Disclaimer: See Part II.
Deus Ex Machina
Chapter 7
After school, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were met by Misato, who took them to the Council chamber. "They're meeting to discuss the battle," she explained, "and they might even have questions for you, Shinji."
The session had already begun by the time they arrived. The council members sat at a long table at the front of the room. Several smaller tables were arranged facing the council, and the rows of seats rose behind them.
Misato led the children to the seats saved for them, on the front row behind the Project staff's table. Morpheus quietly greeted them.
"What have we missed?" asked Misato.
Morpheus quietly answered. "A review of the battle, and some discussion about the Project's history."
"Booorrrrring," muttered Asuka.
Rei glanced around the room, noting the people that were there. Commander Fuyutsuki, Doctor Akagi, and some of their aides sat at one of the tables. Commander Lock and his senior officers were at another table. Project staffers were scattered throughout the crowd, and the Nebuchadnezzar's crew sat in the highest row.
Rei realized that, with the Angel attacks finally starting, she would no longer be able to go with her father on his missions. While she had stayed behind in Zion many times before, she did not like the idea that she wouldn't travel on the Neb for a long time.
Rei focused on the meeting again when commander Fuyutsuki stood to address the council. She had been working for him almost since the day she reached Zion, ten years before. Rei had realized at a young age that freed citizens formed their own family-like bonds. Morpheus had adopted her shortly after she was freed, and Kouzo and others at the Project felt like her extended family.
Commander Fuyutsuki cleared his throat. "For the last twelve years we have prepared for this day. The Angels have finally come, and we are strong enough to face them."
"Yes, so we have seen," said one of the councilors. "A single unit was enough to defeat an Angel the machines could not bring down. Yet we have three of them?"
Fuyutsuki nodded. "This was only the first of many, and we cannot know the power and capabilities of the future Angels. I sometimes fear that three may prove insufficient."
"But it took fifteen years for this angel to attack," argued another councilor.
"The Oracle has indicated that the incident in Siberia was only a scout," the Commander warned, "and that the real attacks will swiftly follow each other. We must be ready to strike at the Angels as they appear. We have three Evangelions and three capable pilots. I must ask the council to reassign the Balthasar to the Project, so we can attack the Angels in force."
"The Balthasar has been hauling resources from the mines for four years," said councilor Hamann. "Do you believe your use is more important that that?"
Fuyutsuki nodded. "It is what she was built for." Hamann smirked, nodding in agreement.
The council's oldest member cleared his throat. "Commander, the last Angel did not pose any threat to Zion. It was focused solely on attacking the machines. If these Angels could destroy the machines for us, why should we interfere?"
"Councilor Lawrence, it is our understand that the Angels are a danger to all intelligent life on earth, not just the machines. Since they control most of the planet, they are the more obvious target, but that does not mean we can escape unnoticed."
"That is a large assumption, Commander. If not the Angels, than can we use the Evangelions to bring down the Matrix?"
Fuyutsuki's eyes narrowed. "That would be unwise. We do not know what kind of defenses the machines have, or what effect destroying their core would have on the people trapped in the Matrix. It may kill every human connected to the system, or it may suddenly wake them all, dooming them to starvation on a planet that cannot support them. And the prophecy states that the Matrix will be brought down from within."
Lawrence frowned. "Thank you, Fuyutsuki. Commander Lock, would you care to answer my last question?"
Lock rose to his feet glanced over at the other commander. "As Commander Fuyutsuki suggests, destroying the Matrix with the Evangelions may have disastrous consequences. However, it appears that they could destroy the machines, if we chose to do so."
Lock stepped next to his table and faced the council. "From a purely strategic standpoint, the Evas are a weapon far more powerful than anything the machines have. The Angel withstood an N2 weapon, then self-destructed with even more force. But Unit 01 took only superficial damage."
The commander glanced at his Project counterpart, then turned back to the council. "With proper combat commanders, the Evangelions would be unstoppable."
A murmur buzzed through the crowd after Lock finished. He turned back to his table, only to have another aide run into the room. The newcomer quickly reached Lock and spoke quietly to him.
"He can't say things like that," growled Asuka.
Misato was equally furious. "I can't believe that. What a jerk," she muttered.
Lock listened to the man quietly, then turned to face the council. "This discussion may have to be continued." He looked over to Fuyutsuki. "Another Angel has been detected."
