Chapter Seven: X-Factor-Part Seven
"NO!!" Shadow exclaimed, watching the phone get destroyed. They all observed as Giovanni trapped X, struck him, and he fell unconscious.
"He's alive." Hero assured.
"He's unconscious?" Shadow asked.
"Asleep, actually."
"How could he be sleeping?"
"I think Giovanni did it."
"Keep your eyes on them, Hero." Riley ordered.
But as if on cue, Giovanni and X disappeared.
"Where'd they go?!" Hero wondered. He searched. "Nothing. They vanished."
"I doubt it." Riley said. "Giovanni did all these other things, why can't he hide himself from those who can read code?"
Hero sighed. "He's a smart one."
Pyro turned angrily and punched a wall. "We HAD him!!"
"Don't blame yourself." Riley encouraged. "Giovanni is unnaturally powerful."
One of the sentinels projected a screen again and typed, "The rogue programs are getting stronger. He was unseen, unknown, and fought amazingly."
"We have to try again." Pyro said.
Hero looked at the captain. "Sir? Might I speak with you?"
Riley nodded and they went to go talk in private.
"What is it?" Riley asked.
Hero shook his head. "They can't go back in."
"Why not?"
"Giovanni . . .it was him."
Riley's eyes narrowed. "Him?"
"When he started doing all that freaky stuff, like tear down the building, I saw his true code. It's the same program that attacked you last time."
Riley barely breathed the name. "Abyss." The terrible program who killed the last crew except for Riley, who barley escaped and Hero, who was operating. "You're sure?"
"Positive, sir."
Riley shook his head. "Why does he want X?"
"I don't know, but it can't be good."
Riley thought deeper. "Shadow and Pyro were lucky to escape."
"Exactly, sir. They can NOT go back in!"
Meanwhile, back in the computer room, the phone rang. Hero wasn't there, so Pyro decided to answer it.
"Pyro."
"Is this the Genesis?" A thick Chinese voice responded.
"Yeah. Who's this?"
"My name is Seraph. I bring word from the Oracle. You must come at once."
X's eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry, but slowly came into focus. He was in a large, bare room. It was like a large, near-empty apartment room. Aside from the standard appliances, there was only a table and two chairs. X was in one of them, bound at the hands and feet, but the ropes were thicker and tighter than Siren's.
Across from him, sitting in the other chair with one leg on the table, was Giovanni. He'd changed from what was left of his tux clothes to jeans and a white sleeveless shirt.
"Sleep well?" He taunted.
"Against my will." X noted. "Nice job."
"Thank you." He took his leg down and leaned closer. "You have many questions."
"That obvious?"
"No, I read your mind."
"Funny." X snorted, not knowing how serious he was.
"Alright, then." He crossed a leg. "Ask away."
"Just what are you, Giovanni?"
"Your first question should have been 'Who are you?'."
"What?"
"My name isn't Giovanni. It's just one of the many aliases that I use."
"Then who are you?"
"I know you've heard of me. They call me . . .Abyss."
X's eyes widened. "You!"
"Yes, me."
"You attacked the last Genesis crew!"
"And killed them all . . .save one: your captain. Riley, wasn't it?"
"Yes. He barely escaped."
"He was unbelievably lucky. But I haven't seen him around lately. Where has he been?"
"He was told not to enter the Matrix for a while. His mind is very fragile."
"Now don't you find that strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"Many people are attacked in the Matrix all the time, some near- fatal, much like your captain. But they're all able to go right back in a day later at the most. Why did Riley receive damage outside the Matrix?"
"Everyone receives damage outside the Matrix similar to what they received in it."
"But that pain inflicts the body, even though it's your mind that's plugged into the Matrix. However, Riley receive what seems logical: brain damage. Why's that?"
X hadn't thought much about that. Now that he did, Abyss made sense.
"Well, we both know that you're no ordinary program."
Abyss laughed. "That's it! You hit the nail on the head!"
"So Pyro and Shadow will receive brain damage too?"
"Ah, probably not. I didn't get them nearly as bad as Riley. Ah, how fun it was tearing him apart."
"Alright." X continued, "Now that we know who you are, I want to know what you are."
"Yes." Abyss said. "Because once you understand just what I am, you will understand everything else."
Riley and Hero came back into the computer room and froze. Pyro and Shadow were plugged in.
"What in the world?!" Riley exclaimed to the machines. "Why are they plugged in?!"
The head machine typed, "They received a call from Seraph, guardian of the Oracle. He asked them to come."
Riley calmed a little. "The Oracle wanted to see them?"
"That is correct." Then it asked. "Was there a problem in sending them back in?"
"I've just been informed that the program who attacked them is known as Abyss."
"Abyss?!"
