A/N: I know I suck, havn't updated for a while, but eh, at least I got around to it ;) Still love to see some more reviews, so PLEASE keep em comin

Chapter 8: Welcome to truth

Lewar felt extremely relieved as she nodded to Dox and Mace, and showed Fear to a wooden chair. She had been quite certain that we would take the red pill, but not definite. Paradox started attaching heart and brain monitors onto the young boy, and Mace was keying in his physical status.

"The red pill is part of a tracking program," Lewar explained. "It alters your signals so we can find your true location."

"My true location? Where else am I?!" Fear said, starting to panic.

"You know that feeling that your dreams are more real than when you're awake?" asked Paradox. Fear nodded. "Well, you're about to wake up."

Fear looked as if he was about to faint when he seemed to see something on the floor that none of them could see. He watched it move towards him, and then acted as if to stop whatever it was from covering him, like a shadow blanketing him mind.

"It's.....it's dark.....heavy..." he mumbled as he struggled with his invisible enemy.

"His mind activity is going crazy," reported Mace. "His heart is going too fast."

Lewar flicked open her phone in urgency. She would not loose him, not when they were so close. "Reflex, do you have a location?"

"Not exact, but we have a vague area, Ransom is moving towards it as we speak,"

"He's starting to loosing consciousness!" shouted Paradox.

"Got him!" came Reflex's triumphant cry, as the hard line phone began to ring.

"Release him!" Lewar yelled, as Fear threw back his head in pain and started to jerk. With a strange faint green blur, his residual self-image disappeared, the wires connected to him falling to the ground.

"Let's go," Lewar commanded. She picked up the ringing phone and gave it to Mace, who was followed by Paradox.

Lewar put the phone back on the hook, and then picked it back up, placing her back into the real world. She woke up in a rapidly moving ship as Ransom flew towards the sewer base where Fear would come out. It was vital they got there as soon as possible because those just unplugged were always horribly weak, and couldn't support themselves in the foul water for long. They rushed through pipes and came out at the opening just as there was a splash of Fear landing.

"Open the hatch," Lewar shouted and for once, Ransom actually did something she had ordered. The steel door at the bottom of the ship opened and a robotic arm came down, grabbing Fear and bringing him up. When the metal harness had pulled the boy up, Mace covered him with a blanket, and he blacked out completely.

Lewar spent the next few days in the infirmary, tending to Fear. The boy wasn't that strong in the Matrix, and inside the real world he was as weak as a newly born kitten. He was in a coma for week until he finally awoke, to everyone's great relief.

He barely moved, but Lewar noticed immediately, as he'd looked exactly the same for days, so the slightest change was obvious.

"Am I dreaming," he mumbled wearily as he squinted.

"No, you're more awake then you've ever been," said Lewar, quickly turning the light above them off.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered, noticing the needles, drips and plugs coming out of him.

"We're strengthening your body. You haven't moved your whole life, so they're a little rusty," she smiled at him, but he had already gone back unconscious.

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It took Fear a week to recover fully from being unplugged. Because he was so young, he adapted quickly to the concept that the Matrix wasn't real, but it certainly shook him. Nearly everything he had known, and he had known a lot, turned out to be a lie, and that's hard to get over. Reflex started training him straight away, and he absorbed the programs at an amazing rate. What usually took an hour took about 20 minutes, and his brain flew through all the combat, system, ability and code programs.

He seemed a little awkward around the much older crew, but that didn't stop him from spending a lot of time with Paradox, who was unofficially his instructor. They spent a lot of their time in the Construct, training Fear's mind. After two days on the combat and weapons training programs.

"You're good," remarked Paradox after sparing with him one day.

"Only good?" joked Fear. "After that victory, I'd say I'd have to rank a very good." It was true, Fear had beaten Dox, knocking him off his feat, turning being smaller than him into an advantage.

"Ok, you're very good. In fact, I'd say you're ready for the Jump Program." Paradox looked up. "Reflex, if you would?"

The ground beneath them disappeared and they couldn't tell if they were falling, or if the skyscraper was coming up towards them. Either way, they were soon standing on the roof of a city building.

"This is impossible for a confined mind," Paradox told Fear. "But to a free mind, it comes naturally." He then turned and leaped over the massive gap, landing easily on roof over the road. He turned and watched Fear, who closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and ran towards the gap. He didn't seem to use strength when he jumped, but he had a massive look of concentration. What amazed Paradox was that he didn't start to fall, but landed with a roll next to him. Fear looked surpassed at his own success, but not as much as Paradox.