Ritsuko Akagi stepped into the center of the room, looking at the crowd around her. The briefing room was circular, with three rows of successively higher seats ringing the open area. The three pilots were seated in the front row, along with all the people that were essential to the mission. Every other seat was taken, and more people stood behind the last row, or crowded at the doorways.
The Project Center's main meeting room was suddenly Zion's new hot spot. The standing-room-only crowd included the top members of the Project, along with other senior staffers and engineers, plus councilor members, Commander Lock and several of his officers, and anyone else who could convince the Project gate guards that they were important enough to be there.
"As you all know, we received a report from the Xerxes that a large force of machines was detected." Akagi stepped to one edge of the open area and pulled a small remote from her pocket. Pressing a few buttons, she dimmed the room's lights and brought up a hologram that occupied the center of the room. The map showed the ship's location, several hundred miles from Zion.
"The Xerxes intercepted a few transmissions indicating that they were proceeding to a staging area." Another marker appeared on the map, showing where the machines had gathered. A number above the mark indicated that over one hundred sentinels had been detected. "It then received an open communication from the machines, telling them that an Angel was detected, and asking them to report it to Zion."
The map was replaced by a holographic image of the attacker. The monster had a long, squid-like body, with huge black eyes and two glowing tentacles. They watched as a group of sentinels was swatted with a tentacle, getting reduced to molten metal.
"The machines have been unable to penetrate its AT Field, and the Angel's energy weapon is destroying everything they throw at it. The only effect the machines are having is slowing the Angel's progress, as it stops to destroy its attackers."
The hologram changed again, going back to the map. The Angel was marked with a glowing red circle, and a line stretched from the circle toward a power plant. "The Angel's course will take it to the machine's regional plant in twenty hours. If we launch in the next hour, can intercept the Angel before it reaches its target."
"The Evangelions are already being loaded into the transports. Unit 01 will be carried by the Casper, and will be piloted by Shinji Ikari. Unit 02 will be on the Melchior, piloted by Asuka Langley. The Casper will be our command ship. Crew assignments for each ship will be given in half an hour."
Ritsuko pressed her remote, turning the lights back to full power. The meeting concluded, everybody in the room rose to their feet and began talking. Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki were immediately assaulted with questions.
Councilor Hamann pushed his way through the crowd to Commander Fuyutsuki. "Stop bothering the man," he said to the others around him. "This isn't a pleasure cruise, so quit asking to go along for the ride."
Kouzo smiled at the councilor as they made their way out of the room together. Once they reached the quieter hallway, he thanked him.
"Don't mention it," Hamann answered. "Truthfully, I want to ask the same thing. I've supported the Project from the start, and I would like to see that it has become what we hoped it would be."
Fuyutsuki opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. "Very well," he relented. "I can allow a handful of people to come with us on the Casper."
"Thank you, Commander," Hamann replied. "Is there any way I can help you prepare?"
Fuyutsuki looked back down the hallway, to see several more people approaching. "You could keep people form bothering the staff with trivial questions."
Hamann laughed. "I can do that for you. I could even select the people that will accompany you on the mission."
Fuyutsuki nodded, and quickly walked down the hall. Hamann turned to the newcomers and smiled brightly.
The pilots were quickly ushered into another room, and were kept isolated from the crowd outside. Morpheus and Misato had managed to find their way in, and joined the teenagers in nervous anticipation.
After ten minutes, Asuka jumped from her seat and began pacing. "Now is my chance," she muttered to herself.
"What was that?" Misato asked.
"Nothing." The redhead continued to pace. Everyone else watched her cross the small room. She took four steps in one direction, turned, and took four more steps, stopping at the other wall.
"Don't black out this time, Third," she said as she passed Shinji.
"Huh?"
Asuka glared at the boy. "I said don't black out. Otherwise, you might miss a demonstration of real piloting skills."
Shinji watched her as she still paced. "Um, okay."
Asuka spun and bent over Shinji, bringing her face within inches of his. "What do you mean 'okay'? Just follow my lead out there, got it? And what are you laughing at?" she yelled, turning toward Misato.
The operator snickered again. "Nervous?"
"No!" Asuka retorted. The door opened before she could elaborate, so she settled for glaring at Misato.
Ritsuko Akagi walked into the room, carrying a data pad. "We've finished loading the Evangelions, and are ready for you to board the ships. Asuka, you'll go on the Melchior; Shinji, you're on the Casper."
