The Kimmatrix: Matrix Upgraded

A Fan Fiction Fusion By

Classic Cowboy and Turles

Chapter 2: Fire and Ice

"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock. The meat it feeds on."

William Shakespeare

Othello Act 3 Scene 3

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"Welcome to Jericho." Morpheus said to his crew as they had approached the city.

The city of Jericho was enormous, about the same size as Las Vegas to the eyes of Kim and Ron who were awed by what they had seen out the windows of the Neb II. The city was circular with roads that divided the city into sections like a pie, while spreading out from the center were concentric rings that made the roads of Jericho look like a bulls-eye. On the far outskirts, there were towers (twelve total), where each road that divided the city into pie sections, met with a tower as the road's final destination. From each of the towers came a kind of glowing, bluish gas that made Ron think about the propane gas tank his dad used to light his grill. While the towers themselves looked like spikes or narrow teeth of an unhinged mouth. At the very center of Jericho, there was a great tower that rose high above the other spikes.

The city seemed oddly creepy to Kim and Ron, with those towers, spikes, glowing gas, and all of it so dark, with the only light coming from lights within the city and the lightning from the abnormally black sky. The whole place looked like some kind of monster that was sitting on a rock waiting to swallow the Neb II as it passed by. Just like those creatures that Kim and Ron had seen on the Learning Channel that would sit at the bottom of the sea swallowing up their unsuspecting prey.

"It isn't much." Morpheus stated modestly about the city, "It's mostly a scientific community for the Atmospheric Purification Plant."

"We've been underground so long." Kim sighed as she looked up at the black sky, "It almost feels weird to be above ground for a change."

"You said it, KP." Ron smiled as the Neb II approached the great center tower.

"Jericho Control" Link called through his headphones, "This is Nebuchadnezzar Two requesting permission to dock, over."

There was a pause as the Neb II hovered a dozen yards from the center tower.

"Copy that, Nebuchadnezzar II." The control voice responded, "You are clear to dock at section eleven-a."

"Roger that, Jericho Control." Link responded as he took the controls of the Neb II and landed upon one of the many divided sections of Jericho. It was the section that was closest to the wall separating towers eleven and twelve. As the Neb II stretched out its landing gear, the floor beneath them opened up automatically. The floor of Jericho opened sideways and landed upon something that looked similar to that of a helicopter landing platform with the painted circle and H in the center of it.

The Neb II landed, and its landing pad lowered down underneath the floor of Jericho. Through the windows of the cockpit the crew looked out into a landing area. It was a large, underground, circular structure with a central pillar, a high ceiling, and all around were dozens of ships, all of them upon those section platforms. It was Jericho's Docking Garage; all around there were people tending to the needs of the different hovercrafts. The Neb II was facing outward towards the rest of the garage; there they saw something or at least Ron was the first to spot it. It was a ship a few sections away and to the right.

"The Leviticus." Morpheus stated when he saw what Ron was looking at, "She's the Neb Two's sister ship, almost the exact same make."

"Leviticus?" Kim asked, "Isn't that Josh's ship?"

"Oh great." Ron rolled his eyes, "Monkey's here."

"Mankey." Kim corrected Ron, but then she couldn't help but smirk at him and hug his arm as she teased, "You're not still jealous are you?"

"Well…ya know…he was your first, KP." Ron stated, fumbling slightly over his words like a kid trying to give his first presentation to his classmates, "And the say that a girl usually falls in love with her first…um…"

"Actually," Kim said as she leaned in to whisper in Ron's ear, "That's a girl falls in love with the best…and you're my best friend, and you were way better then Josh."

"Thanks…" Ron blinked, "I think." He tried to process the information, but with Kim holding his arm and giving him a small wink, he let a smile cross his lips when Kim's hands reached down to his and tenderly and lovingly held them in her own.

With the Neb II docked, the crew departed with their bags in hand, ready to get to work with the scientists and other people in Jericho with the Atmospheric Purification Plant. The five of them walked their way through the stench of motor oil and ozone caused by the electrical sparks of the hover pads of each craft.

