Program 6: First Glimpse

Days had passed since Morpheus spoke with Magna about the path he must walk. Since then, he had been through Stamina Training with Kage, Weapons Training with Valkyrie; who Magna still couldn't find out what her problem was, and the Dojo Simulation with Morpheus. While it was clear that he still had a lot to learn, Magna was a fast learner.

The major problem with his training was that he still had trouble letting go of the programmed reality he had become so accustomed to. This would cause some conflict with his progress. For example, Magna would be sparring with Morpheus in the Dojo Simulation and just when Magna began to get the upper hand, his body would begin to tire out from keeping up with the Captain. This usually led Morpheus to defeating Magna time and again.

"Free Your Mind," was the first rule of being an Operative inside the Matrix.

He still needed to learn that.

It was around what passed for dinnertime onboard the Metatron that Magna found himself eating with the entire crew. He had taken a seat between Link and Ophani and was once again devouring his 'bowl of goop', as Blitz had dubbed the food they were given. He had gotten used to the food, but it still tasted weird to him.

"So how much more room do we have onboard for passengers?" Kage asked Morpheus, who was sitting across from him.

"Two or three more. Then, we'll return to Zion."

"How soon can we get them onboard?" Taurus wondered.

"A couple more days. I'm following a lead right now and will pick him up tonight. I will need Valkyrie and Kage to go with me."

"I'm going, too," Ophani said suddenly.

"No, Ophani. I need you stay here and look after the passengers," Morpheus told her before turning to Magna, "And you will continue training when we get back."

"What about tonight?" Magna asked, "You said that we'd spar again right after dinner."

"The person we must retrieve from the Matrix has postponed those plans."

"So…I'm home free tonight?"

"I'm sure Taurus can help you find something to do," Valkyrie cut in.

"Yeah, come to think of it," Taurus thought for a moment, "The communications from the cockpit aren't working that well. You can help me with it as soon as you're finished."

"Crap…" Magna cursed under his breath.

"Blitz, help Ophani with the passengers," Valkyrie told the older boy.

"Yes, ma-" Blitz started.

"I can do that!" Magna interrupted quickly and received stares from everyone at the table, including Ophani, who was a bit embarrassed, and Blitz, who was a bit annoyed.

"You can?" Taurus asked.

"Yeah…that is…" Magna stared down at the table, trying to avoid the crew's gazes while feeling his cheeks flush red, "If Blitz'll switch with me. He could help Taurus and I could help Ophani…"

"Blitz?" Morpheus turned to him.

"…fine. I was better with technology than people anyway," Blitz snorted.

"All right. Magna and Ophani will oversee our passengers and Blitz and Taurus will work on the cockpit circuitry."

Everyone returned to eating his or her meal in silence after Morpheus' command. There were no more words at the table following this.

Underneath the main deck, in the refugees' quarters, Magna and Ophani were serving some dinner to the other people who had been freed from the Matrix. Magna had been waiting to talk to Ophani for days, but had never got the chance to. This was as good a time as any to talk to the only other person he knew from the Matrix.

"S-so…" Magna stuttered. Ophani looked up from where she had given a young boy some food and turned to face Magna.

"So what…?" Ophani asked.

"So…uh…" Magna tried to find words to talk with, since this was the first time he was talking one-on-one with the girl he liked, "How do you…get people to escape from the Matrix?"

"You went through it, so you should know," Ophani took another bowl of the standard food from a tray she had brought down and gave it to an elderly woman, "You take the red pill, we trace your signal in the power plant, the Machines let you go down the drain and we pull you up from the sewers. Everyone here went through that."

"Yeah…so…" Magna tried to find something else to talk about, "What's with Blitz? Does he have it in for me or something?"

"Oh? Don't mind him," Ophani laughed, "He's not a very social person. You get used to him."

Yeah, right! Magna thought while he looked at Ophani's face. I'll get used to him when the world ends!

Wait…didn't it already end, then?

"…and Valkyrie?" Magna asked.

"I don't really know that much about her. Just that Morpheus selected her as his lieutenant when he got this ship," Ophani answered, "Why do you want to know about everybody?"

