Slider stared emotionlessly at the ceiling of the Bellerophon, not
sure of what to think. It had only been a few days since she had first
been freed, and she had already had enough shock to kill any newly
unplugged- except her. Everyone had told her that there was something
special about her. That she was important, a shining ray of hope for some
reason. She couldn't fathom it. Neither could she fathom why she hadn't
died of shock when she had seen her best friend, who she had given up for
dead two years ago, walk into the Oracle's kitchen, alive and quite
obviously well. But she supposed the reason she wasn't dead was tied into
the whole deal about her being... exceptional. Whatever was so great about
her, she couldn't see, but if the rest of the rebel population could, well,
good for them. She sure couldn't.
She looked over as Torque, the operator for the Bellerophon came striding over, along with Morpheus and a guy Slider had never seen before. She swung her legs over the side of her chair and stood up, looking curiously at the three people coming toward her. The stranger was a man who looked to be about 21, with a messy shock of dark red hair and deep brown eyes. He was indisputably diminutive in stature, but was solidly and compactly built, and under his tattered shirt, she could easily see his well-developed muscles. All in all, he was indeed startlingly handsome, and Slider had to struggle to keep her eyes off of him.
"Slider," Morpheus spoke, his deep voice echoing throughout the core of the Bellerophon, "I would like for you to meet your new trainer, Raphael."
"Just call me Raffi, please," the redhead spoke, smiling and displaying perfect teeth. He held out his hand to shake hers.
"Slider. Pleased to meet you," Slider said shyly, her eyes fixed on her shoes but darting up to glance at him from time to time. She gingerly put her hand in his, and he pumped it so energetically that she was afraid her arm would come off.
"Well, get ready to plug in, guys," Torque said cheerfully, rolling up his sleeves and plunking down in the chair in front of the row of computer screens. "Choose a chair, any chair."
Slider tentatively slid into one of the chairs arranged in a circle in the exact middle of the core. This would be her first training session, and she was feeling just a tad nervous.
Raffi climbed into a chair next to her. "Usually, we have a special training program for beginners, but for you..." Here he cast the captain who was standing passively nearby, watching them, an odd look. "Morpheus wanted you to go into the much higher level courses for your training. It'll be hard. But I'm not saying it's gonna be impossible. And plus, we can plug into the "real" Matrix and grab some lunch there afterwards. Anyway, I'm guessing you already learned kung fu."
Slider let a smile escape her. "Yeah, Torque downloaded all that stuff into me yesterday. It was awesome." Her grin widened at the memory of her exhilaration when she had flawlessly executed insanely complex martial arts moves that would have taken a coppertop years upon years to learn, whereas it had taken her approximately 30 seconds.
Raffi laughed. "It sure is fun, isn't it?"
Slider giggled shyly and nodded. Raffi had a soothing effect on her, and she felt entirely comfortable around him, as if she could really be herself with him, although she'd only known him a few minutes. She hadn't laughed, or even smiled in weeks, even when she was still plugged in, and yet this man who she had just met was making her laugh.
"All right, guys. Ready?" Torque came walking over, holding up the jack behind Raffi's head. Raffi glanced at Slider, who gulped and nodded.
"See you there," Raffi said, and winked before Torque plugged him in, and his body went limp.
Then Torque came to her. Slider looked over at Morpheus, and he gave her an encouraging smile. Torque smoothed her hair back from her face. "Be careful, all right?" he said, grinning. "Raffi's a tough trainer."
Slider nodded once more, and Torque lifted the jack. She felt the still unfamiliar sharp explosion of pain from the plug being jammed back into the base of her skull, and her eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking out of the corners. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone, and she could no longer feel the wetness of her tears on her cheeks. Opening her eyes, he saw that she was in a kind of dojo, empty except for the man sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor. It was Raffi, dressed in loose cotton pants and a plain, but tight T-shirt. He had his eyes closed, but opened them as Slider approached.
"Welcome to the Dojo," he said softly, his eyes going over her. She was clad in a black spaghetti strap shirt and black, tight fitting, stretch capris with a white stripe running down side on both legs. Nothing like the latex that Trinity was so infamous for; these were training clothes like Raffi's. Neither of them wore shoes.
"How old are you?" he suddenly asked as he got to his feet.
Slider, startled, answered quickly, "Nineteen. Why's it matter?"
Raffi shrugged. "A little background information. I like getting to know the people I'm going to be stuck with for the next lifetime or so."
