Chapter Four: Interdependence
The rain continued to pound the ground in the Matrix.
"Something is seriously wrong in their," said Ghost. "Look."
He touched part of the screen, zooming in on a section of the code.
"This rain is unlike anything I've ever seen," Ghost said. "It's not the normal coding."
"What could it be?" Morpheus wondered.
"I don't know, but it can't be good."
Neo stood at the exit to his prison.
"Goodbye," said Samsara. "And good luck."
Neo took a step outside. The Chateau fell away beneath him. His foot hit the ground again inside a puddle of rain. He glanced ahead and saw Smith waiting for him.
"Mister Anderson…Welcome back. We've missed you."
The Merovingian burst into the room where Samsara and Mukti still were.
"You let him go?" he asked incredulously, almost spitting with rage.
Samsara nodded. "He is gone now."
The Merovingian threw up his hands. "This cannot happen. You two – " he indicated the Twins " – go get him back."
The two albinos nodded and turned simultaneously; walking through the door Neo had stepped through.
"Now," the Prophet said. Lynx faintly heard a train approaching the station. She stepped out to wait on the platform, coming up beside Trinity.
The train slowly pulled into the station, coming to a stop. The doors slid open and three passengers got off, a man, a woman, and a young girl. The girl looked at Trinity and opened her mouth to speak, but her father pulled her out of sight.
The Trainman came to the door and looked out, his eyes catching sight of Lynx.
"What do you two want?"
Trinity started forward, grabbing the butt of her gun. "We need to take your train."
"No deal," said the Trainman.
"We're getting on the train," Trinity said. "Wither you like it or not."
Lynx saw the Trainman start to move and drew her gun as he went for his. His gun came up and pointed at Trinity. Lynx's gun was aimed at his head. Trinity was frozen, her hand halfway to her own sidearm.
"Don't move," the Trainman warned.
They heard footsteps approaching from the entrance to the train station. Lynx turned to see an Agent enter, holding a gun. As Lynx brought her second gun out to bear on the new threat, the Trainman slapped the "door closed" button. The train began to move away.
Morpheus looked over Ghost's shoulder at the Matrix code spiraling down the screens.
"Agent Matthews," Morpheus said. "Jack me in."
Ghost nodded and began typing.
"I must admit, I am somewhat relieved to see that the Merovingian did not get to kill you himself. I reserve that pleasure for me, and me alone. Of course, I've already killed you once…just as you have killed me once. Then I killed you again…and I myself died by plans you set in motion. So we continue in this cycle of death and destruction until I kill you again…and this time, you will not come back."
Neo did not respond, glaring across the gulf that separated him from Smith.
"Well then, let us begin."
Neo's hands curled into fists as the rain continued to pound around them. He exploded into motion, running at Smith. The program rushed to meet him, and they clashed at the midway point.
Neo swung his fist straight out, and Smith bent backwards. Neo let his momentum carry him into a flying kick, knocking Smith back a few steps. The program rushed back in, hitting Neo twice in the stomach, lightly, before his blows were pushed away. Neo returned the attacks, hitting Smith in the neck with an open-handed blow.
Smith dragged his left foot up and hit Neo's side hard. The rebel grabbed Smith's foot and tossed the program to the ground a few feet away. Smith slowly rose to his feet, taking his broken glasses and tossing them to the ground. He rushed forward again, his feet crushing the shattered glasses even more.
He came at Neo. The rebel ducked under a fast attack and slammed his fist upward into Smith's chest. Smith brought both his fists down onto Neo's shoulders, driving him back.
Smith brought his knee into Neo's stomach and the rebel was thrown backwards into the air. He landed on his back, letting out a breath of air.
Lynx opened fire, Trinity drawing her weapon and doing the same. The Agent twisted through the air, dodging all the bullets. Trinity's gun fell silent, followed quickly by Lynx's. The three guns hit the floor.
Matthews ran forward. Trinity jumped, placing one hand one the ground to propel her out of the way. Matthews stopped and grabbed at her, missing. Lynx leapt, hitting the Agent's back with her foot. He went stumbling forward, turning around and drawing his gun.
As he opened fire, time seemed to slow. Lynx, two feet away, fell backwards to avoid the first bullets. As the gun moved towards Trinity, she kicked at the Agent's hand, sending the gun into the air. It flipped higher and higher, reaching the top part of its flight and beginning to come back down. It had almost reached the ground when a sharp blade slashed through it, severing it into two pieces.
Morpheus stood at the entrance to the subway. He lifted his sword and charged in.
Neo climbed back to his feet, straightening his glasses. Smith waited for him to finish, and then charged in again.