"I just like to know what's going on," Magna defended as he took a seat next to the boy Ophani served, "I guess that's how I ended up here."

"I think that's the last of the bowls," Ophani looked back at the tray, "Why don't we go check how Morpheus and the other crewmembers are doing?"

The two crew members stood up and looked back at the refugees in the room, making sure everyone was served. They went back up the stairs to the main deck and walked down the corridor to the Control Centre.

"What about you?" Magna asked as they walked, "How'd you end up here?"

Ophani remained silent.

"Do you miss them…? Your family in the Matrix?"

"…"

"I miss them. Sati…Resa…Seraph-sensei…" Magna stopped for a moment, "I wish I could go back and see them again. I promised to come back to them. But now that I know the truth about what they are, I don't know if I could face them again."

"…really?" Ophani wondered.

"I just wanted to know about my dreams. I didn't want to be drafted into some kind of peacekeeping crew."

"You have dreams?"

"Doesn't everyone? But mine are different. Morpheus told me that my dreams foretell my future."

"What future?"

"If I'd have know that, I wouldn't be here now, would I?"

"…"

"Sensei started me on the path. He taught me how to hack, taught me all these martial arts…"

"What kind of martial arts?" Ophani asked, suddenly interested.

"Oh, you know…Tae Kwon Do, Karate…that kind of stuff. I don't wanna brag or nothing, but…I got some moves."

"What kind of moves? Are any of them good?"

"'Are any of them good'?" Magna took this as an insult, "I'm a master of the staff. My hands move quicker than the eye. I could knock you unconscious five times before you hit the ground. Yeah, I got some moves." he bluffed. Not that it wasn't true, he just wasn't quite at that level yet.

"Oh, really?" Ophani circled around him as they reached the Control Centre where Link was monitoring Morpheus, Valkyrie and Kage, "Well, I've been taught some martial arts by Morpheus himself. I hear he's almost as good as Neo was. If Morpheus didn't insist that I didn't fight, I could take out an Agent."

"Well, I think he had the right idea," Magna grinned, "Not letting you fight, I mean. You say you could take out an Agent."

"I can!" Ophani defended, "I'll even show you right now!"

"I don't think so. I could never fight a girl--HEY!" Ophani swiftly used her foot to flop Magna onto the floor of the ship.

"Don't be so gentlemanly with me," Ophani's face loomed over Magna's, "You're just afraid you'd lose."

"No, I'm not!" Magna growled. There was no way he'd let a girl outdo him! "In fact, I'll fight you tomorrow before my training with Morpheus begins!"

"Time and program?" Ophani asked.

"06:00 hours! The Dojo Simulation!"

"I look forward to it," Ophani grinned before going over to Link, "Link, did you get all that?"

"No, what'd I miss?" Link continued to stare at the screens where he monitored the crew inside the Matrix.

"We need you to hook me and Magna up to the Dojo Simulation tomorrow at 06:00 hours. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks. So, how are they doing?" Ophani looked over Link's shoulder to the computer screens.

Magna left the room after Ophani issued her challenge to him. He needed to focus in his quarters. He was not going to let a girl beat him, even if she was someone he liked. Besides, he needed to prove himself to the others. Just because he was the new guy didn't mean that he was a pushover!

I'll show her! I'll show everybody!

The Dojo Simulation was remarkably similar to the dojo where Magna and Seraph had trained in back in the Matrix. The only things that were different were the scrolls with Asian writing littering the walls and the floor that looked more like an arena battleground.

Magna took a look around the computer-generated dojo before looking at his own clothes. They were a variation of his usual training outfit. The white jacket, the black tank top, the comfortable pants and Chinese shoes with white socks. He looked like somebody out of an old Asian martial-arts movie. He ran his hand through his hair to make sure it was all there before noticing that his white jacket had a symbol over the heart and on the back. A kanji of some kind that he couldn't read. Trying to get accustomed to the reality in his mind, Magna started warming up by doing some stretches.

Ophani hadn't shown up yet. Magna arrived to the Control Centre first with Link after waking him up. Link was still tired, but he agreed to run the simulation for Magna and Ophani.

