your call. I'm not going to win you're battles for you.' Apoc shrugged easily.
"Wait, where's your agent?" Edward asked.
A bullet hit the back of Apoc's head and he looked up at the wound, grinning, 'Woops.' He fizzed away and disappeared; behind him was the figure of an agent, lowering his gun.
"For god's sake!" Edward screamed and he ran forward.
-/\*_;)(-
Roy held out his gun looking about him with a scanning eye. His back was at a wall. Seeing no agent in front of him, he turned sideways. Nothing. He peered around the wall side, and when he was sure it was clear, moved on forward.
Neo followed him briskly from behind.
'Roy, come on, we're not going to get to our flag any faster if you keep holding us up.'
"I'm using military strategy." Roy frowned, "now are you going to cover me or what?"
'And I thought I was the leader.'
"I was a Colonel after all; I'm used to giving orders."
'Well how about we pretend I'm a General and you're a kiss-ass private huh? Would that pull the rod from out of your butt?' Neo sighed.
"Have you got a better strategy?" Roy sighed finally.
'It's pretty simple, I'm sure you'll remember it; basically we run like hell and hope to Zion we don't get our asses kicked by the agents.'
"Or the other team."
'Exactly, so you follow?' Neo asked.
Roy nodded.
'What was that?' Neo asked, grinning.
"I said YES!"
An agent ran towards him and fell just as easily.
'Will you ladies SHUT IT?' Switch screamed. 'For god's sake, make out later! We're fighting now!' She poised her gun towards them threateningly.
'Alright! Alright! We'll shut up!' Neo put his hands up in surrender and Switch ran on forward. 'Am I ever going to be considered the leader?'
"With an attitude like that, I doubt you'll ever make Major." Roy smirked.
Three agents ran for them. Roy shot at one. The bullets hit its arm and it dropped its gun in response, but the agent carried on forward, diving into him and knocking the gun from his hand. Roy struggled under his power, trying to push him away. The agent's fist ploughed into his face. Roy yelped against it as if a concrete block had punched him. He spat blood and the fist beat him again.
"These bastards have gotten stronger!" Roy shouted to Neo, who was fighting hand-to-hand against two other agents. He blocked the punches and kicked one into the other, sending them reeling into a wall. A cloud of dust surrounded their collision, causing the wall to crumble into debris.
'I bet Switch has been on a killing spree!'
"Either that-." Roy grabbed the agent's hands, trying to fend off more punches, "Or the other team is really good!" Roy sounded through gritted teeth. He began to kick madly into the agent, the recipient grunted against it, the most expression he'd had out of the bastards.
'Come on, man. You don't hit a guy there, not even an agent. That's just cold.' Neo shook his head in disappointment.
"At least we know they have balls." Roy smirked, kicking the agent off him. His hand went to his thigh holster and he shot as the agent dived back onto him. The agent fell dully to the ground. Roy got up and brushed himself off, spitting more blood.
The two other agents got up from their collision against the wall and came at them both. As one tackled into Neo, Roy took on the other, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. He aimed his gun and shot, but the agent dodged easily and came at him with greater speed. His fist hit Roy's stomach and Roy screamed as the force sent him flying back. He fell onto rubble. Blood gushed from his mouth and he contorted his face in pain as a sharp throb hit his back. He looked down with wide eyes. A thin white pole was poking through before him, the end soaked in his blood.
-/\*_;)(-
'You sure were careless, weren't you Apoc?' Mouse frowned. 'You were killed off too easily.'
'Yeah, yeah, I know.' Apoc smiled, 'It was a beginner's mistake, ok? First time round through, you know? Call it a practice round if you like.' He shrugged away his mistake. 'I'll get better if I go through again.'
'You better hope so,' Mouse frowned.
Morpheus turned to look on at the crew in their seats, but his face creased up seriously, 'Roy's taking a beating.' He watched as blood slid down the man's mouth, the body shook with the force he took on.
'He still doubts, doesn't he?' Apoc sighed.
'Get him some first aid, wipe the blood away.' Morpheus ordered. Apoc jumped from the top deck down to the corridor and ran for the kit.
Suddenly, blood gushed up from Roy's body. It leaked from the seat and onto the floor.
'Shit!' Morpheus growled. 'What happened?'
'He's been impaled on a pole!' Mouse yelled.
'Dammit!' Morpheus grabbed hold of Roy's shirt, ripping it apart. He clasped both hands over the wound, trying to stop the bleed. 'Apoc! Where's that kit?' He screamed.
'Sorry Captain, I've got it!' Apoc yelled from the corridor as he made to clamber up the ladder.
'You're going to need more than a kit for that!' Mouse panicked.
'It's called first aid for a reason Mouse!' Apoc shouted, seeing the severity of the wound.
'We've got to get him out!' Morpheus yelled at Mouse.
The teenager looked up to him, his hands were shaking, he tried to type, but the wrong keys were being pressed. He took his hands away trying to hold back the sobs. 'I can't!' He yelled suddenly, 'I'm sorry, I can't.' Mouse trembled.
Morpheus sighed seriously, 'It's alright, but if he dies, then on your head be it.'
-/\*_;)(-
He forced himself up onto his feet; his legs were weak and shaking. Blood leaked from the wound with each footstep he made. Sweat clung to his brow, his hand clutched around the pole and against the wound. As the agent fell dead at Neo's feet, he looked up at Roy, his eyes wide.
'ROY!' Neo screamed. The agent glared at Roy, a smile formed on his lips. He raised his gun to aim. 'NO!' He jumped forward and knocked the agent's arm. The bullet fired and flew far past Roy. Neo's elbow flew into the agent's face and he fell back into him. Neo grasped the agent's head and twisted his neck suddenly. The agent went limp and he dropped him. Roy looked on, nodding in thanks, his stance became weaker and he could feel the gravity pull him down.
