Notes: Someone said that the two Heathers was kinda confusing. Actually, Heather Morgan and Heather Cares, save the last names, are ireal/i people. Honestly. You don't have to worry about that anymore, though, because other than the occasional name-calling by agents, these two will only go by Pheonix and Saber.
As for another issue, it was noted that some scenes were kinda ripped off the movie. Yes, I realise the mouth-sealing scene is taken almost idirectly/i off the movie, but that's only because we were trying to show that Pheonix and Saber do have the talent to reprogram agents, though they didn't even know it themselves.
Anyway, enough notes, so onto the story!
Welcome to the Real World
Chapter 2: Out of Danger?
Neo slammed the car door, and tossed the keys to Saber. "You probably won't need those ever again, but since they're yours..."
Saber neatly caught the keys, and pocketed them. "Thanks."
Golden haired Pheonix slammed her door behind her, and stared up at the building looming up in front of them. "This is the rendezvous point?" She asked.
Neo nodded. "Yeah. C'mon inside. Morpheus is waiting."
***
The two girls peered around Neo's shoulder into the darkened room in front of them, seeing a tall, black man sitting in a red leather armchair in the centre of the room. What little light there was reflected on his bald head and off his mirrored glasses. Seeing them, he motioned towards the two chairs, identical to his, in front of him. "Have a seat," he said in a calm, even, controlled voice.
Pheonix slowly lowered herself into one of the chairs, and Saber sprawled in the other. A moment later, though, Saber was up again, never able to stand still. At last she settled standing up behind Pheonix's chair, arm leaning against the back of her seat.
Morpheus watched her actions with a raised eyebrow, then said, "So, you're the two the agents captured, correct?"
Saber nodded. "That's us."
"And the two that modified the agent's programs?"
Pheonix ran her fingers through her long hair. "If that's what we had to do to seal their traps, then I guess so."
Morpheus noted the response with a quick nod of his head. "And the two that walked through walls?"
Saber shuddered, barely perceptibly. "Yes."
"And started deleting things in the Matrix?"
Pheonix pointed at Saber. "Don't look at me! She did it."
Saber shrugged. "Yeah, that was us."
A slow smile spread across Morpheus's face, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Very good. You've managed alot in a few hours."
Saber shrugged again. "I suppose so."
Morpheus nodded. "I don't suppose I have to give you my carefully prepared speech about the Matrix being like the rabbit hole?"
"And we're Alice," Pheonix said with a slight grin, leaning forward in her seat. "I don't think you do."
"Well, then," Morpheus opened a small pill box, and held out two red pills, and two blue ones. "Which will it be?"
Saber and Pheonix looked at the pills warily, then Pheonix rested her forehead on her hand for a moment. Then she lifted her eyes, and said, with infinite calm, "With all due respect, sir, I think we want the truth."
Morpheus nodded, and the girls calmly took the red pills. Saber swallowed hers easily, without any water, but Pheonix reached for the glass on the small sidetable before proceeding to down the pill. She swallowed with difficulty, then cleared her throat. "Those things won't have any side effects, will they?"
Morhpeus shrugged lightly. "We've never had a chance to conduct a study."
Then he rose, and headed towards the door at the back of the room. The girls followed, and gaped at the room they saw. Neo, Trinity, and a young kid they didn't recognise sat at computer screens, and what looked like a barber chair sat in the centre of the room.
Morpheus jerked his head towards the chair, and said calmly, "Saber, you're first."
Saber sat down gingerly on the chair, and locked her eyes shut as those around her prepared everything for her to 'leave'. At last, she pried her eyes open, and looked at the mirror beside her. She gingerly stuck her hand in, and shivered as she yanked it out. That thing was icold/i!
Then she paused, remembering how in the movie, the metal like stuff had moved upwards on Neo's arm until he was engulfed. Sure enough, the silver stuff was moving up her arm, and she could feel her arm going completely numb. Besides that, she could also feel the slightest of tugs at her arm, and realised she was being sucked iinto/i the mirror!
She delayed it as long as she could, until she heard Trinity say, "We've got a lock!" Then she let go.
***
Pheonix couldn't help but gape at the chair where Saber had been sitting a moment before. That was idefinently/i the strangest thing she'd ever seen!
Morpheus, however, acted as though people got sucked into mirrors all the time. "You're next," he said to Pheonix.