"Yes. He attacked my ship not too long ago. I was the only survivor."
"We know of Abyss. He was violent and incredibly dangerous program, but how, we do not know."
"Now you understand why entering the Matrix would be dangerous."
"Yes. Once they have spoken to the Oracle, we will create and exit and get the boys out of there immediately."
"Right up here." Shadow said, pointing to a small place. Shadow and Pyro entered the place where the sentinels told them to go.
It was a small Chinese teahouse, a simple four-wall place with no furniture except for a two tables. Sitting near the back wall was a Chinese man in a white outfit, sipping a cup of tea.
"Seraph?"
"Yes." He responded. Seraph put his tea down and stood up. "Thank you for coming." Pyro and Shadow closed the door and walked towards him, slowly. "I can take you to the Oracle," Seraph said, "but first," he put his hands together and bowed. "I must apologize."
"For what?" Pyro asked.
"For this:" Seraph jumped and spun his feet around. Pyro and Shadow bent back to avoid the kick, but he spun another. Shadow jumped back, but Pyro blocked it, then another.
Pyro wasn't one to be toyed with, so he kicked back, but Seraph blocked it and kicked once more, knocking Pyro to the ground. Shadow jumped up and kicked him back, then flipped forward, going into a couple punches. Seraph took one punch, but avoided the others, striking back with three punches his own. Pyro jumped back in with a spinning kick of his own and Shadow swept his feet out from under him.
Seraph rolled away and swung his feet around, tripping them both. Shadow and Pyro jumped up. Seraph spun a low kick to trip them both, but they jumped over it and bent back to avoid the high-kick he continued with. Seraph performed three more spinning kicks, forcing them to jump back. After the third swipe, Shadow swooped in for a punch to the gut, but Seraph flipped over him, leaving him wide open for Pyro's kick, which sent him back into Shadow, who kicked him over him. Seraph flipped with it and landed on his feet, then swung two high kicks at Shadow's head. He bent far back, then flailed over Seraph's low swing, then dropped to his stomach to avoid the high kick.
Pyro jumped forward, foot outstretched for a kick, knocking him back. Shadow jumped and kicked him back also, but Seraph backflipped and kicked their faces, causing them to stumble. They all got struck a pose and got ready to fight again.
But suddenly, Seraph dropped his stance and held up a hand.
"Good. That is enough."
Pyro and Shadow looked at each other and slowly eased up.
"What was that about?" Pyro asked.
"I had to be sure that you were with us."
"So you tried to beat the tar out of us?" Shadow noted.
"Yes. You do not truly know someone until you fight them."
Pyro and Shadow had to give him that one.
"Now, please." Seraph said. "Come with me." He lead them out the door and into a car, where he drove them to a simple apartment building. After going up a few levels, he opened a door.
There was nothing real special about the apartment; it was rather typical. Seraph waved his hand into the kitchen and the boys stepped in, ducking under the beads hanging down from the top of the doorframe. Inside was an older black woman and a young girl washing dishes.
"Don't be shy." The old woman said. "Come on in, we'll be done in a second." They walked in and waited as they finished the last dishes and put them away.
The little girl walked up to them. "Hello." She said.
"Hi there." Shadow said.
"My name's Satie. Did you come to see the Oracle?"
"Yes, we did."
"Did Seraph hurt you?"
Shadow had to chuckle. "A little."
The Oracle chuckled as she turned around, wiping her hands off on a dish towel. "Satie, why don't you go and let us talk, dear."
"Okay." She said. "Bye." The little girl left.
"Well," The Oracle said, sitting. "Pyro and Shadow."
They nodded.
"Good to meet you both."
"Likewise." Shadow said politely.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I called you here."
"We are."
"I understand you're in the middle of a fiasco."
"Then you know that if it were not you, we would be searching for our friend again."
"Nor would Riley have allowed you to enter the Matrix."
Pyro raised a brow. "He knows we have to get X back. Why wouldn't he let us go back?"
"Because while you were talking with Seraph, Hero informed Riley of just what it was that was chasing you."
"As far as we know, he's a psychotic, super-powerful program. Do you know more?"
"I know that his name is not Giovanni. It is an alias he created, as well as the personality for the part. He is actually someone you've already heard of: the deadly creation known as Abyss."
"Abyss?" Shadow asked. "That's what attacked Riley's last crew. He still can't enter because of that attack."
"I know." The Oracle said.
"So we were lucky to escape."
"But X was not so fortunate."
Pyro shook his head. "Giov . . .Abyss wanted X . . .and now he has him."
"The first thing you two need to do is stop blaming yourselves. X knew what he was doing. Abyss wouldn't kill him, so it was safest for you two to go first. And the fact that everyone is a very good thing."