"So why is he fighting?" asked Asuka. "Why not Rei? She's better trained."
"Because Shinji has already defeated an Angel," Ritsuko answered. "And he is only familiar with 01. Unless you think Rei should pilot 02."
"No!" Asuka yelled. She quickly turned to Rei. "Now don't think I'm being rude. You've just never used 02 before, and it's different enough from 00 that it could hurt your response time in combat."
Rei nodded. "I understand. You are very possessive of the Eva."
"And Rei tells it like it is," Misato commented.
"Rei, you'll come on the Casper too," said Ritsuko. "You are familiar with 01, and it would be wise to have a backup pilot along on the mission."
"And father?" she signed.
"You are welcome to observe the operation, Morpheus. We would appreciate having your expertise with us."
Morpheus nodded. "Thank you."
Akagi turned to Misato. "And I would like you there also. Maya and Dozer will be on the Melchior, so I need a third person on the command deck. You did well last time, and I think you can help us again."
Misato shrugged. "Well, I don't know. It's a long way to go, just to have a little fight." She laughed as Ritsuko's eyebrow twitched. "You're too serious, Ritsuko. Of course I'll do it."
As they boarded the ship, Commander Fuyutsuki invited Shinji to watch the takeoff from the cockpit. He accepted, and followed the man to the ship's forwardmost section. Like everything else on the transport ship, the cockpit was bigger than on a regular hovercraft. Only one seat was occupied, so Fuyutsuki motioned for Shinji to sit the right seat, while he took the one next to it.
"We are powered up and ready to go, sir," Tank reported from the pilot seat. "The Melchior reports the same."
"Lift off," Fuyutsuki commanded, picking up a head set. "Casper to Zion control, prepare to open the gates."
A woman's voice responded over the radio. "Roger, Casper. Gates opening, pulsars disabled. Good hunting."
Fuyutsuki put the headset away and watched the walls of the Geofront approach. Shinji leaned forward to see where they were headed. The tunnel that the Nebuchadnezzar had used to reach Zion was far too small for the huge Eva transports.
The ship rose to a point halfway up the dome and slowed slightly. A massive door set in the wall slid apart, letting the ship into a huge tunnel. Shinji looked down the tunnel, which angled upward for miles. Other doors were opening, further up the tunnel.
"This tunnel leads straight to the surface," explained Fuyutsuki. "The transports could never fly the underground tunnels that the fleet uses. Then again, we're not trying to be so discreet with these."
Shinji saw a large, low metal dome in the ground of the tunnel. "What is that thing?" he asked.
"We call that a pulsar," said Tank. "It's an EMP weapon. If the machines ever tried to come down this tunnel, we set it off, and fry all their systems. But what they don't know is that this thing can fire again and again. So if another wave tries to come down, we cook them, too."
"Not that we expect the machines to attack Zion," added Fuyutsuki. "They no longer have to forces to mount a full scale attack on Geofront."
"But once we're outside, they could attack us, couldn't they?" asked Shinji.
"Ah, but they won't," said Tank. "The machines basically asked for us to come fight the Angel for them. We can't save them if they try to attack us."
Fuyutsuki turned in his seat to face Shinji. "Are you ready for this?"
"For fighting in the Eva again?" Shinji asked. When the commander nodded, he continued. "I guess so. It helps that I got a few days of training after we arrived in Zion. I'll know what I'm doing this time."
"Your training is incomplete," Fuyutsuki said. "But we only have the time the Angels give us. Let Asuka take the lead in this battle, and help her as you can."
Shinji nodded.
The tunnel ended, opening into deep darkness. Occasional flashes of lighting played across the sky, briefly lighting the rocky landscape. "It's so dark," Shinji remarked.
"It's after sundown," explained Tank.
Shinji stared up through the overhead window. The brief flashes illuminated the bottoms of heavy, dark clouds. It was his first time on the surface after being freed, and he had hoped to see the stars.
As they flew, the Balthasar pulled alongside the Casper. The two ships flew side by side, over the undulating hills below.
"Why don't you go get some rest," suggested the Commander. "We won't reach the Angel for about ten hours."
Shinji agreed, and left to find his assigned cabin.
Dozer sat at the controls of the Melchior. With the command staff all aboard the Casper, where they could manage the battle, he was placed in charge of the second ship, with a small compliment of technicians.