She settled herself into the chair, and like Saber, kept her eyes closed as she steeled herself. Then, just when she was thinking it was safe to open her eyes, she heard Neo yell, "The agent's have found us! We need to get her through now!"
"Have you got that link on me?" Pheonix asked feircely, not caring for once what they thought.
"Yes," She heard Trinity say.
"Then meet you on the other side!" Pheonix cried, and threw herself into the mirror.
***
She sucked in a gasp of air as her eyes opened, but she fought the urge to yank the tube out of her throat and flail in the liquid she floated in. She had no idea why, but somehow, she knew that she had to conserve her energy. So instead, she took a deep breathe, and eased the tube out of her throat. Then, she wiped the fluid out of her eyes, and looked around in bewilderment. Everything was so iblurry/i.
Then she spotted a mechanical creature, one that she thought she should recognise. It was moving along the rows of red capsules, and stopped in front of one. She squinted, and saw a woman in that one, a woman with her fingers locked on the base of a cable that erupted from the base of her skull.
Bewildered, she reached her own fingers to the base of her skull, and felt a chill go through her when she felt a metal plate on her neck. Sqinting again, she saw the woman strain her arms, then suddenly the cable lay limp in the woman's hands. The woman fell back, as though exhausted, and she winced as she saw cables suddenly go flying off the woman's body. Then there was the sound of rushing water, and the woman disappeared.
Then the mechanical spider turned it's head towards her, and she watched the creature come towards her.
From somewhere deep in her subconcious, her first coherent thought rose to the surface, '...I will not give them the satisfaction of disconnecting me...' and she knew suddenly what to do. Reaching up to the cable that emerged from her neck, she wrapped her stiff fingers around the base, twisted, and then pulled.
An agony like she'd never felt shot through her back, and it felt like her limbs were on fire. She paused for a moment, trying to steady herself. The air, however, wasn't helping-it was thick, and polluted. If anything, it seemed to make things worse. Then, gathering all her remaining strength, she ripped the rest of the cables on her arms, legs, and torso out of their sockets. That hurt almost as much as the other had, but now she was ifree/i.
The spider reached her, and cocked a mechanical head at her, as though trying to realise why she was no longer connected, at all. Then, almost negligently, it turned away, and she felt the bottom of the chamber she was in drop out from beneath her.
She fell with the cascade of pinkish red fluid, and hit, with a tremendous splash, a whole pool of the fluid. She fought to keep to the surface, gasping in great gulps of air, and thinking that she should know how to swim, but her arms refused to co operate. Then, a huge clawlike arm caught her, and raised her out of the water. She was too weak to struggle, and lay limp as she saw the bright eye of light above her. She was raised into it, then suddenly, there were people around her, loud and bright. Someone wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and she found herself staring at a dark man with brilliant white teeth. The last thing she heard before she fainted was his words: "Welcome to the real world, Pheonix."
***
Saber opened her eyes slowly. The room was too bright, too loud, and a rather foul scent reached her nose. She looked around, finding that she was so weak, her head barely would roll. To her right, several people stood, talking quietly, and to her left, she could see another woman, laying on a bed, needles covering her body like a porcupine.
Then she heard movement beside her, and she turned to see Morpeus, smiling at her. "You should be sleeping," he said, his smile not fading. "You're very weak."
Saber shook her head, and spoke, though her voice sounded rusty and unused, like she'd never talked in her life. And she hadn't, she realised. "Not until you answer a few questions. First, where am I? Second, what am I doing here? Third, when can I leave? Fourth, what are you doing to me? And fifth, is this the part where the good-looking guy walks up?"
At that moment, Neo walked up beside Morpheus and smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"
Saber sighed, and closed her eyes. "Much better now, thanks." Then, without waiting for the answers to any of her questions, she faded back into sleep.
***
When Pheonix opened her eyes for the first time since her emergence into the real world, she found herself lying on a semi-soft bed, a blanket over her. She sat up quickly, and looked around, breathing hard. Despite the fact that everything was extremely blurry, she could see that the room was very simple, with no mirrors, windows, or anthing except a couple of hooks on the wall, and her bed. She sighed, and ran her hand over her head.
Then she stopped, and repeated the action. Her expression grew horrified as she discovered that her hair was only an inch and a half long. "Ahh!" She cried. "My hair! What happened to my hair!"