"Do you know where he is?" Shadow finally asked.
"I do. He is in an apartment not far from here, with X. Seraph can take you there and tell you just how to get your friend back."
"I appreciate the help," Pyro said, "but I have another question."
"You wonder what next."
"What next?" Shadow asked him.
"Yeah. I mean what if we do rescue X? Abyss will still be after him. And what if we don't rescue him?"
"I see." Shadow said.
"It's kind of a lose-lose situation."
"Now, don't be so negative." The Oracle said. "Where there's a will, there's a way, you know."
"Alright." Pyro said, "Let's say we do rescue X. What do we do then, keep him out of the Matrix until Abyss is gone?"
"On the contrary. X needs to return to the Matrix."
"And why's that?"
"Because X is the only one capable of knowing how to defeat him, but he does not know it yet."
"So if X can find out how to defeat Abyss, we're set." Shadow said.
"But how get X to understand?" Pyro asked.
"That is for X to discover on his own."
"So what do we do?" Pyro wondered.
"All you can do is help prepare him."
"For what?"
"For the time when you cannot help him anymore."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You don't understand because you cannot understand."
"I . . ." Pyro trailed off.
"Don't get it?" The Oracle asked with a smile. "The only thing you can do and understand right now is rescuing X." Seraph came in. "Now, go. X is learning even as we speak."
"I wasn't always like this." Abyss said.
"You were once a very nice person until you were abused too much and pushed too far, then you became the ravenous monster you are."
Abyss laughed. "Hardly. I mean I didn't always look like this. Vessels can change, but my mind does not."
"How come no one's ever heard of you before, then?"
"Oh, trust me, they have heard of me. They just don't recognize me yet."
"So who were you?"
"Do you know what an agent is?"
"Of course." X rolled his eyes, not wanting to be treated like an idiot.
"I mean do you know how to get one?"
X didn't. "How?"
"An agent . . .is a machine plugged into the Matrix. Of course, their programming is enhanced a bit, so that they're incredibly fast and powerful. If you can kill an agent, you're extremely lucky, but they can come back just as quickly."
"What's this got to do with you?"
"Would you believe I was an agent once?"
"You were?"
"That's right. I was the first Agent to ever be deleted."
"And yet you're still here."
"That's right. Want to know how? Well, all us machines knew that Agents were indestructible, but I was the only one to ever doubt it, and I wasn't going to take the risk. I created a backup of myself. Not long after, I was destroyed. That's when the backup kicked in and restored my A.I. However, my machine body was no longer accessible to me. I was stuck in the Matrix, which was fine with me. But because of this, because of my disconnection to the machine world, I was no longer considered and Agent. I lingered in the Matrix as a rogue, roaming the world on my own."
"That's a really sad story." X said sarcastically.
"Not really. It turned out to be wonderful. Because I was disconnected from the machines, I was not bound by their rules. I could act on my own, so I did. I planned on dominating the Matrix. But my main goal was destroying my main obstacle: the man who destroyed me: Neo Anderson."
"Neo?!" X exclaimed. "Then you're . . ."
"That's right. I was once the great rogue Agent known as Smith."
X was stunned.
"When I came back to life, something was different, though. I believe it was a piece of Neo overwritten onto me. It changed me; it enhanced me. I started infecting others' data, overwriting it with my own. I could even overwrite agents. The more copies I made, the more powerful I became. At one time I even infected a man named Bane and was able to exit the Matrix for a time and live as a human. But once more, Neo interfered. Finally, I infected someone very special."
"The Oracle."
"You've studied. Yes, I infected her and became her, filled with all her visions. I saw myself defeat Neo and I carried it out to the letter, dragging him to the ground and finished him." His expression changed to anger. "But then something impossible happened. Neo got up and destroyed me, all of me with the help of the machines."
He smiled again. "But I still had my backup. Of course, I had to change my programming because now the machines knew how to stop me; they knew how to delete me should the see me again. After several changes," He spread out his arms. "Here I am."
"Welcome back."
"Thank you. I designed myself to be the ultimate hacking machine. I tested my abilities time and time again, then went looking for Neo. To my surprise, I discovered Neo was no longer with us." Abyss let out an evil chuckle. "The situation couldn't be more perfect! I could OWN this world now!"
"So you started over again."
"Secretly."
"And you've been killing ever since."
"Correct."
X thought for a moment. "The warehouse. How did you make it collapse on command?"
"I told you. I'm the ultimate hacking machine! I hacked into the very structure of that building and bent it to my will. Amazing, no?"
"Amazing indeed. How do you do this?"
"I was an agent once and I've taken over agents. I know how things work."
"Alright." X was confused, but didn't want to continue in this area. "Another question. What do you want with me?"
