Chapter Five: Alpha of the Omega
The door of the Chateau exploded outwards again as Drake and the Twins ran through in pursuit. They stopped and looked around in confusion.
The rebels were completely gone.
"Find them!" growled Drake. The Twins nodded and set off towards the garage. Drake walked back into the Chateau and summoned all the minions he could spare.
"Get those rebels!" he ordered. "Do whatever it takes, but I want the one known as Neo alive. Bring him to me."
"Yes, master," the minions muttered simultaneously.
"Go!" he yelled. They started off for the garage. Vlad remained behind, turning left in the hallway and began walking towards the Merovingian's wing.
The crews of the Nebuchadnezzar and the Logos hurried down the street. They had hijacked a car and speed down the mountain trail, Fallen Angel's reckless driving totaling the vehicle as they reached the city.
Neo walked in the front of the group, alert as always. Behind him walked Morpheus and Fallen Angel, supporting the still-injured Ghost in between them. Further back, Myst and Phoenix walked side-by-side, lost in thought. At the rear was Lynx, covering the party with a weapon.
They road was empty and barren. No cars speed along the street, no people stood in the doorways, no voices echoed loudly through the air.
Smith's influence is growing… Neo thought, shivering slightly.
The door of a nearby Chinese take-out place swung open. A man emerged. Neo stopped. The man's code was fluctuating, changing constantly. Neo swore.
"Run," he ordered. "All of you. Go now. Go!"
The rest of the rebels glanced at him and began to walk away. There was a violent sucking sound, and the man screamed. His body peeled away, revealing a new skin underneath.
Morpheus, Ghost, and Fallen Angel ducked into an alleyway a block from where Neo had stayed. Morpheus flipped open his cell phone.
"Voyd, we need an exit for Ghost. Can you do it remotely?"
"'Course I can, Captain. One remote exit coming up…now."
The pay phone briefly stopped ringing, and then started back up. Ghost wearily walked over to the phone and lifted it off the receiver.
"Thanks, Morpheus." Then he was gone.
"Mister Anderson, we meet again," came the drawling voice of the former Agent.
"Smith," was Neo's calm, cold reply.
"Always a pleasure, Mister Anderson," Smith said.
Neo went into a fighting stance, beckoning Smith forward with one raised hand. Smith swung his foot to the side. Neo leapt over the attack and lashed out with his own foot, hitting Smith in the head. He staggered backwards as Neo hit the ground in front of him.
Neo rushed forward and jumped into the air, tackling Smith, bringing him to the ground, and rolling off him. Neo leapt back to his feet and squared off again.
Lynx kicked open the door to the department store. A loud wailing filled the streets.
"Alarm," she hissed. Phoenix walked inside and hit the light switch. They could hear the phone ringing somewhere near the back. They started towards it.
Lynx's phone rang.
"That exit's for Myst," Voyd told her, "but hurry up. You've got incoming. Cops and one unidentified program."
"Shit. Agents?"
"They're all over the place. Someone really stirred up the pond. Get out of there fast."
"What program is coming? It's not that thing is it?"
"No, don't worry. It's something similar though. It's reading like an Exile."
"Okay, thanks Voyd."
"Anytime."
Voyd hung up. Phoenix slammed his shoulder into the door blocking the back offices. Myst reached for the phone and put it to her ear. She vanished. Lynx replaced the phone on its hook.
Sirens filled the air outside.
"Cops!" Lynx yelled. She tossed her weapon to Phoenix and drew her pistols.
"How many?" asked Phoenix.
"A lot. I've got a plan."
"You're next, Fallen Angel."
"Yes, sir," the fighter answered, reaching for the phone. He vanished. Morpheus leaned down and retrieved the receiver, carefully placing it back on the hook. It rang again.
He picked it up. There was a screeching sound and then the phone went dead. A shadow fell across the wall. Turning, he saw the figure of an Agent blocking the entrance to the alley.
"Greetings, Mister Abrams," said Agent Matthews.