She threw the blanket off herself, and stopped as she realised what she was wearing. She wore a rough brown sweater, ripped and worn. She wore a semi-white tanktop underneath, pale blue pants, like the type worn in hospitals, and a clunky pair of boots a couple sizes too large. She shoved the sleeves back off her hands, lept out of bed, and yanked the door open. She emerged into a quiet, empty corridor, and looked up and down the hall. "Hello?" She called tentively, surprised at how rough her voice sounded.
Her voice echoed up and down the hall, and a young boy's face suddenly appeared around a corner. "Hey!" He said with a grin. "You're up!"
The head came towards her, carried on the skinny body of a 12 year old kid. He stopped just feet away from her, and stuck out a hand. "Hi! I'm Viper. You're Pheonix, right? I really liked your work. You hacked with such style, such panache."
Pheonix's jaw dropped. "iViper/i?!? The ihacker/i?!? You're a little kid?!?"
He frowned slightly. "I'm not little. I'm 12. Besides, you're only 16. You're hardly one to talk."
"But, but, I have a brother who's almost 12! I wouldn't have ithought/i about taking him out of the Matrix!"
Viper shrugged, and grinned again. "Then it's a good thing for me that your not Morpheus, ain't it?" He lauhed, and jerked his head towards the door he'd just entered through. "I'm suppossed to bring you to see Morpheus. I'd better do so, or somebody'll have my head."
Pheonix followed him as he led her down another, smaller side corridor. "Are you the...youngest member aboard?"
Viper nodded. "Yep. In fact, I'm the closest one to your age, too." He looked over his shoulder and grinned at her.
Pheonix shook her head sharply. "Sorry, kiddo. I don't go for guys over a year younger than me. Sorry."
He shrugged. "Whatever." Then he opened a door, and led Pheonix into the hub of activity on board.
Morpheus turned from a computer screen to smile at Pheonix. "So Viper found you, Pheonix. Good. I trust you feel rested?"
Pheonix shrugged. "More than I have in a long time, anyway. Is...Saber up?"
Morpheus shook his head. "She's been in the Matrix for alot longer than you have. She has alot more damage to repair. She'll probably be joining us sometime in the next few days. While your up, though, you can meet the other crew members."
Three other people turned to look at Pheonix, and Morpheus was just opening his mouth to speak when the door swung open, and a dishevelled woman with an auburn brushcut stood in the doorway, breathless. "Don't start the introductions without me," she gasped.
"Saber?!?" Pheonix gasped. "What are you doing up so early? Morpheus said..."
Saber shrugged. "Maybe I'm a little tougher than you thought, Morpheus."
Morpheus raised an eyebrow. "You should still be asleep," he said calmly, looking at her in an old woolen sweather, clunky boots, and tan pants. "You aren't fully recovered."
Saber snorted. "For Pete's sake, I haven't felt this good in years. Of course I'm fully recovered. Now, you were going to introduce the other crew members? I'm anxious to meet them."
Morpheus drew a deep breathe. "Of course. Now, you know Neo..."
Neo grinned, and nodded. "Pleased to officially meet you two."
"And Trinity," Morpheus continued.
The woman, tall, stately, with short, black hair just nodded.
"And this is Tank. He's our communications controller."
A black man with a wide, open smile grinned and shook their hands. "Pleased 'ta meet ya'," he said in a cheery voice.
"And this is the newest addition to the crew of the Nebucednezzer, child prodigy Viper."
Viper grinned at the girls, and Saber's eyebrows shot skyward. "Little young for this kind of business, ain't ya', kid?"
"Actually," Viper said in a superior voice, "In the case of the Matrix, it is more beneficial for those involved to be young, as their minds are more ready to adjust." He sounded like he was reciting a quote put to memory. "Therefore, no, I am not a 'little young for this kind of business'."
Pheonix snickered. "Well there you go, Saber."
"That comment was, in part, also aimed at you," Viper added suddenly, glaring at Pheonix. "No, I am not 'a little kid'."
Morpheus smiled slightly. "Besides that, he's good. Very good."
Saber shrugged. "Hey, who am I to stand in the way of progress?"
Morpheus just nodded. "Now, it's getting late, and you must be hungry. Let's go get something to eat."
Saber grinned. "Eat? Yes!"
