"Zion Main Control this is the Nebuchadnezzar. Can anyone here us?"
"Zion Main Control, can you read us?"
"Thi- Z- -ain Contr- -ver."
"Zion, you're breaking up!"
"-essage?"
"This is the Nebuchadnezzar. I don't know if you can understand us, but we need to get this out before our range expires. We've taken serious damage from a Sentinel attack, one crewmember is dead. The Gnosis and the Hammer are down, all killed except Pandora. We are going to try to end this was, and we could use any assistance. Over and out."
"Incoming transmission, captain!" called Sparks.
Niobe walked over to the monitor. "Put it up."
Commander Locke's face swam onto the screen.
"Niobe," he greeted her calmly.
"Greetings, commander," Niobe returned.
Locke got straight down to business.
"We've received a broken transmission from the Neb requesting assistance. While I did not want to spare another ship to their aid, the Council ordered me too. Yours is the closest. I – we – need you to jack in to the Matrix, find Morpheus and his crew, and get them back to Zion. Fast."
"Can do, commander."
"Thank you, captain," Locke replied. "And Niobe?"
"Yes?" she asked.
"Good luck."
The screen went black.
The phone rang.
Standing in a semi-circle around it were all the fighters that could be spared: Fallen Angel, Phoenix, Lynx, and, of course, Neo. Trinity had stayed behind to help Voyd watch the ship.
Neo picked up the receiver. "We're in."
Trinity's voice answered him. "Good luck. And Neo?"
"What?"
She seemed troubled, as if she was hiding something.
"Nevermind. Watch your back."
Neo hung the phone up. He turned to the rebels.
"Let's move out."
The building dwarfed the surrounding metropolis, casting a shadow on the other, less-important buildings. As Neo looked at it, the code making the structure up glowed bright green and began to shift quickly. He wondered what it all meant.
"…In national news today, the Center for Homeland Security exploded inexplicably at noon. Security cameras from across the street caught a man of average height wearing a suit and glasses fleeing the crime scene. Officials identified the man as "A. Smith," calling him a rogue government agent. As a result of today's attack, security in all government buildings has been heightened.
In international news, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein today called for a…"
Only meters below the Mainframe Building, the system's worst enemies sat and plotted.
"The door to the Source is here," Neo said, indicating a spot on the floor plans they had gotten from Voyd. "It's protected by a gauntlet of security men and droids, laser trip wires connected to a bomb, and numerous other traps we couldn't even begin to imagine. We need to get in here, but first, we need to get the power off."
He turned to Phoenix.
"That's where you and Fallen Angel come in. Lynx and I will create a distraction while you two sneak in the back and cut the buildings power. The security office is located on the third floor. If you can get there, you can disable the droids and the bomb, and turn off the power.
"Once the power is off, you two get out. Lynx and I will head up to the floor 01, whatever that means. We'll find it. From there, it's just a skip, hop, and a jump to the Source. Got it?"
Everyone silently nodded.
"Good luck. And remember what Morpheus said to us earlier this week: tomorrow the war could be over. Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dieing for?"
If machines could feel emotions, Agent Matthews would have been ecstatic. All was going according to plan.
The foolish rebels were walking right into his trap. They had met in the sewers below, and the Anomaly and Miss Hawkins were now coming to the front door, where Matthews had tripled the guard. The other two rebels were coming around the back, where Matthews himself waited. With his new upgrade, Matthews was confident he could handle two rebels.
Neo checked his guns one last time and stepped from the shadows of the alley into the main street. He walked through the moonlit road and towards the door of the Mainframe Building. He reached forward to push the door open, and a voice rang through the night.
"Neo, stop!"
Neo looked around. From across the street, he noticed the moonlight reflecting off a small spot. He stepped left in time to dodge the poorly fired bullet, and took off, running into the night. With one hand he grabbed Lynx and pulled her away from the door, and with the other he flipped open his cell phone.
"Phoenix, abort mission!" he yelled.
"What the fu - "
He hung up. As the two rebels dashed towards the alley, the door of the mainframe building flew open, SWAT programs pouring from the entrance. Neo and Lynx raced through the mouth of the alley, and the voice called to them.