Slider raised an eyebrow. "Stuck with? Consider it like I'm gracing you with my presence," she said loftily.
Raffi laughed, then without warning, brought his leg up and kicked Slider into the wall. She hit it full force, smashing part of it off.
"Always be on your guard. Always. You NEVER KNOW WHEN SOMEONE'S GOING TO ATTACK YOU," he roared, throwing a punch at Slider, still on the ground, who rolled hastily away to avoid it. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE IS ESSENTIAL! And ALWAYS pick yourself up right away when you've been struck down. Agents are ruthless; they'll attack you when you're down." Raffi helped a dazed Slider to her feet. "You've got a lot to learn, sugar. Remember that anyone, anyone who's not a rebel and is still plugged in is potentially an agent."
Slider nodded. Good lord, this man had started in on her already, and they had barely been introduced. So much for the trainer-student bond she had been expecting to be created. Pretending to still be dazed, she leaned heavily on Raffi's arm, but then suddenly sprang up, swinging around and smashing her leg into his stomach. He went flying, but then somehow got his hand on the floor, gaining balance and twisting around to flip back onto Slider, ready to beat her without mercy. But Slider was ready.
He descended, and she let him hit her, but she grabbed his ankle and used the force of the blow to propel herself far enough away to reach the wall with her arm, flip off, land behind him, and hook his arms behind his back with her hand, shaped like a gun, placed to his head.
"I win," she said and giggled.
Raffi was speechless. "That's never...I've never..."
Slider gave a whoop and let him go, doing a kind of dance of celebration. Suddenly, she stopped short. What was she doing?! She was acting like she used to, before she was unplugged, before she had discovered the world of hacking, before she had become unsatisfied. She was an insane teen again, giggling, dancing around, and generally acting silly. She blushed hard and looked up at Raffi. He smiled sadly.
"Slider," he said gently, walking over and taking her hands in his, "I know it's been hard. I understand. And that's why I became a trainer. Not only because I'm good at this, but also because I still remember how to be free, how to have fun and be silly. Don't be afraid to let that part of you come back. Be happy again."
Slider felt her happiness dissipate into exasperation. She wanted to scream back at him, How can you tell me to be happy when everything is going wrong for me right now?! But when she stared into his depthless brown eyes, all her doubts and fears washed away and were replaced by the strength he shared with her.
She smiled and nodded.
He smiled back.
Then she lunged at him, catching him completely off guard...again.
"I WIN AGAAAAAAAAAIN!" she screeched and laughed insanely even as she battled him. Raffi threw back his head and laughed as well, and soon, the whole room was ringing with the sounds of their joy.
She looked over as Torque, the operator for the Bellerophon came striding over, along with Morpheus and a guy Slider had never seen before. She swung her legs over the side of her chair and stood up, looking curiously at the three people coming toward her. The stranger was a man who looked to be about 21, with a messy shock of dark red hair and deep brown eyes. He was indisputably diminutive in stature, but was solidly and compactly built, and under his tattered shirt, she could easily see his well-developed muscles. All in all, he was indeed startlingly handsome, and Slider had to struggle to keep her eyes off of him.
"Slider," Morpheus spoke, his deep voice echoing throughout the core of the Bellerophon, "I would like for you to meet your new trainer, Raphael."
"Just call me Raffi, please," the redhead spoke, smiling and displaying perfect teeth. He held out his hand to shake hers.
"Slider. Pleased to meet you," Slider said shyly, her eyes fixed on her shoes but darting up to glance at him from time to time. She gingerly put her hand in his, and he pumped it so energetically that she was afraid her arm would come off.
"Well, get ready to plug in, guys," Torque said cheerfully, rolling up his sleeves and plunking down in the chair in front of the row of computer screens. "Choose a chair, any chair."
Slider tentatively slid into one of the chairs arranged in a circle in the exact middle of the core. This would be her first training session, and she was feeling just a tad nervous.
Raffi climbed into a chair next to her. "Usually, we have a special training program for beginners, but for you..." Here he cast the captain who was standing passively nearby, watching them, an odd look. "Morpheus wanted you to go into the much higher level courses for your training. It'll be hard. But I'm not saying it's gonna be impossible. And plus, we can plug into the "real" Matrix and grab some lunch there afterwards. Anyway, I'm guessing you already learned kung fu."
Slider let a smile escape her. "Yeah, Torque downloaded all that stuff into me yesterday. It was awesome." Her grin widened at the memory of her exhilaration when she had flawlessly executed insanely complex martial arts moves that would have taken a coppertop years upon years to learn, whereas it had taken her approximately 30 seconds.