"I want you to sit and ponder that for a while, let things soak in. I love the expressions on humans' faces when realization dawns on them." Abyss was grinning. "Think about it."
X tried, but came up with nothing. He sighed. "I don't know."
"Think about me. Think about who I am . . .what I am . . .what I was, who I was. Think, X. I know you will discover it sooner or later. Think."
BLAM!! A window shattered and Abyss fell to his face, blood on the back of his head. Before X could wonder what was happening, the door burst open and Pyro and some Chinese man burst in, flipped over him, cut the ropes, picked him up, and ran. X looked back as Abyss got up and saw them.
The assault had given them time and they were able to run for a little while. When Abyss came out, he was shot again by Super-Sniper Shadow.
"Come with me!" The Chinese man said. Pyro nodded, affirming the safety. They jumped in a car, but Pyro ran another way. "Take this." He handed him a strange pill. "It will cloak your coding."
X took it, but then said, "He'll find me eventually."
"Then we must get our business done before then." He took off, leaving Pyro and Shadow to fend for themselves. "Do not worry about them. They will be alright."
X looked back, unable to help but worry. He was also frustrated about getting so close to finding out Abyss's plans.
X discovered Seraph's name and reasoning in the car. He was taking X to the Oracle.
Seraph led him into the apartment. X saw little Satie sitting on the couch, watching TV. She looked up at him.
"Hello." She said.
"Hi." X responded.
"My names Satie. You're X."
"That's right." X said, only slightly amazed by the girl's knowledge after all he'd seen today.
"In there." Seraph said, pointing to the kitchen. X nervously entered.
"Come on in, don't be shy." The Oracle greeted with a smile. "The Great Hacker, X. What a pleasure."
X smiled. "The Great and Wise Oracle. It's an honor."
"Why thank you." She lit a cigarette. "I understand you've had quite a day."
"It's only been a day?" X snorted. He got to thinking. "Oracle . . ."
"Don't worry. Shadow and Pyro have already exited the Matrix after giving Abyss a little run."
"Good. I'm relieved."
"But not fully."
X sighed. "I was so close to finding out about Abyss."
"It was not time to find out."
"What about you? Can you tell me?"
"I'm afraid not. The time will come soon. Just wait."
X shook his head. "Every minute we delay adds on to our list of problems."
"Then you'd better get cracking. But there's more to it than just defeating Abyss. Think about who he is, what he is . . .who he was, what he was."
"He was Smith, Neo's arch-rival."
"Yes, he was."
"Neo killed him twice . . .but he's still here!"
"Because . . .?"
"He had a backup."
"And therefore . . .?"
"Who's to say he doesn't have another?"
The Oracle pointed her cigarette at him. "Bingo."
"Fantastic. But how do you destroy a backup file? Where do you even find it?"
"Fortunately, he's made it easy for us. He hid his backup file in the mind of a human being."
"How unusually foolish for someone like him."
"Was it? Less predictable and less chance of being destroyed."
"I suppose. So how do we find his backup human?"
"It will be difficult, but then again, it will be easy."
"What do you mean?"
"You cannot fully understand yet because you're not supposed to." She smiled. "But I can help you a little."
"Tell me."
"You cannot search for similar coding because the backup his hidden within the human, thus cloaking it. But Matrix life isn't all about code, is it? Search for someone with similar abilities . . .or identical ones."
X didn't like that. "You mean there's someone else out there who can do what Abyss does?!"
"The human is infected by Abyss's data, his DNA, if you will. This infection allows the human to perform the same abilities as Abyss can."
"Wonderful." X sighed.
"There is some good news to add on, X. The human does not know he has been infected by the backup."
X thought about it. "No?"
"Now, you're thinking." The Oracle knew.
"If he doesn't know . . .he doesn't know who gave him the abilities, then does he?" He thought some more. "Maybe if we find him first, we can use those abilities to defeat Abyss."
"One way or another, yes." The Oracle nodded. "So it is your job to find out who the backup his hidden in."
X seemed unsure. "Shouldn't Pyro and Shadow be here?"
"I've already spoken to them."
"And they know the situation also?"
"No, they don't."
"Why not?"
"X, you're the only one capable of understanding Abyss, how to find him, and how to stop him."
X looked down. "I'd ask how you know, but that'd be foolish, wouldn't it?"
The Oracle chuckled. "Shadow and Pyro have their task. This one is yours and yours alone. Your friends will help you all they can, but there will come a time when they cannot."
"That's encouraging." X sighed.
"You can do it." The Oracle said. "I believe you can."
Seraph came into the room and escorted X out. He found his exit in another apartment nearby and left the Matrix.
Author's Note: So the humans have a fighting chance, should they find the backup, but they have to find it before Abyss does. But who is it? Find out soon! Review, please.