Neo ran forward and caught him, pulled his arm around his shoulder and gave him support.
"Thanks." A small smile crept onto Roy's lips and his eyes remained downcast.
'You're lucky to be standing.' Neo growled. 'Damn, why haven't they taken you out yet?'
"Huh?" Roy glanced up to him.
'Mouse and Morpheus! They should have taken you out of this game! This is far from a simulation!' He gritted his teeth angrily.
"L-Looks like-." He winced from the pain, "We'll have to…carry on…" He looked out in front of him, "towards the flag…"
'Always got your eyes on the mission, haven't you?' Neo sighed. 'You must've been a tenacious bastard on the battlefield.'
Roy chuckled lowly before coughing. Blood spilled and congealed in the dirt. "Something like that. Now…come on." They both staggered forward, Neo supported the new burden, his eyes fierce.
-/\*_;)(-
Edward fought off another agent, bending low and kicking up into the agent's neck. The agent flew back into another. Another flew forward and Trinity shot it out of the air.
'I think now's the time you used your ammo!' She screamed amid the fray. She kicked forward; her leg wrapped around the agent's neck and sent him to the ground. She finished him off quickly. She was suddenly pulled back and spun away. She flew a great distance before landing into the rubble.
"TRINITY!" Edward screamed as many agents ran forward for her. Gunshots echoed from their barrels and they chased after her. But he wasn't left alone.
A fist flew at him and he stepped out of the way frantically. The barrage of fists kept coming and suddenly he bent far back out of their reach. He waved his arms madly for balance and his back sprung up straight. A fist hit him across the face and he flew to the side into a wall. He fell to the ground, getting up and spitting the blood from his mouth.
Free your mind, free your mind!
The hot pain in his face grew warm and soft. He ran forward, flinging a foot in his chest. The agent grasped his ankle and held the foot there, a smile creeping up. Edward tried to remove his foot, struggling to keep his balance on his right leg. The agent twisted it; the force lifted Edward off the ground and spun him. A well-placed kick sent Edward flying further afield. He skidded onto his side, wincing in pain. He glanced up from where he was. Two figures came lumbering towards him. He picked himself up with effort. Blood was coming away from his forehead, bleeding into his eye.
They were probably 50 metres away. Neo and…Roy? His eyes grew wide, sweat dripped coldly down his neck and a chill spread through him. Blood leaked from his gut and dripped off the pole that was arrested in the man's body.
He could see Roy's eyes narrow, his face creased in anger, his teeth clenched. His face was wet with sweat. Slowly, his hand clenched tighter around his gun. Roy raised it up, straight at him. He could see the hole of the barrel; the gun was aimed straight for him.
"R-Roy?" He whispered. A lump grew in his throat; his eyes grew hot as if his eyeballs were melting. Liquid slipped down his cheeks in response. He could see him shake, his gun hand was unsteady; his aim was ever-changing.
The Agent's bullets are useless, but could our bullets kill us? Do you know about that?
Roy pulled the trigger suddenly. It cut through his thoughts. It cut through the air at rapid speeds. The bullet whizzed towards him. His whole body went stiff. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.
The bullet whistled past him. So close to his ear he could feel its force radiate from the metal object; the power to kill, the power to fly, all rolled into one and whizzing past him. He heard it hit, heard it cut through flesh. Something fell, the thud echoed behind him. He turned his head, slowly, and found an agent some metres away where the force had knocked him back. Blood leaked from his head, becoming droplets in the dust, staining the rock and injecting colour into the bleak battlefield.
A gasp escaped his throat, the tears stung his eyes further, a sob crawled shakily from his mouth and he turned back to find Roy and Neo closer to him. He forced his feet to move and his legs to stop shaking and ran towards them. Neo stopped before him and Roy slipped from his support. Neo made to catch him, but Edward caught him first. He tried to straighten himself up, tried not to rely on Edward's strength, but the pain arrested him.
"W-Why…?" The words slipped from Edward's mouth, cowering.
"That's…my apology…for beating…on you." Edward caught a glimpse of a smile in the corner of his eyes. "Can you…accept or…?"
"Of course I accept." Edward's arms wrapped further around him, but Roy pushed him away, he tried once again to straighten himself up.
"I only…did that…because I owed you." His face creased in severity and his arm went back for Neo's shoulder. Neo put an arm around his waist and held him up. "The time…could end…soon…. Have to…keep moving." Roy growled.
'No, we need to rest.' Neo said assertively, he lowered Roy to his knees.
"Humph…still… don't get… a choice…" Roy smirked.
'Shut up, we need to do something about this pole.' Neo growled, shooting a commanding glare at him. 'I'm still the team leader; I don't care what medals you've won before; here, what I say goes.'
"We could break off some of the pole." Edward suggested; his jaw worked anxiously, "To make it lighter for him."
'We haven't got anything sharp, and a gun would be too dangerous.' Neo frowned.
"If I could use alchemy, then I could break it easily." Edward rubbed his chin in thought.
'What about your auto-mail?' Neo asked.
"What?"
'The metal will be stronger; you could break the pole off with that.'
"Roy, what do you think?" Edward asked.
"Do…what you want." He grunted. Edward nodded. He shifted around to get behind him. It was clear now, it was a flag pole. There was still a piece of rope secured to the end on a metal loop that Roy had been dragging behind. Carefully, he grasped the pole a little distance from the wound. In his auto-mail hand, he took hold of the pole some distance from his other hand.
"Ok" Edward sucked in deep breaths, hoping to steady his shaking hands. "I'm going to do it, you ready?" He saw Roy's head nod, his breaths were shaking, his chest heaving. "Keep him steady, Neo."
'Right.' Neo nodded and he shifted to face Roy, arresting his shoulders. He began to mutter comforts, 'just keep looking at me. It'll be over soon.'
