A/N: This is my first real one on one fight scene, so to make sure it turned out okay, I actually looked up fighting
stances and martial arts moves online, which is both sad and pathetic since I took Tae Kwan Doe for almost a year
(yellow belt).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 15: The Construct Part III
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An endless expanse of white nothingness was laid before the two woman as Neo hammered away on the
keyboard, trying to load the Construct for the first time. He considered asking Morpheus for help, but was hesitant to
wake the captain. Apparently Cat had given him quite a headache.
Trinity stood still, watching Cat across from her like a hawk watches its prey. The blonde was oblivious to such
a hard gaze, too busy turning her head every which way, searching for something....anything. Dressed in the same
ensemble as all the others before her, Cat's only difference from Neo when he had been in her position was the gender.
She was not too happy about her outfit.
Cat looked over Trinity, who once again was wearing that same black leather, and looking at her like she was
mentally throttling her. "You can wear whatever you want in the Matrix, right?" Cat asked, shattering the silence and
heightening the tension.
"Yes," Trinity replied curtly.
"So your saying that you can basically download, or upload whatever style of clothing you want in this
computer generated world?"
"Exactly."
"So why can't you download me some Gucci, or sunglasses, like you?"
Trinity closed her eyes for a long time, her frustration hidden behind her dark shades, "Neo! Can you hurry it
up, please?!" she shouted upwards.
Slowly, piece by cyber-piece, a Japanese-style fighting dojo filled their field of vision. The last thing to change
was the women's wardrobe. In the blink of an eye, their matrix-appearance completely changed.
Cat couldn't help but be surprised at how different Trinity looked in a white Gi with her hair pulled back. She
was a lot less intimidating without the scowl and the black. She wore a more relaxed expression, like she belonged
here. Which couldn't have been a good thing for Cat.
Cat herself was dressed in a back Gi, with her long hair pulled back out of her face in a ponytail.
"I suppose this is an improvement..." she cracked her knuckles and rolled out her neck, feeling a new power
coursing through her veins. For the first time in her life, she was feeling...capable. Ready for whatever Trinity could
throw at her. Or so she thought...
"This is the Construct," Trinity began, motioning around the dojo with one hand, "The matrix is like any
computer game. Rules and boundaries such as gravity don't exist in the same way they do in the Real World. When you
truly believe this -when you free your mind- you can bend, even break, these very rules."
Trinity took a fighting stance, standing with her back erect and her head forward, feet parallel to her shoulders
and toes facing her target: Cat.
Cat stuck out her left foot out, leaning her weight on her back leg and raising the front so that only the balls of
her feet touched the floor. Trinity smiled, recognizing the stance as the "Cat Stance."
"Show me what you got," she demanded.
Cat charged, using her limited stance for what it was best at and kicking high towards Trinity's face.
Trinity leapt backwards and easily deflected her opponents move by merely swatting Cat's foot away, then used
the same move right back on her, but successfully nailing Cat right beneath the chin. Cat fell to her back and glared up
at the woman who smirked down at her.
She pushed out her right foot in an attempted foot sweep, which Trinity also easily avoided: leaping into the air
in a perfect straddle and surprising Cat with both her speed and height.
After Trinity fell six feet down and landed on her feet in almost one second, Cat lunged again, jumping from the
ground and trying to catch Trin in a straight out tackle. Cat hit the ground hard, wincing in pain as she grasped nothing
but air. Looking to the left, it was clear that she'd been side-stepped.
"Try getting up first," Trinity offered coldly.
Cat climbed to her feet and renewed her fighting stance, returning her opponents icy stare.
**
Neo leaned his elbow on the keyboard, holding his head up with his open palm and watching the screen in mild
amusement. Cat was terrible. She wasn't even using any of the martial arts moves that two hours worth of uploading
had given her.
Now she randomly swung at Trinity, who blocked or dodged every move. Instead of focusing or waiting for
opportunity, the blonde just attacked with fury, seemingly blinded by anger. But what would Cat be angry at Trinity
for?
Oh yeah, the break up thing....
**
Trinity was getting sick of this. She would not sit here and hold off Cat like a human swats at a fly. It was time
to teach the girl a lesson about applying knowledge...