"NO!!" Shadow exclaimed, watching the phone get destroyed. They all observed as Giovanni trapped X, struck him, and he fell unconscious.
"He's alive." Hero assured.
"He's unconscious?" Shadow asked.
"Asleep, actually."
"How could he be sleeping?"
"I think Giovanni did it."
"Keep your eyes on them, Hero." Riley ordered.
But as if on cue, Giovanni and X disappeared.
"Where'd they go?!" Hero wondered. He searched. "Nothing. They vanished."
"I doubt it." Riley said. "Giovanni did all these other things, why can't he hide himself from those who can read code?"
Hero sighed. "He's a smart one."
Pyro turned angrily and punched a wall. "We HAD him!!"
"Don't blame yourself." Riley encouraged. "Giovanni is unnaturally powerful."
One of the sentinels projected a screen again and typed, "The rogue programs are getting stronger. He was unseen, unknown, and fought amazingly."
"We have to try again." Pyro said.
Hero looked at the captain. "Sir? Might I speak with you?"
Riley nodded and they went to go talk in private.
"What is it?" Riley asked.
Hero shook his head. "They can't go back in."
"Why not?"
"Giovanni . . .it was him."
Riley's eyes narrowed. "Him?"
"When he started doing all that freaky stuff, like tear down the building, I saw his true code. It's the same program that attacked you last time."
Riley barely breathed the name. "Abyss." The terrible program who killed the last crew except for Riley, who barley escaped and Hero, who was operating. "You're sure?"
"Positive, sir."
Riley shook his head. "Why does he want X?"
"I don't know, but it can't be good."
Riley thought deeper. "Shadow and Pyro were lucky to escape."
"Exactly, sir. They can NOT go back in!"
Meanwhile, back in the computer room, the phone rang. Hero wasn't there, so Pyro decided to answer it.
"Pyro."
"Is this the Genesis?" A thick Chinese voice responded.
"Yeah. Who's this?"
"My name is Seraph. I bring word from the Oracle. You must come at once."
X's eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry, but slowly came into focus. He was in a large, bare room. It was like a large, near-empty apartment room. Aside from the standard appliances, there was only a table and two chairs. X was in one of them, bound at the hands and feet, but the ropes were thicker and tighter than Siren's.
Across from him, sitting in the other chair with one leg on the table, was Giovanni. He'd changed from what was left of his tux clothes to jeans and a white sleeveless shirt.
"Sleep well?" He taunted.
"Against my will." X noted. "Nice job."
"Thank you." He took his leg down and leaned closer. "You have many questions."
"That obvious?"
"No, I read your mind."
"Funny." X snorted, not knowing how serious he was.
"Alright, then." He crossed a leg. "Ask away."
"Just what are you, Giovanni?"
"Your first question should have been 'Who are you?'."
"What?"
"My name isn't Giovanni. It's just one of the many aliases that I use."
"Then who are you?"
"I know you've heard of me. They call me . . .Abyss."
X's eyes widened. "You!"
"Yes, me."
"You attacked the last Genesis crew!"
"And killed them all . . .save one: your captain. Riley, wasn't it?"
"Yes. He barely escaped."
"He was unbelievably lucky. But I haven't seen him around lately. Where has he been?"
"He was told not to enter the Matrix for a while. His mind is very fragile."
"Now don't you find that strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"Many people are attacked in the Matrix all the time, some near- fatal, much like your captain. But they're all able to go right back in a day later at the most. Why did Riley receive damage outside the Matrix?"
"Everyone receives damage outside the Matrix similar to what they received in it."
"But that pain inflicts the body, even though it's your mind that's plugged into the Matrix. However, Riley receive what seems logical: brain damage. Why's that?"
X hadn't thought much about that. Now that he did, Abyss made sense.
"Well, we both know that you're no ordinary program."
Abyss laughed. "That's it! You hit the nail on the head!"
"So Pyro and Shadow will receive brain damage too?"
"Ah, probably not. I didn't get them nearly as bad as Riley. Ah, how fun it was tearing him apart."
"Alright." X continued, "Now that we know who you are, I want to know what you are."
"Yes." Abyss said. "Because once you understand just what I am, you will understand everything else."
Riley and Hero came back into the computer room and froze. Pyro and Shadow were plugged in.
"What in the world?!" Riley exclaimed to the machines. "Why are they plugged in?!"
The head machine typed, "They received a call from Seraph, guardian of the Oracle. He asked them to come."
Riley calmed a little. "The Oracle wanted to see them?"
"That is correct." Then it asked. "Was there a problem in sending them back in?"
"I've just been informed that the program who attacked them is known as Abyss."
"Abyss?!"
"Yes. He attacked my ship not too long ago. I was the only survivor."