"I'm…not a kid." Roy smirked.
'You're stubborn.' Neo growled.
Edward smiled to himself, watching Neo give Roy support.
'You ready?' Neo barked and it snapped Edward out of his stupor.
"Sorry, still woozy."
'Just concentrate.'
Edward nodded, "Ok," he gripped the pole tighter, Roy grunted as he felt the extra pressure on the pole. "On three… one…two…three!" His auto-mail hand began to bend the pole, hoping to break it apart. The pole shifted inside him, Roy gritted his pain, grunting and yelping as the pain coursed like electricity through his body. Neo gripped his shoulders tighter.
'It's alright.' Neo growled.
Edward gripped it tighter and pulled harder on the pole. Stretch marks began to wrinkle up on the pole; he pulled harder still, a glimmer of hope curled up warmly in his gut. It stretched further; the pole began to crack from the pressure. Roy screamed as the pole twisted inside him.
"We're almost there! Just…a little…!" The pole shattered beneath his auto-mail fingers and he ripped it away. He threw the pole end and it bounced lightly in the rubble. He let the pole go and breathed a sigh of relief. Neo loosened his grip and Roy bent over double, coughing, grasping his wound through which blood still trickled lightly.
Edward looked down at his auto-mail hand, and shyly rubbed Roy's back, hoping to ease his coughing, and his pain. The leather beneath his palm squeaked and shone. His fingers travelled up his back and went to Roy's shoulder, and he squeezed it in comfort. Roy flinched from the cold surface as it bit his shoulder and he frowned deeply.
"Come on…the flag." Slowly, he shifted his feet forward and tried to summon up the strength to stand. He did so weakly, his legs shook and Neo offered his shoulder once again as a support for him. Edward's hand had long slipped from Roy's body and he sighed deeply as he got up.
"Which way do you think the flags are?" Edward asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
'Well, we just came from that direction.' Neo pointed to his right, back where the walls were familiar and the rubble was mediocre. 'So I'm guessing we keep going this way.' Neo shifted him and Roy left. 'We'd better keep moving forward.'
"As if we know where the flags are anyway." Edward sighed resignedly.
They carried on walking for a while; they stepped over and dragged on through the rubble. Their feet ached and throbbed hotly in their boots. Roy carried on as hard a he could, offering his own steps rather than suffer the embarrassment of letting Neo carry him like before, but his hold around Neo's shoulder was weak. His head felt woozy, his eyesight clouded and glazed, the world rocked itself uncontrollably before him. Rocking, and rocking, rocking him to sleep. Yes, to sleep, his lids grew heavy; he wanted to shut them completely. No, he couldn't, that was just the blood loss talking. If he closed his eyes, then he'd never wake up. How was he still standing?
'Surely the time must be up by now.' Neo heaved, his brow clung with sweat.
"Maybe we haven't killed enough?" Edward suggested, he pressed his hands in his pockets.
"No…that wouldn't matter." Roy spoke, he had to keep himself aware, keep himself conscious; talking seemed to help. "He said that whoever won…depended on how many we killed."
"Then it's whoever gets to the flags first." Edward affirmed.
'Trinity and Switch must be wondering where we are.' Neo smiled, 'do you think they'll be mad to see we're not working in our teams anymore?'
"Switch will be." Edward laughed and Neo laughed with him.
"She'll probably…beat me up…for slowing you all down." Roy smiled.
'Sounds like her.' Neo chuckled.
Their steps carried them forward. The cool breeze that had blown about them began to still, the air grew warm.
Edward frowned, his brow furrowed. "Something doesn't feel right." He stopped himself in his tracks and placed hand on his brow. He squinted, gazing into the distance. "The agents are gone."
-/\*_;)(-
He wrapped the bandages tightly around him, and carefully, keeping the pressure on, pinned it in place. Apoc nodded at his work, though the blood was already soaking through the padding.
'How's the wound?' Morpheus asked.
'Good, it should do for now.' Apoc rubbed his brow, relieved.
'Mouse, we have to get them out of the simulation.' Morpheus spoke to Mouse calmly by his side, 'we can't perform any kind of surgery on Roy until we do.'
'R-Right.' Mouse nodded, rubbing his eyes of the wet and putting his fingers to the keyboard. He started tapping on it, but his face screwed up into annoyance, and then panic. 'Boss?' he looked sidelong at Morpheus. 'Something's not right with the program.'
'What do you mean?' Morpheus looked deep into the screen.
'Something's messing with the program! I can't get them out! It won't let me! The timer's not even worked! It should've pulled them out half an hour ago! '
'And we can't pull the plug on them either. Free minds or not, it'll still kill them.' Apoc gritted his teeth.
'I don't think it's something.' Morpheus frowned, 'It sounds more like someone.'
-/\*_;)(-
"Hey, what's that?" Edward pointed towards something in among the rubble. "Do you think we've walked the whole of the construct?"
'No,' Neo frowned. 'These aren't the same buildings we've walked past.'
"I know that, but that pole looks familiar." Edward left their side and yanked the pole from out of the rubble, wrapping the rope attached to it in a loose coil.
'What is it?' Neo asked as Edward joined them once again.
In his hands was a white pole, one end had shattered except for the other, whereon the rope was connected to a metal loop attached to the pole. The shattered end was decorated with congealed drip stains of blood.
"It looks like the flagpole I tore off." Edward looked up at Neo and Roy searchingly.
Neo narrowed his eyes, 'Déjà vu.'
"What?" Roy glanced up at him.
'This pole looks just like the one we passed. Déjà vu, which means there's been a change in the program.'
"That must be why we haven't seen any agents for a while. Do you think its Mouse's doing?"
'I want to think so, but if it was then we should've been taken out by now; which means there's either trouble on the ship and Mouse is distracted, or there's trouble here and it's stopping us from getting out.'