Why'd I agree to this? Magna thought as he began throwing some punches into the air, What am I doing? Trying to impress her or beat her? Stubborn is what I am. I never could back down from a challenge. But I need to train early anyway, so I guess this is for the best. Plus, I get to see how good Jenna…er, Ophani, is.

Just when he finished thinking this, Ophani jacked into the simulation. Magna glanced over to her on the other side of the dojo and let his mouth hang open.

She had a traditional uniform on, again something that looked like something out of a martial-arts movie. A sleeveless blue Chinese formal jacket, dark pants and shoes decorated her figure. Her hair was tied back into a kind of ponytail and she was gazing at him admirably. She was…beautiful.

At least, to him.

"I didn't know you'd look so…cute…in a uniform," Ophani smiled.

Magna felt a blush creeping over his face and realised his mouth was hanging open. Forcing it closed, he tried to look elsewhere other than his opponent.

"Yeah, well…I never really had any girls comment on it before…" Magna's eyes darted between Ophani and his own uniform, "So…you wanna…get started?"

"It's what we came here for, isn't it?" she asked as she bowed to Magna. He did likewise and the two took starting positions.

"I'm warning you now…I'm really good…" Magna tried to focus on sparring with her and not…well, whatever he was thinking about her in his mind.

"So am I. Are you ready for me, Jake?"

"…bring it."

Before he knew it, she had come over to him and began throwing punches at him. He blocked every one before she used her leg to sweep him onto the ground. She was about to punch him, but he rolled over and got back up to his feet and began punching her. She blocked his punches and started moving backwards, giving Magna some more room to fight. His curled fists took the shape of knife-hands and he tried to strike her vital areas. She continued to block before pushing him away and leaping into the air. Time slowed for a moment as she sailed towards him, her feet outstretched into a kick. Her outstretched leg, the left, kicked towards Magna, but he managed to dodge it by moving to the right.

But that was before she twisted her right leg to deliver the blow.

Ophani kicked Magna underneath the chin and it sent him flying backwards. Landing hard, he looked back to face her. She landed with both feet perfectly like an Olympic gymnast.

"Told you I was good," Ophani raised her eyebrows at him, flirtatiously.

He moved his hand in front of his face to catch a cough he let out and found that his hand was sprayed with blood.

"Oh, it's on now," Magna swirled his feet to propel him back up and took a fighting stance, "I was holding back before."

"I told you not to do that. I can't stand that," Ophani said, taking her starting stance again, "Anytime you're ready…"

"Now it's for real. Let's go!" Magna rushed forward, engaging Ophani.

His hands were now moving like lightening, his focus on beating the girl whom kicked him in the face. His hands were firmly positioned into knife-hands as he looked over Ophani's body for the vital spots he needed. Again, she blocked all his blows before he spotted a spot underneath her chest. Striking it with enough force, Ophani was forced to grasp her chest before Magna stroke another vital spot on her back. Ophani's left arm was now rendered useless as Magna continued to strike the spots until she collapsed onto her legs on the floor.

"Fast hands, like I said," Magna backed off, letting himself relax a bit.

"The vital points on the body," Ophani noted, "Shut the system down upon striking. Why didn't I think of that?"

"The brain won't let you get back up for a while. It's over."

Ophani raised her eyebrows at him. "Is it?"

To Magna's surprise, she closed her eyes and slowly began to pick herself up. Wh-what…! She can't do that…!

"Don't you remember any of the lessons, Jake?" Ophani said as she stood back up, "It's all in your head. 'Free your mind'."

"Round Two, I take it…?" Magna quickly came back into a combative stance.

"If you can handle it," Ophani winked at him. She seemed perfectly fine.

"The question is if you can handle it," Magna smiled for the first time since his arrival in the Real World.

"Geez, are they fighting or flirting?"

"I'm thinking both."