"We know of Abyss. He was violent and incredibly dangerous program, but how, we do not know."
"Now you understand why entering the Matrix would be dangerous."
"Yes. Once they have spoken to the Oracle, we will create and exit and get the boys out of there immediately."
"Right up here." Shadow said, pointing to a small place. Shadow and Pyro entered the place where the sentinels told them to go.
It was a small Chinese teahouse, a simple four-wall place with no furniture except for a two tables. Sitting near the back wall was a Chinese man in a white outfit, sipping a cup of tea.
"Seraph?"
"Yes." He responded. Seraph put his tea down and stood up. "Thank you for coming." Pyro and Shadow closed the door and walked towards him, slowly. "I can take you to the Oracle," Seraph said, "but first," he put his hands together and bowed. "I must apologize."
"For what?" Pyro asked.
"For this:" Seraph jumped and spun his feet around. Pyro and Shadow bent back to avoid the kick, but he spun another. Shadow jumped back, but Pyro blocked it, then another.
Pyro wasn't one to be toyed with, so he kicked back, but Seraph blocked it and kicked once more, knocking Pyro to the ground. Shadow jumped up and kicked him back, then flipped forward, going into a couple punches. Seraph took one punch, but avoided the others, striking back with three punches his own. Pyro jumped back in with a spinning kick of his own and Shadow swept his feet out from under him.
Seraph rolled away and swung his feet around, tripping them both. Shadow and Pyro jumped up. Seraph spun a low kick to trip them both, but they jumped over it and bent back to avoid the high-kick he continued with. Seraph performed three more spinning kicks, forcing them to jump back. After the third swipe, Shadow swooped in for a punch to the gut, but Seraph flipped over him, leaving him wide open for Pyro's kick, which sent him back into Shadow, who kicked him over him. Seraph flipped with it and landed on his feet, then swung two high kicks at Shadow's head. He bent far back, then flailed over Seraph's low swing, then dropped to his stomach to avoid the high kick.
Pyro jumped forward, foot outstretched for a kick, knocking him back. Shadow jumped and kicked him back also, but Seraph backflipped and kicked their faces, causing them to stumble. They all got struck a pose and got ready to fight again.
But suddenly, Seraph dropped his stance and held up a hand.
"Good. That is enough."
Pyro and Shadow looked at each other and slowly eased up.
"What was that about?" Pyro asked.
"I had to be sure that you were with us."
"So you tried to beat the tar out of us?" Shadow noted.
"Yes. You do not truly know someone until you fight them."
Pyro and Shadow had to give him that one.
"Now, please." Seraph said. "Come with me." He lead them out the door and into a car, where he drove them to a simple apartment building. After going up a few levels, he opened a door.
There was nothing real special about the apartment; it was rather typical. Seraph waved his hand into the kitchen and the boys stepped in, ducking under the beads hanging down from the top of the doorframe. Inside was an older black woman and a young girl washing dishes.
"Don't be shy." The old woman said. "Come on in, we'll be done in a second." They walked in and waited as they finished the last dishes and put them away.
The little girl walked up to them. "Hello." She said.
"Hi there." Shadow said.
"My name's Satie. Did you come to see the Oracle?"
"Yes, we did."
"Did Seraph hurt you?"
Shadow had to chuckle. "A little."
The Oracle chuckled as she turned around, wiping her hands off on a dish towel. "Satie, why don't you go and let us talk, dear."
"Okay." She said. "Bye." The little girl left.
"Well," The Oracle said, sitting. "Pyro and Shadow."
They nodded.
"Good to meet you both."
"Likewise." Shadow said politely.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I called you here."
"We are."
"I understand you're in the middle of a fiasco."
"Then you know that if it were not you, we would be searching for our friend again."
"Nor would Riley have allowed you to enter the Matrix."
Pyro raised a brow. "He knows we have to get X back. Why wouldn't he let us go back?"
"Because while you were talking with Seraph, Hero informed Riley of just what it was that was chasing you."
"As far as we know, he's a psychotic, super-powerful program. Do you know more?"
"I know that his name is not Giovanni. It is an alias he created, as well as the personality for the part. He is actually someone you've already heard of: the deadly creation known as Abyss."
"Abyss?" Shadow asked. "That's what attacked Riley's last crew. He still can't enter because of that attack."
"I know." The Oracle said.
"So we were lucky to escape."
"But X was not so fortunate."
Pyro shook his head. "Giov . . .Abyss wanted X . . .and now he has him."
"The first thing you two need to do is stop blaming yourselves. X knew what he was doing. Abyss wouldn't kill him, so it was safest for you two to go first. And the fact that everyone is a very good thing."
"Do you know where he is?" Shadow finally asked.
