The ship landed as the first body fell. Neo was the quickest down the ladder, catching a glimpse of Link's face, the girl had just fallen.

"What is it?"

"You better hurry, she just collapsed." Neo swore, grabbing a weapon as he sprinted out of the Neb and into the hull of the Argive.

"Where's Neo?" Trinity hardly paused as she landed, her voice breathless.

"Already gone."

"Arre?"

"She's stuck in the program, which is deleting itself."

"Shit."

"That's what Neo said." Link said with a wry smile.

"I'm going after him."

"Be careful Trinity." The captain's deep voice made her run faster than she ever had before.

"Someone get her out!" The men looked at each other and nodded, the only one able to, settling himself into the chair. Sometimes the smartest things she said were thrown over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this Sir?"

"There would be no point saving one if the other were dead."

"Ok, I'll patch you straight in."

*~*

The alley was now almost square, the head of the boy looking like someone had attacked him with a belt sander. The captain lifted the limp girl into his arms, making the call.

"Get us into the white Link."

"You're there, I'll be there in a moment."

"Thank you Link." The girl vanished, the captain assessing the construct in a new way as he waited to open his eyes on his ship. There was so much power in even the most basic of simulations, and it was able to be used either for good or evil.

*~*

The face of his Op greeted him as he saw the real world again.

"She's out cold, but breathing."

"Are the others back?"

"Yeah, they found him."

"And?"

"He'll make it."

"Good."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The ship was very quiet for some time, the girl and the boy that had been rescued exhausted, they stayed asleep for a few days. Trinity and Neo seemed to have many questions but they didn't ask. Morpheus wanted to find out what had happened on the unlucky ship and spent a few hours searching it, coming back to his own craft silent and, for him, pale.

"I wish never to see something like it again." No one asked what he had meant, aware that when all those with plugs had been killed via the EMP blast suddenly cutting them off from their residual self images, those without had been brutally murdered. In the case of the killer, she had taken a cable and now dangled from a grate, feet swinging.