Dozer glanced to his left, imaging he could see his brother in the Casper's cockpit. In fact, the ships were almost a mile apart, hugging the smooth plain they were crossing.
The distance between them saved both ships. Dozer had only a second's warning before half the port hover pads failed, causing the Melchior to turn sharply to the left. As alarms rang around him, Dozer quickly increased the power to the remaining port pads.
The ship swung wildly around its axis, under the deft control of the pilot. Dozer dropped the landing gear and set the ship down in a bone-jarring landing.
For a moment he simply stared out the windshield, gripping the control sticks fiercely. He shook himself and began silencing the alarms.
The radio crackled as Tank's voice reached his ears. "Melchior, what happened?"
"We had a pad failure, bro," he said.
Maya Ibuki limped into the cockpit and quickly sat in the chair next to dozer. She pulled up a holographic display to examine the problem.
"How bad is it?" asked Tank.
"We're checking now. You better get the commander."
"Copy." The radio went silent for a moment as Dozer and Maya examined the displays. More crewmembers began to arrive. Maya quickly ordered several of the to check on the Evangelion, and sent the rest to check for damage to the ship.
"Dozer, what happened?"
"Commander, we've had a power failure on the port of hover pad banks. There's no power to half the pads."
"Can you fix it?" the Fuyutsuki asked.
Dozer glanced at Maya. They both mentally assessed the situation and reached a silent agreement. "Not here sir. There are a thousand things it could be. We can still move, but not very fast. Half speed, at best."
Fuyutsuki was silent for a moment. "We can't afford a delay," he finally decided. "Return to Zion, we'll intercept the Angel with unit 01."
Dozer sighed. "Copy, commander. Good luck." He pulled of the headset and threw it at the console.
Maya looked no less agitated. "This is what we get for rushing out in an unfinished ship," she grumbled. "Let's see what we have to do to go home."
The both turned to see Asuka standing at the cockpit's entrance. The girl glared at both of them for a long moment, as though the failure was their fault. She turned and walked away, disappearing into the Eva bay.
"That went better then I would have thought," mused Dozer.
Shinji didn't find out about the problem until he woke, several hours later. Misato broke the news to him during breakfast. Already nervous, Shinji found his appetite completely gone after that.
With one hour before intercept, Shinji was taken to the conference room on the ship for a briefing. The small room was crowded with the extra passengers who had come along. Councilors Hamann and Lawrence, Commander Lock, and two of his aides, Mifune and Sims, had all accompanied the mission.
They now sat or stood around the conference table, along with Shinji and the technicians who would direct the battle. Ritsuko Akagi began the briefing.
"As you are aware, the Melchior experienced a system failure that forced it to turn back to Zion. Despite this, we are fully confident that we can defeat the Angel.
"A sizable force of sentinels is currently attacking the Angel. They are not able to penetrate the Angel's AT Field, but the Angel is having difficulty destroying them. Its only weapon appears to be two charged tentacles, which cut through the sentinels when the manage to hit one."
"Excuse me, doctor," Lock interrupted. "Won't the Evangelion be an easier target for the Angel to hit?"
"The Eva has its own AT field, which it should be able to defend itself with," the woman answered. Once Unit 01 reaches the Angel, it will extend its AT Field, neutralize the Angel's Field, and destroy its core."
"Perfectly easy," remarked Misato. She flashed a confident smile to Shinji. "We'll be on our way home in no time."
"Perfectly easy?" asked Morpheus. He and Misato had walked Shinji down to the Eva bay, and were on their way back to the command center.
Misato shrugged. "I thought he needed some encouragement. He looked pretty shaken when I told him he was fighting alone again. And all those old men and their sour expressions weren't helping any."
"He's still going to fight, though," said Morpheus. "He could have easily asked for Rei to be sent instead."
Misato glanced over her should at Rei, who followed behind them. "Are you glad he didn't ask, Morpheus?" Morpheus did not answer the question, but Misato had her suspicions.
They parted as they reached the command center. Morpheus and Rei went to the conference room, while Misato took her place in the rightmost seat of the command console. Slipping on her headset, she flashed a thumbs-up to the other two techs, Shigeru and Makoto.
Makoto twisted around in his seat, facing the commander. "Ten minutes to the drop point," he said.
Fuyutsuki nodded. "Begin synchronization."
Misato spoke into her headset. "Shinji, can you hear me?"