Pheonix laughed. "Apparently reality shock hasn't reduced your appetite any, Saber."
"Of course not. Why would it?"
Morpheus led them down a hallway, until they reached a dimly lit room with several tables in it. Morpheus walked over to the counter, and returned a moment later with a tray, carrying several bowls. "Here," he smiled, handing a bowl to both Saber and Pheonix. "Eat."
Saber looked at the bowl with suspicion. "What is it?"
"Food," Viper said calmly. "Or so he says. If you ask me, it's more like dinosaur boogers."
Pheonix gave him an odd look. "And that's iexactly/i why I wouldn't have taken anyone that young out of the Matrix. They can't take ianything/i seriously."
Viper shrugged. "Actually, joking about things helps me cope. You should really try it."
Saber shuddered. "I'll-ah-keep that in mind. As it is, I think I'll just pass supper this time."
"I wouldn't advise it," Tank said lightly, sitting down, carrying a bowl. "This is all we ever eat."
"Seriously?" Saber asked trepidly, wrinkling her nose.
Morpheus shrugged. "Didn't you hear Mouse saying it reminded him of Tasty Wheat? Think of it as that."
Pheonix wrinkled her nose. "I never liked Tasty Wheat," she said slowly.
Morpheus shrugged again. "Neither did I. You get used to it, though."
Saber groaned, but pinched her nose and began to shovel the gloop into her mouth. At last, her bowl was empty, and she sat back, looking rather green. "That stuff is worse than spinach," she groaned.
Morpheus smiled slightly. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, you'd better get some rest. You start training tommorrow."
Pheonix looked up in surprise. "Why not now?"
Trinity raised an eyebrow. "I think you'd rather get some rest first."
Saber snorted. "We've been resting for-how long? A couple of weeks? I hardly think we need any more."
Morpheus surveyed them with a bemused expression. "If you really want to,"
Saber shrugged. "All we gotta do is get hooked up to a machine and get programs loaded into our brains. How hard can that be?"
***
Several hours later, Pheonix groaned lightly as she emerged from the Matrix. "Apparently, Saber, it was a good deal harder than just downloading programs into our brains."
Morpheus grinned at her. "So. What'd you learn?"
Pheonix suddenly grinned. "I know Kung Fu!"
He smiled vaugely. "That's nice."
"I can show you," Pheonix offered, her grin getting wider.
Morpheus paused, and looked at the teenager. "I suppose you iwant/i to?"
"Yes," Pheonix grinned.
Morpheus sighed. "Alright, then. Show me."
***
Morpheus was the one groaning twenty minutes later, as Pheonix raced across the celing and slammed in another surprise attack. "Do you have to do that?" He demanded.
"Why not?" Pheonix asked, actually standing on the celing. "I can bend the rules, can't I?"
"Standing on the celing is not bending the rules, it's breaking them."
"No," Pheonix protested. "I've just moved gravity to up here, for me. It's quite simple, really. You ought to try it."
At that moment, Saber walked into the room in which they were fighting, and asked, "Where's Pheonix?"
"Up here," Pheonix called.
Saber raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
"Very," Morpheus growled, and suddenly the three of them found themselves on a city roof. "Now, let's see how well you do on this. Jump." With that, he turned, jumped, and landed on a building's roof at least 40 feet away.
Saber and Pheonix just looked at each other. "Ahh...you first." Pheonix said, pointing at the other building, where Morpheus waited, arms crossed.
"OK," Saber said equally slowly, took a deep breathe, and jumped.
She would have made it across perfectly, had she not looked down half-way through her jump, saw how high she really was, and faltered. She managed to catch hold of the edge of the roof, and slammed into the wall. Both Morpheus and Pheonix winced, but Saber managed to pull herself up alright. "Ouch," she said weakly.
Pheonix backed up until she reached the other side of the roof on which she stood. Then she bent forward, and ran. Just as she was about to leap, her foot caught the edge of the roof, and fell, hitting the ground far below.
Morpheus and Saber looked at each other, and simultaniously said, "Oops."
***
"Relax," Trinity said with the slightest of smiles. "No one ever makes the first jump."
"Thanks," Pheonix said sarcastically. "That makes my lower spine feel iso/i much better."
Tank laughed, and clapped her on the shoulder, making her wince in pain. "Methinks maybe you should get some rest after all, Firebird."
