Sorry it's taken so long, but here's the next chapter. I don't know how
much longer this story will last. I've got the end pretty much worked out
in my head. So, if you guys decide you want it, I'll keep going till the
end. Tell me!!! Thank you to those who have already reviewed, btw. :)
Okay, her goes nothing.
For disclaimer, see first chapter.
Now, on with the story.
Tirelessly, I worked on the Engineering level. If I was in control, it couldn't hurt me. I loved that the system needed me. Zion needed me. The knowledge that if I wanted to, I could destroy Zion kept me at peace with myself.
Slowly the pain Cypher had caused me began to slowly fade. I didn't keeping touch with the Nebuchadnezzar. I was done killing. Never again would I kill another person. Never again would I end an innocent's life by bringing him out of the Matrix. Once out, even the best ones, like Cypher and Trinity turned into monsters. I had been so close with Cypher. So close!! I was so sure that I had done it, so sure that I could redeem myself, that I could send him home. With my failure with Cypher, I learned my next Truth. My mistakes could never be undone. Trying to undo errors only resulted in ones that were even more horrific than the first had been. It was best to forget about my errors. I tried, but I could not. I kept thinking about the Neb, my errors aboard that ship.
I never talked to the crew when they came to Zion. They usually came for about two days, and when they did, I just watched. I watched Cypher. He had wounded me, but unfortunately, I still loved him. I couldn't help it, but I still had my pride. I would never talk to him again. The others? I had absolutely no desire to ever speak to them again. I didn't regret it. I hated them all. They were all murderers. I was not one of them anymore, and I wanted nothing to do with them, either. I still needed to see Cypher though. Seeing that he was okay helped me remember that I hadn't failed him completely.
I just looked at him. There was no harm in that. My silent love could not bring him any more harm. Then one day, as the Neb docked, something odd happened. Out of the ship stepped only four people, Morpheus, Trinity, Tank and some new guy. Cypher wasn't there! Where was he? I started to worry, then panic, as he didn't appear. Soldiers went in, and soon came out, holding stretchers, covered in white sheets. Oh, god no. Was Cypher dead?!? I counted the stretchers as the soldiers passed. There were four. One was missing! Mouse, Apoc, Switch, Dozer and Cypher were missing. That was five people, but there were only four stretchers! The devil hope flared up in me. Maybe there was hope for Cypher yet. There was a chance that he was not on a stretcher. There was a chance that he was not among the dead.
Then, just as quickly as hope came, it left me. Out of the Neb came another soldier. On his face was a look of loathing and disgust as before him, he kicked the limp body of Cypher. The stench was disgusting. Cypher's arm caught on a protruding nail in the floor. The soldier leaned down, and quickly unhooked him. He wiped his hand on his pants, spit in Cypher's face, and continued to kick him along. I knew where he was taking Cypher. All the hated dead of Zion were dumped into an open pit at the back of the city and burned.
I couldn't move from my hiding place. I couldn't blink. I couldn't breathe. A could only stare as his dirty body disappeared around a corner. I don't know how long I just sat there. Finally, in a daze I got up, a made my way to my room. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't rest. I tried to work, but I couldn't concentrate. I hurt too much. I needed to know what had happened. I didn't have to go far to learn the story. All of Zion was talking about it. The called him a traitor. They said he had killed the crew, that he had tried to return the Matrix. I heard all I could, and returned to my room before I collapsed. He had tried to go home to the System. He had tried and he had failed. But he hadn't dies in vain. Yes, he had died, but he had taken four of Morpheus' murderers with him. He had even gotten Dozer, the healer of the murderers. I had never been more proud of him.
My heard ached though. I couldn't let him go. I'd thought that I'd pretty much left him behind when I left the Neb, but I hadn't. The Truth was, I needed him. He was my creation, a part of me. I had to see him one last time. I had to say goodbye. I hadn't been able to save him. I had failed him in his teachings, and I had also failed to protect him. By leaving I had given up on him. I had given up on my love. I had to beg forgiveness.
Hours after the lights had been turned out; I crept out of my room, and snuck across the city to that dark, dirty forbidden pit.
I looked down, into it. They hadn't burned him yet. There was his body, lying face down in the mud of the pit. Slowly, I climbed the ladder down into the pit, and approached him. The stench of rotten, burned flesh bombarded my nostrils, making my eyes water. The air was heavy, thick with it. I kneeled by him in the mud, and turned him over onto his back. His front was burned, and scratched. His face was worst of all, but still recognizable. He wore and expression of rage and pain. But no fear. Even in his dying moment, as he SAW his death approaching, he felt nothing but rage. His anger, which had been his weapon, had stayed with him till the very end.
Gently, I touched his face, ran my fingers over his cheeks, lips, and his eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice choked. "I'm so sorry."
I pulled his limp body out of the mud, close to me, and I hugged him. I sat in Zion, in the dark, in a muddy, stinking pit, hugging a dead man, clutching him close to my body. I was covered in grime. The dirt of the hated dead was all over me, my legs, my arms, my hands, my body, my face. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I pulled him closer, and almost inaudibly, I uttered the words that I thought I would never say in this cold, dead world of the Real. "I love you."
A single tear streaked down my grimy cheek, then another, and another. In all my years in the real world, not once had I shed a tear. Not once. But I did then. I held the dead body of Cypher as close as I could, as silent sobs racked my body. I cried for Cypher, as all the tears that I had refused to shed over the years, flowed down my face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
So, that was my next chapter. What did you guys think? Reviews are very much appreciated. I'd love to hear your opinions. If you want it, I've got more.but only if you want it. Tell me!!!