Unbeknownst to either Magna or Ophani, the rest of the crew of the Metatron had woken up early to eat breakfast before beginning their duties. When they noticed Link, Magna and Ophani weren't in their rooms when they were called for breakfast, they all headed to the Control Centre. It was there that they now found themselves watching the two teenagers fight in the Dojo Simulation. They had been watching them for almost half an hour now.

"They're pretty good for kids," Link noted as he watched the brain patterns on one of the screens.

"I knew that Magna was trained by Seraph, but I didn't know he'd be this good…" Kage added.

"Such a high level of combat for both of them…" Taurus watched in awe as Magna and Ophani circled the room fighting in close-range combat.

"…she's good," Valkyrie looked from the screens to Ophani's unconscious body in one of the chairs surrounding the controls.

"Well, what else would you expect from someone like her?" Blitz told her, "Once she sets her mind to something, she can't be convinced otherwise."

Morpheus remained silent as he watched the fight. They were both very determined and very talented. He was glad he picked the two of them to join his crew. Once their training was complete, they'd be truly formidable opponents. Some of the best Operatives that Zion would have in a long time. Maybe even a match for him or Niobe…

Morpheus shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the female Captain.

"Link, you know what to do," Morpheus nodded at Link and he nodded back. The Captain went over to his own chair while Taurus followed and prepared Morpheus' seat.

"Do you have to go in now?" Blitz argued, "It's just getting good!"

"All good things must come to an end," Morpheus replied as he sat back in his chair.

The boy and girl had traded blows for a while now, and there were signs of slowing from both of them. Neither of them would give up, however, while the other was still going.

"You're pretty good," Ophani huffed out after blocking another of Magna's punches.

"You're not too bad yourself," Magna took his fist back and blocked another of Ophani's punches. He judged by the amount of time that they had sparred that quite some time had passed. He broke off from his close-range combat with her. "Thanks for the warm-up."

"You think I'm through with you?" Ophani asked challengingly.

"Morpheus will be here soon. I needed to warm-up before training anyway."

"Come on. Let's keep fighting," Ophani pleaded.

"I'm being gentlemanly and breaking it off. And besides, you're a girl," Magna added, "Sati always told me to treat girls nicely. Going around beating them up doesn't qualify as nice, I don't think."

"You're afraid you'd lose to me, aren't you?"

"N-No! I just…don't want to hurt you…" Magna's face was going an even deeper shade of red after the workout, "I couldn't…stand seeing you like that…"

"So…" Ophani started to walk toward Magna, "You wouldn't want to hurt me?"

"N-not really…"

"Because you couldn't stand seeing me hurt…"

"Uh-huh…"

"Well, that's sweet of you…" Ophani said as she wrapped her arms around Magna and stared into his eyes, "It's been a long time since I've heard someone say that to me."

"You're going to flip me onto my back again, aren't you?" Magna inquired, trying not to get lost in her hazel eyes, "I'm not that stupid."

"I wasn't thinking of it. I was going to do this, though…" Ophani leaned in closer to Magna's face.

"Uh…ah…" Magna wasn't quite sure what to do as Ophani got closer to him. He never did have too much experience dealing with girls. He never really thought when it came to them, and he'd usually end up making a fool of himself in front of them. What would he do with the girl he had in front of her now? Make an idiot of himself again? Or maybe…

He swallowed hard before leaning towards Ophani's approaching lips. Both of their eyes were closed as they just abandoned all thought and let their feelings take over for them. This was bound to be something neither of them would forget. They were just a centimetre apart from engaging in their first kiss when…

"Interesting technique, Magna."

The two teens turned their faces to look at Morpheus, dressed in a dark gi, looking on with detached amusement.

"Though I'm not quite sure that would work against Agents."

Magna pulled apart from Ophani, somewhat reluctantly. "How long were you watching, sir?"

"Around the beginning."

"It's not what you think!" Magna began, "She was helping me to…"

"We know."

"We, sir?" Ophani came in.

"The rest of the crew."

Uh-oh. Busted. Magna's and Ophani's thoughts were one.

"I'm both pleased to see that you fight at such an advanced level," Morpheus walked towards them, "But keep in mind that this is no time for you two to be flirting. You are both still in-training as soldiers of Zion. On the battlefield, you must put your personal feelings aside and do what must be done."