"Then the only way we'll find out is if we head for the flags." Edward nodded, and he dropped the pole to the ground. They moved slowly onwards.
Just ahead of them, there was a circular arrangement of buildings, built up to the ceilings, but scabbing away with blocks of brick and windows missing from their walls. They couldn't see what would supposedly be the epicentre of the construct for the surprisingly built up area.
'That must be where the flags are.' Neo smiled with a new determination.
"It must be an obvious place for you to get that." Edward grinned wryly. Neo poked Edward, who batted his hand away.
"Trinity and Switch…must be waiting for us there." Roy heaved; he spat blood from his mouth.
"It'll be fine when we reach the flags. You'll be able to rest at least." Edward smiled hopefully and Roy nodded in agreement.
'Wait, don't you think Trinity or Switch would've gotten their flags already?' Neo wondered.
Edward nodded fiercely, "Something's definitely not right."
The buildings were upon them sooner than they expected and they lumbered towards the centre. The buildings loomed over them, blocking the sky except for that thin strip that Edward could make out as he looked up above him. They left the flat jaws of the street, before them was a circular platform and on it was positioned the red and blue flag, held there on their poles by their mainstay in concrete holes in the platform. At the foot of it, Trinity and Switch were sat in front of their respective colours.
Their heads perked as they found their three teammates make it out of the street and join them in the centre.
'You're finally here! Took you long enough!' Switch growled, getting up from her seat and tapping her foot impatiently.
'So you waited for us all this time?' Neo smiled.
'Are you kidding? I would've grabbed the flag and got out of here as soon as I found it, if Mouse wasn't being funny with us.' Switch complained, rolling her eyes as if Mouse's behaviour was typical of him.
"What do you mean…being funny?" Roy grunted as Neo slowly lowered them both. Roy stretched his legs out awkwardly and sat down on the only smooth bit of concrete he had seen through the whole construct.
'Look.' Switch made to grab the pole, but the object's solidity dissipated around her fingers so that her whole hand passed through.
'It looks like a hologram.' Neo scowled.
"That…doesn't sound good."
'What could it mean?' Trinity asked.
"We think someone's messed with the program and it's not Mouse." Edward supplied.
'How can we be sure it's not Mouse?' Trinity frowned.
"He and Morpheus can see the state Roy's in." Edward pointed to Roy, who was clasping a hold of his wound. "Even if Mouse wanted to keep him here, Morpheus wouldn't have let him and neither would Apoc, so it can't be their fault."
Trinity gasped as she noticed the pole protruding from Roy's torso and she rushed his side, holding him up. 'How did this happen?'
"After Switch…left; it was an agent…with a good kick." Roy growled and coughed, he hacked up blood onto the concrete.
'I thought Mouse said we couldn't be harmed by the agents.' She growled.
'We can't, but only if we free our minds.' Neo answered, 'I don't think Roy should've joined in this simulation. He'd only just heard the truth. He hasn't accepted it yet.'
"Of course…I haven't…how can you…expect me to…swallow that shit?" Roy sounded it through clenched teeth. Edward looked downcast, his face contorted into concern. Neo glanced up at him, sighing.
'So, what's the plan?' Switch frowned.
Footsteps echoed about the epicentre. Their heads turned sharply towards the owner of them. An Agent stepped forward, but they weren't like the others they had faced, who would run forward with mindless authority. This one sauntered, his face twisted into a cruel sneer; his gaze penetrated them through his sunglasses.
"Shit." Edward growled, readying himself to attack, "another one."
'No,' Trinity reached for a gun, 'this one's not like the others.'
Neo narrowed his eyes, 'Agent Smith.'
'Mr Anderson!' His voice echoed fully before them as he stepped closer. 'I'm so…glad you recognized me. I was beginning to think I had been forgotten.' His gaze travelled along the group, smiling at each member he recognized. 'It's funny, after Mr Elric's journey back to the Beta-Matrix, I was able to spot the ship from where he'd entered and sent a sentinel attack to destroy him, but something wasn't right. It wasn't long after I realised, and of course I thought you were all dead by now, who was on board ship with him. I had to trace my mind back to our first meeting and I remembered who helped him escape. I was…surprised to see you had survived the sentinel attack, because it means we can meet and have a talk like this one. Wouldn't you agree? Mr Anderson? Mr Elric? Colonel Roy Mustang?' He looked at the three pointedly, but all kept their steely gazes, making ready to attack on cue. 'No? It hurts me that you treat me so…coldly.' His once friendly smile dropped into a deep frown. 'Maybe you're in the mood to discuss some terms with me.'
'Terms?' Neo glared at him.
'You see, Mr Anderson, there is something I want, which happens to be the thing you have. Without the thing you have, I cannot gain the thing I want, do you follow?'
"Cut to the chase." Edward growled. "What do you want?"
Agent Smith's lips curled up into a smile, 'I want Morpheus.'
'You'll have to go through us first!' Switch bared her teeth, pulling out her gun.
'I was afraid it would come to this.' Agent Smith shook his head. 'If you hope to escape this simulation, you'll have to get through us too.' From the streets behind him, four agents strolled out. Their guns were ready in their hands. Agent Smith stepped aside and the four agents ran forward.
"Protect Roy!" Edward barked at Trinity, who nodded in response.
"No…" Roy heaved, trying to get to his feet, "We all have to fight…I won't be…a burden."
'Spoken like a true martyr.' Agent Smith clapped his hands.
An Agent dived in front of Switch who, wielding her gun, shot at him. The Agent dodged the bullets so fast his image was a blur. He punched her chest, sending her flying across the platform and he jumped after her. Another kicked Trinity away, sending her rolling to the side. She shot for him, but it was pointless. Her gun clicked as she frantically pressed the trigger; she was out of ammo. She bared her teeth in frustration and got to her feet. She lunged at him; the Agent ducked and sent a barrage of punches into her stomach. She grunted, blocked one successfully and swiped him across the face. He swiped back and she was knocked backwards.
