Protector of Men Ch 64
"Zandra!" Neo shouted, exasperated. Time was running out, and there was no room for further error. He was becoming worried, she wasn't answering his calls. The door was open, their escape was in their grasp, but she wasn't coming. Neo looked around him, she was helping her friend fight some of the Merovingian's men. Suddenly Shade was thrust his way, looking a little dazed and adrenaline-ridden. Neo clapped him on the shoulder and threw him through the small portal to their right, and Shade jogged to the edge of the room in front of them. But Zandra still was not answering his calls.
"Zandra!" he shouted again, craning his neck further to try and ascertain what she was doing. He leaned forward, his foot holding the door open. Something was keeping everyone busy, and it bothered him. Something more was going on.
Neo put his sword into the crack in the door and skipped to the stairwell hoping to see what was going on.
"Shit."
Zandra stood enveloped in the Smiths, one of which was now copying himself to her leader, the one she called Cover. Neo flew down to the battle and kicked the Smith that was attacking her captain, the rogue agent thumping down the stairs and skidding to a halt next to the intricate doorway below. Zandra suddenly fell out of her trance, as did the Smiths around her. Everyone looked to Neo. Cover's face was long, he was obviously a little shocked.
No time! They all thought simultaneously. In a second Neo had thrown both Zandra and Cover back up the stairs and to the door. A second later he was standing over them, pulling them up and through the portal before any of the Smiths could follow. Cover lay dazed on the ground of the portal, but Zandra shook her head and came to her senses.
Neo was grimacing, trying to hold the door closed, while hands grabbed at the open crack in attempts to pull it open against his will. He looked like he was struggling, and losing the battle. Each microsecond that passed the door opened a crack wider, exposing more hands in the sliver of light that was given off. Zandra didn't have much time – she pulled out her gun and shot at the hands, Shade soon joining her from behind. Some of the hands retreated, others stayed. But soon enough, there were none left to grab. Neo was able to slam the door with a grunt and wiped his now blood stained hands on his black jacket. His face expressed exhaustion, and he sighed wearily before letting his shoulders sag. Zandra changed clips on her gun and looked to Neo, then looked around her.
"This is our escape?"
"I'm not sure," Neo answered slowly, not looking at her, "There's something wrong with the code."
"The code?"
Everything was quiet for a second; they all looked to Neo, confused.
"You mean you can't see it?"
"No…"
Neo looked down for a moment and swore silently. How could she have gotten so far without seeing the code? Had this all been a hoax to get him to surrender himself to the mainframe? After all these years, was he to be tricked by a program he thought was one of his own? No, certainly the machines hadn't become that adept at mimicking human behaviour… But it was still possible. She couldn't see the code? That was just too radical. But she looked honest enough, they all did. The machines couldn't mimick that: confusion. No, they would be too arrogant to comprehend something like that. Zandra was true, at least for now. Neo could ponder more later; now he was fighting for his life – for his existence?
Fighting for all of their lives. But everyone continued to look at Neo, and he remembered the situation at hand.
"No time to explain now. We have to get out of here,"
They all nodded quietly.
Kesia was speaking with Wrought, the captain of the Calling. Something was wrong, she could tell just from his expression. But there was no time for his problems: Purgatory was having problems enough itself.
"Hi Wrought," she greeted hurriedly, trying to remember Trim's last words as they echoed into darkness in her mind, "7, Kesia, they're gonna find us…"
"Kesia, I'll be brief," he told her, eyes darting back and forth, what is wrong with him?
"The Oracle contacted us, said you'd be in trouble."
"Sentinels," she answered unconsciously, a trickle of sweat forming on her brow. Things were quiet in the main deck, but the cockpit was abuzz with energy. All of Trim, Kemp, and Alias were there, trying to formulate some kind of plan to evade the sentinels. But there wasn't much. Kesia felt cut off, paranoid knowing that Trim and the girls were planning their survival only two rooms away. It was so quiet…
"I heard," he answered with a quick sigh, "But I got something to tell you,"
"Kesia," came Trim's voice from her headpiece, "I think they're going to scan!" His voice came in a hurried whisper, a rough quiet that chilled her to the bone. Scanning…
"Wrought, they're scanning us," she answered, fidgeting in her chair. There was no use getting off the computers though, they couldn't turn the EMP without killing Cover, Shade, and Zandra. The One. And all would be lost.
