Yes, I'm spelling Marovingian wrong. Thanks for informing me, and perhaps in future chapters this will be corrected.



Meanwhile, someone asked about chapter sizes. They have been:

Scene 00: 498 words

Scene 01: 751 words

Scene 02: 773 words

Scene 03: 1503 words

These numbers do not include any parenthetical comments made at the beginning of the chapter. Also, if you want a more basic count, those are about 2-3 pages. Personally, I like longer chapters more, something to the effect of 6-9 pages (assuming a 12 pt Times New Roman font).



This is a longer chapter (as can be seen from the numbers), and I also enjoy it more than previous ones. Things are finally beginning to change, and I finally get to use a bit of creativity. I'd be interested to hear your comments and speculations.



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Scene 03: Balancing the Equation



A cool breeze whipped Seraph's jacket around him as he calmly strode down the street. It was just as empty as the rest of the town Seraph had seen, a grim reminder of Smith's growing power. This was the sort of wind Seraph knew often preceded a storm; if the calm before the storm had lasted this long, then how massive would the storm be?

Watching a paper sack being blown across the street, Seraph briefly pondered what he himself had thought. Any wind in the Matrix was nothing but a program, a portion of the overall control that made it believable. If the wind was moving in response to something, what did that say about the program controlling it? Was it possible that Smith's might was beginning to influence even the programming of the Matrix itself?

Clearing his mind, Seraph forced such thoughts aside. They were unnecessary, and as such, should be eliminated. The task at hand would require his full attention. If one wanted to find the Marovingian, there were a number of routes that could be taken. Seraph knew all of them, and knew that some were more dangerous than others.

The best route was through the Marovingian's garage, but he would have increased defenses there after Seraph's prior attack. After that, one could choose between the Trainman's station and the back entrance. Given the fact that the Trainman been less than helpful the last time they had met, Seraph determined that the back entrance was the optimal destination. It was to there that he was now headed.

All such thoughts were washed from his mind as Seraph turned a corner to the back entrance of the Marovingian's lair. He had expected a guard, but not of this nature. Four Agents were inspecting the door, doing something Seraph was unable to perceive.

Considering his options, Seraph began to cautiously move away. When he needed to, he could move quite silently; he had eluded many Agents in the past. This time, however, it was not to be. All four Agents abruptly moved away from the door. Just as they did so, Seraph recognized the code of the object they had attached to it. A bomb.

The explosion destroyed the door completely, barely missing the Agents, who were standing carefully just outside the blast radius. They turned, their mission complete, and saw Seraph watching them.

"It is the exile," one Agent intoned, placing a hand to the cord by his ear.

"This cannot be allowed," another said grimly. "None must know what we are doing here."

"Termination is suggested," the third agreed. "Commence."

Dropping into a fighting stance, Seraph readied himself as they charged in his direction. At the moment, he had to risk fighting them if he didn't want to be dogged by Agents for the rest of his journey. What made all the difference is what version of Agents these were.

The first moved into his range of combat, and Seraph immediately struck out. His blow was turned aside, and the Agent retaliated. Catching his opponent's fist, Seraph held it long enough to sweep a leg up, knocking the Agent's arm aside and throwing him off balance. Immediately Seraph moved in, smashing a palm into the program's chest.

Even as the Agent was blown across the street and into a wall, the other three were converging on Seraph from all directions. Instantly he moved into a purely defensive mode, deflecting blows from all sides. It wasn't enough; an Agent managed to hook his foot, throwing him from his feet long enough for another Agent to punch him away.

Letting the force of the blow take him back, Seraph crashed against a drainpipe and fell to the ground. Grimly he got to his feet and prepared for them again. These were Agents of an even newer hybrid than he had seen before, and they obviously had a lot of power. Then the result of the fight was unknown.

Jumping back as they neared him, Seraph vaulted off the wall, blowing through the charging Agents. Two managed to avoid his attack, but the other two were blown away from the battle.