Neo dodged the blows as fast as he could, knocked the gun from the Agent's hand and sent a kick to his chest. The Agent was flung back in Agent Smith's direction, which stepped out of the way of the comrade-shaped cannon ball.
Edward looked about him with horror, an Agent's foot ground down into Switch's head and she fizzed away.
"SWITCH!" He screamed. That was the only exit out of the simulation, probably why she gave up so easily. Get killed and you would be out, but only a free mind could grant that. He himself could be freed, but Roy? Edward glanced down at the man as he tried with shaking legs to keep his balance. There was no chance.
'EDWARD! MOVE!' A gun shot echoed and he looked up quickly towards the barrel. A great force barrelled into him. He was knocked sideways. The bullet whizzed past him and his back scraped across the ground. He tried to get up, but a weight kept him down. He glanced up, shaking his head from the confusion. Dark eyes stared down at him, his chest heaved breathlessly.
"…Neo?" He gasped.
'You've got to watch yourself Ed. We can't always be there to save you.' A smile flickered on his lips.
Roy stared at them wildly, his teeth clenched in rage.
Edward tried to sit up; they touched cheeks in his efforts, "Neo? I need you to let me up." he mumbled, his face turning red.
'What?' Neo looked astonished.
Edward rolled his eyes, "Let me up; not get me off! The Agents!"
Neo's face relaxed in his realisation and he nodded, 'Right.' A foot kicked his stomach and he flew off to the side, Edward stared after him, his eyes wide and searching. The Agent grabbed the front of his vest and yanked him up. He found himself glaring into the Agent's shades and a smile creaked on the man's lips. His fist came up, beating him across the face repeatedly, left, right, left, right, until Edward hung there, dazed, grasping the Agent's arm for stability. Blood ran fresh where it had crusted before.
'Will you hand over Morpheus?' The Agent spoke, raising an eyebrow pointedly.
Edward bared his teeth, glaring at him fiercely. "Nev-er!" He hissed. The fist came back on him. His right hand left the Agent's arm, dangling weakly. The barrage ceased and he forced his free hand to move. He spat the blood away.
'Now will you give him to us?'
His fingers skittered up his torso, heading for his jacket for cover. "I guess…" A smirk crawled on his lips, "I'm glad you…beat me up…I was able…to clear my head…" He pulled his hand out of his jacket. His pistol was pointed at the Agent's head. The agent raised his eyebrows in slight alarm. Edward's smirk melted away. "But you…can't touch me…" He pulled the trigger. They both crumpled to the floor.
His world kept rocking, he felt like it was going to knock him from his feet. He looked about him madly. A dark-green figure walked for him, coming from the figure that had just disappeared. He shook his head madly, hoping his vision would adjust. A fist hit his face and his vision met clarity. He stared before him as the Agent sent another fist at him. He dodged, jerked his head sideways. He missed the other, jerked the other way. He stepped back, his balance sent him reeling, but he escaped a hit. The Agent ran up with another blow in hand. He twisted down, but yelped at the sudden pressure. He grasped his wound and fell to his knees. The Agent grabbed his arm and with his higher power flung him away.
-/\*_:)(-
Neo got up and watched as Roy was flung towards a street. He narrowed his eyes, looking about him. An Agent had Edward held up, flinging his knuckle across his face and back again. He started towards that direction.
'PLEASE! NEO! HELP!' He turned back quickly; Trinity's voice rang in his ear. She was backed up against a wall. She shrieked as an Agent's fist sent an upper cut through her stomach. Blood gushed from her mouth, she tried to punch back, and her face got it this time.
Neo clenched his teeth in rage and he ran towards her screaming. He jumped for it, positioned his arm out and caught the Agent's neck in the crook of his arm. He twisted it sharply and dumped it to the floor. Trinity hugged him hurriedly, clutching him tight.
'Thank you.' She whispered. Neo smiled with satisfaction and he kissed her forehead sweetly.
She looked up from his shoulder and spoke in his ear.
'I know, I got it.' Neo smiled and he flung his arm back, grabbing the Agent's throat. He squeezed tightly until the bones began to break beneath his grip. The Agent frothed at the mouth, scrabbled at Neo's hand weakly until he fell limp. Neo threw him aside and his arm returned to Trinity's waist, hugging her tighter. He craned his neck and kissed her lips, his fingers laced themselves into her hair.
-/\*_;)(-
The air whistled past his ears and he found himself flying into the jaws of the buildings bordering the edge. The ground came all too soon. The pole dragged across the floor, pulling the other end upwards further into his body. The tug made him clench his teeth sickly. The pole had stopped most of his drag on the ground. He stopped, and as the pole seemed to right itself, it pushed through his gut, more blood gushed. He screwed his eyes, screaming in pain, tears leaked in his eyes. Sobs wracked his body and made the wound hurt more. The blood began to form a warm wet pool beneath him.
His vision fuzzed. Footsteps sounded behind him. Hissing with anguish, he craned his neck back to find his vision filled mostly with blue. The footsteps ceased right behind him, and he found black beneath the blue, were they boots? He couldn't be sure.
He heard two light taps. He glanced hopelessly to the sky. The sky was suddenly blocked by a pale object, the bottom of it rimmed with something gold and spiky. Yellow orbs loomed over him and something creased in the pale object, looking sad from his view.
"Hey stranger," the voice was smooth, soothing, familiar; it lingered in his ears for as long as he could hold onto it, "I never thought I'd see you again, like this." There was something warm about the aura the voice's owner gave, something that supposed it was human, and male. "Don't give me that look, don't you remember me?"
