Disclaimer: In this chapter, Shadow is the only character that belongs to me, and this will remain so for the rest of the fanfic, unless otherwise stated.

Bip-bip. Bip-bip. Bip-bip.

Amie sat still, her fingers still hovering over the escape key, her eyes fixed on the phone. It lay innocently on the floor, vibrating slightly as it beeped for her attention.

Bip-bip. Bip-bip.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached to pick it up. Only her employer had the number: she had no friends or decent family to get in touch with. Her brain functioning on autopilot, she raised the small phone to her ear, pressing 'speak' warily.

"Hello?"

"Shadow. We don't have much time." The voice was low, slightly muffled by background noise. It sounded like they were outside... however 'they' was.

"Who are you? How do you know that name?"

"I know a lot about you... more than you think. My name is Talon. That is all you need to know right now. That, and the eye of Horus is upon you. Be aware, take no risks, but meet me at the end of this road. You're about to take a trip down the rabbit hole."

With that, the line went dead, leaving Amie sitting in stunned silence. Who had just phones her? It sounded like someone mad - what was the 'rabbit hole' business about? But... how did they know the name Shadow? She frowned suddenly. That was twice in the last few minutes that someone had said 'the eye of Horus is upon you,' and she had been searching for Talon for years. Coincidence? She thought not.

Throwing on a jacket, she hurried outside the apartment to run down the stairs, stopping suddenly as she reached the bottom. What if this was a trap - what if she was running into danger? Ridiculous as the idea sounded, it could happen. She had to wonder why this 'Talon' had her number - and if it was the same one. She stood for a moment, tormented with the choice. Well, I'm losing my mind anyway - better to lose my life than my sanity, she reasoned, finally stepping out into the cool night.

To her relief, the gang of teenagers was no longer around, and the street was deserted and dark, except for the occasional bright orange pools of light from streetlamps. Pulling her jacket around her shoulders, she headed down the road, keeping a wary eye out for trouble.

At the end of the road, a small group stood concealed behind a building. They appeared to be young adults, all but one wearing dark trench coats - the other clad in bright pink. They were talking seriously, keeping an eye on the road.

"Great work Tal - I bet that really got her curious," the woman in pink was talking, grinning as she looked down the road. "The Eye of Horus... it's great!" She shifted her weight from foot to foot, watching the street intently. "I'm bored... when's she coming?"

Talon sighed, leaning past the woman to look. "Be patient Byte - she'll probably want to think about it. Would you come straight away?" He saw a dark figure hurrying through a patch of light further up, and stepped forwards for a better view. "That could be her. I wonder if -" He stopped talking suddenly, as the ringing of a phone interrupted him. He picked it up, frowning.

"Talon, I got some bad news." It was the voice of the Horus's operator, Blitz.

"What is it?"

"You got agent activity headed your way. I don't know how many, or exactly where they are, but they're moving fast. You need to get out of there."

"I can't - Shadow isn't here yet."

"I don't care, you'll have to leave her. Go back another day - best to disappoint her than die. Damn it Tal - move!"

The line went dead, leaving Talon staring at the others. They are curious; anxious to know what had happened.

"What is it?" Enigma stepped forwards, her face showing her concern.

He looked at his crew, only answering the question after a moment. "Agents. Blitz said they're moving fast." He hurried forwards again to watch the road. "We need to pick up Shadow and get her to where we'll free her - as quickly as possible." He pointed to where they could see a figure, standing motionless near a pool of light. "I think that's her. I'll go over - Enigma, Byte, Scathach, you go get in the car ready. Glance, come with me."

As their companions headed in the opposite direction, Talon and Glance hurried towards the figure. Glance looked around warily, his hand on his gun in case agents turned up. "Hey Tal - you go to her, I'll cover you," he said as they neared the waiting girl.

Talon nodded and continued forwards, heading for the streetlamp. As he stepped forwards into its circle of light, the girl turned towards him, her long red hair catching the light as she did so. It was Shadow all right - Talon had been able to read her appearance by studying the matrix code whilst he was watching her. "Shadow," he said softly, standing in the orange light.

Amie turned towards the footsteps as they approached, glancing away quickly. It was someone she didn't know - a young man in a suit, his dark skin gleaming below the light. Somehow he didn't fit her idea of Talon - although she could have one she didn't know. She had never seen him, never seen a picture of him. His voice and name were all that she had to go by - and the fact that he knew her nickname. She started as he spoke, turning back towards him.

"Talon?" She swallowed the last of her nerves, stepping towards him warily. Talon nodded, looking at her for the first time. She was pretty, in a haunting, daunting way. She was pale skinned, her red hair and startling green eyes contrasting with the fairness of her skin, an appearance that was slightly unnerving in the harsh orange light. As Glance coughed, reminding him of the impending danger, he stopped his appraisal of the coppertop and spoke again.

