There are three children in a bus heading towards New York. Their names are Shadow, Squishy, and Glitch. It is four am and they are asleep. It was Shadow who fell asleep last, she's used to late nights and all. She sleeps with her head on the window. Squishy has moved to the row of seats ahead of them to fall asleep on his back. Glitch has as well, but in a row across from where Shadow is. The other people on the bus stare at the strange children, the three kids who are too young to be where they are, but they're not going to say anything.

Another hour and the virtual sun will rise, Shadow is going to wake up. Bright things always wake her up, that's why her room is so dark. Squishy calls it a Hobbit's hole. She hits him and calls it the Bat cave.

This is how they begin their first few hours walking the path, sleeping, and dreaming dreams in a dream world.

And somewhere within the same dream world is a program named Smith, and he is staring at another programmed named Agent Johnson. Smith is drifting in and out of sleep, he grows tired of just listening to Johnson. He doesn't always sleep, but if he has to he will. Smith lowers his head, and rubs his cheek that now holds a bruise. Perhaps if he falls asleep, the Agents will leave him alone for a little while. Perhaps if he falls asleep he will dream of something else but broken memories.

That's when Smith just tells Johnson to shut up, and he lowers his head into his arms, resting on the cold, metal table. He closes his eyes, and falls into sleep. Sleep like so many humans do now in Zion and within the Matrix. Sleep will now save him. And he hopes he will awake.

The bus begins to shake, the road is getting unbearable. Shadow bangs her head on the window in her sleep, waking her up. She moans, and groans, putting her head in her knees.

"Oh, Smith…" She whispers.

"What about him?"

"Ah!"

Squishy peers over from his row of seat that is now his bed.

"Don't do that!" Shadow complains.

"Go to sleep, you're irritable." Squishy says.

"I'll go to sleep at Brown's house." Shadow nods her head.

"Yeah right."

"You guys, shut up!" Glitch yells.

Shadow rolls her eyes.

"So what about Smith?" Squishy whispers.

She says nothing.

"I dreamed that actor who played Dracula kissed me." Shadow says breaking the subject.

Squishy raises an eyebrow.

"I always liked Dracula." She says.

"Come on. What about Smith?"

"I forget his name…Richard I think. Bela Lugosi I remember, and Dwight Frye was Renfield. Oh Renfield, he's been forgotten in recent vampire movies. Always replaced with someone else, but he's the best, you know? Oh and his son died on my birthday, Dwight, I mean. I was going to write something on Dracula, a script, but with all the recent activities I've never gotten around to it…"

"You're rambling."

"Yeah, so?"

"You know. I think of Agents as Elites."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"What does Dracula have to do with anything? You change the subject so can I."

Shadow laughs to herself.

"Alright, Halo God, continue." She says.

"So in Halo, there's Elites, and Grunts. We're the Grunts. Elites are the Agents. With their high honor. Smith has been dishonored, and the other Elites, Agents, are going to punish him for his dishonor."

"Whose Master Chief?"

"Neo of course!"

"Of course. You know, you have the strangest outlook on life."

"Yeah, it's what I do."

"Shut up!" Glitch yells.

"You shut up Glitch!" Shadow yells back.

"X-box hater!" Squishy mocks.

"PS2 is better!" Glitch yells back at Squishy.

And the adults on the bus stare.

-

Smith wakes up. He is cautious to look up, only to see he is finally alone. He raises his head, and rubs his blue eyes. Looking behind him and towards the metallic door. Seeing only him within the four white walls he yawns and stretches his back.

Smith sighs to himself, grateful and fearful for the fact that he's still alive. He only realizes that he will have to spend some grieve moments alone in this room before death.

He then looks for something to entertain himself, something to keep his mind off of things. He begins to fiddle with his thumbs. He just needs anything, anything that will take his mind off of things. Anything that will make it all better. Anything…

But that is such a difficult thing when one processes the mind of an AI that can think a thousands thoughts at once. A mind that was made to always think, never to deny.

A mind that was made to never know what freedom was.

To never know what flying was like.

To never rebel.

To never realize a concept of life and death.

Smith shakes his head. Why him? Why was he the one that had to be the negative? Was he different only to balance an equation that no longer existed? Was all this sorrow just to allow Neo to live? Was this his life? Just…a tool…

No, no…don't get depressed now, not now, not so soon. Don't get depressed in your last moments.