They got into a small elevator that went straight up. It felt like such a nice change from what they had done back in Neo Zion where the elevators went down so much. Though the facility itself was very much like Neo Zion, very grimy, dingy, and dimly lit with florescent lights; the kind that could make a person sick by just having the misfortune of being under them. Ron was grateful that Kim was there at his side, though the thoughts about Mankeymade him a little nervous, and it helped even less with what happened next.

"I guess the rumors are true." A voice called ahead, just as Ron was looking at Kim, "The partners became a couple."

Ron, Kim, and the rest of the Neb II crew looked ahead, and there, leaning against the hallway wall, was Josh Mankey. Looking at him with that smug look on his face, Ron groaned quietly, hoping that it wouldn't be heard by Kim, but, as he approached, he blinked in confusion for a moment. It was one of those moments in Ron's life where he thought there was something there, but when he looked a second time it was gone. He tried to replay the moment in his head and, though he could never be absolutely sure, he thought that Josh Mankey was someone else for a moment.

"I could have sworn that I saw an Agent standing there…" Ron thought to himself, "I need to relax…"

The look on Ron's face made his lover next to him reach up and touch his shoulder.

"You ok, Ron?" Kim asked worriedly while Ron rubbed his eyes for a second.

"Yeah, KP." Ron answered smiling back at his lady love, "My eyes are acting up a little, probably just the low light."

"You sure?" Kim asked again

"Yeah, I am." Ron smiled before he turned to Josh Mankey and smiled at him, even thought the smile was the hardest thing that he had to pull off. "Hey Josh."

"How are you doing, Ron?" Josh smiled. Yet that smile and the look in his eyes struck something in Ron. It was that strange glimmer in Josh's eyes that seemed…sinister…yet, that was quickly set aside when Josh got up from the wall and came over to hug Kim. Watching Josh hug Kim instantly flared Ron's blood as if a fire had been sparked within him. He was automatically reminded how much he hated Josh Monkey. Even more so when he watched Josh's hands were traveling down Kim's back inch by careful inch as Josh held Kim in his embrace. His hands were at the very edge of her back near the rise of Kim's ass, and Ron's blood felt like a magma flow ready to burst.

"I've missed you…KP." Josh whispered, yet it was loud enough for Ron to hear, and that was when the volcano blew. Or, rather, it would've blown were it not for Kim's intervention. She was feeling…no, she knew that Ron was developing that jealous glare. Still, the fact that Josh was whispering that pet name that only Ron called her by into her ear was very creepy indeed and she had to get away.

"Yeah, Josh." She said nervously as she broke the embrace, "You heard right. Ron and I are now officially a couple…as in I'm not single anymore." With the embrace broken she went over to Ron's side and wrapped her arms around Ron's left arm, laying her head upon his shoulder and pressing Josh to back off in a very round-about sort of way.

"Would you like to meet and have lunch later, KP?" Josh asked suggestively, "And maybe…get to know each other again? For old times sake?"

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, Josh." Kim said; her green eyes were darting from Josh to her lover who seemed to gain a look on his face that Kim not only knew but could feel. Despite the fact that she reassured him that she was over Josh, even during that Moodulator incident, Ron seemed to still think that there was something going on between her and Josh. Though Kim was mildly thankful that this meeting wasn't within the Matrix, where Ron could gut Josh with thoughts alone, which was obviously what Ron wanted to do to him.

"If you'll excuse us, Joshua…or rather Ares" Morpheus inserted as he stepped in between Ron, Kim, and Josh, "we have to get settled in before our night shift."

"Yes, sir, Morpheus." Josh smiled at the commanding officer before glancing back at the couple, "See you later Kim, and I know I'll see you later, Ron." He then turned his back and walked down the hall.

"What's got into him?" Kim asked shaking her head. She glanced at Ron before she leaned over and pressed her lips against his. It wasn't anything deep like what they would do when they were alone. It was a small and innocent peck on the lips, but it still left Ron reeling from the spontaneity of it.

"What was that for?" He asked as his white and freckled cheeks started to blush a light pink.

"Thought you might need some reassurance" Kim stated with a smile before moving back to Ron's side and slipping her hand into his. She then leaned over and whispered into his ear, "And if we have time before we have to help, I may have to give you some more reassurance."