Now fighting only two Agents, Seraph fared far better. Rolling to his left, he avoided the attacks of both briefly, then rose to his feet kicking. The Agent in front of him managed to deflect the blows, and the Agent behind kicked forward. Twisting, Seraph got out of the Agent's way and grabbed his leg. Immediately the Agent twisted in his hands, his other leg sweeping up to strike his head.

Ducking while keeping a good grip on the Agent's leg, Seraph jerked him about just in time for the second to take a punch from the recovering Agent. Avoiding the victim of friendly fire as he flew past, Seraph delivered a kick to the chest of the other Agent, sending him flying down the street.

A blow from behind made him tumble forward, Seraph barely managed to turn his fall into a roll at the last second. If the other two Agents were already back in the fight, than their recuperative powers had received a major boost. Grimly repositioning his glasses, Seraph flew into battle with the other two Agents, knowing that the last two would shortly return.

They did, a kicking smashing him through the air. On his way, Seraph managed to grab one of the Agents and took him along. Just before they struck the brick wall of the building, Seraph twisted, forcing the Agent to absorb the brunt of the blow.

Suddenly Seraph was very aware of his opponent's code, flowing in and around him. He had always been able to see it before, but somehow this was very different. Deep inside, in the very core of his programming, Seraph felt something begin. Not questioning, he grabbed the Agent by the neck and went with the feeling...



The force of Seraph's flight had knocked one of the Agents to the ground. He got to his feet and repositioned his tie, completely sure of their eventual victory. Across the street, Seraph was standing over the fourth Agent. Eyes narrowing, the three Agents glanced at one another.

"Something is not right." One stated what each of them had been thinking.

"It is an anomaly."

"Delete it," the third Agent pronounced, pulling a gun from his suit. The others did the same, all three drawing guns on Seraph.

Something had already taken place. Seraph's hand was still in the air, as if he was holding the Agent up, but there was no Agent to be seen. A suit that had been suspended in the air beneath Seraph's hand collapsed to the ground. Seraph's code seemed changed, the Agents realized. It had a new encryption it had not before, and one that the Agents recognized.

"It is not possible..."

"Delete it!" the last barked. All three Agents opened fire, bullets flying from their guns. Somehow Seraph moved, his motions at unimaginable speed. He dodged each and every bullet, then snapped to his original position. Only clicks sounded in the Agent's weapons. Again they glanced at one another.

Before them, Seraph repositioned his glasses, then glanced up at them. Tossing aside their weapons, the three Agents rushed at him. Leaping into the air, Seraph kicked two away instantly. The third thrust a fist toward Seraph, but the blow was caught. As Seraph landed he pulled the Agent over his back, sending him tumbling in the air. Whirling, Seraph planted a kick in his stomach, which sent him flying through a nearby wall, where he lay still.

Getting to their feet, the two remaining Agents charged Seraph. Turning aside their blows for a few moments, Seraph seized his first opportunity. Catching the wrist of one of his opponents before the blow could reach his face, Seraph flung him aside with one hand. The last Agent swung from behind, but Seraph easily ducked the blow. Twirling on the ground, Seraph took the Agent's legs out from under him, then uppercut him into the air as Seraph completed his spin. For a moment the Agent flipped into the air, as he came down Seraph kicked him with full power.

Crashing into a wall where he had been thrown, the third Agent made it to his feet, and realized he was facing Seraph alone. The Asian program turned toward him, face expressionless. Needing no further incentive, the Agent turned in the opposite direction and ran.

Seraph let him go. Clenching and unclenching a fist in front of his face, he nodded. What exactly he had done was still unknown to him, but at the moment it mattered not. All that mattered was finding and assisting the others. This door might have been destroyed, but there were other ways to the Marovingian.

One of the fallen Agent's eyes flickered open slightly. His last sight was Seraph's form walking down the street away from him. Then the Agent's head slumped, and the program terminated.