Roy gasped suddenly, his eyes wide, his chest heaved with inaudible sobs. He knew the name; it lingered naturally on his tongue, "Ch-Chase…?" he breathed it like a dreamer's spell. "I-Is it really…?" From his view, he supposed that Chase must've been grinning.
"Of course it's me." Something solid and warm touched his hand gently; its long fingers fed through his and clasped it tightly. "Can you feel that? It's me." The fuzz around the figure cleared and those big golden eyes smiled back at him. Tears ran down his cheeks and he gulped hard. His bottom lip quivered. "My little Flame," Chase's voice cooed, his hand cupped Roy's cheek, and his thumb stroked along the rim of his lip. "Don't cry." Chase's face grew nearer, and Roy's eyes shut, expecting him to fall unconscious or wake up.
Something locked on his lips, giving heat; the tingle ran from his mouth, electrifying his whole body with a warm and soft sensation. He kneaded into it, hardened the pressure, it was so real, he couldn't let go. Chase's lips released their hold and as soon as he opened his eyes, the sky greeted him. He craned his neck to look around. All he saw were the walls by his side and the stretch of rubble behind. His head began to swim. It must've been an illusion.
Footsteps came clacking towards him, quick and urgent. He looked down himself and found a small figure by the wall and heard a distant clank as something dropped to the floor.
"Roy!" Edward called out to him, and ran into the street. He got down at his side, clasping his hand tightly. "Don't close your eyes, are you alright?" his body shook with worry.
"I-I think so." Roy sounded through clenched teeth.
"We've got to get you out of here. We can't do anything for your wound until we do." Edward nodded, trying to reassure himself. "But before we can do that, you've got to let go of this pain."
"But…how can I? It feels so…real."
"I know," his eyes were edged with heat and tears fell from them, "but you have to believe it isn't there. It isn't real. It doesn't exist; just keep that in mind, ok? Y-You have…to." Those last words lost their strength; they crawled out of his mouth in a shaky whisper.
Roy screwed his eyes up tight, so that his whole mind went black.
Get rid of the pain, get rid of it…come on, work, free my mind…it doesn't exist…it doesn't EXIST!
His mind roamed back to that surging warmth, those lips touching his, taking away his worries, sucking away his cares. He fell into the memory, and slowly the pain began to leave with it, seeping away from his mouth until all that was left was that warm feeling in the pit of his gut. It cushioned his wound, hugged the pole and extinguished the agony.
The tension in his face began to relax, as if he'd fallen unconscious, or into a deep sleep. A relieved smile came up on his face and his eyes slowly opened to greet Edward.
"How are you feeling?" Edward asked.
"Better" Roy nodded quickly, "A lot…better." "A lot…better."
Edward did a double-take. His face creased seriously. "Déjà vu." He sounded. "Something's changed in the program."
"I-It has?" Roy looked up at him, puzzled.
Did he even realise it?
A drawl ringing filled the air. Edward looked about him, turned behind and found a red phone box standing in front of a building. A wide determined smile flared on his lips and he looked back to Roy. "We can use the phone box to get out; now's our chance."
Roy nodded in agreement.
"Let me help you up." Edward tugged Roy's arm onto his shoulder and waited as Roy brought his feet beneath him. "Are you ok to stand?" He asked and Roy stood up a little shakily at first, but he was stable.
"The pain's gone; I should be fine, thank you." Roy kept a hold of Edward shoulder, clasping his wound with the other hand. Edward grasped his waist and he flinched a little from the cold surface on his bare skin.
They stepped out towards the edge of the street and after a few quick glances, stepped on further. The phone box was in clear sight, still ringing. Roy glanced off to the side.
Clouds of dust surrounded a building as an Agent began to stroll out of it from behind Agent Smith. He clenched his teeth, and let his hand fall from Edward's shoulder. He sought for the edge of Edward's jacket, tucking his arm into it.
Edward glanced up at him, confused almost as the warm arm felt its way through. His fingers stroked down his back, his face began to colour up. The hand left his back, and he decisively ignored it, carrying on slowly to the phone box. The hand suddenly clutched his butt; his whole body shuddered at the sensation. His face grew hot and he looked back up at Roy, his mouth gaping. But Roy's eyes were fixed to the side, away from him, his cheeks beginning to redden.
Roy's fingers travelled up his backside and found the strap of Edward's belt. His fingers closed around it and seized it completely.
A weight he was already used to left his belt and Roy's arm left the folds of his jacket. A gunshot echoed behind him, almost deafening. He looked quickly to his right and an Agent was knocked back. The gun fell from its hands and it fell to the ground, dead.
"Keep moving, Edward." Roy growled lowly, "I'll keep us guarded."
Edward looked up to him, nodded appreciatively and focused his sight back onto the phone box; it was closer than before.
He encouraged Roy to grab the phone booth's handle and he clumsily opened it up. He fell onto the phone, his hand sought for the receiver and he grasped it. Putting it up to his ear, his eyes went wide, his form twisted into a pale, fleshy, snaking blur and down the receiver; he disappeared from sight and the pole that had been fixed in his gut clattered to the floor. Edward breathed a sigh of relief and he put the receiver back on its hook.
-/\*_;)(-
He opened his eyes. A fire spread through his gut. He let out a strangled cry and he grasped his wound madly. The pain had come roaring back.
'Nice work, Mouse! He's out!' Apoc laughed almost giddily and Mouse sighed happily, giving a thumb up.
'This is no time to be relaxing!' Morpheus barked, 'We have to get him into surgery! Now!'
'He's lost a lot of blood.' Switch frowned. 'I'm surprised he's still alive.'
'He's a stubborn one.' A small smile creased onto his face as he unplugged the probe from Roy's head jack. 'It's a good quality to have, means he won't die so easily.' Apoc grinned as he undid the foot holds, supported the back of his knees and his back and lifted him up. His hands remained dry, the blood on his shirt had stained and crusted.