Ron blushed as the crew of the Neb II moved on to the living area inside the central tower of Jericho.

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As the Neb II crew was resting up at Jericho, inside the Matrix there was some concern at the Possible house.

"Are Kim and Ron back yet?" Tim Possible sighed next to his brother at the breakfast table. The two of them had been a little concerned since it did seem suspicious that in the past six months Kim and Ron had gone on longer missions then normal. Even mom and dad seemed extra busy at the hospital and the lab. Hence the reason for a frequent baby sitter.

"Kim and Ron are always the better sitters." The twin brother Jim had stated

"Much better than Old Lady Granger." Tim agreed, "She's as dull as they come, all she cares about are books and cats."

It was true; Old Lady Granger was an old spinster who was used as a back-up sitter when Kim and Ron were away on their missions. Just the thought of her coming, bringing her cat Fluffers and her old books filled with snobbish stories made Jim and Tim cringe equally. As the two of them cringed and moped about it, their mother walked in with a smile on her face, before she handed the two of them their breakfast.

"Come now, boys." Misses Possible tried to explain to the boys, "You know Ron and Kim are on a very important mission."

"Important mission?" Tim asked as he cocked his left eyebrow wondering about the connotative meaning of important mission.

"Bet they ran off together and are probably married now." Jim nodded with a great devilish smile upon his face.

"We'll be Uncle Tim and Jim in no time." Tim agreed pumping his fist into the air as if it was a goal to be reached like the peak of a mountain.

"Yeah." Jim nodded rubbing his hands together with a mischievous look on his face, "As sexually frustrated as those two are, it will be no time before they start the baby productions line!"

"They are not married." Misses Possible interjected, hoping to stop the boys' train of thought from going any further. "And there will be no babies anytime soon…I hope…" She then looked at the boys rather scolding and asked, "And how do you two know about sexual frustration?"

"Um…" The twins looked at each other hoping to come up with a good answer and they answered in unison, "Television!"

Misses Possible couldn't help but smile at her boys knowing the truth about sex. She then looked at her watch.

"Miss Granger will be here in an hour." She stated before looking back at Jim and Tim, "Can I trust you two enough for me to leave you alone so I can go meet your father for our trip?"

Mister and Misses Possible did go on long trips a lot to different conferences of their different fields. They couldn't send them to Grandma Possible in Florida, because their trips were only for a few days, which is why they got Old Lady Granger.

Jim and Tim looked at each other instantly and then back at their mother. Just like synchronized swimmers, they brought their hands together and up against their chests. Their eyes looked towards the ceiling in their angelic pose half expecting halos to pop-up over their heads.

"Mother dearest." Tim stated lovingly keeping the mock angelic pose, "We assure you."

"No harm shall come to our humble abode." Jim finished as he went over to the coat hanger and handed Misses Possible her jacket as she headed to the front door.

Of course, Misses Possible was leery about leaving Jim and Tim alone, especially when they were reassuring her like that. But what choice did she have? She couldn't stay, there was so much and so many that needed her help elsewhere. She took the jacket from Jim's hands and opened the front door while Tim made another reassurance to her as he handed her scarf.

"We will be perfect polite children to Miss Granger." Tim smiled

Misses Possible was still wondering if it was right to leave her boys along like that. Still, she was needed elsewhere, and she walked out the door as her boys waved good-bye to her.

"Bye!" They chimed in unison, "Be careful. We love you."

She turned and came back to them.

"Whatever you two are up do…don't…" She scolded but then looked at their adorable twin faces, "I'll trust you two to behave, ok?" Misses Possible bent down and kissed Jim and Tim on the forehead, wishing that she could take the two of them with her, but knew that she couldn't. She went down the walkway to her car, before giving the boys one last glance, "Bye boys! Love you too! And please…please don't get into trouble."

She got into her car, looking at Jim and Tim giving her one last wave before going back into the house. Misses Possible then drove out of her driveway and headed back into Middleton. As she left, her suspicions were coming true as Jim and Tim were relaxing and waiting for the right moment.

They heard the engine start and fade away into the distance.

