Chapter Three: Breaking the Cycle
Behind the glasses, a rebel was safe. No one could see through the dark shades, through the windows of the eyes, and into her soul. But the glasses were gone now.
Morpheus stood, quietly, reverently, in front of the assembled group. Trinity stood facing him, and behind the two of them stood Phoenix, Myst, and Lynx. They had bowed their heads in respect.
"Life is a journey," Morpheus said. "I have always envisioned it as the sailing of a great ship, back in the days when the sky was still blue and the surface was green. The ship spends a long time on land, being slowly and carefully built, every aspect of it being lovingly planned by people totally dedicated to its construction. Then, one day, the ship is finally ready. It is launched from the docks where it has spent its entire life and allowed to go its own way.
"As the ship travels, it begins to grow smaller. First, the hull disappears beyond the horizon. It seems as if the ship is being sucked into the water, but it is not. Eventually, the optical illusion swallows the sails and the ship disappears. People mourn this vanishing. But the ship continues its journey, and it comes into view of its destination, where other voices pick up a call of welcoming."
Lynx was crying now, one tear slowly making its way down her face. The tear made its way to the bottom of her chin and fell, traveling through the air until it struck the ground below. The fragile drop shattered, splattering the surrounding area with water. More drops hit the ground around the tear as it began to rain.
"Rabbit, Pandora, Voyd, Angel," Morpheus continued. "These are but a few of the names we have had to add to our list of the dead recently. But we cannot forget why they died: so that we could go on living. Let us not be unworthy of their sacrifice."
The rebels stood for a minute in silence. Then Trinity's voice rose into their minds.
"Now let's go get Neo so we don't have to add another."
As one, the rebels replaced their glasses on their faces. The Prophet smiled. Morpheus led their way.
Neo awoke back inside of the Chateau.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Ghost was saved," Mukti said. "He woke aboard your ship. Now you must past one last test before facing the Guardian again."
"What test is that?" Neo asked.
"You passed through the trial of Fire, when you saved your captain from sure death. You passed through the trial of Blood when you experienced death yourself. You rescued Ghost to complete the trial of Release. Only three trials remain before you are ready to face your destiny."
"What trials are those?"
"The trial of Rebirth," Samsara said.
"The trial of Balance," Mukti added.
"And the trial of Fate," said Samsara. "This is the trial you face now."
And the world fell away beneath him.
"Where is Neo?" Trinity asked, looking at the Prophet.
"He is trapped in a place between this world and ours," the Prophet said. "When he was killed, the Motherboard tried to eliminate him, but the Merovingian was too quick for her. He swept up Neo's code and deposited it into a safe place, a storage facility. He locked the door with a powerful program named Seraph."
Trinity and Lynx glanced at each other.
"But," the Prophet continued, "Unbeknownst to the Merovingian, the Motherboard has an avatar inside his organization. She is just biding her time and waiting to strike."
"Then we'd better hurry," said Trinity.
"Indeed," said the Prophet.
Morpheus stood and watched the two women go. One, his faithful second mate since before Neo was unplugged, the other, a brave young fighter. He smiled. They'd do fine.
He turned to Myst and Phoenix.
"Let's go," he said. He pulled out his cell phone.
"Ghost, I need an exit." The former Logos crewman had an Operator training download, and was now serving as the Nebuchadnezzar's Operator as he recovered from injuries.
"Got one coming up, sir," Ghost said. A nearby pay phone rung. Morpheus lifted it to his ear and vanished. Phoenix lifted it up and replaced it on its hook. Then he heard a gasp from behind him and turned around.
Neo stood in the middle of the street as rain pounded on the ground all around him. He looked up and saw Trinity begin to fall. He began to take a step forward.
Mukti appeared in front of him.
"Trinity falls," she said. "To certain death. But you can save her. There is a small window of opportunity. You can save her, be freed yourself, and return to Zion…only to see it fall. Or, you can let her die, remain here, and Zion will be saved."
"No," said Neo. "Not possible."
"Why not?" she asked.
"How would something you described happen?"
"False dependencies and distractions, Neo. But the moment has come. Save her and kill your species…or save them and watch her die. Choose, and act."
Samsara spoke up. "It is a choice you would have been forced to make under other circumstances. And now you must make it anyway."
