AN: Wow. Yet another new fic. This one came to me rather randomly, and as I began to scribble down ideas, they just kept coming. It's been brewing for awhile and here it finally is.
Hopefully, you're good faithful readers that have seen the Matrix. What?! You haven't?! Then go now and rent it and watch it. It's an AMAZING movie, my all time favorite after LotR.
This fic begins before Neo was found. How much earlier depends on what you want the pairing to be. Is this crowd full of faithful Neo/Trinity SHIPers? Should I go with a pairing from one of the numerous other crossovers that will find their way into this fic? (i.e. Gundam Wing, some DBZ, probably Harry Potter and/or Card Captor Sakura, and others that might be randomly mentioned). We shall see...
I own absolutely nothing but the ideas from my own head. "..." is talking, '...' is thought, [...] is AN, (...) is extra info but part of the fic, ... means trailed off, -- means interrupted.
Now let me work my magic and set you free! ::smiles mysteriously:: Enjoy.
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Who am I? If only it were that simple.
I have many names, names of the past, present, and future. Some are lost amid the endless streams of Time while others still lie in wait somewhere around the turn in this endless tunnel maze of Life.
Some rejoice and call me the Light and Hope, the one who can free all people from this make-believe universe. Others shun me as the Darkest of Evils, naming me foul things for fear of the power I possess.
Who are you to choose? Is there really only one side to the looking glass? On which side do you stand? Will *you* follow the rabbit down whatever strange hole he leads you?
But if I am to save the world, the true question remains unanswered:
Who will save me?
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The soft summer rain traced watery rivulets down the clean glass of Usagi Tsukino's open window. Inside the pink cheery room, a teenaged girl with long golden locks in twin odangoes was amusing herself by reading the latest manga on her bed.
There was a soft sound at her open window, attracting Usagi's attention. She sat up and stared at the newcomer sitting outside her window... who gazed back with amber orbs and answered with a "meow".
Without waiting for an invitation, the black cat leapt from the branch outside the window to Usagi's windowsill and hopped to the floor. Usagi gazed at the cat compassionately-- the poor animal looked poorly fed and was soaking wet from the rain.
"Hold on a minute, kitty," said Usagi as she hopped up and ran out of her room. She returned with a bowl of milk and an arm full of towels. She placed the bowl before the cat, who immediately began to lap it up with her tongue. Then Usagi bent down and began to rub the feline dry.
"What's this?" asked Usagi as she reached its forehead. A wet Band-Aid loosely clung to the fur above the cat's eyes. The feline made a motion with its paw, as if to scratch the covering away. Carefully, Usagi tugged at the Band-Aid and pulled it off.
A brilliant light shot forth from the cat's forehead and briefly filled the room. Usagi jumped back in surprise, letting out a slight squeal of shock. She later insisted that it must have been her imagination, but as the light shot forth she could have sworn that the walls rippled.
"A glitch," said a voice.
Usagi spun around in shock and prepared to defend herself if necessary. She nervously glanced around for the body of the voice of unknown origins. She was relieved to find that the room's only other occupant was strange cat, who was currently grooming herself.
Usagi crept closer. The weird light had cleared but a mark remained on the cat's forehead. She peered closer. Was it just a patch of skin? Or was it, as she suspected...
"A crescent moon," said the cat suddenly, looking directly at her. Usagi yelped and fell over in shock.
"You... you talk?!" she cried fearfully as she covered her head with her hands while staring at the creature.
The cat continued grooming herself. "Well yes," she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "My name is Luna."
Usagi let her hands fall slightly. "Um, Luna," began Usagi, not sure how to speak to a talking cat. "How- how can you... talk? And what was that light?"
Luna finished grooming. "I have always possessed the gift of speech. I am one of the few remaining cats of a once great species-- but that is a story for another day. Demo, what you have seen and heard is due to magic. Yes, magic," she repeated, seeing Usagi's surprised but delighted expression at the fairytale characteristic. Luna frowned. "No, it is a very serious matter. Something that the scientific 'experts' refused to acknowledge. Something the Matrix thus does not know how to combat. And our key weapon for the future."
Usagi looked completely confused. Luna continued. "The real world is not the world you have known, Usagi Tsukino." (Usa looked shocked that the cat knew her name.) "You are reaching a fork in the road. Forward lies an illusion that appears straight and clear. In the other direction lies a dirt road, paved with mud and pebbles. This road is twisting and difficult, but it is real. And if the obstacles and impasses and catch-22s are all overcome, this road ends in life. While this illusion in which you currently live will end in the death of you."
Luna stared at her with her penetrating amber orbs, stern and completely serious. "If They knew the power you possess, Usagi Tsukino, you would be exterminated immediately."
Usagi gulped. "Why me?" she mumbled, hugging her knees in terror.
Luna sternly walked closer to her. "I have been observing you for some time now, Usagi Tsukino, and I believe that you are the One."
"The One?" echoed Usagi, lost again.
"Hai. The One who will free us from the Matrix."
"The Matrix? What is the Matrix?"
Luna's eyes glimmered hauntingly. "That is the hacker's eternal question. A question and a mystery it remains, until it is experienced. You must see it to believe it."
She glanced around nervously. "Time is short and I have already said too much. There are many things to explain, but here is not the place to do it. You must chose now, Usagi Tsukino. Remain as a slave of the Matrix, a ditzy teenager who may well soon be discovered and disposed of. Or come with me now to a new and dangerous life, a hard life far different from anything you have experienced, and be the redeemer to the world."
Usagi gulped. "I..."
There was a sudden knock on her door. "Choose!" hissed Luna sharply as her back arched and her fur rose.
"Life!" cried Usagi desperately. "I choose life!"
Luna looked relieved as she did a quick flip in the air. A crystal fell to the ground, which Usagi picked up.
The knocking became pounding, and a male voice accompanied it. "Open up in there!" he commanded harshly. In her panic, Usagi could not identify if the voice was her father's, brother's, or a dangerous stranger's.
Luna hissed sharply. "They were closer on my trail then I expected!" She scampered towards the window and onto the branch. "Say Moon Prism Make-up!" she directed Usagi as she disappeared down the tree. [AN: She can climb down in my fic. :P ] "Good luck!"
"Moon . . . Prism . . . Make-up!" repeated Usagi as she held the crystal aloft. A white light engulfed her and she knew no more.
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AN: The next step toward freedom is by pushing the little button at the bottom of the screen. Forget red and blue pills! If enough people push that little button, Calli-chan will be back sooner with the next chapter and freedom from Agent Smelrond! Mwhahaha!!! (And remember to add input about the pairing!)
Ja!
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