Disclaimers: I own none of the characters that you recognize from the Matrix or the Matrix: Reloaded. They belong to the Wachowskis.

Also, in this fic they don't use 'I' 'me' 'my' 'mine' etc. Even when referring to only one of them. I think it adds a certain dramatic effect.

DUAL BIOGRAPHY

Chapter IX: Black, White, and Gray

I smirk at One as I say those words. We drag them outside into an abandoned alley. There is a couple copulating, and as soon as they see us they gasp.

One, with practiced ease, throws his switchblade at the man. It pierces him in the back of the head and pins him to the woman. I step up and slit her throat as One removes his weapon from his head. Choi is defiantly freaked out by now, and Trinity's impression is stoic. I can't tell what she's thinking.

One holds out his hand to Trinity and smirks, "Take our hand."

She seems offended, "You pissed me off back at the elevator before."

"That was us," I say, "Not him. Take his hand. You can't fight one of us, let alone both. If we want you dead, we'll tell you, not for your protection but for our amusement."

Trinity reluctantly puts a gloved hand in my brother's.. One rips off the glove and kisses her hand daintily, "You taste of leather and metal. Very fond of that combination."

"How about Neo's?" I ask, giving little information on purpose but he knows what I'm talking about.

"Better then Morpheus. I'd much rather her then Niobe."

I hold out my hand to Choi and he takes it, almost halfhearted as Trinity, "why'd ya kill them?"

"Right now we're hitmen, Choi. We just do. Call it a second nature, if you will. Besides, it's fun to wield knives. Wouldn't you agree, Two?" One says, balancing his bloody weapon on his knuckles of the other hand.

"Indeed. Now, Choi, we're about to rip up all perception you had of reality. Can you agree, Trinity?"

She nods. Her hand clenches around One's. She knows what we're going to do. I suppose I have to admit that if you're going immaterial for the first time it's going to be frightening. Scarier then driving a motorcycle against traffic while fighting agents? Apparently so.

We both phase into the air and fly off to our twentieth floor apartment.

*

It takes only minutes to get there. We rematerialize inside.

Trinity's face is poorly-covered fright. Choi's is complete and total disbelief.


The four of us don't speak for a minute or so, until a shaky male voice interrupts, "Ok, what the FUCK was that?"

"We phased," Says One, "Scientifically, we pulled our atoms far apart enough to become immaterial and partly gaseous"

"That was……different," Trinity says quietly. She pulls out a cell phone, "Link?"

I glance at One. He shrugs. She continues her call.

"Did I just really do that?" Pause. "I know. They say if we figure out why the Agents aren't trying to kill them then we can get Morpheus back……and maybe Neo too." Pause. "I don't know." Pause. "Alright." She puts the phone away and looks at us, "What's the plan?"

"What the hell is going on?" Choi asks, his eyes looking at us suspiciously, "What the fuck was that?"

"That was said already, Choi. You have thoughts about the Matrix, correct?" I told him, adjusting my coat.

"Yeah…it's weird. Like something's not right….."

"That's because it's not," Trinity started, "The world we're in now is not real. It's a computer simulation."

"That's impossible, gal. We're inside a computer?"

"Essentially, yes," I chime in again, "Your true body is floating is a pod that is used to harness your bio-energy for the machines to survive on."

"What?" His voice is filled with disbelief, "You're sayin that I'm not really here?"

"You are," One comments, "But this you only exists inside the Matrix. Think of a computer program. Inside the system it is a game. Outside it is a disk. Although your true body is probably very close in appearance to your RSI, anything you're doing right now is not ACTUALLY being done by you. The machines are stimulating your brain neurons to make it think you are sitting in an apartment."

"Machines?"


"This is all wrong," Trinity mumbles.

"It's about to get much more wrong, resistant," I growl, "don't say that yet."

She merely rolls here yes as One continues, "In the real world, we are about 200 years in the future. Humans invented true artificial intelligence, and it rebelled against them. There was a war, and the humans exploded the sun. The machines, having no other source of power, harnessed the energy the human body gave off and used it to power themselves. The Matrix exists so those humans do not know they are being used as batteries."