Neo's foot wavered in the air, halfway between where he stood and where he walked towards. His foot suddenly came crashing down, creating a splash in the water. He pushed off the foot and dove, flying towards Trinity. As her body hit his arms, the world faded away.
"Why?" asked Mukti's voice out of the blackness.
Neo smiled, a gesture no one saw.
"This is the trial of fate, right?" Neo asked. "Well, fate is bullshit. Nobody controls my life."
The Chateau reappeared in a flash of light and coding. Mukti stood before him again, smiling.
"You passed, Neo. Now you must pass the trial of Rebirth."
Seraph entered the room.
"There is a program called the Trainman," the Prophet said. "He runs the trains that run throughout the Matrix. IF you can find him, you can force him to lead you to the Chateau, where Neo is held."
"Sounds easy enough," Lynx said.
"I've never put faith in that," Trinity said.
"Of course not."
"The Trainman will be coming through the nearby station in about ten minutes. We need to move."
Phoenix remembered him, the man called Lucifer. He stood there, glaring, his eyes twin points of fire. It seemed he remembered Phoenix as well.
"We meet again," Lucifer said. "This time, however, I shall prevail."
He came forward. Myst darted in and took a swing at him, and he hit her, palm open, in the chest, sending her flying away. He advanced towards Phoenix. Phoenix dashed left, drawing his pistol and firing twice. Lucifer drew his own pistol and fired once.
The bullet flew forward and struck Phoenix in the hand. Phoenix swore and dropped his gun. Gunshots sounded again, and Myst's attacks sailed past the Exile.
Lucifer twirled his gun over his shoulder and fired twice. Myst bent backwards, and the first bullet sailed over her. The second one struck her in the leg, and she cried out and fell to the ground.
Phoenix came forward and kicked upwards, hitting Lucifer's gun out of his hand. He dropped the first foot and brought the second one up, hitting Lucifer in the chest as his first foot touched the floor. The Exile flew into the air, twisting around and landing on his feet. He dashed forward again.
"What's happening?" Morpheus asked.
"An Exile," Ghost said, pointing to a stream of coding.
"Shit."
"Are you going to help them?"
"I can't. Every time we jack in it increases the chance that a Sentinel will find us. We don't want that."
"True enough."
"And they can handle one Exile, I'm sure."
Neo bowed to Seraph for one last time. Seraph started in first, swinging his arm out towards Neo's head. Neo bent back to avoid the blow and came around and under, hitting Seraph upward in the stomach. The program rose off his feet and stumbled backwards.
Neo followed up with a roundhouse kick from the left, which Seraph blocked with one hand. The program grabbed Neo's foot, and Neo twisted in the air, bring his other foot into Seraph's face. The program let go of Neo and sagged sideways. Neo brought his feet back under him and landed in a fighting stance, waving Seraph forward. Seraph nodded and advanced.
"Here," the Prophet said. "This is the station."
"What do we do now?" Lynx asked.
"We wait."
Phoenix blocked a sideways swing and slammed his fist into Lucifer's head, rocking it backwards. The Exile kicked out, hitting Phoenix's knee, and the rebel grimaced in pain, staggering a step backwards. Lucifer grinned and slammed his fist into the right side of Phoenix's head. Phoenix moved with the blow, using his momentum to turn and bring his right foot into Lucifer's side.
Lucifer groaned and grabbed the foot, slashing it with his claws and shoving Phoenix forward. He slammed into the ground hard and tumbled to a stop a few feet away. Phoenix's hand grabbed for his gun, and he found it on the floor and fired at Lucifer.
Lucifer jumped into the air, spreading his wings. Phoenix fired twice, shredding Lucifer's left wing. The program came falling out of the sky, crashing into the ground. He lay still.
Neo jumped into the air and kicked off the wall. Seraph copied the move from across the room. They flew towards each other and met in midair, Neo hitting Seraph with a vicious uppercut that sent him flying towards the roof. The program crashed through the ceiling, and Neo flew up after him.
Neo landed on the roof as rain poured down around him. Seraph picked himself up and leapt at Neo, swinging a foot to meet Neo's fist. Neo was lifted into the air and spun sideways, and he landed at the edge of the roof, holding on by his hands. He swung up and hit Seraph, in the chest with both feet, sending the program toppling across the edge of the roof.
