Disclaimer: I don't own The Matrix; and if the brothers ever sell their rights, I will run through my neighborhood, half-naked, screaming bloody murder.

Author: Hear, hear! Me too!

Disclaimer: But, I am you.

Author: Maybe.

(Both go off to ponder who is who.)

***

This fanfic would be true if the second and third movies didn't exist

***

I woke up to the sound of the heavy steel door to my quarters opening. I pushed myself up on my side as the operator of the Severus walked in.

She was a tall woman called Dreamer. Her hair, a deep chestnut brown, sharply contrasted with her crystal-blue eyes. She looked like she had heard a really good joke a little while ago.

She looked me up and down, which made me look at myself too. I was a boy freshly released from the Matrix, brownish stubble covered my scalp now, and my eyes were a deep steel gray. By the Matrix, it was my fifteenth birthday when I was released.

"You sleep?" she asked.

"Probably an hour." I responded.

"You'll get a full night's rest tonight." she said, leading me out of the cabin, and leading me to where the chairs were.

"You ain't coming with me?" I asked.

"No." Dreamer said, and pushed the spike into my neck hole. She strode over to her console, and began to shuffle through plastic strips. "Now, I'm supposed to give you all of these programs; but let's do the ever popular, combat training."

She bent over for a moment, and when she straitened I felt something entering my consciousness. "Bring on the pain." I said.

I faded out for a moment, and felt a rush of images and information enter my memory. I regained consciousness. "Is that all?" I asked.

"Oh, there's more." Dreamer responded to me, and set me on the rest of the martial arts training.

***

Several hours later, I had learned any and all forms of martial arts. Dreamer let me up, and the two of us headed to the mess hall.

I noticed things about Dreamer while we were walking that I hadn't seen before. She had the plug in her neck, arms, etc. like I did. I easily shrugged this off, at this point, my logic was, whatever I see, I believe. Dreamer pushed the door open, and I saw the captain, a woman called Chill, and the second operator, a guy named Geo.

Chill was tall, dark, and a pretty hot lady. The truly funny thing was that I had seen her assault the naval station I supposedly lived at in the Matrix. While she looked like a grandmother-like woman, she had an all- out attitude, and fought that way.

Geo was the secondary operator, and worked whenever Dreamer was needed as an extra hand in the Matrix. Geo was the palest guy I'd ever seen. I'd never seen Geo work, but he looked capable of anything.

Dreamer looked at me, damn; did she really need to? "You hungry?" she asked.

"I guess." I said, shrugging. Dreamer picked up what greatly resembled a small Tupperware container. She poured some white goop into it, and handed it to me.

"It's better than it looks, honey." Chill said.

"Sort of like eating snot." Geo muttered.

"Really?" I asked. I gulped a little down. "Hey, you're right! At least it's not like what it looks like."

I noticed that I had probably effectively ruined the appetites of the people around me. I just glugged down the rest of the container. A beeping sound resounded through the ship. Chill, Geo, and Dreamer dashed out, I followed. After running through a maze of corridors, we came to what I guessed was the bridge. Chill and Geo took the front two seats; Dreamer and I sat in the rear pair.

Geo flicked several switches, and the lights shut off. The only light still on in the entire ship was a glowing red knob, which was currently covered by Chill's hand.

"What the hell is going on?" I whispered to Dreamer.

"Sentinels, they're seek and destroy probes of the machines," Chill said. "I'm currently holding the EMP switch."

"Ah, so you've developed the technology for one." I said.

"Cut it." Chill ordered.

A pair of squid-looking machines glided past the viewscreen. One stopped just in front of the ship, and several of its arms swung forward, a couple opened into dishes, the others stayed the same. It seemed to make up its mind that the ship was part of the junk pile it was in. It sped away almost gracefully. I breathed again.

"We're clear." Geo said, reengaging the power.

"I want to get Cinn to the Oracle." Chill said.

"I'll come." Dreamer said.

"Right," Chill said. "I want Goliath and Buck to come too."

***

Author: We're off to see the wizard, er Oracle. Read and Review!