Three more Smiths emerged from the surrounding alleyways and buildings. Neo leapt up into the air, hitting tow with his feet. He flipped over and came back down, immediately flipping backwards again to get behind a Smith. He kicked his foot out backwards, sending one of the Smiths into a wall.
Two Smiths grabbed him by each arm. Neo flipped over backwards, reversing the Smiths and dropping them. The fourth Smith punched Neo in the stomach. He flew backwards through the air, coming to a stop as he hit a lamp post.
The police cars skidded to a stop. Police Chief Gregory Williams had been ordered by the Powers That Be to respond with massive force to this call, and they did not know why. They exited their vehicles, opening the doors and crouching behind them.
"Surrender!" shouted Williams through a megaphone.
A woman emerged from the building, holding her hands high, a pistol in each hand.
"Put your guns on the ground!" yelled Williams. The woman bent over. The chief glanced over her and swore.
Phoenix had risen from the ground and stood at the front door, holding a weapon. The sirens reflected off his eyes, making them appear red in the darkness. He opened fire with his gun, and the chief's world exploded into pain.
Morpheus ran and jumped, sailing over the head of the Agent. Matthews turned around, firing after Morpheus and missing twice. He growled and began running after the rebel. His feet became blurred as he pounded away at the floor, leaving little cracks in the ground.
Matthews quickly caught up with Morpheus and tackled him, bringing him to the ground. Morpheus corkscrewed in the Agent's grip and kicked out, shoving the program off him. Matthews flew upwards, and then came back down, landing on his feet. Morpheus jumped up and attacked.
Neo pushed himself off the ground and leapt at Smith. He swung his arm out sideways. Smith blocked the attack and whipped his foot into Neo's stomach. Neo staggered sideways. Another Smith kicked upwards, hitting him in the face. Neo groaned and lurched sideways, wobbling. He put his hand out and supported himself against a building.
Smith swung his fist at Neo. Neo raised an arm to block the blow and hit the Smith in the stomach. He sailed backwards and hit the second Smith. Neo leaped into the air with a double kick to one Smith's head. He landed on one foot and shot up and around, kicking the other Smith's head sideways. He groaned and fell.
Williams was still alive, albeit barely. He heard the woman walking around dispatching any of the cops who still lived. He groaned and reached up, pulling himself under his car and closing his eyes.
"Lynx," called the man. "Hurry up. There could be Agents here any second."
"Almost done, Phoenix," Lynx answered.
"Shit!" Phoenix yelled.
"What?"
"I think one of those coppertops hit me!"
"I'm sure Voyd can patch you up."
"Yea, I know. Reality can be a bitch."
"You're preaching to the choir, Phoenix."
"You done?"
"Yea."
"Can we go?"
"Sure."
Williams heard footsteps and a pair of black boots walked past his car. He heard a ringing from the store they had been sent to.
"Let's get out of here," Lynx said.
Another pair of legs walked past Williams.
"I cannot let you leave just yet," came a new, deeper voice.
Lynx whirled around, guns pointed straight out.
"Oh, shit," she whispered to herself, her lips burning with a remembered pain.
Lucifer stood in-between two cars in all his blazing glory.
"Go, Phoenix, now."
"I can help – "
Lucifer interrupted with a calm voice. "We all know about your helping, Phoenix."
Phoenix raised his gun and fired. Lucifer shot left, feet moving at a blur. Lynx turned after him, firing her guns at the same time. The Exile dove forward, rolling and coming up under Lynx. He raised his fist to her, knocking her up into the air. She seemed to float there for a second, then came crashing down to the pavement.
Phoenix fired another burst from his weapon. The three bullets hit Lucifer, and he hissed in pain and stood up. Three more shots rang out.
A cop had risen from the wreckage and fired his weapon at the Exile. Three holes appeared in his chest. Lucifer groaned.
There was a crackling sound and the flesh slowly started to heal. The bullets were pushed out of his skin and fell to the floor with a clattering noise.
"That's impossible…" whispered the cop.