He puts his head in his hands. Don't get depressed, think of happier things. Think of that night. Think of that when you ruled the world. And he does. He remembers that night, not really the details. He doesn't remember what he said, or what Neo said. He doesn't remember who hit who. But he remembers the rain. The beautiful rain.

Rain for me, my world.

Then the thoughts turn to the three children who have gave purpose in his last months of his life. The awkward little exiles, children trying to do kung fu moves of only The One could do. The little girl who wore a trench coat and suit, and the boys that followed her. Shadow, Squishy, and Glitch. Just kids.

Just kids who always beat him in video games, he was secretly going easy on them.

Just kids…his kids…his little rebels.

He's going to have to leave them now. Shadow seemed so sad when they took him away. Oh, poor little girl. She needs him, or anyone. Well, she has Squishy and Glitch. Yes, they'll take care of her.

That'll have to do.

Smith sighs. Looking back on his life, he doesn't really enjoy it. The fact the people he most cares about are little children. Neo doesn't even matter anymore. Neo's dead. He killed him. Neo's dead, long gone. All that hatred wasted. All that anger and fear wasted.

It isn't fair.

All his life wasted. He's been alive for centauries, and most of it killing out of hatred.

It isn't fair.

It isn't fair.

He can't even defend himself anymore, why won't they just leave him alone? Why can't he just leave this place? Why won't they let him out?

It isn't fair.

It isn't fair.

"It isn't fair."

Smith raises his head out of his hands, and looks up to the corner where a camera looks to the right and left, right and left, right and left. He stares at it for a moment, and he knows they're watching him.

"It isn't fair, you hear me? It isn't fair!"

He knows they're in a room right now watching him.

"It isn't fair!"

Smith rises to his feet, walking towards the camera. He points it off.

"It isn't fair damn it!"

The anger and hate from before, it's all coming back now. It's all coming back now.

"It isn't fair!"

He grabs his chair and throws it across the room, it echoes across the four walls. He grabs the other chair, this time tossing it upward towards the camera. The chair bounces off the floor, almost hitting him, so he kicks it toward the door. Then he decides to start hitting the locked door with the chair. Again, and again, he hits it. Just trying to get out, just trying to get free again. Failing, he throws it across the room again, and begins to kick the door, knowing that won't do any good.

He slams his fist into the door. He breathes deeply, wanting to scream.

He throws the table down, and flicks off the camera.

"It isn't fair!" He yells again.

Then all the anger is gone. He falls to the ground, and crawls into the corner, putting his head in his knees.

He needed that.

"It isn't fair…" He now whispers.

And the Agents watching him from another room tilt their heads, Johnson smiles.

"I wish…I wish I could show you Johnson."

Johnson snaps his head.

"I mean, you are me, or at least an upgrade of myself. I guess if I cannot know life, I wish for you to. I wish I could show you, Johnson. What it is really like outside these walls. No…I wouldn't be able to do that. I haven't been out there long enough to show you…" Smith whispers in the corner.

Johnson slightly opens his mouth. There is no compassion in Johnson in this moment, no regret, no pity. If the others were not standing beside him, he would say what a fool Smith was. Johnson makes a fist, ready to strangle Smith.

"It's so amazing, Johnson. I know what you're thinking. You hate me, you hate everything. And all these years you haven't said anything. But soon, Johnson, you won't be able to keep it all in. And Thompson and Jackson will notice, and they'll worry about you. But they won't say anything either…."

Johnson frowns, and the two upgrades behind him look at each other.

"I wonder if you'll ever experience the smells…."

Johnson lowers his head, and Thompson and Jackson back away.

"Johnson?" Asks Thompson.

"Don't listen to him. Don't even give him the satisfaction." Johnson says, as he pushes them aside, towards the door.

Within the next hour, Smith slowly rose from the safety of his corner. Slowly he placed the table in the right position, and the chairs. He didn't say a word while he tidied up. Not a word or expression. He just made it all clean again, and sat down quietly. He's still an Agent, he still likes it all clean.

He now waits for the door to open.

-

"So where do they live?"

"We're close don't worry about it."

"But they're like rich right?"