"Yes," he answered.
"We're starting the synchronization."
"Okay."
"Flooding the entry plug with LCL," Shigeru reported. They waited a moment for the plug to fill, and to see the pilot's reaction. After a brief, instinctive moment of panic, Shinji relaxed, and breathed the liquid deeply.
"He's handling it much better this time," Misato commented.
Shigeru began the next step. "Activating the link. Input has begun...0.3, 0.2, 0.1...borderline...sync! He's connected to the Eva."
"What's his ratio?" Ritsuko asked.
"Forty-eight percent," Shigeru answered.
"He's up four points from last week?" Misato asked. "Is that possible?"
"It hasn't been done before," Ritsuko remarked. She turned and faced the back wall. A long section at the top of the wall had been folded down, allowing the conference room to look into the commander center. All of the extra passengers were crowded into it, watching intently.
Rei was near one edge of the window, standing in front of Morpheus. Ritsuko wasn't certain, but she thought the girl looked impressed with the information.
"There's a transmission coming in from the machines," Makoto announced.
"Let's hear it," Fuyutsuki said.
A deep artificial voice echoed out of the speakers. "MAGI to Zion ship. Please respond."
Fuyutsuki nodded to Misato. "Copy, MAGI," she said into her headset. "We hear you."
In the conference room, Morpheus and Lock glanced at each other. "MAGI?" Lock mouthed. Morpheus shrugged.
"Have you brought the humanoid fighting machine?" the voice asked.
Misato glanced back at the commander, who nodded again. "Roger, we have brought our Evangelion."
"Our forces will withdraw. Engage and destroy the Angel."
The transmission ended. "Well, nice of them to ask," Misato said.
"Two minutes to intercept," Makoto reported.
The process to drop the Eva quickly began. The huge doors underneath the ship slid aside and Unit 01 was swung down to a vertical position. Shinji could see the Angel ahead of him, with sentinels flying around it like flies. As the Casper drew closer they flew away, and the Angel turned to face the oncoming Eva.
"Drop Unit 01," ordered Ritsuko.
The Eva fell away from the transport, hitting the ground and skidding forward. The Casper rose and banked away sharply as the Eva straightened.
The Angel reared up like a cobra as it stared at the Eva with huge, glassy eyes. Its long tentacles gently swayed at its sides as it sized up the new opponent. The two titans stood for an agonizingly long moment, staring each other down.
A blur of red was all Shinji had for warning as one of the tentacles lashed forward at Unit 01. He instinctively raised the Eva's right arm to block it. The tentacle snapped across the arm, searing the armor and eliciting a pained gasp from the pilot. Shinji backed away, dodging a swipe from the Angel's other tentacle, as the command crew analyzed the battle.
"Minor surface damage to the armor," Makoto reported. "Those tentacles seem to contain some kind of charged plasma; it could melt through the Eva with prolonged contact."
"Shinji, don't let it hit you," Misato said, only to see both tentacles strike Unit 01 in the chest, toppling it backwards. "Use your AT Field to defend yourself."
"Okay," the boy groaned. As the Angel approached to attack, he focused on raising the barrier. The orange field appeared as the Angel swung a tentacle down, getting it sliced off as it crossed the barrier. The Angel screeched and backed away, the damaged tentacle waving erratically.
"Shinji, use the knife to pierce the Angel's core!" Misato shouted.
The Eva climbed to its feet, drawing the huge knife from it's shoulder housing. As the blade came to life, Shinji charged toward the Angel and lunged forward, leading with the knife.
The Angel twisted, taking its core out the path of the glowing blade edge. It sank into the softer flesh of the Angel's body, drawing another earth shattering screech. The Angel twisted and drove its unharmed tentacle through Unit 01's right hand.
Shinji screamed and backed away as the knife fell to the ground. The Eva held it's mangled right hand in its left, mimicking the posture of the pilot inside.
"Sensory input is too high," Shigeru reported. "His synch is dropping."
"Disable the right forearm," Fuyutsuki commanded.
Shinji let out another gasp as the pain suddenly disappeared. The Eva's right arm hung limply at its side. Shinji turned to find his opponent, spotting it as Misato yelled a warning. The Angel had dropped back down to the ground and rushed forward. It slammed into the Eva's legs, knocking it to the ground.
