Disclaimer: See Part III.
Deus Ex Machina
Chapter 12
Smith smiled, holding the pistol firmly to Rei's head. "Well, Mr. Anderson. What will you do now?"
"Let her go," Neo commanded.
Smith shook his head, still smirking. "So you can take her and fly away? I think not. We will settle this, here, now."
Neo shifted his stance, getting ready to rush forward. "What do you want, Smith?" he hissed.
"I want you to die, Mr. Anderson," Smith replied. "I want you to die, and stay dead."
"You Agents can't beat me, Smith," Neo said.
"No?" Smith asked. "You've never beaten us, either. You fight very well, but you never finish the fights. You just fly away when it suits you."
Smith's glare darkened as he continued. "You only lower yourself to fighting us so that others can get away." He glanced down at Rei. "If you leave, we will kill her."
"You can't do that," another voice said.
Neo and the Agents turned to see the Cypher standing inside the damaged building, shuffling through a stack of papers.
"An Exile," one of Smith's partners said. The other drew his pistol, firing two quick rounds at Cypher.
"Hold your fire!" he screamed, diving for cover. Cypher peeked out a moment later, seeing the Agents lower their weapons.
He stood and brushed himself off. "You can't kill the girl. She's an Evangelion pilot; she's protected by the treaty."
Smith's eyes narrowed. "She's intruded into the Matrix."
"Pilots are protected, regardless of where they are," Cypher replied, folding his arms and glaring back at the Agent.
Smith growled, whipping his pistol up and shooting Cypher. As the renegade program fell, Rei twisted around, slipping out of the Agent's grasp.
Neo lunged forward, kicking the pistol from Smith's hand. He followed with a hard punch to the face, spinning the Agent around.
Smith turned with the punch, using the momentum to lash out with a kick, squarely into Rei's back. She tumbled toward the other Agents. Smith reached out and grabbed Neo's sleeve as he turned to follow her, yanking him backwards and off his feet. The Agent smashed his elbow down on Neo's chest, slamming him into the ground.
"Hold her!" Smith shouted to his partners as he backed up, barely avoiding Neo's kick at his head. Neo flipped back to his feet as Smith stepped between him and Rei.
"This time, we finish it," he said.
Smith stepped forward, leading with a punch. Neo blocked, delivering his own punches to Smith's side. A swift kick sent the Agent crashing into a wall.
Smith shook off the impact as he bounced out of the crater he had made. He dodged Neo's next punch, kicking the man in the stomach. A second kick to the chest, and Neo made his own crater in the opposite wall.
Dazed, Neo didn't see Smith's next punch until it connected with his face. Neo's head snapped back, smashing into the brick behind him. He fell to the ground, blood trickling from his nose.
Smith glared down at him. "You see, Mr. Anderson? You cannot beat us." He grabbed Neo's collar and pulled him to his feet. "You can still run away. You're not dead yet."
Neo's right arm lashed out, grabbing Smith's throat. The Agent gasped as Neo began to squeeze. "Enough of this," he growled.
Smith swung at Neo's arm, knocking it away from his neck. Neo launched a left punch, sending Smith staggering back and against the wall. He leapt forward, crushing Smith's head between his foot and the brick wall. The Agent crumpled to the ground, his body changing to that of a middle-aged man.
Neo turned to glare at the other two Agents. "Now, let her go."
One of the Agents shook his head, motioning to the other end of the alley. Neo turned to see a third floor window shatter as Smith leapt through it.
The Agent slammed down to the street and began walking forward. "That was impressive, Mr. Anderson, but pointless. We cannot die." He glanced at the body he had formerly occupied. "If you destroy one host, I get another. Will you kill the whole world to defeat me?"
Smith smiled. "How about we make a deal? Give yourself up, and I'll let the girl go."
Neo glared at the Agent. "You expect me to believe that?"
"I'm a machine of my word," Smith replied. His smile turned into a hateful sneer. "It is inevitable, Mr. Anderson. You will die. The question is, how many must die with you?"
Smith drew his pistol and pointed it at Rei, emptying the clip at her. Neo leapt between the two, the bullets stopping before they reached him. "Enough!"
Smith smiled maliciously, holstering his weapon. "So you understand now?"
Neo smiled back. "I think I do."
Smith watched in surprise as Neo launched into a sprint. The Agent tried to take a defensive stance, but too late.
Neo lunged forward. His fingers made contact with the Agent's stomach, and passed through it. Neo disappeared into the Agent's body as if he dove into water.
Smith stared at his stomach for a moment, shock and absolute confusion on his face. His body twisted and convulsed as his skin began to bulge from interior force. Ripples flowed though his flesh, starting at his extremities and ending at the top of his head. Cracks formed in his skin and clothing, and light poured out from within him.