"I do. He is in an apartment not far from here, with X. Seraph can take you there and tell you just how to get your friend back."
"I appreciate the help," Pyro said, "but I have another question."
"You wonder what next."
"What next?" Shadow asked him.
"Yeah. I mean what if we do rescue X? Abyss will still be after him. And what if we don't rescue him?"
"I see." Shadow said.
"It's kind of a lose-lose situation."
"Now, don't be so negative." The Oracle said. "Where there's a will, there's a way, you know."
"Alright." Pyro said, "Let's say we do rescue X. What do we do then, keep him out of the Matrix until Abyss is gone?"
"On the contrary. X needs to return to the Matrix."
"And why's that?"
"Because X is the only one capable of knowing how to defeat him, but he does not know it yet."
"So if X can find out how to defeat Abyss, we're set." Shadow said.
"But how get X to understand?" Pyro asked.
"That is for X to discover on his own."
"So what do we do?" Pyro wondered.
"All you can do is help prepare him."
"For what?"
"For the time when you cannot help him anymore."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You don't understand because you cannot understand."
"I . . ." Pyro trailed off.
"Don't get it?" The Oracle asked with a smile. "The only thing you can do and understand right now is rescuing X." Seraph came in. "Now, go. X is learning even as we speak."
"I wasn't always like this." Abyss said.
"You were once a very nice person until you were abused too much and pushed too far, then you became the ravenous monster you are."
Abyss laughed. "Hardly. I mean I didn't always look like this. Vessels can change, but my mind does not."
"How come no one's ever heard of you before, then?"
"Oh, trust me, they have heard of me. They just don't recognize me yet."
"So who were you?"
"Do you know what an agent is?"
"Of course." X rolled his eyes, not wanting to be treated like an idiot.
"I mean do you know how to get one?"
X didn't. "How?"
"An agent . . .is a machine plugged into the Matrix. Of course, their programming is enhanced a bit, so that they're incredibly fast and powerful. If you can kill an agent, you're extremely lucky, but they can come back just as quickly."
"What's this got to do with you?"
"Would you believe I was an agent once?"
"You were?"
"That's right. I was the first Agent to ever be deleted."
"And yet you're still here."
"That's right. Want to know how? Well, all us machines knew that Agents were indestructible, but I was the only one to ever doubt it, and I wasn't going to take the risk. I created a backup of myself. Not long after, I was destroyed. That's when the backup kicked in and restored my A.I. However, my machine body was no longer accessible to me. I was stuck in the Matrix, which was fine with me. But because of this, because of my disconnection to the machine world, I was no longer considered and Agent. I lingered in the Matrix as a rogue, roaming the world on my own."
"That's a really sad story." X said sarcastically.
"Not really. It turned out to be wonderful. Because I was disconnected from the machines, I was not bound by their rules. I could act on my own, so I did. I planned on dominating the Matrix. But my main goal was destroying my main obstacle: the man who destroyed me: Neo Anderson."
"Neo?!" X exclaimed. "Then you're . . ."
"That's right. I was once the great rogue Agent known as Smith."
X was stunned.
"When I came back to life, something was different, though. I believe it was a piece of Neo overwritten onto me. It changed me; it enhanced me. I started infecting others' data, overwriting it with my own. I could even overwrite agents. The more copies I made, the more powerful I became. At one time I even infected a man named Bane and was able to exit the Matrix for a time and live as a human. But once more, Neo interfered. Finally, I infected someone very special."
"The Oracle."
"You've studied. Yes, I infected her and became her, filled with all her visions. I saw myself defeat Neo and I carried it out to the letter, dragging him to the ground and finished him." His expression changed to anger. "But then something impossible happened. Neo got up and destroyed me, all of me with the help of the machines."
He smiled again. "But I still had my backup. Of course, I had to change my programming because now the machines knew how to stop me; they knew how to delete me should the see me again. After several changes," He spread out his arms. "Here I am."
"Welcome back."
"Thank you. I designed myself to be the ultimate hacking machine. I tested my abilities time and time again, then went looking for Neo. To my surprise, I discovered Neo was no longer with us." Abyss let out an evil chuckle. "The situation couldn't be more perfect! I could OWN this world now!"
"So you started over again."
"Secretly."
"And you've been killing ever since."
"Correct."
X thought for a moment. "The warehouse. How did you make it collapse on command?"
"I told you. I'm the ultimate hacking machine! I hacked into the very structure of that building and bent it to my will. Amazing, no?"
"Amazing indeed. How do you do this?"
"I was an agent once and I've taken over agents. I know how things work."
"Alright." X was confused, but didn't want to continue in this area. "Another question. What do you want with me?"
