NOTICE: I do not own the following characters: Agent Smith, Agents Jones and Brown, Neo, or the location Zion. HOWEVER: I do own the characters Persis, Calyx, Priest, Aei, Seefa, Sol, Titus, Neso, Echo, Syenes, Syllis and the ships Antigone and Apollo.
12. Fallen.
Smith walked casually down the street, admiring the architecture, the intricate detail of the simulated world around him. He was strangely at ease. He hadn't been on his usual carnage run lately. He had run into other, new agents. Some he'd cloned into himself, some he hadn't. More often it was the latter. The same with unplugged humans. He'd stood back a few times and let other, less superior agents, he thought smugly, try to deal with them. More often he thought of Persis.
Persis. She had changed him. He could still taste her mouth on his, feel the smooth surface of her skin on his and hear her breath being drawn from her in low gasps. He could still feel her hands on his face, her palms on his shoulder blades. The texture of her hair as she flicked it out from under the collar of her trenchcoat. If he had done so with her before she had imprinted her emotion on his conscious the satisfaction would have been one sided. Now, it was different. He could recall every single event, every movement, and with these recollections came...feelings. He had found himself almost breathless one day just thinking of it. Want. Need. He wanted Persis now more than ever. He was no longer as disgusted with himself for making such intimate contact with a human as he had been originally -well, semi-human. Persis was still part of him. Yet Smith was beginning to like her human aspects as well, of late, though he had neglected to mention this to her.
His powers and fighting prowess had not dimmed as a result. Rather, he fought with greater readiness, challenging his opponents to new heights, crushing them with greater speed. None of them made him feel as alive as he had when he fought Persis. None of them except one, before her.
Thomas A. Anderson. Neo.
He grimaced at the thought of that human still travelling around the world, in and out of the Matrix on a whim. He would deal with him eventually. He had killed him once. He had watched him die. He could do the same again.
He ran over a conversation he'd had with Persis before she'd left the motel.
"Smith".
"Correct".
"Why haven't you killed me yet?"
Silence in a small room.
"I'm a rebel fighter, Smith, I'm still partly human-"
"Only partly."
"So that's the worst part of me as far as you're concerned?", the notion building anger in her normally calm voice.
"You must see that the agent aspects you have are part of what fascinates me".
"So you tolerate me in spite of my "human faults", then?"
He registers the growing volume in her voice as a display of temper. He didn't have an answer to that question, yet.
"Fuck you, Smith".
His reply to that harsh insult came in the form of an equally harsh kiss. Persis grew serious.
"Seriously. If I continued foiling the Mainframe's plans to wipe out humanity, would you kill me?"
He reached over to the chair on which hung his holster. He lifted the gun out and pointed it at her head as they lay facing each other. His other hand wavered but the trigger hand stayed rigid as the barrel sat level with her forehead.
"Quite readily, I can assure you".
"Cute, Smith, real cute", unafraid and unconvinced she closed her eyes.
He lowered the gun and replaced it in the holster, willing himself to refrain from apologising.
It seemed absurd when he thought of it, but he had to admit it was true. When they had occupied that motel room he had felt free, if only for a little while. In Persis he forgot the oppression of the Matrix, his hatred for every moment he spent in it. In Persis he had discovered new territories, a place where he could rest, pause without the ever burgeoning desire to escape. Persis had given him the opportunity to find out the extent of his emotional abilities. He had discovered what fulfilling a want felt like. She had given him solace. She had given him an answer.
And he had given her purpose. Purpose, and a closeness he had never shared or wanted to share with anyone or anything else before.
A simple, but extremely beneficial exchange, Smith mused. He looked forward to their next meeting. Absentmindedly he ran his hand over the top of a low mesh fence and stopped suddenly. From the centre of his palm oozed, thick and dark, a firm drop of blood-simulated, yes, but still blood, which travelled slowly down to his wrist. Slight pain. In silent shock the agent studied the wound and wondered how much Persis was beginning to affect him. He had never bled before. And it was such a small scratch. Was this what being human was like? Experiencing pain at the slightest wound and scarring at the first cut?
* * * * * * *
Persis heard the clang of the door first. Then a burning sensation in her scalp and a thud as she hit the floor.
Sol dragged her by the hair on the main deck and to the chair. Pushing her into it, he called for the rest of the crew.
Titus appeared from the upper deck. Neso came round the corner, a glass of water in his hand. He put it down on the floor on seeing Persis struggling with Sol's grasp on her hair. Her eyes were watering from the pain.
Sol seemed distracted by them. He released her hair from his fist and stared at her in mingled surprise and horror.
"Why are your eyes blue?", he growled.
Persis turned away. So the changes were apparent in the real world, too. Soon the rest of the crew appeared; Echo, Syenes, Syllis and the others.
"Neso-set up the signal, we're going in!" Sol boomed.
Unwillingly, Neso sat down at his station and began to do his job.
"Titus, set Captain Persis up-she's going in-while you're at it, you can clamp me in too. I'm joining her".
Titus paused for a second too long.
"GODDAMMIT TITUS WHOSE SHIP DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ON??"
Persis silently nodded her assent; a look of resignation on her face. Reluctantly, Titus got the monitors ready.
Sol settled back in the seat. Now, he thought, now they'll see what Persis will do to see her agent.
Whirr. Whirr. This time the sound of the computers only set Persis on edge.