Trinity leapt into the air, right foot bent with her shin vertical, left foot also slightly bent with her two pointed
and her arms out and level with her shoulders, hands limp and ready to apply her signature move. In one swift
movement, her right foot shot out, catching Cat right where she had before and sending her flying backwards.
Running fast as time went slow, Trinity was by her opponents side in an instance, quick enough to catch her
while she was down kick her in the stomach. But she wasn't done. Leaping over Cat's body while she was moving,
Trinity stopped her from rolling with her leg, lifting the entire girl off the floor with one foot in a flash and tossing her
into the air like she was a rag doll. As Cat fell, Trinity spun on one foot and extended the other, kicking Cat in the ribs
and sending her soaring yet again.
Trinity smiled at a job well done while her opponent struggled dizzily to her feet. She gave Cat a moment to
figure out where she was.
"Do you know how I did that?" she asked, rubbing her hands together and taking a lower stance.
Cat put her arms out to stop the world from spinning. She truly wanted to ask wether her beating was really
nessecary, but restrained herself and instead asked, "How- how do you go so...fast?"
"I told you. In here- in the matrix- you are not limited by the same rules you lived your life thinking you were.
The very laws of physics- they don't exist here in the same way you thought. Gravity?" Trinity raised an eyebrow,
"Bullshit. Speed? Nothings stopping you. Your gonna have to kiss Newton's laws goodbye if you want to move like I
do."
"What's a newton?" Cat asked, confused and trying to catch her breath.
Trinity looked up at the ceiling and sighed. How could she put this into words that someone like Cat could
understand?
"Just...Just remember that none of this is real, ok? Test it out..."
Cat nodded, taking another fighting stance and narrowing her eyes determinedly. She wasn't going down this
time...not without a fight.
Trinity shifted her feet, watching as Cat ran at her once again and trying to figure out just where she was going
wrong. As Cat ran towards her, fist raised, Trinity crouched down, coming up with both hands raised just as Cat
reached her and lifting the poor girls feet right above her head. When Cat landed on her back with a thud, Trinity kicked
her as hard as she could into the opposite wall.
Cat's problem was clear: the girl wasn't thinking things out- she just acted on impulse and kept forgetting to use
all that she'd learned.
"How bout you try and break some of those rules now?" Trinity asked with a grin as the weary rebel climbed to
her feet across the room. Trinity stepped back and raised her guard.
Cat charged a final time, trying to remember all Trinity had said. As she truly focused her thoughts, honestly
believed that she was no longer limited, She jumped.
A simple front flip, height maximized and speed increased by her new beliefs, carried her over Trinity, and Cat
was soon face to face with her opponents back. A rare opportunity that she was eager to take advantage of.
Completely aware of the situation, Trinity smiled smugly, ducking easily as Cat attempted a box-kick, then
turning around to mirror her move to perfection. Yet this time Cat was ready. She too ducked the kick, sweeping her
foot out in an attempt to knock Trinity's legs from under her.
Trinity jumped and let Cat's leg sweep across the area beneath her before landing and throwing her first punch.
Cat bent over backwards as Trinity's fist soared over her face, her hands finding the floor and using it to push off into a
back flip, putting some space between them.
**
Neo smiled, glad to see Cat picking up the pace. He clapped his hands together as he watched the screen,
applauding Trinity's finally executed moves. She was holding back, probably so that Cat would live another day, and he
noted that all her punches were thrown just a little off to the side, as Morpheus had originally done with him.
Trinity was taking it easy on Cat and it was obvious that it was a struggle for her. Either way, he was glad to see
the new crew member learning from her.
**
Cat swung and Trinity caught her fist before contact, kneeing her in the stomach one, two, three times, before
letting go. As Cat stumbled backwards, Trinity gave one final spinning heel kick, knocking her opponent onto her back.
Trinity relaxed her stance, lowering her fists, "You're pretty good," she said monotonously.
"Really?" Cat pushed her hair out of her face and leaned on her knees for support.
"No," Trinity admitted, "Though you are getting better. We'll get plenty of practice in here, when we're not
busy; but you really need to believe all this: you need to free your mind."
"Free my mind..." Cat echoed, nodding her head as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Why don't we try it one more time?" Trinity offered with a shrug.
"Sure, OK," Cat smiled, renewing her stance. Trinity did the same, motioning to her with the "bring it on"
motion.