"Excellent! Good job," Paradox congratulated him. "Let's turn in, you'll be tired when you get out, trust me."

They opened their eyes to the real world, and Fear was almost panting. "You're right," he gasped. "That really takes it out of you."

"You'll get used to it. Go and have a rest in your room, you'll feel much better." Fear walked off, and Paradox went straight to the others, who had been watching the screens.

"I don't believe it!" Reflex burst out. "That kid is amazing, he kicked your ass!"

"He made the jump," said Mace.

"No one has ever made the first jump," said Lewar. "Not even Neo did."

"He got lucky," stated Ransom. "It's impossible to make the first jump."

"Nothing's impossible in there," argued Paradox.

"Obviously, as Fear just did it," backed up Reflex.

"He's just a kid, he's nothing special," Ransom shot back, and he walked away, muttering something about "beginner's luck".

"What does it mean?" asked Reflex to no one in particular.

"I dunno," said Paradox. "Maybe we should ask..." he trailed off.

"Morpheus," Lewar completed his sentence.

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"How long have you been out?" Fear asked Paradox on his second week on the ship.

"About 6 or 7 years," he answered over their evening meal. "But I've been on this ship for 5."

"You spent that long eating nothing but this?" joked Fear, inticating to the bowl of slop he was eating. He still wasn't used to eating it. The heavy goo had no taste, and didn't satisfy the need for real, solid food.

"You get used to it." Reflex told him. "Just wait until you get you Zion, there you'll eat real food there."

"Lewar, incoming message from another ship!" Ransom shouted from the Core. Fear's captain got up to investigate, and returned after a few minutes, smiling.

"That was the Neb, they've got some information for us, and they'll be docking before the day is out."

"Good," said Paradox with a smile. "Time to get things done,"

"The Neb? You mean the Nebuchadnezzar?!" Fear asked excitedly. He had heard a lot about it during his training in the history of Zion, and he already thought of it's crew as heros. Of course, the official Zion history didn't have any mention of the One, but the ones written by the crew gave the whole story. And if Fear was understanding correctly, the One would be docking with them.

"Yeah, we're going to be helping them with a mission to destroy the Agents," Reflex said, sounding almost as excited as Fear.

Ransom walked in. "Reflex, could you take over? I feel like some breakfast."

"Yeah, sure." The tall operator replied and walked out, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Do they have a plan for how we're going to be doing this?" Mace asked.

"No, that's one of the reason's they're docking with us instead of just meeting us inside," the Captain answered "So we can formulate one."

"Do you mind terribly if I speak my mind, Captain?" said Ransom in his usual sneer.

"Not really, as long as it isn't too insulting." She seemed calm, but Fear could tell she was ready for an argument.

"I think you're throwing your lives away. There never will be a One, and this Neo certainly isn't. When you jack in, you won't be jacking back out. I understand Morpheus' is crazy, but I'd rather not work on a ship that believes in that idiot as well."

"Well, I'm sorry, Ransom, but it looks like you are. We're going in to do what we have to, to try to fight for Zion, and to do what we can. If that means we're killed, then at least we died for a cause." Lewar was really heated up now. Fear could tell this was going to be interesting.

"Then what am I supposed to do when you get overwhelmed by Agents, and Neo realises that he can't save you? When Tank sends you and his crew and his precious One into the clutches of the machines? I'm not just going to watch him kill you all."

"I'm not going to tell you what to believe," Lewar said in a strong voice. "But if you stop anyone from doing their job, from doing what they've chosen to do, then I will have no choice but to relieve you from duty and report you to Zion. Zion doesn't have many laws, but one of them is not to interfear with a mission, whether you're an operator or you jack in. What you believe we should do is exactly that, your belief. But if you go against my order, then you'll be striped of your profesion and will be returned to Zion. Reflex and I would take over your duties."

"I think I'd like to be returned to Zion more than I want to be held responcible for the deaths of my crew, because I didn't stop them going to their deaths. I won't be blamed for your stupidity, or their stupidity." With that, he walked out of the room to his quarters, his 'lunch' forgotten on the table.

Lewar let out a breath that sounded half in relief, half in frustraition. "Come on," she said at last. "Let's get the ship ready for docking."

A/N: mwahahaha, EVIL RANSOM! well, maybe not evil, just ANNOYING. almost as annoying as me! HAZZAR! farak, it's 2.20am!!! go to sleep, Torak, go to sleeeeeep….

Everyone: NO! stay awake and keep writing

Torak: If you say so……….

Whip: *crack*

Torak: OW! ok, ok, chapter 9…