Raffi laughed. "It sure is fun, isn't it?"
Slider giggled shyly and nodded. Raffi had a soothing effect on her, and she felt entirely comfortable around him, as if she could really be herself with him, although she'd only known him a few minutes. She hadn't laughed, or even smiled in weeks, even when she was still plugged in, and yet this man who she had just met was making her laugh.
"All right, guys. Ready?" Torque came walking over, holding up the jack behind Raffi's head. Raffi glanced at Slider, who gulped and nodded.
"See you there," Raffi said, and winked before Torque plugged him in, and his body went limp.
Then Torque came to her. Slider looked over at Morpheus, and he gave her an encouraging smile. Torque smoothed her hair back from her face. "Be careful, all right?" he said, grinning. "Raffi's a tough trainer."
Slider nodded once more, and Torque lifted the jack. She felt the still unfamiliar sharp explosion of pain from the plug being jammed back into the base of her skull, and her eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking out of the corners. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone, and she could no longer feel the wetness of her tears on her cheeks. Opening her eyes, he saw that she was in a kind of dojo, empty except for the man sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor. It was Raffi, dressed in loose cotton pants and a plain, but tight T-shirt. He had his eyes closed, but opened them as Slider approached.
"Welcome to the Dojo," he said softly, his eyes going over her. She was clad in a black spaghetti strap shirt and black, tight fitting, stretch capris with a white stripe running down side on both legs. Nothing like the latex that Trinity was so infamous for; these were training clothes like Raffi's. Neither of them wore shoes.
"How old are you?" he suddenly asked as he got to his feet.
Slider, startled, answered quickly, "Nineteen. Why's it matter?"
Raffi shrugged. "A little background information. I like getting to know the people I'm going to be stuck with for the next lifetime or so."
Slider raised an eyebrow. "Stuck with? Consider it like I'm gracing you with my presence," she said loftily.
Raffi laughed, then without warning, brought his leg up and kicked Slider into the wall. She hit it full force, smashing part of it off.
"Always be on your guard. Always. You NEVER KNOW WHEN SOMEONE'S GOING TO ATTACK YOU," he roared, throwing a punch at Slider, still on the ground, who rolled hastily away to avoid it. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE IS ESSENTIAL! And ALWAYS pick yourself up right away when you've been struck down. Agents are ruthless; they'll attack you when you're down." Raffi helped a dazed Slider to her feet. "You've got a lot to learn, sugar. Remember that anyone, anyone who's not a rebel and is still plugged in is potentially an agent."
Slider nodded. Good lord, this man had started in on her already, and they had barely been introduced. So much for the trainer-student bond she had been expecting to be created. Pretending to still be dazed, she leaned heavily on Raffi's arm, but then suddenly sprang up, swinging around and smashing her leg into his stomach. He went flying, but then somehow got his hand on the floor, gaining balance and twisting around to flip back onto Slider, ready to beat her without mercy. But Slider was ready.
He descended, and she let him hit her, but she grabbed his ankle and used the force of the blow to propel herself far enough away to reach the wall with her arm, flip off, land behind him, and hook his arms behind his back with her hand, shaped like a gun, placed to his head.
"I win," she said and giggled.
Raffi was speechless. "That's never...I've never..."
Slider gave a whoop and let him go, doing a kind of dance of celebration. Suddenly, she stopped short. What was she doing?! She was acting like she used to, before she was unplugged, before she had discovered the world of hacking, before she had become unsatisfied. She was an insane teen again, giggling, dancing around, and generally acting silly. She blushed hard and looked up at Raffi. He smiled sadly.
"Slider," he said gently, walking over and taking her hands in his, "I know it's been hard. I understand. And that's why I became a trainer. Not only because I'm good at this, but also because I still remember how to be free, how to have fun and be silly. Don't be afraid to let that part of you come back. Be happy again."
Slider felt her happiness dissipate into exasperation. She wanted to scream back at him, How can you tell me to be happy when everything is going wrong for me right now?! But when she stared into his depthless brown eyes, all her doubts and fears washed away and were replaced by the strength he shared with her.
She smiled and nodded.
He smiled back.
Then she lunged at him, catching him completely off guard...again.
"I WIN AGAAAAAAAAAIN!" she screeched and laughed insanely even as she battled him. Raffi threw back his head and laughed as well, and soon, the whole room was ringing with the sounds of their joy.