This time Trinity was the first to strike, pulling off what Cat had tried at so many times. She used a foot-sweep
to drop her, then leaned over to place her fist inches away from Cat's neck before backing up enough to allow her to get
up. It was a move she often liked to use to catch her "brother" off guard and worked just as easily on Cat.
Cat jumped to her feet, this time with a slight smile. The mood had definitely lightened since they first entered
the dojo, and now they fought loosely, more for enjoyment or even fun- as opposed to Trinity kicking Cat's ass just for
some venting.
Trinity kicked towards Cat, who narrowly managed to duck the blow. She retaliated with a spinning box quick,
but Trinity caught her foot and twisted it, taking Cat's whole body along with it and sending her to the ground yet again.
It went like that for a few more minutes, with Cat yet to land a single blow. She was getting tired now, and had a
few bruises to sport. With her remainder of strength, she tried following Trinity's advice and attempted at one more rule
breaker. Jumping into the air, the tried at a triple kick. Each time she extended her foot, she gained more height, until
she was looking down on Trinity from an almost frightening level.
Although the jump was ground breaking for her, Trinity still managed to easily block each blow, and Cat fell to
the ground exhausted. As she lay there on the floor, catching her breath.
"Come on Cat, free your goddamn mind," Trinity ordered, trying not to smile.
Cat grinned and climbed wearily to her feet, "Once more, please?"
"Fine," Trinity restrained a sigh. She was getting bored.
**
Neo watched with growing interest as Cat attacked with more determination than before, swinging high and
immediately swinging low, hoping to catch Trinity off-guard but to no avail.
Just before her rapid hope loss, there was a change of tide. Trinity went to kick Cat, when her target's hands
shot out, catching Trinity's foot millimeters away from her stomach. Trinity twisted free and nailed Cat along side the
head with her now-freed foot.
Neo frowned at the screen. Cat was far from capable of blocking that move. What was even more confusing
was the truth: Trinity let her. On purpose.
**
Cat scrabbled to her feet, absolutely beaming. "I did it! I blocked you! You were about to kick me right in the
stomach and I blocked you!" she shrieked ecstatically, doing a small victory dance.
Trinity arched an eyebrow. She would never in a million years understand that girl. She rolled her eyes and
smiled.
"Neo? Load the jump program."
stances and martial arts moves online, which is both sad and pathetic since I took Tae Kwan Doe for almost a year
(yellow belt).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 15: The Construct Part III
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An endless expanse of white nothingness was laid before the two woman as Neo hammered away on the
keyboard, trying to load the Construct for the first time. He considered asking Morpheus for help, but was hesitant to
wake the captain. Apparently Cat had given him quite a headache.
Trinity stood still, watching Cat across from her like a hawk watches its prey. The blonde was oblivious to such
a hard gaze, too busy turning her head every which way, searching for something....anything. Dressed in the same
ensemble as all the others before her, Cat's only difference from Neo when he had been in her position was the gender.
She was not too happy about her outfit.
Cat looked over Trinity, who once again was wearing that same black leather, and looking at her like she was
mentally throttling her. "You can wear whatever you want in the Matrix, right?" Cat asked, shattering the silence and
heightening the tension.
"Yes," Trinity replied curtly.
"So your saying that you can basically download, or upload whatever style of clothing you want in this
computer generated world?"
"Exactly."
"So why can't you download me some Gucci, or sunglasses, like you?"
Trinity closed her eyes for a long time, her frustration hidden behind her dark shades, "Neo! Can you hurry it
up, please?!" she shouted upwards.
Slowly, piece by cyber-piece, a Japanese-style fighting dojo filled their field of vision. The last thing to change
was the women's wardrobe. In the blink of an eye, their matrix-appearance completely changed.
Cat couldn't help but be surprised at how different Trinity looked in a white Gi with her hair pulled back. She
was a lot less intimidating without the scowl and the black. She wore a more relaxed expression, like she belonged
here. Which couldn't have been a good thing for Cat.
Cat herself was dressed in a back Gi, with her long hair pulled back out of her face in a ponytail.
"I suppose this is an improvement..." she cracked her knuckles and rolled out her neck, feeling a new power
coursing through her veins. For the first time in her life, she was feeling...capable. Ready for whatever Trinity could
throw at her. Or so she thought...