'You lift Roy down to me, and I'll carry him to the recovery room.' Morpheus clambered down the ladder and waited. Carrying Roy to the ladder, Apoc slowly sunk to his knees and replaced his arm from beneath his knees to under Roy's arm. The other arm went to the other one and slowly he let Roy's legs slip over the edge and dangle down to Morpheus.
'Keep me steady Switch!' Apoc called, she rushed to him and grabbed his shirt to stop him falling.
Apoc lowered Roy further and Morpheus made his legs to go at either side of his waist. Apoc's hands were just under Roy's armpits, but not for long as Morpheus held Roy close to him, his head leaning on his shoulder. Roy clutched his wound tight, tears dripped down his cheek, his voice had been paralysed from the pain and he desperately held onto that fuzzy yet recent memory, hoping it would take the pain away.
-/\*_;)(-
Edward sat up with a start, his hands shot back for the probe, trying to tug it out.
'Easy there, Ed.' Apoc pushed his hand on Edward's chest, keeping him down as he pulled the probe out for him. 'Roy's in surgery right now.'
Edward tried frantically to get off the seat, "I-Is he alright? Is he going to live? Let me-."
Apoc grabbed a hold of his shoulders, 'Calm down, I don't know how he'll do, but from what I could tell, most of the bleeding has stopped. I don't know if that's because he lost too much blood, but it may be the wound healing itself. You helped him a lot back there, maybe saved his life, but I don't know. We shall see, won't we?' Apoc smiled hopefully.
A small smile lingered on his lips, taking in deep breaths, "Yeah, we'll see." Edward nodded with downcast eyes.
'Go on, Edward.' Switch motioned to the ladder, 'get some rest. You'll need it.'
Edward heaved himself off the seat, and wordlessly stepped down the ladder.
-/\*_;)(-
He shut the door behind him, resting his back against it. His body shook; his eyes were hot with tears. The light flashed above him. He could remember his face being on fire with pain, Roy's crazed eyes as they bore into him. He could see the gun pointed straight at him, Roy's teeth were bared with rage.
You're pathetic. You make me sick.
You're the reason I'm here! I had everything I could want! You took it all away! I'm nothing here! How could you?
I only…did that…because I owed you.
He sat on his bed, clutching his knees.
"Me…" he hissed in Amestrian, "My fault…it's all…my fault."
The light continued to flash; its rays taunted him, his face twisted in anger.
"Damn light!" he pulled up his left trouser leg, hastily undid the strap and threw his leg at the light bulb. It smashed, sparked and the glass fragments rained down onto the floor along with the leg, which fell with a heavy thud.
He dragged himself up to the headboard with the sheets and hugged his pillow. He lay there in the darkness, his face soaked with tears.
If only it was that easy to fix.
-/\*_;)(-
Neo rolled onto his side, panting heavily; he glared up at Agent Smith, who loomed over him. The mark on Agent's Smith's cheek was starting to bruise up, clouding a poisonous purple. He narrowed his eyes seriously. Slowly, the glass in his shades started to crack. He took them off, examining them with a disregard for the man at his feet. He threw them away into the rubble of the building behind him. His ice blue eyes penetrated into his very soul, Neo lay there, frozen in place.
He glared up at the wall close by. Trinity was there, restrained in metal coils that kept her connected to the wall. She struggled, trying to get free, but the coils held strong.
'Mr Anderson,' He shook his head, tutting, 'I will ask you once more: hand over Morpheus, but remember, what happens to Trinity will depend on your answer.'
'No!' Neo sounded through clenched teeth, 'I won't-!' Footsteps approached them from the shadows, the strange sound of bare skin slapping against the concrete. The figure's purple irises glared into Neo, a sneer enveloped his lips. A cold shiver ran down Neo's back, a bad feeling; he couldn't rid himself of it.
"Are you sure that's your answer?" The low feminine voice cackled smoothly. The shadows fell away from the figure and Neo found a person with long dark-green hair falling in spiked tendrils down his back, kept out of his eyes by a black headband with an upside down triangle formation. His body was clothed in a vest he would've recognised as Roy's and a black skirt, or were they shorts? He wasn't sure. His hands were covered in fingerless gloves and his feet were wrapped in toe-less and heel-less cloth that reached above his ankles, but something caught his eyes, something at the flank of the man's left thigh. A red circular formation consisting of a red serpent biting its tail, a pair of wings and a six point star at its centre. "You forget who you're speaking to!" The figure growled.
'Now, now Envy.' Agent Smith held out a hand to cease further action, 'Mr Anderson here has a choice to make after all, let him make it.'
"Fine," Envy faced Agent Smith, "but once he makes his choice, far be it from me to restrain myself!"
'So, what will it be, Mr Anderson? Will you comply? Or was my partner not persuasive enough? Hm?'
Neo remained serious, failing to belie any sense of a decision made or remotely thought about.
Envy scowled impatiently, cracking his knuckles, he gave him a side long glance, and a smirk crawled onto Agent Smith's lips. And he nodded in response. He stomped forward and grasped Neo by the front of his jacket, "You humans seem to forget your place!" He yanked him up and beat him around the face. Neo grunted with each assault and yelped as he was thrown back into the rubble. "Let's make this easier for your human brain to understand, shall we? If you ever want to see your girlfriend again, you can have her back in exchange for the Baldy! But! If you choose to back out of it, then you'd better say goodbye to her now!" Envy grinned maliciously.
Neo spat blood, using the support of his elbows to keep him steady, 'What will you do to her… if we decide not to make the exchange?' He gritted his teeth, glaring up at him.
Envy let a chuckle escape his throat, "Now why would I spoil all the fun?"
'Envy,' Agent Smith called seriously, 'Let's collect our hostage. Play times over.'