"…is that what happened between you and Captain Niobe, sir?" Ophani asked.

Morpheus kept silent for a moment before looking up to the ceiling. Shaking himself out of bad memories, he opened his mouth in a command. "Link, activate the Jump Program."

The Dojo disappeared from the three members of the Metatron, as did the clothes they were wearing. Magna found himself hiding his lower region from the Captain and Ophani, who were both equally naked. Staring at Ophani, in all her unclothed beauty, he tried to clear his head of the impure images he had just started thinking about her. He shut his eyes and before he knew it, there was a large 'WHOOSH' sound, like a strong wind. He opened his eyes and saw that he was now on top of a large building, fully clothed again.

This must be the Jump Program. Magna though as he looked over himself, and he found that he was wearing the same clothes he wore when he exited the Matrix: dark purple shirt with black jeans, a grey sweatshirt and blue running shoes; but in addition to this, he also wore the same type of sunglasses as his mentor, Seraph. Ophani was dressed how she was when she contacted him for the first time while Morpheus wore a black trench coat, a dark business suit that looked like it had just been pressed and shined dark shoes.

"What the…? What's with the clothes change?" Magna took off his new sunglasses and examined them.

"Do not focus on what you see. Instead, focus on overcoming what you see," Morpheus told him, "Let go of what you know about everything around you. Nothing here is real. Just concentrate on that one thought and you can do anything you set yourself to."

"You didn't answer my question," Magna said hesitantly.

"I did. 'Free Your Mind'."

After saying this, Morpheus took a running start and leapt from the building on which they were on to a nearby building, with seemingly no effort at all.

"Whoa." Magna looked from the captain on the next building back to Ophani in shock, "How'd he do that? That's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible here," Ophani smiled.

"Could I do that, too?"

"Of course."

"Really? How?"

"It's easy, just listen to what I say," Ophani leaned over to his ear and Magna listened intently to what she would say next, "Here it is: Free Your Mind."

She winked back at him before running off as well and leapt to the next building, landing next to Morpheus.

"Ugh, why does everyone keep saying that? I never get that!" Magna growled as he went over to the side of the building and looked down into the city with it's traffic, large buildings and unaware people. He gulped as he looked from his building to the other two Zionites' building. He judged the distance between the two as being quite a fair bit away.

Not to mention, the busy streets below being a long way down.

"He won't make it," Link said as he monitored the three people inside the Training Program.

"He might," Kage noted.

"He won't," Valkyrie said, "Everyone falls the first time."

"But…he still could make it, couldn't he?" Taurus asked.

"No one gets the First Jump right. Not even Neo did."

"Someone like that is bound to fail," Blitz came in, "Just look at him."

"I heard something from Ghost once. He said, 'You never know'."

"And that means what for us?" Link asked.

"It means that just because everyone before Magna has failed doesn't necessarily mean that he will fail."

"He's bound to. History is going to repeat itself, it always does."

"Not if we learn from our mistakes."

"Well, we'll see in a minute, 'cause here he goes…" Taurus finished the conversation. All five members watched Link's screens as Magna prepared to attempt the First Jump.

All right, stay calm. Remember what Seraph taught you. Remember what Morpheus said. Nothing is real. Overcome what you see. Free your mind…this is nuts.

Magna's eyes were shut as he concentrated on what he was about to do. Everyone else in the program had failed, why shouldn't he? It was ludicrous. He was supposed to have some special gift that no one else had, but thus far, it hadn't shown itself. He wished Seraph or Oracle or Resa were here with him. They could help him. But they weren't, so he was on his own. He concentrated on the phrase and pictured Seraph in his place, jumping over the buildings with ease. Magna wanted to do that like his sensei, too.

Free my mind…free my mind…free my mind…

His eyes snapped open as he started running forward. The sound of the air rushing past him seemed to taunt him, but he kept repeating his little mantra as he approached the end of the building. He could almost see Seraph in his mind's eye right beside him.

Free your mind…

Something seemed to change as the wind seemed to grow quieter than before.

