Chapter 1

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San awoke with a slight feeling of anticipation. Today they would be entering the Matrix. It wasn't her first time going in, in the nearly three years since her escape from the world of virtual reality she had gone back in many times. But for some reason, something about today seemed different to her. She frowned, and pushed her doubts away while she dressed.

"There's no time to think about what could go wrong, and no point, either." she said to herself. She knew as well as the others that in the Matrix disasters could come up at any given moment, having nearly been victim to one of these 'disasters' herself. The memory replayed itself in her mind.

It happened a little over two years before, and it had only been San's third or fourth trip into the Matrix. It had seemed to be a perfectly routine assignment, except for one little snag. On their way out of the Matrix, they had somehow been found by Agents, who had attacked the small group consisting of Chronos, Flare, and San. Taken by surprise, San had been shot three times, and would have likely died had they not been so close to the hardline.

San shook her head, trying to make the memory go away. But while she was lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the door opening behind her.

"Hey, are you just going to stand there and think all day?" Quickstrike said from the open door. San jumped, and whirled around, glaring at him.

"Don't you know how to knock?" she asked.

"I did, and you didn't answer." he replied, before having to duck the shoe that was chucked at his head. "Hey, watch it, those things hurt..."

"Well, then, next time WAIT until I say it's okay to come in instead of just walking in!" she responded, pushing the door shut in his face and picking up the thrown shoe.

"Someone's got a temper..." she could hear coming from the other side of the door, but she ignored that comment. San finished dressing, and after putting on her boots, left the room. Quickstrike had wisely realized that hanging around to wait for her would have been a bad move on his part, and the corridor was empty. She made her way to the Core, where the rest of the crew was already waiting.

"Everyone's here. Let's go." Chronos said. They all sat in their Ecto chairs, where one by one, Aquila jacked them into the Matrix. Their first stop was in the Construct, where they all grabbed weapons. San, as usual, took two Glock 18's, Chronos went with an MP5, Omega took two knives, Amaterasu took a staff and a pair of nunchaku, Flare grabbed a katana and a Desert Eagle, and Quickstrike took an M16 and a Beretta. From there, they then were loaded into the Matrix.

They entered the Matrix inside an old warehouse; exiting, they found the street outside to be nearly empty. San looked around her. Even after nearly three years it was still unnerving to her, that all that she used to believe to be real was nothing more than a computer simulation. She could feel a slight breeze ruffle her short black hair...no, the Matrix was only making her think that there was wind. Indeed, as she removed the sunglasses that hid her brown eyes to look at the sky, she could see that it wasn't even truly blue, but tinted green. She shook her head, and replaced her sunglasses.

"Still gets you sometimes, huh?" Quickstrike said. "I've been out for 8 years, and every once in a while I'll still forget that this isn't real." San simply gave him a dirty look, and turned away.

"I'd say that you're still on her bad side from earlier." Amaterasu commented. Her nunchaku, which were considerably smaller than most nunchaku, were hidden in a pocket on the inside of her jacket, and her staff was strapped across her back but still in easy reach. Her long blond hair was pulled into an intricate braid and sunglasses covered her green eyes.

"I didn't do anything wrong on purpose..." he responded. The strap to his M16 was slung over one shoulder. He flushed, turning nearly as red as his hair.

"Saying sorry might help next time." San stated. She stashed her twin Glocks into the front pockets of her jacket, where they'd be hidden but in easy reach.

"You can bicker later, but right now we've got work to do." Chronos said. He was easily the tallest of the group; standing at six feet, two inches he was a foot taller than San. His gun was already hidden out of sight. Together the group made their way to the car that was parked at the curb; Omega took the driver's seat, with Chronos and Flare also sitting up in the front. Amaterasu, San, and Quickstrike sat in the back; San, much to her chagrin, had to sit next to Quickstrike. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but San shot him a look that clearly said 'save it for someone who cares' before he could so much as make a sound.

"We're to pick up a package; in it contains surveillance information recorded by the Titan." Chronos said, naming a ship that had recently been destroyed by sentinels while away from Zion. "This should be a simple assignment; we grab the info and get out. But--"

"Be careful, anything could go wrong at a moment's notice." Flare finished the sentence. They had all heard this many times; Chronos had said it at the beginning of every assignment.