A green-backed door opened suddenly beside them and Envy ran for Trinity's struggling body. He pulled her free of the wall, the coils broke and bended to his will. He threw her over his shoulder and ran for the door, his high-pitched laugh bounced off the air, off the walls, off his ear-drums, off his very soul. It shook him, left him cold, all the warmness was beginning to ebb away, the pain of his wounds started to sting his flesh.
'If you ever want to see Trinity again,' Agent Smith called from the doorway, 'then you will meet us at The Heart O' The City Hotel 3 days from now! There you will make the exchange with us! If you fail to arrive by 5pm, she will die! Are we in agreement?'
'Don't worry about me!' Trinity called after him, 'Morpheus is more important! Don't hand him over!'
'Well, Mr Anderson? Are we in agreement?' He asked again.
His mind began to race, but not fast enough for his mouth, 'Yes!' He called, 'We'll meet then!'
The door shut behind them and disappeared into nothingness. Neo clenched his fists 'til his knuckles turned bone-white. His balled up frustration heated and raged in his chest. He punched the ground, screaming in his anguish, hating that he was forced to make such a pact.
-/\*_;)(-
Neo's eyes flashed open. He'd made it to the phone box. He'd answered the call.
'It's alright, Neo.' Morpheus smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder as he pulled the probe free from its port, 'we're all fine, we all made it out.' But he felt no real sense of accomplishment, just his stomach twisting up sickly.
'Not all of us,' the words escaped through the barrier of clenched teeth, and Morpheus's smile showed constraint and bowed itself out of existence.
'I know,' Morpheus sighed lowly, 'we'll figure something out.'
He couldn't rein down that sick feeling, it boiled hotly in his chest, stewed and raged, waiting on a single stinging word to ignite its bowels. 'You make it sound so easy,' Neo growled, 'they've struck a deal, Morpheus; it's either you… or Trinity.'
Author's note: This chapter is named The Game, a song by Disturbed on their album, The Sickness.
I don't know how you guys took to this chapter, but let me tell you that it took too long to write. Normally they will take a week at the very most, but this one took a couple. It didn't help that it was hard for me, at first, to find a way to start the chapter and I would end up spending two hours on a computer staring at a blank page and the end of chapter 13 looking for tips. It struck me then to start it off with a description of the scenery, before going into Roy's almost pompous need to employ military tactics, almost as if he had a rifle stuck up his ass and the trigger sticking out, so that any commanding officer who was unhappy with him could order him to bend over so that they could blow his brains out from the down up (sound familiar?), and that's just something I came up with on the spot. Did you enjoy the imagery?
It's lucky for you guys though that I got quite into it after a couple of sections, finding opportunities to waylay you with symbolisms, meanings and stuff that you may have skimmed over, but just because I'm trying my hand at being in-depth. And why not? Scott Fitzgerald does it! (Read The Great Gatsby and you'll find his books teaming with themes and symbolisms in every other line at the very least; just one of the books you'll be expected to be subjected to at A level, plus aren't we lucky to have a teacher who loves it just as much as I love Fullmetal? Consider that for a moment and you'll realise that's a lot!) I also found it was the first time I had to use a notebook to choreograph the fighting between the teams and the numerous agents, just to make sure I'd kept them all in check. I should've finished it quicker amidst my excitement, but I got slowed by the situation between Neo, Smith, Envy and the opportunity to call them gay and the fact I had coursework to do (yes, it was very childish of Neo to point it out, but he's immature at the worst of times, plus we hardly get to see Neo with such… exuberance. He's almost as ramrod straight as Roy and his rifle in the movies, so to show him with more flexibility is a task I enjoy whenever the opportunity arises).
Now, you'll have noticed we see more of Chase. Hopefully you'll have seen why Roy mistook Edward for him in Chapter 9 (Ed has spiky hair at this point, not for want of a new style, but because the pod has been holding out on him in the hair department, and besides, who wants sticky stuff in your locks?) At least we know something of Edward is growing! Am I right? Huh? I'll quit rambling from here, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same. I'll be glad when chapter 15 gets underway. But please do read and review all the same!
Ophelia Davis
I couldn't resist this here. There's a comic that I read daily (because it's updated that much) called Least I Could Do, which is written by Ryan Sohmer and drawn by Lar Desouza. It is such a funny comic, and looking back on it, I came upon this arc. It's about Rayne discovering that his friend Noel is in the pharmacy buying a pregnancy test for his wife (being that Rayne is an infamous womanizer, you can see how something like this would cause him distress). I know that, at this point, you must think I'm being really obsessive about the Matrix, but while I'm submersed in this crossover, I can't afford to be anything but! Besides, a fiction about the Matrix deserves Matrix related things.
Here is the strip in question: comic/20100326
You can probably tell, but the guy with black hair is Rayne, while the other bottoming out (so to speak) is Noel. There's nothing stopping you reading the storyline from there, or even going to the very beginning and getting into it. The art is very crap at the beginning (black and white!) but that's because the first artist was Trevor Adams. Then it escalated to colour with the same guy. The art then got slightly better (slightly!) with Chad WM Porter, until finally it came into the hands of Lar Desouza and developed on from there into the style we know and love!
It's definitely worth checking out. But even though it'll take you a while to get completely up to speed (it started in 2003, and it's one strip a day!) it is definitely worth it. I will say though, for all its sexual innuendo I'll have to distress an age limit. You'll have to be at least 13 years old and have enough maturity not to spread it around childishly so that it gets blocked on your computer by your parents. A private laugh though is A OK. Heck, maybe your friends will like it too! I wouldn't blame them.
And that's not the only reference to the Matrix in there; there are a lot dotted around, but that for me is the most prominent.
I could go on, but I won't.
Thanks once again for reading.
/tmp/uploads/FF_1442475_ 17of17 at 07:03:38 on23/06/2012 King Edward VII School