Phoenix fired again. Lucifer lifted his hands and shot a ball of fire at the rebel. The weapon caught Phoenix in the stomach and sent him crashing through the window of the convenience store.
Matthews swung his left foot out sideways. Morpheus jumped over it, running up the leg and kicking the Agent in the head. He flipped over and landed on the other side. He began to run.
Matthews picked up a rock from the ground and threw it. It sailed through the air and hit Morpheus in the back of the knee. Morpheus pitched forward and hit the ground. Matthews walked up and pointed his gun at the rebel.
"Only human…"
Morpheus twisted around, grabbing the Agent's legs in-between his two feet. Morpheus twisted around, flying into the air and bring Matthews crashing down. Morpheus grabbed his gun and shot Matthews at point blank range.
The Agent's code collapsed and his body turned into that of a young boy. Morpheus sighed.
A door swung open and Matthews walked out.
Lynx suddenly kicked out, hitting Lucifer in the kneecap. The Exile groaned and sank to his knee.
Phoenix yelled and a hunting knife came sliding towards Lynx. She grabbed it off the floor, removed the sheath, and stabbed it deep into Lucifer's chest. He screamed out in pain.
Green lines radiated our from the knife wound. Lucifer shivered. His hand clenched. He closed his eyes, fighting his end. Suddenly, he lost control. His code collapsed in an instant, and his body dissolved in a shower of code. Lynx picked herself up from the ground.
"Freeze!" yelled the cop.
Neo grabbed hold of one Smith and tossed him into another. The other two Smiths rushed up on either side of him. Neo jumped and spun, hitting the first Smith and continuing his foot onto the second.
The four Smiths lay on the ground, defeated. Neo shrugged to himself and took off.
Morpheus swore and continued running. Matthews lifted his gun and fired twice, hitting Morpheus in the kneecap. Morpheus stumbled and fell, rolling over onto his back.
Matthews approached again, but stopped at a farther distance this time. His targeting subroutine elevated his aim by ten degrees and shifted it three to the left. Dead center.
"Almost, Mister Abrams, almost…"
Suddenly, Matthews stopped. His firewall was gone.
A minor matter…I'm scheduled for an upgrade anyway.
Suddenly, his targeting subroutine broke down. His arm flew to the left, and he fired at the pavement next to Morpheus's head. Red lines began to appear throughout his body, widening into cracks. He grabbed his chest. A greenish light shone through the cracks in his body.
He felt as if he was being torn apart. He heard a ripping sound, and with a final scream, his code collapsed. In is place stood a young man of twenty or so, looking around in confusion.
"Hello," Morpheus said.
Lynx sighed.
"Put the gun down," she ordered. The man ignored her. She started forward, and he fired twice. Lynx flipped sideways, dodging the bullets.
"What?" he cried. Lynx walked over to him and took the gun from his hands, sliding the clip out and tossing it away.
"You've seen strange things tonight," she began. "Things that cannot be real. You said it yourself, 'that's impossible.' These things are not real. Just like the world you live in. It is all a trap, a prison, a false reality built to make you their slave. Do you want to know more?"
The cop nodded slowly.
"Meet me at the corner of Clyde and Chestnut tomorrow at midnight. I'm Lynx."
The cop nodded absentmindedly.
"Lynx," Phoenix called. "Time to leave!" She nodded. They walked to the back of the store and left the Matrix.
Morpheus walked to the phone booth and exited the Matrix. Voyd pulled the spike from his head, and helped his captain sit up.
"Good news, sir," he said. "The machine army has withdrawn."
"Excellent!" Morpheus yelled. "Do we know why?"
"The virus, sir. It's started. That's what we believe, anyway. Lock called us, he wants us to return to Zion."
"Set a course for Zion, then," Morpheus ordered.
"Captain?" lynx asked, coming up behind.
"Yes?"
"I have a feeling we should stay here a while longer."
"Why?"
"I think I've found a recruit."
Neo came over from his spot by Voyd.
"I agree with Lynx, Morpheus. We should stay."
"Why?"
"I have a feeling that it's not over yet."