"Sure," Pheonix sighed, and slowly limped towards her room. "I just hope nobody minds if I don't move for a few days."
********
That's it for Part 2! Please Read and Review!
As for another issue, it was noted that some scenes were kinda ripped off the movie. Yes, I realise the mouth-sealing scene is taken almost idirectly/i off the movie, but that's only because we were trying to show that Pheonix and Saber do have the talent to reprogram agents, though they didn't even know it themselves.
Anyway, enough notes, so onto the story!
Welcome to the Real World
Chapter 2: Out of Danger?
Neo slammed the car door, and tossed the keys to Saber. "You probably won't need those ever again, but since they're yours..."
Saber neatly caught the keys, and pocketed them. "Thanks."
Golden haired Pheonix slammed her door behind her, and stared up at the building looming up in front of them. "This is the rendezvous point?" She asked.
Neo nodded. "Yeah. C'mon inside. Morpheus is waiting."
***
The two girls peered around Neo's shoulder into the darkened room in front of them, seeing a tall, black man sitting in a red leather armchair in the centre of the room. What little light there was reflected on his bald head and off his mirrored glasses. Seeing them, he motioned towards the two chairs, identical to his, in front of him. "Have a seat," he said in a calm, even, controlled voice.
Pheonix slowly lowered herself into one of the chairs, and Saber sprawled in the other. A moment later, though, Saber was up again, never able to stand still. At last she settled standing up behind Pheonix's chair, arm leaning against the back of her seat.
Morpheus watched her actions with a raised eyebrow, then said, "So, you're the two the agents captured, correct?"
Saber nodded. "That's us."
"And the two that modified the agent's programs?"
Pheonix ran her fingers through her long hair. "If that's what we had to do to seal their traps, then I guess so."
Morpheus noted the response with a quick nod of his head. "And the two that walked through walls?"
Saber shuddered, barely perceptibly. "Yes."
"And started deleting things in the Matrix?"
Pheonix pointed at Saber. "Don't look at me! She did it."
Saber shrugged. "Yeah, that was us."
A slow smile spread across Morpheus's face, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Very good. You've managed alot in a few hours."
Saber shrugged again. "I suppose so."
Morpheus nodded. "I don't suppose I have to give you my carefully prepared speech about the Matrix being like the rabbit hole?"
"And we're Alice," Pheonix said with a slight grin, leaning forward in her seat. "I don't think you do."
"Well, then," Morpheus opened a small pill box, and held out two red pills, and two blue ones. "Which will it be?"
Saber and Pheonix looked at the pills warily, then Pheonix rested her forehead on her hand for a moment. Then she lifted her eyes, and said, with infinite calm, "With all due respect, sir, I think we want the truth."
Morpheus nodded, and the girls calmly took the red pills. Saber swallowed hers easily, without any water, but Pheonix reached for the glass on the small sidetable before proceeding to down the pill. She swallowed with difficulty, then cleared her throat. "Those things won't have any side effects, will they?"
Morhpeus shrugged lightly. "We've never had a chance to conduct a study."
Then he rose, and headed towards the door at the back of the room. The girls followed, and gaped at the room they saw. Neo, Trinity, and a young kid they didn't recognise sat at computer screens, and what looked like a barber chair sat in the centre of the room.
Morpheus jerked his head towards the chair, and said calmly, "Saber, you're first."
Saber sat down gingerly on the chair, and locked her eyes shut as those around her prepared everything for her to 'leave'. At last, she pried her eyes open, and looked at the mirror beside her. She gingerly stuck her hand in, and shivered as she yanked it out. That thing was icold/i!
Then she paused, remembering how in the movie, the metal like stuff had moved upwards on Neo's arm until he was engulfed. Sure enough, the silver stuff was moving up her arm, and she could feel her arm going completely numb. Besides that, she could also feel the slightest of tugs at her arm, and realised she was being sucked iinto/i the mirror!
She delayed it as long as she could, until she heard Trinity say, "We've got a lock!" Then she let go.
***
Pheonix couldn't help but gape at the chair where Saber had been sitting a moment before. That was idefinently/i the strangest thing she'd ever seen!
Morpheus, however, acted as though people got sucked into mirrors all the time. "You're next," he said to Pheonix.
She settled herself into the chair, and like Saber, kept her eyes closed as she steeled herself. Then, just when she was thinking it was safe to open her eyes, she heard Neo yell, "The agent's have found us! We need to get her through now!"