"Stay there!"
The SWAT kept advancing, firing as they came. Neo and Lynx evaded the shots, and as the nearest SWAT came within twenty feet of the pair, the ground exploded, flinging shrapnel high into the air. When the explosion and resulting dust cloud vanished, half the ground force was gone. The voice rang out again.
"Commence mop up."
From three separate directions fire poured onto the SWAT team. Neo and Lynx unloaded their own weapons onto the unfortunate programs. Within minutes, they were gone.
Hours later, they all sat in a room. With a small jolt, Neo realized it was the room where he had first met Morpheus.
It's a site of beginning and end, he thought to himself. He sat in the familiar red armchair, gazing out on the room from behind his normal sunglasses. To his left sat Lynx and Niobe. To his right were Phoenix and Fallen Angel. Across from him sat the remainder of the Logos crew, Myst and Ghost.
They all listened intently as Neo explained his plan. When he was done, Myst had only one question:
"How, exactly, do you get to floor 01?"
A new voice emerged from behind them all.
"I can take you there."
The parking garage was deserted. Neo turned the door handle, revealing the programmer's hallway beyond. As Neo, Lynx, and their ally left through that door, Fallen Angel turned to the crew of the Logos.
"Good luck."
Niobe nodded to him. She opened the door of her van and climbed inside. She turned the key, and the noise of the engine shattered the perfect silence of the garage. Ghost walked past Phoenix, heading towards his own van. Myst turned to walk towards her vehicle, but then stopped and turned back to the pair from the Neb.
"Phoenix…" she began, but then trailed off. A small tear glistened in the corner of her eye. Then she turned away and ran towards her van. Phoenix shrugged and walked out of the garage. Fallen Angel hurried after him.
"Team One, there is a vehicle approaching your location. Secure and report, over."
SWAT Program 10-55A stepped into the middle of the road, holding up its hand. The approaching van, with tinted windows, rolled to a stop in front of the barricade. The driver's side window rolled down and 10-55A glanced in.
A lightening-quick search of the database revealed the driver as Subject 15, Captain Niobe. This thought registered seconds before the Subject lifted a pistol from her lap and shot the program in its face.
"Team Two, be advised, Team One is down, repeat, Team One is down. Be alert for serious rebel activity. Over."
The van came roaring down the pathway, hitting the flimsy fence in front of the guardhouse and shooting past. Niobe jammed the steering wheel hard to the left, and the car shot around another turn. Niobe straightened out and saw the darkness give away directly in front of her. Jamming the gears, she opened her door and leapt out into the night.
The moving bomb sailed over the incline and began falling towards the city below. As Niobe hit the ground and rolled to a stop against a tree, a rush of heat and sound hit her. She curled into a ball and waited until it was all over.
"All units, be advised, serious rebel activity in the area. Grids G1 through G10: be ready for attacks on important sights with truck bombs. Team Six, report to grid G8 and secure power station. Team Two, report to grid G7 and secure power station. All other teams hold positions. Over."
Neo and Lynx entered the doors of the Mainframe Building's lobby. A bored-looking security program waved them over to the metal detectors. Neo shot him. As he collapsed to the ground, the other security men jumped up and opened fire. Neo held out his hands, and the bullets stopped in mid-flight.
"Holy shit," said one of the guards.
The pair of rebels opened fire. The three guards collapsed to the ground exactly five seconds later. From across the lobby, the elevators all dinged.
The second van roared past a checkpoint. One of the guards was quick enough to shoot at the van's retreating figure, but only managed to wing the rear bumper. He put the radio call into Central Protection Unit.
"Unidentified vehicle has passed checkpoint G7 without stopping, over."
"Thank you, G7," returned CPU. "We'll handle it."
The three elevator doors opened and SWAT programs poured from the doors. Lynx dropped her pistols and ran to the left, opening fire with an AK47. Her shots ripped into the first two men of Team One, dropping them to the floor. A third man opened fire with his weapon, and Lynx dove to the ground to avoid the salvo. She slid past the security counter and popped back up from behind the information desk, opening fire again and killing three more SWATS.