"Yes, I'm Talon. I'm here to tell you about the matrix and to give you an important choice. But first, you must understand that we are in great danger. All your questions will be answered, but we must get away from here. You have to come with us." He watched her, waiting for her response.

Amie thought quickly. She had to exercise some caution, even if she didn't normally. What was this 'danger' that Talon was talking about? Who was the other man that was standing close by? Could she trust them? Probably not, she admitted to herself, but what does it matter? "Alright." She stepped forwards again, nodding.

Talon smiled. "Good. Follow me." He turned and walked away, leading Amie and Glance down the road. As they turned a corner, he gestured to a black car that stood there, its engine humming softly. "Get in."
Amie stood nervously inside a small room, gazing around at the equipment that surrounded her. Talon and the other people with him - she had not yet been introduced - bustled around the room, seemingly ignorant of her presence. Uncomfortable in the busy silence, she cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

At the faint sound, Byte looked up. She was still wearing her bright pink trench coat, a fact that had disturbed Amie when she first saw her. Wandering over, the woman smiled at Amie reassuringly. "It'll be alright soon. Sit down." She indicated a large chair surrounded by wires and electrical devices. As Amie sat down, sitting tentatively on the leather edge of the chair, Talon walked over to her, concealing something in his hand.

"Shadow, I need to ask you something."

She sat silent, waiting. His remark didn't need or deserve an answer; she was the one that needed answers, not him.

"Have you ever felt that things... weren't quite right? That reality wasn't reality?"

She stayed watching him stonily. She had calmed down from her fright on the way home and waited, calm and composed, for the rest of his questions.

"Have you ever wondered if what we know as real is actually a fake, an imitation world placed over our eyes to prevent us from seeing the truth?"

Amie hesitated. She still wasn't sure about Talon, but, for the first time in her life, she trusted someone completely. It was just whether he was sane or not that was worrying her. "Yes..." she murmured after a moment.

"Then I have something to tell you." Talon drew up a chair, leaning forwards to speak to her. "This world - the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the colours and scents you see and smell - these are fake. They are the programmed reality of a system we call the Matrix. My job is to free you from the Matrix - free you from your mind."

She frowned. He was talking gibberish, it seemed - but the name 'the Matrix' rang a bell. Not only had he mentioned it before, but it also had often come up in her relentless search for Talon through the years. "Go on."

"I can't tell you much right now. We don't have much time, and it's not safe to give away too much. But you are being controlled by the Matrix. It inserts false information into your brain, which you accept as reality. The real world is much different to this. I can release you and your mind from this prison, but you have to trust me." He opened his hand, revealing two pills, one blue, one red. "If you want to find out the truth, and break through the barriers of the matrix, then take the red pill. If you want to wake up in your bed tomorrow, and have forgotten all this, take the blue pill. But - you must be certain of your choice before making it." Sitting back, he extended his hand towards Amie and waited, watching her.

It didn't take long to decide. Her life was hardly worth living, after all. And if taking the red pill would take away the doubts and memories that were eating her up inside, then there was no competition. She reached for the red pill, swallowing it without water. Talon smiled, standing up and gently pushing her back to rest against the back of the chair. "Good," he said, picking up some electrodes and starting to press them gently onto her skin. "These will disrupt your carrier signal," he explained briefly, turning away to watch the display of a large machine. "Good luck."

Left alone, Amie frowned to herself. She glanced at the electrodes that were placed on her arms, feeling more on her skull. There had been no real explanation for them, no details about what would happen to her. In fact, she thought angrily. I might as well not be - Her thoughts were interrupted by a shadow that was hanging from the ceiling, directly above her head. As she watched warily, a small dark snake dropped from a pipe, landing in her lap with a soft hiss. Unafraid - it was a harmless breed - she followed it with her eyes as it latched onto her arm, winding its supple body around her skin. After a moment, it looked up at her, golden eyes fixed on her green ones - and began to melt.

It was welding onto her arm, shining black liquid running up and down her forearm. It was quite cool and painless, but certainly strange. The waxy liquid spread faster and faster, spiralling over her skin to cover all of her arms. It shot over her shoulder, making its way down onto her chest - and up her neck. She fought to keep still as the cold fluid ran up her neck and lips, entering her mouth. As rivulets seeped down her tongue, she screamed, the room before her going black.
A/N: Gah, this chappie took long enough. To all readers: I'm sorry, but you know how writer's block is. I haven't been able to write for months hangs head. Anyway, I know this isn't my best work, and I know there aren't many snakes hanging around Birmingham, but I wanted to get this done and I wanted to be original with her unplugging, after a reading a wonderful fic which included a cat. Anyways, next chapter hopefully won't take so long (and I'm working on another matrix fic!) so please R&R and I'll try to write again ASAP!