With a final tortured scream, Agent Smith exploded as his code was savagely taken apart. In his place stood the One, his back to the others. The glow that had broken out of Agent engulfed Neo, wrapped around him like cloak.
The two Agents behind Rei tensed, taking a step back from the girl. Neo half turned, looking over his shoulder. The glow around him flowed together, coalescing into two pinpoints of light shining though his sunglasses.
The Agents ran.
Rei stood, staring at the man. Neo blinked, and the light disappeared. He slowly walked toward the girl, staggering for the first few step. He pulled out his cell phone. "Switch, I need an exit," he hoarsely whispered.
As Neo listened to the directions, Rei deflated. A tired sigh escaped her lips as her legs buckled, dropping her to the ground.
Neo was reaching down to help her up when a loud curse got his attention. He turned to see Cypher, a bullet wound in his shoulder, climbing through the broken wall.
"You really did it now, Neo," the Cypher said.
"What do you mean?"
"You killed an Agent!" Cypher exclaimed. "That's never happened before. This is going to throw everything into chaos. It's incredible!"
Neo stared at Cypher for a moment, trying to reconcile the program's enthusiastic smile and the blood flowing freely down his shirt. Shaking his head, he gently helped Rei to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded, and, leaning on Neo help, they walked out of the alley together.
"Hey, Neo!" Cypher called after them. He continued when Neo looked back. "She's waiting for you, if you want to talk."
Neo nodded, then continued out onto the street.
Stephen Tsujimoto stared out the window. "What...what just happened?" he asked.
"An error," Morhpeus replied.
"Was that...the Matrix?" Tsujimoto asked.
Morpheus smiled. "Not exactly. Do you want to know what the Matrix is now?"
Stephen turned to Maya. "I'll have to disappear, won't I?"
Maya nodded, understanding. "You'll be leaving everything, forever. It's a difficult life. But you'll be free."
"Free?" he asked.
Maya smiled, pulling a necklace from her pocket. "You'll understand soon," she said, handing the square cross to the young man.
Morpheus pulled out his cell phone, hitting the speed dial. "Switch, tell them to come pick us up." Morpheus listened for a moment, muttering a quick "Yes" before disconnecting.
He pocketed the phone and turned to the others. "Let's go."
Morpheus turned and walked rapidly out of the room, and Maya hurried to follow him. She glanced back to see Stephen stuffing papers into his backpack. "You won't need those," she said. "You can't bring anything with you."
Stephen set the bag down, staring at it for a moment before he slowly turned away. He followed Maya out, closing and locking the door to the lab.
Outside the building, Trinity and Apoc were waiting. Morpheus took off his jacket and tossed it into the sedan. "Trinity, I want you to take care of Tsujimoto's release." Trinity nodded, and Morpheus climbed onto Apoc's motorcycle, quickly accelerating away.
Switch hung Neo's link plug in its cradle and quickly returned to the operator console. "What happened in there?" she asked Neo as he stepped next to her.
"The tornado, or Smith?" he responded.
"Both."
"I'm really not sure," Neo said. He glanced over his shoulder at the link chairs. Rei still lay with her eyes closed, even though her plug had been removed first.
"Do you think she's okay?" Neo asked.
Switch looked back at the girl. "She'll be fine. She's a tough kid."
Neo nodded. "Yeah. Morpheus has taught her to be strong. She handled herself well through all that."
It was Switch's turn to nod. "She did." Switch typed a quick command on her keyboard, watching as certain parts of the code were isolated and expanded. "They're taking him back to the safe house," she said, pointing at the left screen. "Looks like we will be taking on a passenger."
"I'll go make sure that everything is ready," Neo said. He climbed down the ladder to the lower deck.
Switch watched the crew's progress on the monitors. After a few minutes, she glanced over her shoulder at Rei. The girl was sitting on her chair, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Hey, are you okay?" Switch asked.
Rei nodded blankly, her eyes slightly downcast.
Switch frowned, turning her seat to face the girl. "Are you sure?"
Rei sat still for a moment, before finally signing her response. "I almost died three times today," she said.
"Three times?" Switch repeated, confused. "There was the tornado, and then the Agents. What was the third?"
"Landing the ship," Rei replied.
Switch blinked, then laughed as a wry smile briefly appeared on Rei's face. "You know, some of us would call that a good day," the blond said.
Rei nodded, smiling again. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, getting off the link chair.
"Well, why don't you go up to the cockpit," Switch suggested. "You can find us a quick route up to the surface. It looks like we're going to free that kid."
Rei nodded, quickly moving to the forward ladder.
Switch turned back to the console as an Exit call came in. She quickly activated the transmission, returning Morpheus's mind to his body.
Morpheus waited until the link plug was removed before he sat up. "Where's Rei?" he asked quickly, glancing around the main deck.