His first attack was a hard punch to the face, shattering Neo's eyewear. The rebel reeled away, bringing his foot up to hit the inside of Smith's knee at the same time. Smith sank backwards, hitting the ground with two hands and continuing his reverse cartwheel to land on his feet.
Neo's glasses hit the ground, creating a small splash. Neo stepped forward again, his hand connecting with Smith's block. Neo leapt into the air, bringing one foot up and into Smith's chin. The program stumbled back, flailing. He gathered himself together and moved forward again.
As their fists connected, they both sensed a disturbance and turned. Two albino Twins stood at the other end of the street.
"Neo," Alpha said. "We've been sent to retrieve you."
Morpheus brought his sword down in a diagonal slash. Matthews jumped back to avoid the attack, and Morpheus reversed the blade, thrusting towards Matthew's stomach.
The Agent hit the blade aside and threw his fist in at Morpheus. The rebel captain took the blow and dropped the blade. Trinity came in from behind, dropping her fist down onto Matthew's neck. The Agent dropped.
"Thanks," Trinity said. "But we lost our chance. The train is gone."
"I have an idea," Lynx said. They listened while she explained it, and Trinity nodded.
"It could work," she said, running towards the street. Lynx took a step forward, but turned back around to grab the sword from the ground. Then she ran to join the woman.
Alpha stepped forward, swinging his blade. Neo ducked away and slammed his foot into the Twin's stomach. Beta leapt into the air, driving both feet into Neo's stomach and sending him stumbling backwards. Beta landed on his feet, flipping his switchblade out.
Smith stepped forward, Alpha swinging his blade at the former Agent. Smith stepped backwards, kicking out to hit the blade away. As the blade came back down, Beta caught it and tossed it at Smith. Smith bent away, and Alpha caught the blade and jammed it into Smith's leg.
As Smith sank to the ground, Neo's foot connected with Alpha's head. Beta slammed his fist into Neo's back and sent him to the ground beside Smith.
"Morpheus."
The captain turned at the sound of a new voice, feminine and strong. He saw a young woman standing close by.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Mukti," she said.
"You're the one who helped Neo. Where is he?"
"The Merovingian has captured him again, but I am here to tell you that your original plan will still work. Trinity will find him, no matter the cost."
Lynx gunned the engine again, sending her motorcycle past the car and even with Trinity's. The woman looked over at Lynx and pointed straight ahead, to a large bridge over a set of train tracks.
Lynx heard a loud sound of screeching metal as the car behind her exploded. She looked back to see a helicopter chasing them, an Agent at the driver's seat. Another Agent manned the guns. He opened fire, and a line of bullets streamed through where Lynx had just been.
Trinity swerved left, dodging another line of fire. She fired blindly over her shoulder, missing the helicopter. She cut across two lanes of traffic towards the off ramp.
Lynx shot forward, weaving in and out of cars. The helicopter fired again, destroying a car in her path. Lynx turned as quickly as possible, making it out of the way. She cut in front of another car, causing it to swerve, spinning wildly, into another car. The Agent lined Lynx up in his sights.
"We can't beat them alone, Mister Anderson," Smith said.
Neo nodded, grabbing Smith's outstretched hand. Smith pulled the rebel to his feet. Alpha flipped his switchblade over, catching it by the sharp edge, and threw it at Smith. Neo smacked the blade away, sending it clattering into the small puddles nearby.
Beta slashed his switchblade at Neo's chest. Smith's foot connected with the blade and sent it spiraling into the air. Neo leapt, higher than any human ever living could, and caught the blade, landing and driving it through Alpha's phased form. The two Twins stepped backwards, regrouping themselves.
Trinity's motorcycle flew over the street. Trinity slid off, falling towards the ground below. The motorcycle slammed into the helicopter. The craft exploded in a ball of fire. Trinity landed on the backseat of Lynx's motorcycle. Lynx hit the gas and sped off towards the bridge.
Alpha and Beta stepped backwards, disappearing into the Chateau. Neo turned to face Smith.
"Until we meet again, Mister Anderson."
Neo walked after the Twins, reappearing inside the room he had just left. Samsara stood there, smiling.
"You're back. Your friends are on the way."
Lynx looked left and saw the train exit the ground and continue its way towards the bridge. She slammed on the pedal and shot forward again, reaching the bridge. She rocketed up the bridge and through the guard rail, hanging in the air before the cycle came crashing down on top of the train. Trinity got off and opened the hatch, dropping into the dining car. Lynx followed suit, slamming the hatch closed behind her and cutting out all light from above.
"Let's go," Trinity's voice came from the darkness.
We're coming, Neo.