Free your mind…

Time seemed to slow as Magna's foot hit the edge of the railing.

Free…your…MIND…!

Magna launched himself off the building.

The crewmembers of the Metatron all watched as Magna jumped through the sky. He was gaining the same height that Morpheus and Ophani had when they jumped a few moments ago. Time seemed to slow as Magna sailed forward, focused on overcoming what he knew.

He has to fall. Valkyrie saw as Magna neared the falling point for almost all of the people.

He's going to fail right here. Link thought as Magna reached the falling point…and passed it!

He's still going! Taurus couldn't believe what had happened.

He's halfway there! Blitz remembered his own attempt and failure at not even reaching halfway.

Like Ghost said, "You never know." Kage let himself smile as Magna passed the halfway point.

Could he surpass Neo? Morpheus held his breath as Magna came closer.

Jake… Ophani gasped as Magna had almost cleared the gap between buildings.

Free your mind… Magna hadn't let go of that phrase as he flew. By now, Magna was now almost equal height as the building. He was almost there! He was going to surpass all of them! He could feel it! Boy, was Ophani going to be impressed!

But, gravity was slowly taking its effect on Magna again as he began to doubt himself secretly. The building was now rising up past the boy as he started to fall.

No, no! Not now! I'm almost there! Just a little farther!

But Magna could feel he was going down. He lost the image of Seraph jumping beside him. And now, he was falling. He'd fail like all the rest.

I knew it. All of the Metatron crew thought this in one form or another as Magna fell toward the ground.

NO! I will…not…FAIL! Magna screamed in his thoughts.

At that moment, something stirred in Magna. His eyes seemed to contract and green code rained within them in place of a pair of blue irises and black pupils. A blast of wind came from him, as everything seemed to freeze in time for a moment. A cushion of air came up suddenly and caught the teenager, who didn't waste a moment in using it to jump from. He rocketed upwards with his right arm outstretched and landed on the building much like Morpheus and Ophani did.

Holy…! The crewmembers' thoughts chorused as one as Magna's eyes seemed to revert to normal and he collapsed in front of the captain and the hacker.

Magna opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of the entire crew applauding in front of him. They were all impressed, with the exception of Blitz, who was trying to hide his own amazement. Magna was feeling very light-headed after exiting the Construct. He held his head to try and right himself.

"How'd you do that!" Link asked.

"Do what?" Magna gasped as Ophani unplugged him from the machine.

"That thing you just did in the Jump Program!"

"What did I do?"

"You jumped, fell, then flew."

"I've never seen anyone do something like that," Valkyrie said.

"Ghost was right. You never really know, hmm?" Kage asked.

"Who's Ghost?"

"Never mind that! You're the first person to clear the Jump Program on the first try!" Ophani said excitedly, "Everyone else failed! Even Neo!"

"Neo failed?"

"Don't you remember anything that just happened?" Ophani asked.

"Remember what?" Magna was confused after exiting the Construct, "What are you all talking about?"

Blitz laughed. "He completed the Jump Program and he can't even remember it? What kind of 'Messiah' is that?"

"Blitz!" Ophani hissed to silence him.

"I knew I was right when we found you, Magna," Morpheus said as the group parted to reveal him, smiling, "I knew it."

"Knew what? Could somebody clue me in here?" Magna asked as he got out of the chair.

"Now, if there are any more unbelievers…" Morpheus let his sentence hang as the crew all turned to each other to try and ask the others to explain, but found no one could even talk. Instead, they all turned back to Magna, then to Morpheus. They all shook their heads.

Magna's stomach interrupted the silence that followed. "Man, I'm hungry. Is it time for breakfast yet?"

"I'll take you to the Mess Hall. Come on," Ophani said as the two of them started down the hall.

Why is everything such a blur? Magna thought as he walked into the Mess Hall, still feeling very light-headed, What were the others talking about? What am I to Morpheus? What did I do in the Training Programs? What is this strange sensation I feel inside myself now? What is this weird 'gift' I'm supposed to have? Why am I even here at all?

Magna's stomach growled again.

Agh, I'm hungry…