"We know." Omega added.

"Well, it never hurts to remind you to watch out in here." Chronos said. "There: the package should have been delivered to that hotel." Omega pulled the car up in front of a dilapidated old hotel and came to a stop.

"Myself, Omega, and Quickstrike will go in to pick up the package. Amaterasu, Flare, San, you three stay out here and keep a lookout. Let us know if you see anything suspicious. This should only take a minute, but you never know." Chronos said, as the six of them got out of the car. Quickstrike wisely left the assault rifle in the car, but carried his Beretta on his person. He, Chronos, and Omega entered the hotel, leaving the other three alone.

"So, what did he do that got you all pissed off?" Amaterasu asked, perching on the front of the car.

"Yeah, even I'm curious." Flare added. San rolled her eyes.

"Decided to come in my room without waiting for me to say if it's okay...he claims he knocked, but I didn't hear it. I kinda threw a shoe at him..." she replied. The other two laughed. "What? It's not my fault he has no regard for other people's privacy!" San continued, somewhat defensively.

"Oh, it's not that..." Amaterasu said, grinning somewhat wickedly.

"Ama used to throw things at people who walked into her room without permission, too." Flare responded, his blue eyes twinkling. "As I found out the hard way, several times."

"Hey, it worked at keeping unwelcome people out." Amaterasu stated. "And I stopped...eventually..."

"This place is empty..." San said, looking around her. In the two minutes they'd been waiting outside, only one car had driven by.

"It is...it's kind of creepy. They should be back out here by now, too." Amaterasu replied. No sooner had the words left her mouth, though, did Chronos, Omega, and Quickstrike exit the hotel.

"We've got it, let's get out of here." Omega said, as they made their way to the car. The group piled back into the car, Chronos taking out his cell phone.

"Aquila, have that hardline ready for us. We'll be at it in approximately five minutes." he said into it.

"Got it, captain...but you've got a bit of a problem." Aquila replied.

"Problem?" Chronos repeated. This caught everyone else's attention. "What kind of problem?"

"Well...I don't know how, but Agents have figured out that you're there and where you are. Three of them, plus about 15 police are after you." Aquila responded.

"How far are they?" Chronos asked.

"Not far behind, and they're gaining quickly...oh, SHIT! They're coming up right behind you!" the others could hear Aquila's shout through the phone. San twisted around in her seat to look out the back windshield; there were no fewer than 5 police vehicles, as well as a SWAT van following them. Omega put the pedal to the floor, but he was unable to lose their pursuers.

"Have that exit ready." Chronos stated into the phone, before hanging up and stowing it away in his pocket.

"How the hell did they find us..." Flare muttered to no one in particular as Omega turned a corner.

"No idea...LOOK OUT!" Omega said, as a police car barreled towards them. He tried to steer out of the way, but both cars were going too fast and they collided, head-on. San shrieked, and she was fairly sure that the others all did, too. When their now-smashed car finally came to a complete stop, about 100 feet from where it hit the police car, she looked around at the mess.

"Everyone okay?" she asked. No one appeared to have more than cuts from broken glass.

"I believe so..." Chronos said. "Damn lucky, too, that we weren't all seriously injured, or worse."

"Exit the car with your hands up. I repeat, exit the car with your hands up." a voice boomed from a megaphone.

"Well, you heard the cop..." Chronos said, drawing his gun. The six fighters managed to make their way out of the mangled car.

"Put your hands up in the air." the cop with the megaphone stated, while several other cops moved in, their guns trained on the six of them.

"We'd rather not, thanks very much." Chronos replied, before opening fire on the cop with the megaphone. The rest of the group followed suit very quickly, and soon everything was a hail of gunfire. Amaterasu knocked the gun out of the hand of a police officer before stabbing her staff into his stomach; he dropped, winded, and she finished him off with a blow to his head. Omega had thrown a knife at another police officer, and the cop quickly fell to the ground. Flare charged a cop, his katana in one hand, while firing his Desert Eagle. The cop returned fire; A bullet grazed Flare on the shoulder, but that didn't stop him. He dropped the now-empty gun and sliced at the police officer with his sword. Chronos, San, and Quickstrike were spraying the police with automatic fire from their guns. The cops fired back, and Quickstrike was hit in the leg, but otherwise their opponents fell without any problems.