Neo landed on his feet and advanced towards Seraph, who lay on his back. Seraph brought his legs together around Neo's feet and twisted his body, rising to his feet as he brought Neo down. He brought a fist down to meet Neo's head, but the rebel had already rolled away, and the fist left a crater in the roof. Neo rose into the air beside Seraph and kicked him in the side. Seraph fell off the roof and towards the ground below.
Phoenix pointed his gun down at Lucifer's form. He pulled the trigger three times, and saw the bullets enter the program's head. Phoenix then sank down onto one knee, cradling his injured leg. Myst rose from the ground and limped towards him, a bullet wound near the edge of her thigh.
"He's not dead," Phoenix said. "But that should stall him."
Myst nodded wearily and they made their way towards the hard line. Myst lifted the phone first, closing her eyes as she felt herself yanked from the Matrix. Phoenix replaced the phone and waited for it to ring.
"No…" came a voice. Phoenix turned as he reached for the phone. There was a gunshot, and as Phoenix placed the phone to his ear, he felt a bullet enter his stomach.
Seraph stopped his wild fall and ascended back towards Neo. Neo flew towards the program, flinging a fist into Seraph's face. Seraph took the blow and flew backwards a few feet, stopping himself and launching a counter-attack. Neo blocked a kick and grabbed Seraph's leg with both hands, throwing him back through the roof and into the room far below them. Neo dove downwards.
"Shit!" said Ghost as the alarm beeped on Phoenix's chair. Phoenix opened his eyes the moment the gunshot wound appeared in his stomach, spurting blood.
"Get the med kit," Morpheus ordered, rushing towards Phoenix. "Myst, get me one of Neo's spare shirts, hurry!"
Myst ran off. Ghost returned with the med kit, dropping it onto the table beside the operating chair. He extracted a syringe and plunged it into a plug on Phoenix's arm, injecting a painkiller into his system.
Myst returned with the shirt, and Morpheus pressed it to the wound, trying to stop the blood flow. Phoenix gasped as Morpheus pressed down on the wound, his grip on the side of his chair tightening. He gritted his teeth.
"This…isn't…real…" he said to himself. Morpheus grabbed a roll of tape from the med kit and wrapped it around Phoenix's wound, holding the makeshift bandage in place.
"Get the plug out, Myst," Morpheus ordered.
"This…isn't…fucking…real…" Phoenix said, almost shouting. The blood suddenly stopped flowing. Phoenix gave a gasp and relaxed backwards.
"Phoenix?" said Myst, frozen, holding the plug halfway in and halfway out of Phoenix's head. Morpheus ripped open Pheonix's shirt.
"The wound's…gone…" he said. Ghost glanced at the medical readout attached to the feed.
"Shit," he said again. "Morpheus!"
Seraph jumped to his feet as Neo glided to a smooth landing inside the room. The program dashed forward, sliding at the last moment and hitting Neo in the foot. Neo fell forwards, grabbing Seraph and pulling him down.
Neo kicked out and sent Seraph flying into a wall. He climbed back to his feet as Seraph regained his.
"No more," Seraph said. "You are wearing down, Neo. You're not a superhuman anymore. More of this will kill you."
"I can't stop," said Neo, walking forwards, slowly, tiredly.
"And why not?" asked Mukti, suddenly.
"I can't let them down," Neo said. "Everyone depending on me. I can't fail them. I must keep going…Even if it means my death."
Mukti nodded and stepped forward, catching Neo and holding him. She kissed him on the lips. Power flowed through her kiss, rushing into Neo and reenergizing him. He looked back at Seraph.
"You can't do that," Samsara said, clearly shocked.
"I just did," said Mukti, smiling. "I am the release; you should have seen this coming."
Samara nodded. "True."
Neo faced Seraph again.
"Let's go. This is the last time."
Seraph nodded and rushed forward. Neo punched straight out, hitting Seraph in the chest. Seraph flew backwards and hit the wall, leaving a crater. He crashed to the ground and lay still.
"What now?" Neo said.
"You are free."
Morpheus glanced at the part of the readout Ghost indicated.
"An aneurism?" he asked. "How?"
"I don't know," Ghost said. "It may have something to do with the disappearing gunshot wound. But he's gone."
Even as they watched, Phoenix's heart rate slowed. It suddenly reached zero, the beeping filling the cabin at a constant rate. The next sound was the plug hitting the floor as it slipped from Myst's suddenly limp hand.