"This is the Construct," Trinity began, motioning around the dojo with one hand, "The matrix is like any
computer game. Rules and boundaries such as gravity don't exist in the same way they do in the Real World. When you
truly believe this -when you free your mind- you can bend, even break, these very rules."
Trinity took a fighting stance, standing with her back erect and her head forward, feet parallel to her shoulders
and toes facing her target: Cat.
Cat stuck out her left foot out, leaning her weight on her back leg and raising the front so that only the balls of
her feet touched the floor. Trinity smiled, recognizing the stance as the "Cat Stance."
"Show me what you got," she demanded.
Cat charged, using her limited stance for what it was best at and kicking high towards Trinity's face.
Trinity leapt backwards and easily deflected her opponents move by merely swatting Cat's foot away, then used
the same move right back on her, but successfully nailing Cat right beneath the chin. Cat fell to her back and glared up
at the woman who smirked down at her.
She pushed out her right foot in an attempted foot sweep, which Trinity also easily avoided: leaping into the air
in a perfect straddle and surprising Cat with both her speed and height.
After Trinity fell six feet down and landed on her feet in almost one second, Cat lunged again, jumping from the
ground and trying to catch Trin in a straight out tackle. Cat hit the ground hard, wincing in pain as she grasped nothing
but air. Looking to the left, it was clear that she'd been side-stepped.
"Try getting up first," Trinity offered coldly.
Cat climbed to her feet and renewed her fighting stance, returning her opponents icy stare.
**
Neo leaned his elbow on the keyboard, holding his head up with his open palm and watching the screen in mild
amusement. Cat was terrible. She wasn't even using any of the martial arts moves that two hours worth of uploading
had given her.
Now she randomly swung at Trinity, who blocked or dodged every move. Instead of focusing or waiting for
opportunity, the blonde just attacked with fury, seemingly blinded by anger. But what would Cat be angry at Trinity
for?
Oh yeah, the break up thing....
**
Trinity was getting sick of this. She would not sit here and hold off Cat like a human swats at a fly. It was time
to teach the girl a lesson about applying knowledge...
Trinity leapt into the air, right foot bent with her shin vertical, left foot also slightly bent with her two pointed
and her arms out and level with her shoulders, hands limp and ready to apply her signature move. In one swift
movement, her right foot shot out, catching Cat right where she had before and sending her flying backwards.
Running fast as time went slow, Trinity was by her opponents side in an instance, quick enough to catch her
while she was down kick her in the stomach. But she wasn't done. Leaping over Cat's body while she was moving,
Trinity stopped her from rolling with her leg, lifting the entire girl off the floor with one foot in a flash and tossing her
into the air like she was a rag doll. As Cat fell, Trinity spun on one foot and extended the other, kicking Cat in the ribs
and sending her soaring yet again.
Trinity smiled at a job well done while her opponent struggled dizzily to her feet. She gave Cat a moment to
figure out where she was.
"Do you know how I did that?" she asked, rubbing her hands together and taking a lower stance.
Cat put her arms out to stop the world from spinning. She truly wanted to ask wether her beating was really
nessecary, but restrained herself and instead asked, "How- how do you go so...fast?"
"I told you. In here- in the matrix- you are not limited by the same rules you lived your life thinking you were.
The very laws of physics- they don't exist here in the same way you thought. Gravity?" Trinity raised an eyebrow,
"Bullshit. Speed? Nothings stopping you. Your gonna have to kiss Newton's laws goodbye if you want to move like I
do."
"What's a newton?" Cat asked, confused and trying to catch her breath.
Trinity looked up at the ceiling and sighed. How could she put this into words that someone like Cat could
understand?
"Just...Just remember that none of this is real, ok? Test it out..."
Cat nodded, taking another fighting stance and narrowing her eyes determinedly. She wasn't going down this
time...not without a fight.
Trinity shifted her feet, watching as Cat ran at her once again and trying to figure out just where she was going
wrong. As Cat ran towards her, fist raised, Trinity crouched down, coming up with both hands raised just as Cat
reached her and lifting the poor girls feet right above her head. When Cat landed on her back with a thud, Trinity kicked
her as hard as she could into the opposite wall.
Cat's problem was clear: the girl wasn't thinking things out- she just acted on impulse and kept forgetting to use
all that she'd learned.
"How bout you try and break some of those rules now?" Trinity asked with a grin as the weary rebel climbed to
her feet across the room. Trinity stepped back and raised her guard.