"She's up in the cockpit, getting us ready to go," Switch replied. "Aren't we about to free someone?"
Morpheus nodded absently. "Trinity will handle it."
Switch quickly realized why Morpheus had handed off a captain's duty to his first officer. "She's okay," Switch reassured the captain, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I think she was a little shaken, but Neo took care of her."
"Where is Neo?" Morpheus asked.
"Down below, making sure the retrieval arm and the infirmary are ready."
"Good," Morpheus said, looking at the Matrix screens. "We'll be picking him up soon. I'll go get us ready to fly. Let me know as soon as the others are out."
"Yes sir," Switch replied as the captain climbed the short ladder to the cockpit.
Stephen Tsujimoto followed Maya up the stairs of the office building, growing more unsure with every step. She and her companions had barely spoken to him during the drive to this building.
Trinity opened a door and stepped into a large room. She stepped in and looked around, investigating the area. "Apoc, Maya, go get the equipment ready."
The two crossed the room, disappearing through another door. Trinity stepped to a large window that let in the evening sun. She took off her sunglasses and gazed out.
"This will be the last time you can see the world like this, if you come with us," she said. "After this, there's no coming back.
"You can still back out." She opened her left hand, revealing the blue pill resting in her palm. "You can stay, lead a normal life. We won't think any less of you."
Trinity opened her other hand, holding out the red pill. "If you want to come with us, we leave immediately."
Stephen stared at the pills for a moment. He reached out and took the red pill, hesitating before placing it in his mouth. He quickly swallowed the pill, without water.
Trinity smiled. She reached out and took the cross necklace they had given Stephen. "You won't need that any more. Come with me."
"The clock is running!" Switch shouted, starting a timer as the process of releasing Stephen's mind began. Seconds later, the phone rang, and Maya was out.
Rei quickly ran behind the woman, pulling the link plug from her head and putting it away. She repeated the process for Apoc and Trinity as they were also disconnected from the Matrix. All three were out in twenty seconds.
"We're ready to go," Switch said into her headset.
"Rerouting power," Morpheus replied from the cockpit. The console screens went dark as power was directed to the hover pads. Fifty seconds after the timer began its count, the Nebuchadnezzar lifted off and started up the tunnel.
Trinity climbed up to the cockpit, sitting in the copilot seat. "Which tower was he in?" she asked, looking at the holographic map.
"One of the furthest," Morpheus replied.
"I hope he's strong enough to swim," Trinity muttered. Ninety seconds had passed.
"We'll get there," Morpheus replied.
The Neb soared up the long, straight tunnel. Two minutes after Stephen was freed, the ship reached a vertical shaft. Forty-five seconds later, it breached the earth's surface.
Morpheus pushed the ship forward, roaring over the fields of human fetuses. He realized that Rei had come to the cockpit. Morpheus glanced over at the girl. She was staring out the window, looking down. He could see a slight, nervous clench of her jaw, as she took in the fields.
"Three minutes, fifty seconds," Trinity read as the ship reached the first power plant tower. Lightning arched from the hover pads to the tubes on the tower's surface as the ship passed.
"Four minutes," Trinity said. "He's been dumped."
Morpheus pushed the Neb down, slowing and leveling the ship fifty feet above the ground. Searchlights turned on as the ship flew over a large stream. "Keep your eyes open," Morpheus said. "We have to find him before he gets washed into the recycling plant."
The three watched the water below as the ship flew on. One minute later, a scream to backup came from the lower deck. Leaning out the hatch, Apoc had spotted their new comrade, struggling in the water.
Morpheus backed the ship up, hovering over where Stephen had last been seen. The mechanical arm was dropped into the water, grabbing the boy and bringing him up to the Neb.
Half drowned, Stephen Tsujimoto wasn't aware of his arrival as a free man. The process had taken less than six minutes.
Neo and Apoc carried Stephen to the infirmary, where Maya waited for them. The teen was quickly laid out on the table and covered with heavy blankets. Hairless and pale, he shivered uncontrollably.
Maya watched the diagnostic screens as they began reporting his status. "He's okay," she finally said. "He'll be fine. We can start work on him soon."
Any response was cut off as the alarms started buzzing. "Sentinels!" Morpheus shouted through the intercom.
"Stay with him!" Neo said to Maya as he followed Switch and Apoc out of the room.
Neo followed Apoc to the tiny aft gun control room, squeezing past the other man to get to his seat. "What's out there?" he asked, powering the gun up and slipping on a headset.
"Four squiddies behind us," Apoc said. He turned his control stick and squeezed the trigger, firing a long stream of ammo from the lower turret. "Make that two squiddies behind us," he grinned
"Two more coming up from below," Switch said through the intercom.