"Damn coppertops..." Amaterasu muttered. She already had a bruise forming on her arm where a cop had managed to hit her with his nightstick.

"Let's get the hell out of here, before anyone else shows up." Omega said. Of course, with impeccable timing, four SWAT vans screeched to a halt near them, and about 24 SWAT team members poured out, surrounding the group.

"Four to one...not bad odds there." Quickstrike said, as he, Chronos, and San quickly reloaded their guns.

"Drop your weapons or we will open fire!" The SWAT captain shouted. The SWATs were better armed than the police had been; instead of pistols, they carried shotguns and assault rifles, and they also wore body armor. But they still were no match for warriors of Zion.

"This is your last warning! Drop your weapons or we will open fire! You have until the count of three: one, two--" the SWAT captain continued, before he was forced to drop to the ground. San had grown irritated and opened fire on him, shooting at him with her twin Glock 18s. Most of her bullets had missed, though, and the ones that did hit only hit in non-vital places.

"Damn..." she whispered, before having to twist out of the way to avoid the shotgun blast the captain fired at her. She didn't quite get out of the way, however, and she was hit in the side. Before the SWAT captain could fire at her again, though, he was blasted away: Quickstrike stood at San's side, his M16 aimed at the now dead coppertop.

"Consider that an apology." he said.

"Consider yourself forgiven." she replied, before they both continued to fight. Amaterasu's staff had somehow broken, so she was now flailing around her nunchaku, and none of the SWATs were too keen to get too close to her. Omega and Flare were causing havoc in the middle of a group of SWATs with their blades, and Chronos was firing at any coppertop he could see. San quickly emptied her guns into two SWATs that were charging down on Flare; one of them fell to the ground, dead, and the other was dispatched by Flare's sword. Now out of ammo, she dropped her guns and ran into the fray, kicking a SWAT in the head and disarming another. The now-disarmed SWAT punched at her, hitting her in the arm; she responded by firing his gun into him at point-blank range. Chronos and Quickstrike were both busy reloaded their guns. Soon they managed to take down all the SWATs, but not without injury to themselves; thankfully, they had been lucky and none of the injuries were very severe.

"We'll have to continue on foot to the hardline. Everyone keep a look out: Aquila said that Agents were following us, so let's try and avoid them." Chronos said. They set off down the street, thankful that it was empty. They had been walking for a few minutes when Chronos's phone rang.

"You're almost to the exit, but the Agents are only about two minutes behind you. Unless you manage to widen the distance between the Agents and yourselves you'll be cutting it very close. Hurry up and get the hell out of there!" she said as soon as he answered the phone.

"I know. We'll get there as quickly as we can." Chronos said, hanging up and putting away the phone.

"Let me guess. The Agents are right behind us." Omega stated. Chronos nodded, and he continued. "Then would running be a good idea right about now?"

"It would be a great idea right about now." Chronos replied. The six of them ran as fast as they could, until finally the old warehouse they had entered the Matrix from came into the sight. They could hear the payphone inside ringing, when Chronos's phone rang again.

"They're on to you, and they'll be there in about 30 seconds! Get out NOW!" Aquila could be heard shouting over the phone.

"We know, we're about 10 seconds from the hardline--" Chronos replied, when he was interrupted.

"Too late..." Flare said, looking over his shoulder. Just behind them the three Agents finally caught up to them, their Desert Eagles out and aimed at the six rebels.

"Shit..." Chronos whispered, putting away the phone.

"Do not think we will let you escape." the first of the three Agents said, smirking.

"Yeah, well, don't think we're not going to go down without a fight." Chronos responded. To his crew, he whispered, "First chance you get, make a break for the hardline."

"What? We're not leaving unless you're with us!" Amaterasu said, her eyes flashing.

"Yeah, you are NOT facing three agents on your own." Flare added.

"Would you guys just follow your goddamn orders for a change? When I say run, then run!" Chronos replied.

"Eliminate them." the second Agent said. Before the Agents could act, though, Chronos opened fire on them. As the Agents twisted out of the way, dodging every bullet, Chronos shouted, "Now! Go!" The rest of the crew hesitated for a moment. "I mean it! Go!" he continued.