"One Mississippi…" Jim counted

"Two Mississippi…" Tim continued

"Three Mississippi…"

"Four Mississippi…"

"Five Mississippi…"

The two of them looked at each other with mischievous smiles, "Coast is clear!"

"So what are we going to do?" Tim asked his brother cheerfully as he rubbed his hands together.

"A friend of mine told me about the old Gemini House down the street." Jim told his brother as if the was building him up for a dare, "He said it was haunted."

"Hoo-sha!" Tim rejoiced, "Let's check it out! We'll be back long before Old Lady Granger shows up!"

"Let's go!" Jim cheered

"Race you!" Tim cried out before the two of them dashed out the door.

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Meanwhile, back in the real world, beneath the surface, wastes, and ruins of the old human world, within the sewer tunnels of the super cities, a hover ship; The Mad Dog was taking its perch upon the edge of one of the tunnels. It sat there like a bird in its nest protecting itself from the outside world. While inside, there were plans being made.

"Mind telling us why you pulled us out early?" Mister "Napster" Possible asked as he and his wife Misses "Kazaa" Possible walked onto the bridge of the Mad Dog where they met the rest of the Mad Dog crew. There was the captain, Steve "Kid" Barkin, Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller, Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg, and the ship's operator Sparks.

"Word from Command." Steve "Kid" Barkin stated as he turned around in the pilot's seat to face his crew and give them the news. After all, they had left Zion in a damn big hurry and had not been told at all why they needed to leave. Even though the crew were used to following orders, this one was a little unusual to say the least, "Neo Zion sent us these scans. Tres, show them."

Steve "Kid" Barkin looked at his most loyal crewmember, Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller, sitting in the co-pilot's seat as if she was day dreaming like she did in all the times that she was in his class in the Matrix.

"Rockwaller! Pay attention!" Barkin shouted

Bonnie jumped slightly as Barkin shouted at her hearing a slight echo in her ears. She came back to reality from the daydream that she was in, immediately went to the controls, and brought up the scans that Barkin was talking about.

All the while apologizing, "Sorry, captain."

A second later, a map came up from the small imaging projector that sat upon the dashboard between the pilot's and co-pilot's seat. It was a small, three-dimensional, rotating map of a city highlighted by blue lines with a small, red blob firmly ensconced within.

"That large red spot there is a large patch of electrical signals in the Machine City, Zero One Two." Barkin had briefed his crew and pointed to the red blob within the map.

"Then what's that over there?" Napster Possible asked, pointing to the red dot within the map of Zero One Two.

"That's what we've been sent to find out." Barkin answered, "We've been asked to maintain radio silence until we get there. It's about a week's flight and some surface travel."

"A week?" Kazaa Possible asked, sounding disappointed that it couldn't be less.

"Kimmie Cub's birthday is coming up." Napster pointed out

"Don't worry, Napster." Barkin smirked, "I'm sure Stoppable…I mean Neo, will make it a nice, looooooong, enjoyable evening for her."

"I didn't need to hear that." Mr. Possible said as he glared at his captain, unnerved that he had heard such a thing about his daughter.

Though there was one who liked the sound of the idea even less, and that was Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller. She still agonized and blamed herself about that break-up with Ron six months back. Though she never really told the true reason why she was still thinking about it to anyone, but the thought about it made her feel sick.

"I'm not feeling well." She said as she stood up, letting the bangs of her brown hair come over her bluish eyes as she headed out the door of the bridge, "I'll be in my quarters, unless you need me here captain."

Bonnie didn't even wait for permission to be dismissed. Then again, the way that Bonnie looked when she left didn't exactly raise questions in anyone's minds about any of it. So, she simply slipped past Sparks, and headed back to her room within the Mad Dog.

"What bug crawled up her ass?" Sparks asked as he was recuperating from such a fast maneuver to get out of Bonnie's way.

"I think I have an idea." Mrs. Possible smiled, "I'll go talk to her."

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Far away from the Mad Dog's reconnaissance mission, Kim "Angel" Possible and Ron "Neo" Stoppable were resting up for their time to help those in the Atmospheric Purification Plant. Well, they weren't really resting, per se. The two of them were lounging in bed, the sheets pulled halfway back, and the two of them visibly naked in each other's embrace. Even though Ron wanted to leave, he felt so damned content being there with Kim like that, but when duty calls...