Cat charged a final time, trying to remember all Trinity had said. As she truly focused her thoughts, honestly
believed that she was no longer limited, She jumped.
A simple front flip, height maximized and speed increased by her new beliefs, carried her over Trinity, and Cat
was soon face to face with her opponents back. A rare opportunity that she was eager to take advantage of.
Completely aware of the situation, Trinity smiled smugly, ducking easily as Cat attempted a box-kick, then
turning around to mirror her move to perfection. Yet this time Cat was ready. She too ducked the kick, sweeping her
foot out in an attempt to knock Trinity's legs from under her.
Trinity jumped and let Cat's leg sweep across the area beneath her before landing and throwing her first punch.
Cat bent over backwards as Trinity's fist soared over her face, her hands finding the floor and using it to push off into a
back flip, putting some space between them.
**
Neo smiled, glad to see Cat picking up the pace. He clapped his hands together as he watched the screen,
applauding Trinity's finally executed moves. She was holding back, probably so that Cat would live another day, and he
noted that all her punches were thrown just a little off to the side, as Morpheus had originally done with him.
Trinity was taking it easy on Cat and it was obvious that it was a struggle for her. Either way, he was glad to see
the new crew member learning from her.
**
Cat swung and Trinity caught her fist before contact, kneeing her in the stomach one, two, three times, before
letting go. As Cat stumbled backwards, Trinity gave one final spinning heel kick, knocking her opponent onto her back.
Trinity relaxed her stance, lowering her fists, "You're pretty good," she said monotonously.
"Really?" Cat pushed her hair out of her face and leaned on her knees for support.
"No," Trinity admitted, "Though you are getting better. We'll get plenty of practice in here, when we're not
busy; but you really need to believe all this: you need to free your mind."
"Free my mind..." Cat echoed, nodding her head as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Why don't we try it one more time?" Trinity offered with a shrug.
"Sure, OK," Cat smiled, renewing her stance. Trinity did the same, motioning to her with the "bring it on"
motion.
This time Trinity was the first to strike, pulling off what Cat had tried at so many times. She used a foot-sweep
to drop her, then leaned over to place her fist inches away from Cat's neck before backing up enough to allow her to get
up. It was a move she often liked to use to catch her "brother" off guard and worked just as easily on Cat.
Cat jumped to her feet, this time with a slight smile. The mood had definitely lightened since they first entered
the dojo, and now they fought loosely, more for enjoyment or even fun- as opposed to Trinity kicking Cat's ass just for
some venting.
Trinity kicked towards Cat, who narrowly managed to duck the blow. She retaliated with a spinning box quick,
but Trinity caught her foot and twisted it, taking Cat's whole body along with it and sending her to the ground yet again.
It went like that for a few more minutes, with Cat yet to land a single blow. She was getting tired now, and had a
few bruises to sport. With her remainder of strength, she tried following Trinity's advice and attempted at one more rule
breaker. Jumping into the air, the tried at a triple kick. Each time she extended her foot, she gained more height, until
she was looking down on Trinity from an almost frightening level.
Although the jump was ground breaking for her, Trinity still managed to easily block each blow, and Cat fell to
the ground exhausted. As she lay there on the floor, catching her breath.
"Come on Cat, free your goddamn mind," Trinity ordered, trying not to smile.
Cat grinned and climbed wearily to her feet, "Once more, please?"
"Fine," Trinity restrained a sigh. She was getting bored.
**
Neo watched with growing interest as Cat attacked with more determination than before, swinging high and
immediately swinging low, hoping to catch Trinity off-guard but to no avail.
Just before her rapid hope loss, there was a change of tide. Trinity went to kick Cat, when her target's hands
shot out, catching Trinity's foot millimeters away from her stomach. Trinity twisted free and nailed Cat along side the
head with her now-freed foot.
Neo frowned at the screen. Cat was far from capable of blocking that move. What was even more confusing
was the truth: Trinity let her. On purpose.
**
Cat scrabbled to her feet, absolutely beaming. "I did it! I blocked you! You were about to kick me right in the
stomach and I blocked you!" she shrieked ecstatically, doing a small victory dance.
Trinity arched an eyebrow. She would never in a million years understand that girl. She rolled her eyes and
smiled.
"Neo? Load the jump program."