"C'mon!" Omega said, his mind made up.

"What?!" San replied.

"If we run, two of the Agents will likely follow us, and it'll be the best chance we'll get to get out of here. Chronos knows what he's doing." Omega said, though he added, "I hope." Flare nodded, and they sprinted towards the door of the warehouse, ducking inside the building. Right behind them were two of the three Agents.

"Well, you called that one..." Quickstrike commented, leveling his M16 at the first of the Agents to come through the door and opening fire. The Agent blurred, every bullet missing the target, but it still managed to slow both Agents enough for them to reach the ringing phone. Omega snatched the reciever off the hook.

"Okay, you first--" he started saying, but before he could hand the phone off to someone, one of the Agents had caught up, aiming a punch straight at him. He dodged as best he could, but since he was caught totally off guard, the blow landed dead-on, hitting him in the face. He fell to the ground, the phone falling to the ground and hanging from its cord.

"You sonofa..." Quickstrike said in a low, dangerous voice, firing his gun at the Agent. The Agent once again dodged every bullet, and very quickly Quickstrike's clip was empty and he was completely out of ammo. Knowing that he was no good at close combat battle, being primarily a gunner, San attacked the Agent, first punching him and then leaping into the air to launch a kick at his face. The punch connected, hitting him in the chest, but when she kicked at him, he caught her foot in his hand and threw her to the ground. Before she could get back to her feet, he punched at her. She tried to roll out of the way but wasn't fast enough; the punch hit her in the stomach and she found herself unable to move, the breath knocked out of her. She could only watch as the Agent quickly pummeled Quickstrike to the ground.

Amaterasu and Flare had engaged the other Agent; nunchaku flew and sword flashed as they fought the program. They were actually managing to actually do some damage to the Agent, too, it appeared...

"NO!!!" Flare suddenly shouted. The Agent had fired his Desert Eagle point-blank at Amaterasu, and she fell to the ground, hit in the chest. Flare fought on like a madman, swinging his sword this way and that, until finally a lucky thrust caught the Agent in the ribs. The Agent fell, and with a flash of green code became the body of an innocent bystander.

"Do you still believe that there is any chance of your escape?" San looked up to see the other Agent standing over her, aiming his gun at her head.

"Of course I do." she replied, before catching his ankle with her foot. He fell to the ground and she snatched his gun, rolling away and climbing back to her feet. "But you can't dodge bullets very well when you're lying on your ass, now can you." she continued, before firing the Desert Eagle at the Agent. He, too, vanished in a flash of code and became a young police officer.

"You okay? You took a pretty nasty hit, there." Flare said, coming over to San.

"They're all dead." she replied, ignoring his comment. Flare simply put the reciever of the payphone back on the hook, where it began ringing almost immediately.

"Here." he said, picking it up and handing her the receiver. "You go first." She looked at him for a moment before nodding. She took the phone and put it to her ear. A second later, she was gone and the phone fell to the ground.

When she opened her eyes, San was back on the Aesculapius. Aquila was next to Flare's chair, removing the jack from the back of his neck. She winced and sat up; her body hurt all over.

"You two are the only ones that made it out..." Aquila said, looking at San and Flare.

"Chronos didn't..." Flare started saying. Aquila shook her head.

"I don't know what he was thinking, trying to fight an Agent by himself when he clearly is a gunner and guns are practically useless against Agents..." she said, her sentence trailing off. After a moment, she spoke again. "Let's get back to Zion."

"I...excuse me..." San said. Before waiting for a response from the other two, she left the Core, making her way through the corridors to her cabin.

The trip back to Zion was a somber one; Aquila and Flare took turns piloting the hovership, and San, who wasn't much good at piloting anyway, spent much of the time in her cabin. Once they got back to Zion she quickly grew tired of everyone saying they were sorry, and after snapping at several people decided to just stay in her rooms as much as possible.

About a month later, she recieved a notice from the Council: She had been assigned to a new ship, the Persepolis, piloted by Captain Marduk. Her new assigment was effective immediately, and the Percy would be leaving Zion to go into the Matrix in two days. Upon reading the notice, she sighed and began tossing belongings into her pack. A chapter of her life, it seemed, had just come to an end, and another was about to begin.