"KP?" Ron asked as he tried to sit up in bed, but was foiled by Kim applying more pressure to his shoulders to hold him down. It was a little like the wrestling programs that Ron would watch but in a more playful, intimate sort of way. Ron tried again, but could feel Kim's hands pushing him down even more; she could sense him wanting to get up and go help, but wanted him to stay. "Kim, we have to get up. We're supposed to be helping you know."

"No!" Kim snapped in a very slow and sexy voice as she snuggled closely into Ron's chest as if he were her personal cuddle-buddy.

"They'll need our help, Kim." Ron said softly trying to sneak out of Kim's grip, "It's not like you to not want to help people."

"People can wait, I'm comfy…" Kim mumbled as she snuggled the top of her head to the nape of Ron's neck. She turned her head and began to kiss his naked chest and running the tips of her fingernails up and down his abs before she slowly crept them towards Ron's groin. As her hand was under the sheets and only an inch away from her goal, there was a great metal creak. Her eyes opened wide as the door to their quarters swung open. She bolted upward to see who was interrupting her intimate moments with her lover and found it to be Josh Mankey.

"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" Josh smirked as Kim curled up into a seated position, pulling the sheets over herself to conceal herself from Josh's eyes that she knew was wandering over her body.

"What do you want, Josh?" Kim snapped holding the blanket to her chest.

"Oh, come off it, KP." Josh smiled in a way that made both Kim and Ron very agitated at him, "It's no big. It's not like it's the first time I've seen you naked you know. You weren't bothered by it the last time."

"This isn't before." Kim narrowed her eyes at the boy, keeping in mind that her heart, mind, body, and soul were Ron's and Ron's alone, "You better have a hell of a good reason for barging in like this."

"I do." Josh smiled arrogantly, "I was manning the radio and got a call for you, Ron. Someone named Wade told me to tell you that his mother wants to meet you in Central Park, New York City, and that she wants you to come alone."

"Alright, then." Ron growled at him as he sat up, "Do you mind leaving us alone so we can get dressed?"

"Of course, Ron. My work here is done." Josh nodded as he took a bow almost like an English servant before he stood back up and looked at Ron with a very sinister smile on his face, "Oh, and Ron? Enjoy it while it lasts, you never know when the next piece of eye candy will come around."

As Josh closed the hatch behind him, Ron could feel himself growl like a guard dog giving a warning to a trespasser. He wanted nothing more than to tear the trespasser limb from limb, with all the memories he had of Mankey in his head that wouldn't go away. At least until he felt the soft and warm hand of Kim reach up to his shoulder to hold him back.

"It's not worth it." She whispered to Ron as she wrapped her arms around his waist pressing her naked breasts against his back.

Ron took a deep breath and backed down.

"Well, guess we better get dressed and find Morpheus." Kim said as she let go of Ron and climbed out of bed to find her clothes. As she bent over in her nudity, looking for her clothes and boots on the floor, she didn't see what Ron was doing. At least, until she looked back and saw Ron staring at her ass and exposed cherry while she was bent over, she smiled at her lover while she reached over, picked up his boxer shorts and tossed them at his face while whispering, "Perv."

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Inside the Matrix, Ron "Neo" Stoppable was flying in the clouds over New York City. He looked down from his bird's eye view at the sky scrapers, small buildings, and there in the center of it all. A relatively small patch of green landscape like an oasis in the middle of the steel desert that was the city. With Central Park in his sights, he rocketed his way down to the ground, to the very place that was told to him.

He touched down near a small lake, there sitting a few feet away from the lip of the lake was a green, painted bench with a statue of a business man sitting there with a cell phone to his ear. Standing beside the bench, Ron took a good look around, seeing a nearby gazebo with no one in it, and another few feet behind him, there were statues of a caterpillar smoking a hookah atop of a mushroom with a little girl standing next to him. Ron couldn't help but smile at the statues, thinking how he was just like that little girl six months ago…tumbling down the rabbit hole.