"Have you got that link on me?" Pheonix asked feircely, not caring for once what they thought.
"Yes," She heard Trinity say.
"Then meet you on the other side!" Pheonix cried, and threw herself into the mirror.
***
She sucked in a gasp of air as her eyes opened, but she fought the urge to yank the tube out of her throat and flail in the liquid she floated in. She had no idea why, but somehow, she knew that she had to conserve her energy. So instead, she took a deep breathe, and eased the tube out of her throat. Then, she wiped the fluid out of her eyes, and looked around in bewilderment. Everything was so iblurry/i.
Then she spotted a mechanical creature, one that she thought she should recognise. It was moving along the rows of red capsules, and stopped in front of one. She squinted, and saw a woman in that one, a woman with her fingers locked on the base of a cable that erupted from the base of her skull.
Bewildered, she reached her own fingers to the base of her skull, and felt a chill go through her when she felt a metal plate on her neck. Sqinting again, she saw the woman strain her arms, then suddenly the cable lay limp in the woman's hands. The woman fell back, as though exhausted, and she winced as she saw cables suddenly go flying off the woman's body. Then there was the sound of rushing water, and the woman disappeared.
Then the mechanical spider turned it's head towards her, and she watched the creature come towards her.
From somewhere deep in her subconcious, her first coherent thought rose to the surface, '...I will not give them the satisfaction of disconnecting me...' and she knew suddenly what to do. Reaching up to the cable that emerged from her neck, she wrapped her stiff fingers around the base, twisted, and then pulled.
An agony like she'd never felt shot through her back, and it felt like her limbs were on fire. She paused for a moment, trying to steady herself. The air, however, wasn't helping-it was thick, and polluted. If anything, it seemed to make things worse. Then, gathering all her remaining strength, she ripped the rest of the cables on her arms, legs, and torso out of their sockets. That hurt almost as much as the other had, but now she was ifree/i.
The spider reached her, and cocked a mechanical head at her, as though trying to realise why she was no longer connected, at all. Then, almost negligently, it turned away, and she felt the bottom of the chamber she was in drop out from beneath her.
She fell with the cascade of pinkish red fluid, and hit, with a tremendous splash, a whole pool of the fluid. She fought to keep to the surface, gasping in great gulps of air, and thinking that she should know how to swim, but her arms refused to co operate. Then, a huge clawlike arm caught her, and raised her out of the water. She was too weak to struggle, and lay limp as she saw the bright eye of light above her. She was raised into it, then suddenly, there were people around her, loud and bright. Someone wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and she found herself staring at a dark man with brilliant white teeth. The last thing she heard before she fainted was his words: "Welcome to the real world, Pheonix."
***
Saber opened her eyes slowly. The room was too bright, too loud, and a rather foul scent reached her nose. She looked around, finding that she was so weak, her head barely would roll. To her right, several people stood, talking quietly, and to her left, she could see another woman, laying on a bed, needles covering her body like a porcupine.
Then she heard movement beside her, and she turned to see Morpeus, smiling at her. "You should be sleeping," he said, his smile not fading. "You're very weak."
Saber shook her head, and spoke, though her voice sounded rusty and unused, like she'd never talked in her life. And she hadn't, she realised. "Not until you answer a few questions. First, where am I? Second, what am I doing here? Third, when can I leave? Fourth, what are you doing to me? And fifth, is this the part where the good-looking guy walks up?"
At that moment, Neo walked up beside Morpheus and smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"
Saber sighed, and closed her eyes. "Much better now, thanks." Then, without waiting for the answers to any of her questions, she faded back into sleep.
***
When Pheonix opened her eyes for the first time since her emergence into the real world, she found herself lying on a semi-soft bed, a blanket over her. She sat up quickly, and looked around, breathing hard. Despite the fact that everything was extremely blurry, she could see that the room was very simple, with no mirrors, windows, or anthing except a couple of hooks on the wall, and her bed. She sighed, and ran her hand over her head.
Then she stopped, and repeated the action. Her expression grew horrified as she discovered that her hair was only an inch and a half long. "Ahh!" She cried. "My hair! What happened to my hair!"