The Neb screamed over the fields, four sentinels following in its wake. The rear turrets, mounted top and bottom, fired rapid bursts at the pursuers.
"They're moving too quickly," Apoc said. "We can't get a lock."
"Hold on," Morpheus said from the cockpit. "We're diving."
The Neb reached the shaft it had come up and simply dropped as Morpheus cut power to the lower pads. The crew got the sickening sensation of zero gravity as the Neb went into free fall.
The sentinels flew over the lip of shaft, and into a stream of fire from the Neb's upper turrets. Two of the machines were immediately torn apart.
The remaining sentinels dove fast, rocketing past the Neb as the hovercraft's pads kicked back in, halting its fall. The ship accelerated into a tunnel as the sentinels tried to turn around.
"Good shooting, Switch," Neo said.
"That wasn't me," the woman replied through the intercom. "Rei has the top turret up here. I haven't fire a round yet."
"There's one behind us," Apoc said. Neo and Apoc turned the aft turrets toward the sentinel, showering it with explosive ammo. The machine shuddered under the impact, tumbling forward and exploding against a wall of the tunnel.
"Where's the last squiddie?" Apoc asked, swiveling his turret to examine the tunnel.
The Neb pressed on, following the twists deeper below the surface. Tension ran throughout the ship as the crew anxiously searched for their last pursuer.
"It wouldn't have turned back, would it?" Trinity asked Morpheus.
"I don't know," Morpheus replied. "Maybe, since we're away from the power plant, we're no longer a threat."
More minutes passed as they watched the tunnels and their scopes, without a hint of the machine. Until it burst from a narrow side shaft.
"Below us!" Trinity screamed into her head set.
Apoc and Switch turned their turrets as the sentinel slammed into the underside of the Neb, grabbing a hold of the ship with powerful claws. Both turrets opened fire, shredding the sentinel. The machine fell away, crashing down on the floor of the tunnel.
The bomb carried by the sentinel exploded, rocking the tunnel. The shock wave kicked the Neb forward, violently throwing it around in the tunnel. The ship's tail scrapped the roof of the tunnel, causing it to twist further.
Morpheus growled under his breath as he struggled to bring the ship back under control. He quickly slowed, managing to level the ship off before he hit another wall.
Apoc shot both arms into the air in victory. "WHOO!" Neo grimaced and pulled his headset off, rubbing his offended ears.
"Nothing else on the scopes," Trinity said.
Morpheus nodded. "Let's find a place to set down and check for damage."
In the forward gun control room, below the cockpit, Switch and Rei took off their headsets. "Four times," Rei signed.
Switch smiled. "A very good day, then."
While the crew patched up small holes on the ship's underside, Neo jacked back into the Matrix. The Cypher was waiting for him at the crew's safe house, and took him to a coffee shop near the campus Tsujimoto had come from.
Neo followed him into the shop. He saw Her immediately, sitting at a small table with a mug and a newspaper. She folded the paper as he approached.
"You didn't bring Rei?" the Oracle asked.
"You're surprised?" Neo replied as he sat across from Her.
The Oracle chuckled. "No, but I am a little disappointed. It's been some time since I've seen her. Tell Morpheus to let her come see me the next time she's here."
Neo nodded, smiling. His expression grew more somber after a moment. "What happened today?"
"Which event are you referring too?" the Oracle asked.
"Both."
The Oracle smiled. "You hope I know more than you do about what you've done today."
Neo remained silent as She took a sip of her coffee. "I had feared an intruder into the Matrix," she said. "I guess this tells us how sophisticated the intelligence behind the Angels is."
"So it was an Angel?" Neo asked.
"It's certainly wasn't from the machines," the Oracle said. "Was it yours?"
"Will this happen again?" Neo asked.
"Perhaps," the Oracle replied. "I think so." She took another sip from the mug. "Now, about that pesky Agent. Why don't you tell me what happened."
Neo took a moment to answer, gathering his thoughts. "I saw an opening. A place in his code that I could manipulate."
The Oracle nodded. "You're abilities are getting stronger. Given enough time, you could learn to change anything you want."
"Is that what being the One is?"
"The One has extensive power over the Matrix. How far that power goes, even I cannot say."
Neo's phone rang and he answered it, listening for a moment. "I have to go," he said to the Oracle, rising from his seat.
She nodded knowingly. "It will be a while before we speak again. Take care of those kids, Neo."
"I will," he promised.
Author's Notes and Pathetic Excuses (self-loathing optional):
Sorry for taking so long to update a real chapter. Despite being on my holiday break, I haven't been writing consistently. And I'll be starting full-time college this spring, too. I'm going to try to update every other week from now on, though I may have to do every third week.
Oh, yeah, that name change I had mentioned a while back…not gonna happen.
Anyways, please review, critique, etc. if you are still reading this silly little fic.