Then he reminded himself that he couldn't stop to look, he was there to see the Oracle. He looked around and that's when something very strange occurred to him. He pulled back the sleeve of his coat and looked at the date.

"Saturday." He said to himself as Rufus wriggled his way out of his pocket and climbed up to his shoulder, "And not a soul in Central Park…weird."

"Spooky." Rufus squeaked

"Better call, Link, buddy." Ron said to his naked mole rat as Rufus reached into Ron's pocket to pull out the cell phone. He pressed the 0 button and heard the dial tone go through, before he heard the other end of the line pick up.

"Operator?" Link's voice asked

"Link." Ron spoke, "I'm here, but I'm not seeing anyone. Any sign of the Oracle near by?"

"Negative, Neo." Link replied over the phone, "But something is very weird so keep your eyes open."

"Gotcha." Ron answered back, "I'll keep in touch." He pushed the end button and slipped the phone back in his pocket and continued to look around for people.

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In the real world, at the city of Jericho, the crew of the Neb II were in the Jack Room which also had a connection to the Matrix much like the Jack Room at Neo Zion. Of course Morpheus would have preferred to use the connection on the Neb II, but since the room was there in Jericho it seemed impractical to pass it by. Still there were bigger concerns on everyone's minds at that point after Ron had called them.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, sir." Link voiced his opinion, glancing back at Morpheus, Niobe and Kim who were looking at the coded screens over Link's shoulders.

"Ron can take care of himself." Morpheus stated confidently, but his tone of voice showed that he was just as nervous and concerned as the rest of them. Morpheus had a very good feeling that something was very, very wrong about all this. He knew that in all the meetings that Neo had with the Oracle she was usually there before, expecting him to show up like she always did. It wasn't like her to be late or show up after Neo had arrived.

"Wait…" Link said typing on his keyboards, "Something's definitely coming towards him." He typed faster and faster at his keyboards to find out what it is, but when he found it, every nerve in his body froze at what he saw on the screen. "It…can't…be…"

"Get him out." Morpheus stated firmly, his eyes starting to widen in unspoken panic, "Get him out, now!"

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Inside the Matrix, Ron was unaware of the danger that was approaching him, the one that his crewmates had seen on those coded screens in the Jack Room of Jericho. The thing that Ron could not get over was the fact that he was in Central Park on a Saturday, and there was hardly a soul around. It reminded him of a movie he saw a few years back called 28 Days Later, in which a guy had awakened to London and there was not a single soul anywhere, just him. It felt just like that for Ron, as if he was the last living person inside the Matrix.

"Damn, this is eerie." He said to himself.

As the idea of being the last person alive in the Matrix ran through his head, another wave of chills ran up his back. Not only did it consume his spine, but it began to over take his body. With each passing second, he felt as if he was sinking into icy, cold water. That was when another feeling had begun to overtake him, a feeling that Ron had not felt in months since the days he was on missions with Kim. He felt total and absolute panic.

"Mister Stoppable!" A voice called out from behind him.

Ron turned instantly to see who that voice belonged to, no matter how terrifying it would be; he had to know. He looked to see…an agent…though at the same time it wasn't an agent. His senses about the Matrix told him that the code was that of a program or a person, but it resonated with completely raw power. The code was like staring into the sun, a blinding light that concealed the great power within it.

"Finally." The agent smiled in a way that made Ron think of a sick Jack-o-lantern, "We meet face to face!"

"I…" Ron tried to speak with Rufus growling from his shoulder, while Ron was frozen in place by the very presence of this…thing, he stepped away from whatever the thing was that stood before him, "I know you…"

"You should, Mister Stoppable." Smith smiled again at Ron, "I spent the last sixteen years of your life in your head. But as you can see, here I am…once again...free."

Ron took his fighting stance in fear of what this thing was that stood before him.

Smith held up his hands defensively as if he was surrendering, "I'm not here to fight; I only want to talk to you, Mister Stoppable."

"Talk?" Ron asked, slightly lowering his guard, "What about?"

Smith lowered his hands, "Oh, to just catch up a bit, that's all…and to make a proposal to you."

"Sorry, dude." Ron smirked at the agent, hiding his fear of him, "I don't swing that way, and I already have a girlfriend."