"I want you to sit and ponder that for a while, let things soak in. I love the expressions on humans' faces when realization dawns on them." Abyss was grinning. "Think about it."
X tried, but came up with nothing. He sighed. "I don't know."
"Think about me. Think about who I am . . .what I am . . .what I was, who I was. Think, X. I know you will discover it sooner or later. Think."
BLAM!! A window shattered and Abyss fell to his face, blood on the back of his head. Before X could wonder what was happening, the door burst open and Pyro and some Chinese man burst in, flipped over him, cut the ropes, picked him up, and ran. X looked back as Abyss got up and saw them.
The assault had given them time and they were able to run for a little while. When Abyss came out, he was shot again by Super-Sniper Shadow.
"Come with me!" The Chinese man said. Pyro nodded, affirming the safety. They jumped in a car, but Pyro ran another way. "Take this." He handed him a strange pill. "It will cloak your coding."
X took it, but then said, "He'll find me eventually."
"Then we must get our business done before then." He took off, leaving Pyro and Shadow to fend for themselves. "Do not worry about them. They will be alright."
X looked back, unable to help but worry. He was also frustrated about getting so close to finding out Abyss's plans.
X discovered Seraph's name and reasoning in the car. He was taking X to the Oracle.
Seraph led him into the apartment. X saw little Satie sitting on the couch, watching TV. She looked up at him.
"Hello." She said.
"Hi." X responded.
"My names Satie. You're X."
"That's right." X said, only slightly amazed by the girl's knowledge after all he'd seen today.
"In there." Seraph said, pointing to the kitchen. X nervously entered.
"Come on in, don't be shy." The Oracle greeted with a smile. "The Great Hacker, X. What a pleasure."
X smiled. "The Great and Wise Oracle. It's an honor."
"Why thank you." She lit a cigarette. "I understand you've had quite a day."
"It's only been a day?" X snorted. He got to thinking. "Oracle . . ."
"Don't worry. Shadow and Pyro have already exited the Matrix after giving Abyss a little run."
"Good. I'm relieved."
"But not fully."
X sighed. "I was so close to finding out about Abyss."
"It was not time to find out."
"What about you? Can you tell me?"
"I'm afraid not. The time will come soon. Just wait."
X shook his head. "Every minute we delay adds on to our list of problems."
"Then you'd better get cracking. But there's more to it than just defeating Abyss. Think about who he is, what he is . . .who he was, what he was."
"He was Smith, Neo's arch-rival."
"Yes, he was."
"Neo killed him twice . . .but he's still here!"
"Because . . .?"
"He had a backup."
"And therefore . . .?"
"Who's to say he doesn't have another?"
The Oracle pointed her cigarette at him. "Bingo."
"Fantastic. But how do you destroy a backup file? Where do you even find it?"
"Fortunately, he's made it easy for us. He hid his backup file in the mind of a human being."
"How unusually foolish for someone like him."
"Was it? Less predictable and less chance of being destroyed."
"I suppose. So how do we find his backup human?"
"It will be difficult, but then again, it will be easy."
"What do you mean?"
"You cannot fully understand yet because you're not supposed to." She smiled. "But I can help you a little."
"Tell me."
"You cannot search for similar coding because the backup his hidden within the human, thus cloaking it. But Matrix life isn't all about code, is it? Search for someone with similar abilities . . .or identical ones."
X didn't like that. "You mean there's someone else out there who can do what Abyss does?!"
"The human is infected by Abyss's data, his DNA, if you will. This infection allows the human to perform the same abilities as Abyss can."
"Wonderful." X sighed.
"There is some good news to add on, X. The human does not know he has been infected by the backup."
X thought about it. "No?"
"Now, you're thinking." The Oracle knew.
"If he doesn't know . . .he doesn't know who gave him the abilities, then does he?" He thought some more. "Maybe if we find him first, we can use those abilities to defeat Abyss."
"One way or another, yes." The Oracle nodded. "So it is your job to find out who the backup his hidden in."
X seemed unsure. "Shouldn't Pyro and Shadow be here?"
"I've already spoken to them."
"And they know the situation also?"
"No, they don't."
"Why not?"
"X, you're the only one capable of understanding Abyss, how to find him, and how to stop him."
X looked down. "I'd ask how you know, but that'd be foolish, wouldn't it?"
The Oracle chuckled. "Shadow and Pyro have their task. This one is yours and yours alone. Your friends will help you all they can, but there will come a time when they cannot."
"That's encouraging." X sighed.
"You can do it." The Oracle said. "I believe you can."
Seraph came into the room and escorted X out. He found his exit in another apartment nearby and left the Matrix.
Author's Note: So the humans have a fighting chance, should they find the backup, but they have to find it before Abyss does. But who is it? Find out soon! Review, please.