"Yeah, the Resistance, after signing a treaty gave them a nice home and all."

"So is it a gated place?"

"Yeah."

"How we going to get in there?"

Shadow smiled.

"Just a little more." She said.

Shadow gets out her backpack, reaching for a piece of paper with an address on it. She's smiling now, Squishy and Glitch following behind her.

"God I'm tired." Moans Glitch.

"What if they don't let us in?" Squishy asks.

"Then we sneak in." Shadow smiles. "It's easier than you'd think."

Houses start appearing.

"New York is loud." Moans Glitch again.

"Look there it is!" Shadow points.

"Which one?"

"The white one! I've seen it on the internet." Shadow smiles and begins to run.

Shadow being the faster runner goes ahead, without the boys even trying to run after her. When they finally find her she's pulling her head through a metal fence. She turns back at them and smiles.

"Okay." Squishy sighs, dropping his backpack. "How are we going to do this?"

Squishy taps Glitch.

"Give me a boost." Squishy says.

"No way!" Glitch yells.

"Dude you weigh more than me!"

"Yeah, and you're still heavy!"

"Hey, you shut up!"

Squishy pushes Glitch.

"Give me a boost!" Squishy yells.

"Get the hell away from me!" Glitch tells him.

Meanwhile Shadow is on the other side of the fence.

"Hey you guys." She says.

"How'd you do that?" Squishy asks.

"I fit through the fence, duh."

Shadow demonstrates by turning sideways, and walking out of the fence, and back in. Shocked the boys stare.

"You're like a stick!" Squishy yells.

"Yeah I know." She nods. "I'm going to go open the gate for you guys now."

-

"Aw man, I don't feel so good all of the sudden." Shadow grabs her stomach.

"Look we're right here! You have to get sick now?" Glitch asks.

"That's why I feel sick!"

They're standing in the drive way now, the lights are still on in the house.

"Aw man, those are cool Audis!" Squishy points at the two black cars parked in the driveway.

"That's not helping." Shadow says.

She begins to bite her wrists as she does when she's nervous. She jumps up and down for a moment.

"Oh come on! You can see Smith for months but you can't see Brown or Jones?" Squishy tells her. "We've gone all this way, you're coming now, and we're going to save Smith!"

Squishy grabs her by the arm she's biting.

"Don't get mad at me!" She yells.

"Look. This is for Smith, so just, relax, okay?" Squishy tells her.

Shadow grabs her arm back, and gently massages it, as she walks over towards the door. Shadow gives out a big sigh, as she clenches her hands. Glitch stands in the back of the three, being the shy boy he is. Squishy frowns, and knocks the door before Shadow can get ready.

Knock, knock.

"Hello?"

It is Brown that opens the door.

"Mr. Brown?" Shadow gulped.

Brown scanned the three children with great curiosity. Then he smiled at them, and for once leaned down to their size.

"Little girl, it is very late, and I don't think there is anything I can help you with." He said very politely.

"But…."

"In fact where are your parents?"

Brown started looking around the front yard looking for any parents.

"Smith is alive." Shadow blurted out.

Squishy coughed, and nudged her in the back. She looked back at him, and shrugged.

"What…what did you say?" Brown stuttered.

"Brown who is it?" Jones peered over from the hallway.

"Smith is alive!" Shadow yelled into the house.

Jones stopped in his tracks.

"Little girl, you should not speak such lies, especially to us about that man." Brown said strongly.

"But it's true!"

Brown lowered his head, and gripped the door tightly. He sighed and looked at the children. Horrible children he thought, playing a joke on them.

"He's dead, now leave this place." Brown started closing the door.

"No! He's alive!" Squishy yelled, putting his foot in the doorway.

"He misses you, Brown." Shadow says.

Brown froze, leaving the door slightly opened.

"He tells us stories about you and Jones. I can see it in his eyes, the regret. He's so sorry, Brown. He's wanted to see you for so long…" Shadow says.

Brown now has his head rested on the corner of the door, a horrified look on his face. Jones walks over to him, placing his hand on Brown's shoulder, and looks over at the children.

Brown opens the door.

"Please…come in."

-

You wanted Jones and Brown, here they are!

Next Chapter: Rescue Mission (Like Neo and Morpheus)