She opened her eyes. She stood on top of a skyscraper. A boisterous wind buffeted her coat, its tail ends flapping against her legs. Sol stood some feet away from her like a malevolent demon, watching her every move.
Persis sighed,"Sol, this is pointless and useless. What are you going to prove?"
Sol remained moodily silent.
In a flash, Persis leapt the height of three storeys and landed on the office block opposite Sol. She scanned the horizon as she always did. She could feel Smith approaching the building with every passing second. She had to get out of the Matrix. But that would be impossible as long as Sol remained with her.
Smith took the lift. On reaching the top floor, he opened the hatch door to come onto the roof. He saw Persis first but had acknowledged the other human before he even
opened the door.
Sol jumped, willing himself forward harder than he had ever done. He landed near Persis.
"Get away from him, Persis!" he shouted, waving his arm excitedly. The crew can't hear what I'm saying, he thought. It'll look like I'm trying to defend her.
Persis looked at him in surprise. Smith stepped closer to her.
Sol leapt between them, brandishing a katana. He didn't draw the guns he had hidden beneath his jacket. He wouldn't draw them yet.
He struck at Smith, who avoided him easily. Persis grabbed Sol by the arm and kicked him in the chest sending him back a pace or two.
"I wouldn't do that Sol", she warned.
"Why?" Sol spat, "are you going to get in the way of my fighting him?"
"Yes".
Yes, Persis, yes. Attack me. Make me the victim, Sol thought heatedly. He couldn't take looking at her anymore, now that she gazed at the world with an agent's eyes.
Persis slowly drew herself into a stance resignedly. Then, she flipped forward at him alarmingly quickly, her feet kicking at the air, and then ducked his swipes at her head. They battled urgently, Persis seeking to knock Sol down if only to delay him turning his attention to Smith. If he did that, she reasoned grimly, he would die quicker than I can kill him.
Sol slashed the katana at her stomach. Following the blade in its swing, Persis slid her hands, prayer like, over the sides and, yanking downwards, brought her leg up to the sword and stamped down on the blade, snapping it in two. Sol in desperation tripped her up. Persis fell backwards, Sol wielding the broken katana and plunging for her heart.
Smith felt a twinge when Persis hit the floor. Walking forward, he drew out his gun and slowly took aim. This human wasn't worthy of fighting her with his sly tricks and arrogant manner. He shouldn't be fighting her.
Persis rolled away. She saw Smith approaching in the reflection of Sol's sunglasses. She cartwheeled away from Sol, and, leaping into the air, landed on top of Smith, her legs wrapped around his waist as he stood motionless.
"Please Smith, don't".
The agent looked bemused, "You want to waste your time fighting such an unsavoury opponent?"
Her gaze dropped to the palm that flexed momentarily. There was a dark red scab in the centre of it. Agents don't scar, she thought dully. Why has Smith -
"Smith, don't-"
Over her shoulder Smith saw Sol draw out his guns and aim them at Persis' unprotected back. He threw Persis away from him. She landed expertly, rolling until she stopped at the corner of the roof.
Sol fired repeatedly. Smith dodged the bullets without moving his feet, his upper body twisting in almost impossible angles at once. He briefly smiled at the uselessness of the human's attack. It was only when Sol threw away one of his guns and pulling out another one, began to fire at the ground near where Persis crouched, weapon less, did the smile straighten into a determined scowl.
"No".
Persis jumped from one foot to the next, twisting mid air, avoiding the ricochet of bullets that sprang up from the surface beneath her. She was moving further to the edge of the roof with every shot. Giving up her normal dodging techniques, she let every muscle in her body relax and stood rooted to the ground, her upper body swaying and avoiding the bullets. Agent style. She was slowly giving in to it.
Smith noticed and turned momentarily in her direction as she swayed to avoid the darting bullets aimed to cripple her.
The temporary lapse of concentration was all Sol needed.
He fired a single shot at Smith while he stood looking out for Persis.
The bullet seemed to cut through the air in slow motion from the barrel of the gun towards Smith's distracted figure.
Persis noticed. She noticed Smith wasn't aware of the incoming shot. She had noticed the look of mild concern in his face as he watched her dodge the flying bullets as they rebounded off the grit. Persis went cold. Oh God it's affected him too he's becoming human Smith's becoming human more vulnerable what have I done-
She sprang up and started to run towards Smith.
Persis raced the bullet as it travelled to the same point she did.
Titus glanced at Persis' still form as she lay hooked up to the console. He took a step back in disbelief and looked over at Neso who sat with his back to them, analysing the screens.
"Neso-"
"Not now, Titus". Neso waved a hand dismissively.
"Neso-I think you should take a look at this".
Neso whirled around in his chair and glanced at Persis. His mouth opened slightly.
Persis' hair was changing. The roots and tips of her jet black hair were fluctuating in colour. Gradually they seeped downwards, transforming her black hair into a neutral brown. As the colour reached the tips, her braids loosened themselves and her dark waves separated into poker straight strands. Persis lay still, her eyes closed, her hair now completely brown and completely straight.
"What's happening, Neso?"
Neso went slightly paler than usual, "She's turning into an agent".
Running so fast that Sol only saw a white blur cross the roof Persis grabbed Smith by the lapels of his jacket and pushed him backwards off the edge of the roof.
Sol lowered his gun in disbelief.
Neso watched the events unfold on several screens. Titus stood watchful over Persis' form like a benevolent guardian angel. He glanced at her monitor.
"Oh shit", he exhaled.