Neo pulled the pin from the grenade in his hand and slid it towards the SWATS. The sphere exploded, and screams filled the air. Neo fired his MP5 into the dust cloud as he ran forward. He jabbed a SWAT in the throat with his gun as he passed, and the SWAT collapsed the floor, gurgling and coughing blood.
A beeping filled the Nebuchadnezzar. Voyd jumped, his concentration on the screen having been absolute. He keyed the intercom button.
"Trinity, what's happening?"
Trinity had been torn between her loyalty to Morpheus and desire to watch over Neo. In the end, she had decided that Neo could take care of himself and stayed behind. She sat in the medical bay, watching over Pandora as Morpheus monitored the situation from the front.
"I don't know. I think she's waking up."
Phoenix pulled Fallen Angel back into the room as a group of SWAT team ran past them down the hallway. He poked his head back out and, seeing the hallway clear, leapt across to another door and pulled it open.
The guard behind the desk stood up.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be - "
Phoenix shot him. Fallen Angel slid into the computer console seat as Phoenix slid the door shut. Turning, he swore and shot out a camera.
"Hurry up, Fallen Angel, we're gonna have company real soon."
Fallen Angel ignored him. The computer screen read:
login
Fallen Angel typed:
run trojan.pif
The hard drive whirred and words began to fill the screen:
running trojan.pif
checking file…file clean
remote port?
Fallen Angel typed the address for the Nebuchadnezzar's connection. Soon, Voyd's words joined the computer screen.
accept transmission?
y
run trojan.pif?
y
running: 1%
keep the port open for as long as possible
good luck
Phoenix called, "Any luck?"
Fallen Angel sighed in exasperation.
"We just need to hold out a bit longer."
Phoenix thought for a moment.
"Can you do anything to help us with that?"
Fallen Angel considered it. "Probably." He turned back to the screen.
The sound of bullets filled the air once again and another SWAT cried out before being silenced permanently. Neo dropped his weapon and drew his shotgun, blasting another SWAT in the stomach as he brought it to bear. He held it upside-down on his shoulder and shot a man behind him rising from the floor. Then he twirled it back down to standard position and blew the last man's chest in.
"Freeze."
Ghost raised his hands. One of the SWATS walked forward to grab him when a roar caught their attention. Looking up, they spotted a van fly over the edge of the cliff and crash into the power relay station down the gorge. Everyone winced and ducked to avoid the explosion. Ghost grabbed the front man's weapon and jabbed the butt into the man's throat, pulling the trigger at the same time. The fire took out the other two men of the team. Ghost dropped the gun and ran.
The allyy entered the hallway and walked straight to the one undamaged elevator. He pressed the call button, opening the doors. Neo and Lynx clambered into the elevator behind him. The man pressed the button for the fiftieth floor. The doors closed with a ding, and the elevator began its long ascent.
running: 50%
"Almost done," said Fallen Angel nervously.
"It better hurry up, 'cause we're about to have company!"
These words were answered with a blast of fire coming in through the window. It smashed into the main overhead monitor, and the screen exploded, flinging shrapnel around. Fallen Angel typed rapidly.
turn inter-security on
locks?
y
glass?
y
password
override
call?
trojan.pif
accepted. security engaged
The door lock snapped shut and the bulletproof glass rose through the shattered window. "Good thinking," breathed Phoenix in relief.
"It's only for a short while," Fallen Angel told him. "They'll get to the generator and turn the security off with the power, and then restart it."
"Shit."
"Yeah."
"We better finish this first, then."
The screen read:
running: 62%
As the elevator passed the 48th floor, the guest hit the stop button. The elevator screeched to a halt between floors 49 and 50. The man removed a key from his pocket and opened the elevator doors. Beyond them lay a white hallway filled with green doors.
Myst checked her weapon one last time, and then climbed out through the sunroof of the car. As it hurtled over the edge, she leapt upwards. The van shot beneath her, crashing into the third and final relay station below. Myst landed in front of the station as it exploded behind her.