Okay, her goes nothing.
For disclaimer, see first chapter.
Now, on with the story.
Tirelessly, I worked on the Engineering level. If I was in control, it couldn't hurt me. I loved that the system needed me. Zion needed me. The knowledge that if I wanted to, I could destroy Zion kept me at peace with myself.
Slowly the pain Cypher had caused me began to slowly fade. I didn't keeping touch with the Nebuchadnezzar. I was done killing. Never again would I kill another person. Never again would I end an innocent's life by bringing him out of the Matrix. Once out, even the best ones, like Cypher and Trinity turned into monsters. I had been so close with Cypher. So close!! I was so sure that I had done it, so sure that I could redeem myself, that I could send him home. With my failure with Cypher, I learned my next Truth. My mistakes could never be undone. Trying to undo errors only resulted in ones that were even more horrific than the first had been. It was best to forget about my errors. I tried, but I could not. I kept thinking about the Neb, my errors aboard that ship.
I never talked to the crew when they came to Zion. They usually came for about two days, and when they did, I just watched. I watched Cypher. He had wounded me, but unfortunately, I still loved him. I couldn't help it, but I still had my pride. I would never talk to him again. The others? I had absolutely no desire to ever speak to them again. I didn't regret it. I hated them all. They were all murderers. I was not one of them anymore, and I wanted nothing to do with them, either. I still needed to see Cypher though. Seeing that he was okay helped me remember that I hadn't failed him completely.
I just looked at him. There was no harm in that. My silent love could not bring him any more harm. Then one day, as the Neb docked, something odd happened. Out of the ship stepped only four people, Morpheus, Trinity, Tank and some new guy. Cypher wasn't there! Where was he? I started to worry, then panic, as he didn't appear. Soldiers went in, and soon came out, holding stretchers, covered in white sheets. Oh, god no. Was Cypher dead?!? I counted the stretchers as the soldiers passed. There were four. One was missing! Mouse, Apoc, Switch, Dozer and Cypher were missing. That was five people, but there were only four stretchers! The devil hope flared up in me. Maybe there was hope for Cypher yet. There was a chance that he was not on a stretcher. There was a chance that he was not among the dead.
Then, just as quickly as hope came, it left me. Out of the Neb came another soldier. On his face was a look of loathing and disgust as before him, he kicked the limp body of Cypher. The stench was disgusting. Cypher's arm caught on a protruding nail in the floor. The soldier leaned down, and quickly unhooked him. He wiped his hand on his pants, spit in Cypher's face, and continued to kick him along. I knew where he was taking Cypher. All the hated dead of Zion were dumped into an open pit at the back of the city and burned.
I couldn't move from my hiding place. I couldn't blink. I couldn't breathe. A could only stare as his dirty body disappeared around a corner. I don't know how long I just sat there. Finally, in a daze I got up, a made my way to my room. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't rest. I tried to work, but I couldn't concentrate. I hurt too much. I needed to know what had happened. I didn't have to go far to learn the story. All of Zion was talking about it. The called him a traitor. They said he had killed the crew, that he had tried to return the Matrix. I heard all I could, and returned to my room before I collapsed. He had tried to go home to the System. He had tried and he had failed. But he hadn't dies in vain. Yes, he had died, but he had taken four of Morpheus' murderers with him. He had even gotten Dozer, the healer of the murderers. I had never been more proud of him.
My heard ached though. I couldn't let him go. I'd thought that I'd pretty much left him behind when I left the Neb, but I hadn't. The Truth was, I needed him. He was my creation, a part of me. I had to see him one last time. I had to say goodbye. I hadn't been able to save him. I had failed him in his teachings, and I had also failed to protect him. By leaving I had given up on him. I had given up on my love. I had to beg forgiveness.
Hours after the lights had been turned out; I crept out of my room, and snuck across the city to that dark, dirty forbidden pit.
I looked down, into it. They hadn't burned him yet. There was his body, lying face down in the mud of the pit. Slowly, I climbed the ladder down into the pit, and approached him. The stench of rotten, burned flesh bombarded my nostrils, making my eyes water. The air was heavy, thick with it. I kneeled by him in the mud, and turned him over onto his back. His front was burned, and scratched. His face was worst of all, but still recognizable. He wore and expression of rage and pain. But no fear. Even in his dying moment, as he SAW his death approaching, he felt nothing but rage. His anger, which had been his weapon, had stayed with him till the very end.
Gently, I touched his face, ran my fingers over his cheeks, lips, and his eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice choked. "I'm so sorry."
I pulled his limp body out of the mud, close to me, and I hugged him. I sat in Zion, in the dark, in a muddy, stinking pit, hugging a dead man, clutching him close to my body. I was covered in grime. The dirt of the hated dead was all over me, my legs, my arms, my hands, my body, my face. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I pulled him closer, and almost inaudibly, I uttered the words that I thought I would never say in this cold, dead world of the Real. "I love you."
A single tear streaked down my grimy cheek, then another, and another. In all my years in the real world, not once had I shed a tear. Not once. But I did then. I held the dead body of Cypher as close as I could, as silent sobs racked my body. I cried for Cypher, as all the tears that I had refused to shed over the years, flowed down my face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
So, that was my next chapter. What did you guys think? Reviews are very much appreciated. I'd love to hear your opinions. If you want it, I've got more.but only if you want it. Tell me!!!