The Eva hit the ground face first, knocking Shinji to the edge of consciousness. He was vaguely aware of the shouts directed to him from the Casper. Shinji turned his head and saw the Angel coming at him again. The monster slammed into the Eva's side, causing it to roll several times. The Angel lashed the Eva with its tentacles as it flew over, leaving great scorch marks across the Eva's back and shoulders.
"Shinji, get out of there," Ritsuko ordered. "We'll make a decoy run and try to draw the Angel away. Get back and we'll regroup."
The woman quickly gave orders, and the Casper began to fly forward. The transport had been waiting several miles away, watching the fight. The command crew ignored the muttering coming from their observers as the ship accelerated.
The Angel turned at the Eva again, as Shinji was trying to climb to his feet. The Angel crossed the Casper's path a few hundred years ahead of the ship. As they reached the nearest point, the Casper's cannons opened fire, pounding the Angel's AT Field with hundreds of rounds of molten metal.
The Angel swung its damaged tentacle at the hovercraft, narrowly missing the ship. The Casper banked to the right, quickly getting away from the Angel. But the Angel showed a sudden burst of speed as it finished turning, and began closing the gap on the Casper.
Shinji had gotten the Eva to its feet, and he watched as the Angel turned its attention to the Casper. "It's going to catch you," he said."
"Shinji, get out of here," ordered Misato.
The Angel swung its good tentacle forward. The tip of it grazed the tail of the Casper, slicing through the ship's skin. The back end of the Casper dipped slightly as several of the rear hover pads lost power.
"NO!" Shinji screamed, lunging forward. He collided with the Angel, letting its head hit Unit 01's torso as he wrapped the Eva's good arm around the Angel. The monster tried to twist and buck the Evangelion away, but Shinji held firm.
The Angel's good tentacle lanced forward, piercing the Evangelions stomach. Shinji screamed in rage and pain as he continued to hold on, trying to strangle the Angel. He brought the damaged right arm up, further reinforcing his hold on the Angel.
"The left power cell has been pierced!" Makoto yelled. "He'll lose power in a few minutes!"
"Shinji, you've got to get out of there!" Ritsuko shouted.
Misato could only watch as the boy continued to scream at the Angel, ignoring their commands. A flash of movement at the edge of the view screen caught her attention. "Shinji, turn the Angel over," she ordered.
The rest of the command staff snapped their attention to her. "What are you-" Ritsuko began.
"Expose its core, then nullify its AT Field with your own," Misato continued. She quickly changed the radio's frequencies and called out again. "MAGI, this is the Casper, are you still there?"
"Yes," the mechanical voice answered.
"Move in and destroy the Angel's core," Misato said.
The machine did not immediately respond. As they watched, the Evangelion fell onto its right side, twisting the Angel around so its core was visible. The monster struggled but couldn't get free as the Eva held it down. There was a brief shimmer of orange light, and as it faded the Angel's thrashing grew more violent.
"We will comply," the MAGI finally said.
Dozens of sentinels streamed out of their hiding places. The machines swarmed around the Angel, grabbing onto it with their clawed tentacles and cutting it with lasers. The Angel tried to swat them away with its free tentacle, but the damaged limb couldn't destroy enough of them. The sentinels clung thick as bees to the Angel's body, piercing the core in countless places.
With a last shudder, the core darkened and the Angel died. The great floating body fell to the ground with an earthshaking impact, while its tentacles lost their glow and fell away limply.
Shinji panted in the cockpit, watching the sentinels continue to carve into the Angel. They had spread out from the core, cutting into all parts of the monster.
As the Eva stood, the sentinels scattered, disappearing into tunnels that led below ground. Many of them carried slices cut from the Angel's core and body.
A single sentinel flew slowly upwards, finally leveling out before Unit 01's face. A deep, synthesized voice carried though the radio. "Well fought, human," it said. With that, the machine turned over and dove for the tunnels, following the rest of the sentinels below ground.
Author's Notes:
There it is, the second battle. Please, review and tell me how well it was done.
I will be changing the name of this fic soon. When I began writing, I did not know that there would be a Deus Ex Machina in Matrix Revolutions. (That was the big floating machine that Neo talks to near the end of the movie.) I don't believe that my use of that term is justified now, and I may not have properly explained its use anyway. (Deus Ex Machina is Latin, and means A god out of a Machine.)
When the name change happens, probably with the next chapter, I will be sure to note it in the summary.
Again, thank you for reading my little story.