She threw the blanket off herself, and stopped as she realised what she was wearing. She wore a rough brown sweater, ripped and worn. She wore a semi-white tanktop underneath, pale blue pants, like the type worn in hospitals, and a clunky pair of boots a couple sizes too large. She shoved the sleeves back off her hands, lept out of bed, and yanked the door open. She emerged into a quiet, empty corridor, and looked up and down the hall. "Hello?" She called tentively, surprised at how rough her voice sounded.
Her voice echoed up and down the hall, and a young boy's face suddenly appeared around a corner. "Hey!" He said with a grin. "You're up!"
The head came towards her, carried on the skinny body of a 12 year old kid. He stopped just feet away from her, and stuck out a hand. "Hi! I'm Viper. You're Pheonix, right? I really liked your work. You hacked with such style, such panache."
Pheonix's jaw dropped. "iViper/i?!? The ihacker/i?!? You're a little kid?!?"
He frowned slightly. "I'm not little. I'm 12. Besides, you're only 16. You're hardly one to talk."
"But, but, I have a brother who's almost 12! I wouldn't have ithought/i about taking him out of the Matrix!"
Viper shrugged, and grinned again. "Then it's a good thing for me that your not Morpheus, ain't it?" He lauhed, and jerked his head towards the door he'd just entered through. "I'm suppossed to bring you to see Morpheus. I'd better do so, or somebody'll have my head."
Pheonix followed him as he led her down another, smaller side corridor. "Are you the...youngest member aboard?"
Viper nodded. "Yep. In fact, I'm the closest one to your age, too." He looked over his shoulder and grinned at her.
Pheonix shook her head sharply. "Sorry, kiddo. I don't go for guys over a year younger than me. Sorry."
He shrugged. "Whatever." Then he opened a door, and led Pheonix into the hub of activity on board.
Morpheus turned from a computer screen to smile at Pheonix. "So Viper found you, Pheonix. Good. I trust you feel rested?"
Pheonix shrugged. "More than I have in a long time, anyway. Is...Saber up?"
Morpheus shook his head. "She's been in the Matrix for alot longer than you have. She has alot more damage to repair. She'll probably be joining us sometime in the next few days. While your up, though, you can meet the other crew members."
Three other people turned to look at Pheonix, and Morpheus was just opening his mouth to speak when the door swung open, and a dishevelled woman with an auburn brushcut stood in the doorway, breathless. "Don't start the introductions without me," she gasped.
"Saber?!?" Pheonix gasped. "What are you doing up so early? Morpheus said..."
Saber shrugged. "Maybe I'm a little tougher than you thought, Morpheus."
Morpheus raised an eyebrow. "You should still be asleep," he said calmly, looking at her in an old woolen sweather, clunky boots, and tan pants. "You aren't fully recovered."
Saber snorted. "For Pete's sake, I haven't felt this good in years. Of course I'm fully recovered. Now, you were going to introduce the other crew members? I'm anxious to meet them."
Morpheus drew a deep breathe. "Of course. Now, you know Neo..."
Neo grinned, and nodded. "Pleased to officially meet you two."
"And Trinity," Morpheus continued.
The woman, tall, stately, with short, black hair just nodded.
"And this is Tank. He's our communications controller."
A black man with a wide, open smile grinned and shook their hands. "Pleased 'ta meet ya'," he said in a cheery voice.
"And this is the newest addition to the crew of the Nebucednezzer, child prodigy Viper."
Viper grinned at the girls, and Saber's eyebrows shot skyward. "Little young for this kind of business, ain't ya', kid?"
"Actually," Viper said in a superior voice, "In the case of the Matrix, it is more beneficial for those involved to be young, as their minds are more ready to adjust." He sounded like he was reciting a quote put to memory. "Therefore, no, I am not a 'little young for this kind of business'."
Pheonix snickered. "Well there you go, Saber."
"That comment was, in part, also aimed at you," Viper added suddenly, glaring at Pheonix. "No, I am not 'a little kid'."
Morpheus smiled slightly. "Besides that, he's good. Very good."
Saber shrugged. "Hey, who am I to stand in the way of progress?"
Morpheus just nodded. "Now, it's getting late, and you must be hungry. Let's go get something to eat."
Saber grinned. "Eat? Yes!"
Pheonix laughed. "Apparently reality shock hasn't reduced your appetite any, Saber."
"Of course not. Why would it?"