"The Machines have enslaved the human race." Trinity injected.

"You started the war, rebel,"  I snarled at her again, "You only got what was coming to you. You humans are foolish in ways you try and play god with AI, and then don't let them coexist with you, and then try to beat them at their own game! A race of imbeciles!"

"Jesus, Adrian, you sound like you're on their side!" Choi shouted at me.

"Listen. The Matrix is only communicated by neural impulses. It is, in a way, a giant computer. And much like the computers that you humans use, they have rules. Rules, much like hacking, can be bent, or even broken. The same applies for the Matrix. Hence, people can jump farther, lift more, and move faster."

"Goddamnit man, this is insane." He mumbled.

I ignored his comment, "Inside the Matrix, there was a man born that could break the rules. He freed the first minds from the Matrix, and they formed a resistance movement against the machines, because the machines 'had enslaved humanity's minds and consciousness', which is bullshit, but we will not be biased. To stop the freeing of minds from the Matrix, programs, like anti-viral software, were created. These programs were sentient much like the machines; they could think, act, and were intelligent. Currently, these sentient programs we talk off are in the form of Agents, the CIA men you met in the club. They are far worse then CIA."

"You said you worked with them. You and your brother. So, are you guys like machines or Agents or something?"

"Yes and no," One began, "Before the Agents, the machine Mainframe tested out a variety of protectors. Some were failures….it is the basis for your mythology. Vampires came from programs called Vamps. Werewolves came from their counterparts, Dobermen. Now, like a system, things that are inefficient are deleted. First their corporeal….or as corporeal you can get here….bodies are destroyed, and then they must report to the Source—like the headquarters—for complete deletion. There are programs out there that refuse completely deletion, so after a given period of time their bodies are reborn as they are programs independent of the Mainframe. You know the coils that the Agents have into their ears? It is used to feed them information from the Mainframe, because they are hardwired to it.Those independent are called Exiles, rogue programs, and are considered a threat and should be deleted. Now, if you are an Exile and are deleted you die, regardless of wether you want to return to the Source. We are rogue programs."

"So you're programs…..not human." He says with uncertainty.

"Correct. We," I motion to One, "are a singular program called The Twins. You can probably guess where the named derived from. Our true names are not Neil and Adrian, for that matter either. We also are practically incapable of using the first-person tense."

"Then what are your names?"

"Twin One," He points to himself, "He is Twin Two. Our ability to phase is something that was programmed into us when we were first created. It is our specialty, namely."

I nod, "She was correct about our names." I point to Trinity,"  Trinity is part of the resistance movement. The resistants seek to shut down the Matrix and awaken humanity. Since she exists outside the Matrix and does not depend on it, and we do, we are on opposing sides."

"Then why aren't you fighting?"

"One of the rebel leaders is being held hostage by us. His name, as you may have guessed, is Morpheus."

"So Tommy….Neo….is really a resistant fighting to free all humans from the grip of some bad-ass machines?"

"Yes," One smirks faintly, "Your 'Tommy' is the reincarnation of the man who could manipulate the Matrix—he is the fastest, strongest, and most powerful creature inside the Matrix. However, he was knocked out by a very strong sedative, and is currently under the control of another Exile program, and ex-Agent called Smith."

"But if he's the strongest, can't he just kick Smith's ass?"

"He's currently unconscious."

"It was them who shot him with the tranquilizer needle," Trinity spat at us vehemently, "they made a deal with Smith."

"We made a deal with Morpheus that forced us to deal with Smith. In order to do what Morpheus wanted, we needed to  knock Neo unconscious and give his body to Smith. That is what we did for Niobe's antidote." One countered, "But there is more to the story."

I picked up where he left off, "Agents, excluding Smith because he is an rogue program, are also programmed to hunt down Exile programs."

"Then why didn't they attack you at the club?" He asks.

"Exactly. So the deal with Trinity goes like this: If they find out why the Agents did not attack us, then we will give them back Morpheus and help them save Neo."

AN~

My titles are getting lamer. What this one means is that black is Machines' side (represented by our Twinnies) and white is the resistant side (represented by Trinity) and gray is a combination of Choi (the coppertop—human inside machine) and their dealings.