"She said that Zandra's in trouble too," he told her, rushed. "She said you can't see it, but she's in there fighting for their lives. She said you have to tell Zandra to open the gray door,"
Kesia didn't interrupt – the information was too precious. A gray door? And how would she contact them? It had been hard enough to even see them for a second, let alone long enough to call them… but she had no choice.
"Kesia, they're moving to scan!" Came Trim's voice, a barely audible squeak. Kesia swore quietly, Wrought began rocking in his seat.
"We're too far to help," he said, eyes full of sadness. So that was how it was going to be. Kesia's heart fell instantly. They'd be alone, in a one-armed fight. There was no use. She stopped breathing for a moment…
"But we're getting Stotte," he answered quickly, "Their captain, Aegir offered to help once he heard from Colombus that you were in trouble. He's on his way."
Kesia sighed and said a quick goodbye.
"Trim," she whispered back into her headset, "Stotte's coming."
It took a while for Trim to answer, but he did.
"Shit Kesia, I don't think it's gonna matter," he answered truthfully, "They've finished their scan."
Suddenly Kesia heard muffled sounds emanate from her headpiece, it sounded like people moving around in the cockpit, a muffled expletive, and more shuffling.
"What's happening?" Kesia asked, unaware she had just voiced her question.
"We're going to try and fight them," Trim answered, his voice sounding rather strange.
"Are they still not answering your calls?"
"No," Kesia answered quickly, "But I'll try again,"
"Don't ever stop," he advised, "I dunno how long we'll last."
"Try."
It was dark and humid; the air around them smelled like decaying flesh – of death and torture. The stone walls were wet with slime, the wooden floor was dank with mold. It had lost much of its luster, like the rest of their surroundings. It looked like it had been lavish once, but had fallen into disrepair. Zandra and Neo led the way through the dark labrynth, vainly attempting to find their way out. Various torture devices littered the walls around them, and it was a bit unnerving to the rebels. They took each step with trepidation for the foes they knew they would eventually encounter.
"This isn't the way out," Neo suddenly said, stopping and cocking his head to one side. Zandra watched him intently – he could see something she obviously couldn't, and it bothered her. She was the One, right? So how could he do something that she couldn't? Zandra didn't like inability.
"How do we then?" she asked back, staring into his eyes. Neo wasn't looking at her, but she could tell he was thinking hard.
"Find the nearest door," he said after a moment, "It won't be an easy way out, but at least it's an exit."
"The nearest door," she echoed softly, resuming their walk. Even Zandra was having trouble seeing in the darkness – she knew that Cover and Shade would be having an even tougher time. They were silent behind her, following blindly into the unknown.
The Twins were slowly making their way to the dungeon below; they knew that the rebels wouldn't find a way out, and they would take their time as long as they knew they were in control. The Merovingian would be pleased with them… perhaps they'd even get to play a little with the girl… but first they would have to be defeated. It wouldn't be an easy task, but they were always up for a challenge, were they not?
Unfortunately the rebels were ignorant of the coming threat, and continued to wander aimlessly down the darkened pathways further into the dungeon. They couldn't hear the moans of the prisoners yet, but they soon would. And then they would turn back, only to find the way barred by the two white ones. The rebellion was failing already, and it had only been thirty-three years.
A/N – now would be a good time to look up some name meanings… but only if you're a geek like me who looks into these sort of things… just a little hint of foreshadowing, if you're willing to search it.
Hm, I think I'm just going to submit a part of my original story for my school application, not my fanfic. I don't know… but my original story is more umm… normal, I guess? I don't know. School is aggravating.
Alocin – thanks! Lol yeah… Smith is quite a funny guy… things have yet to happen to him…
Zuma – I agree about Echo, but I think Colombus could have done more… but she did take Kesia's hint pretty well.
:)
lol I'm actually just senior in high school. And I was able to write so much of protector because during the summer I wrote like 5 hours a day. That's basically all I did, except for work. I know, I know, I'm trying to update. My weekends are full of antisocialness. And you bring up a point that's been milling about my brain for a while now – music and the matrix! I always thought that Zandra would miss music, but I wasn't sure what exactly. But I see Kemp liking like 3LW or whatever their name was. And Aguilera is a good match, too.
Aqua Phoenix – yea, that arc is a little gross if you imagine it like I did… and don't worry, I wont. :)
