A short one-shot. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Matrix, and all references to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland belong to Lewis Carroll. Thanks!


He knew how far the rabbit hole went; he knew the truth lay at the end. He knew he'd arrived; and what was to reward him for all his pains?

Nothing. Nothing at all, unless you count a cold bunk, hard work, and meals of slop.

His path down the rabbit hole had always been dark. His moments of struggle had never been tempered with the elusive hope of seeing white fur flash around a corner. He had never been able to find that splendid lovely garden of flowers, for he had never found the key. The others had friends, heroes, and lovers even, but not him.

Would he ever get anything he wanted? He wasn't asking much. He only wanted recognition and the one woman who always avoided him like the plague. The one woman he had ever lusted after, who was now cruelly stolen away from him.

In times of wretched self-pity he raged against this real world, this fake promise of a haven. He no longer cared what reality was. He didn't think of why he'd once wished to slide down the deep tunnel, chasing after lost fantasies and broken ideals.

He just wanted out.