Morpheus led them down a hallway, until they reached a dimly lit room with several tables in it. Morpheus walked over to the counter, and returned a moment later with a tray, carrying several bowls. "Here," he smiled, handing a bowl to both Saber and Pheonix. "Eat."
Saber looked at the bowl with suspicion. "What is it?"
"Food," Viper said calmly. "Or so he says. If you ask me, it's more like dinosaur boogers."
Pheonix gave him an odd look. "And that's iexactly/i why I wouldn't have taken anyone that young out of the Matrix. They can't take ianything/i seriously."
Viper shrugged. "Actually, joking about things helps me cope. You should really try it."
Saber shuddered. "I'll-ah-keep that in mind. As it is, I think I'll just pass supper this time."
"I wouldn't advise it," Tank said lightly, sitting down, carrying a bowl. "This is all we ever eat."
"Seriously?" Saber asked trepidly, wrinkling her nose.
Morpheus shrugged. "Didn't you hear Mouse saying it reminded him of Tasty Wheat? Think of it as that."
Pheonix wrinkled her nose. "I never liked Tasty Wheat," she said slowly.
Morpheus shrugged again. "Neither did I. You get used to it, though."
Saber groaned, but pinched her nose and began to shovel the gloop into her mouth. At last, her bowl was empty, and she sat back, looking rather green. "That stuff is worse than spinach," she groaned.
Morpheus smiled slightly. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, you'd better get some rest. You start training tommorrow."
Pheonix looked up in surprise. "Why not now?"
Trinity raised an eyebrow. "I think you'd rather get some rest first."
Saber snorted. "We've been resting for-how long? A couple of weeks? I hardly think we need any more."
Morpheus surveyed them with a bemused expression. "If you really want to,"
Saber shrugged. "All we gotta do is get hooked up to a machine and get programs loaded into our brains. How hard can that be?"
***
Several hours later, Pheonix groaned lightly as she emerged from the Matrix. "Apparently, Saber, it was a good deal harder than just downloading programs into our brains."
Morpheus grinned at her. "So. What'd you learn?"
Pheonix suddenly grinned. "I know Kung Fu!"
He smiled vaugely. "That's nice."
"I can show you," Pheonix offered, her grin getting wider.
Morpheus paused, and looked at the teenager. "I suppose you iwant/i to?"
"Yes," Pheonix grinned.
Morpheus sighed. "Alright, then. Show me."
***
Morpheus was the one groaning twenty minutes later, as Pheonix raced across the celing and slammed in another surprise attack. "Do you have to do that?" He demanded.
"Why not?" Pheonix asked, actually standing on the celing. "I can bend the rules, can't I?"
"Standing on the celing is not bending the rules, it's breaking them."
"No," Pheonix protested. "I've just moved gravity to up here, for me. It's quite simple, really. You ought to try it."
At that moment, Saber walked into the room in which they were fighting, and asked, "Where's Pheonix?"
"Up here," Pheonix called.
Saber raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
"Very," Morpheus growled, and suddenly the three of them found themselves on a city roof. "Now, let's see how well you do on this. Jump." With that, he turned, jumped, and landed on a building's roof at least 40 feet away.
Saber and Pheonix just looked at each other. "Ahh...you first." Pheonix said, pointing at the other building, where Morpheus waited, arms crossed.
"OK," Saber said equally slowly, took a deep breathe, and jumped.
She would have made it across perfectly, had she not looked down half-way through her jump, saw how high she really was, and faltered. She managed to catch hold of the edge of the roof, and slammed into the wall. Both Morpheus and Pheonix winced, but Saber managed to pull herself up alright. "Ouch," she said weakly.
Pheonix backed up until she reached the other side of the roof on which she stood. Then she bent forward, and ran. Just as she was about to leap, her foot caught the edge of the roof, and fell, hitting the ground far below.
Morpheus and Saber looked at each other, and simultaniously said, "Oops."
***
"Relax," Trinity said with the slightest of smiles. "No one ever makes the first jump."
"Thanks," Pheonix said sarcastically. "That makes my lower spine feel iso/i much better."
Tank laughed, and clapped her on the shoulder, making her wince in pain. "Methinks maybe you should get some rest after all, Firebird."
"Sure," Pheonix sighed, and slowly limped towards her room. "I just hope nobody minds if I don't move for a few days."
********
That's it for Part 2! Please Read and Review!