Security guards came running from all direction. Myst blocked the attack of the first one and kicked out sideways, sending him flying into another guard. The third one attacked with his stick, but she grabbed it and yanked it out of his hand, flipping it up and knocking him to the side with it. She flipped into the air, throwing the stick under her into the face of a running security guard. As her leap reached its zenith, her legs connected with the final guard.
Myst landed in a crouch beside the man she had just downed. He groaned, still living. Myst grabbed her dagger from her left boot, reached over, and slit his throat.
The power went out in the surrounding buildings, but in the Mainframe Building it stayed on. The building was already running on generator power as a result of the explosion in the lobby. Now only one barrier remained between death and victory.
running: 94%
Phoenix smiled.
"We're gonna get it-"
The lights flickered. The room was plunged into darkness. Moments later, the lights came back on. The locks snapped open. The computer flickered off and then back on, beginning the slow process of rebooting.
"Shit!" yelled Phoenix. "There's not enough time left to do it again! What now?"
"Calm down," soothed Fallen Angel. "I have a plan."
Lynx stepped through the elevator doors, Neo following. They walked and opened each door systematically. They all led to useless places such as a park, or a sewer passage, or a mansion, except for the last door.
Te final door opened into a dark hallway.
"Here you are," said the Prophet. "Floor 01."
Neo stepped out of the hallway. "Thank you."
The Prophet nodded. "No problem." He turned to Lynx.
"And I'll be seeing you again, soon." He turned around and left.
Neo looked at Lynx strangely. "What did that mean?"
She shrugged. "No idea."
"Neo!" called the Prophet. Neo looked back curiously. A shining object flew through the air. Neo automatically caught it and glanced down into his hand to see what it was: a bent spoon. Neo quickly looked back up, but the man was gone.
"Delta Bravo move forward."
"Cover me. Charge in place."
"Fall back!"
"Fire in the hole!"
The door to the security center exploded inward, knocked back by powerful bombs. The Delta Security team moved in, M16s at the ready, but lowered their guns at the sight they saw.
The room was empty.
"Go."
"Cover me."
Fallen Angel popped up from cover and began running full-out, pumping his legs as fast as he could. A sniper broke cover to fire at him, and Phoenix shot the man in the head. Fallen Angel dashed around a corner and with one hand armed the timer.
He skidded the bomb across the floor in front of him, turned around, and ran faster then he ever had before. Behind him, the timer reached zero, and the bomb exploded. The explosive force lifted Fallen Angel off the ground and blew him onto Phoenix, tumbling them both to the floor.
Phoenix looked up into Fallen Angel's eyes.
"Get off me."
Fallen Angel got up and then helped his partner to his feet.
Neo walked forward to the last door in the hallway, Lynx behind him on the left. He instinctively knew this was the door. The one door he had fought to reach for what seemed like forever. He knew others had been fighting for him to reach it for a lifetime. He put his hand on the doorknob.
Myst climbed out of the depression. Flipping her cell phone open, she called Niobe.
"Captain, it's me."
"Myst. Ghost is dead."
"No!"
"I'm under pursuit, can't talk long. Get to the rendezvous point. As quick as-"
Myst's captain's voice broke off and the sound of gunfire filled the phone. Then she heard tires squealing, a woman scream, and an explosion.
Ghost looked up as the Firebird pulled to a stop in front of him. He slid into the passenger's side door. "Captain."
She nodded her greetings. Ghost wondered why she was so serious at the moment, and then she told him.
"Myst is dead."
Ghost was silent for a moment. Myst was barely twenty. This war is gobbling up children like a starved dragon.
Ghost sighed. Niobe pressed down on the ignition and the car leapt forward into the night.
Neo twisted his hand and the door opened. The world suddenly became an explosion of light, dimmed only slightly by the sunglasses Neo always wore. The light receded and left Neo standing – no, floating – in a sea of stars. He waded forward and grabbed one, holding on tight. There was a rush of heat and power, and awareness faded.
Neo was left standing in a white hemisphere of a room. In front of him sat a man on a chair. The man was tall, white-haired, and wore a perfectly clean white suit.
"Who are you?" asked Neo.
"I am the Architect," answered the man. "I created the Matrix."