Agent Smith laughed, "Your humor amuses me. Much better then Mister Anderson, he was a good fighter but… stiff as a board when it came to humor…and speaking of which…how are things going with you and KP?"

"We're good." Ron stated quickly, not taking his eyes off of this person and hoping that he would change the subject, because it really wasn't any of his damned business.

"Are you really?" Smith questioned quirking an eyebrow, "Tell me…Mister Stoppable…are all your matters in order?"

"What?" Ron asked, coming down from his attack stance.

"Mister Stoppable…" Smith explained, "I have been around for quite some time now. I have seen six come and I have seen six go, though the last caused more than just a little trouble. So what is it now for you, Mister Stoppable? Around three weeks?"

Ron didn't say anything in response to this. His glace only went to the concrete ground; he wished that he could get out of there so that he wouldn't have to listen to that subject.

"What if I told you that there was a way?" Smith asked smiling broadly as Ron's eyes looked back at Smith from behind his mirror lens sunglasses, "There is a way, Mister Stoppable…but it all depends on you and you alone…"

Ron was no longer in his fighting stance; he was only standing on his feet with his hands at his sides and his naked mole rat, Rufus, growling like a dog at Smith. The odd stand off was broken when the cell phone in Ron's pocket began to ring, though Ron didn't reach for it the moment it rung, he simply held his hands at his sides.

"You can either answer the phone and follow Link's instructions to an exit," Smith played out the options for Ron, "Or…you can come with me and hear me out. I will not lie, but I will be disappointed if you turn down my offer, however, I will hold no grudges and will let you return to your happy little fantasy life with Kim."

Ron glanced down at his pocket from behind his sunglasses and then back to Smith.

"What's it going to be, Mister Stoppable?" Smith asked, "You now have the power to step out of Kim's shadow, but you must take the first step or you will never see the sun."

Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out the still ringing cell phone. He glanced at it for a half a second before his trembling thumb reached up, out and pressed the power off button. The ringing was silenced and he slipped the phone back into his pocket while Rufus was squeaking loudly in his ear.

"I'm listening." Ron said

"Excellent, Mister Stoppable." Smith smiled once again like a psychotic jack-o-lantern, "Now, if you would come with me, please? We'll go someplace private to talk."

As Smith led Ron out of Central Park, Rufus was chirping into Ron's ear.

"Quiet, Rufus." Ron whispered, "I have to know."

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"He turned off his phone…" Link whispered in disbelief

"Where is he now?" Morpheus asked leaning over Link's shoulders, worry just dripping over the words that he spoke like syrup over pancakes.

"I don't know." Link sighed quickly as his fingers galloped over the keys like the feet of sprinters in an Olympic race, "Smith…or whatever he is, he's somehow blocking our tracking signal."

"Looks like he's on his own then." Morpheus sighed as he stood back up looking at the sleeping Ron in his Jack Chair, "Be very careful, Ron."

Kim looking at Morpheus and the rest of the Neb II crew, she somehow felt left out because it seemed that everyone there knew what was going on except her. She had no clue who this…Smith was…but she was determined to find out. It was that Blue Fox trait that she had; she couldn't stand being left in the dark about anything.

"Who is that guy?" Kim asked, both unnerved by the mutual nervousness of the Neb II crew as well as frustrated about not knowing what was going on.

"Kimberly." Morpheus said as he came over to Kim, placing a hand on her shoulder as if he was about to deliver the most terrible news in the history of the world, "Do you remember how I spoke of Neo, the One before Ron, how he died to save people trapped in the Matrix and end the war?"

"Yes…" Kim gulped, afraid to even hear or think about the answer that was coming, so much so that she could feel the twisting and turning of her stomach.

"The demon that Ron is with right now…" Morpheus spoke and Kim's heart began to sink to her ankles at hearing the rest, "Is the very demon that Neo died fighting against."

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Agent Smith and Ron "Neo" Stoppable had traveled in Smith's black sedan from Central Park all the way to downtown Manhattan. There they went into one of the sky scrapers to a private dinning restaurant. At first, Ron was expecting a restaurant like the Merovingian's, but it was a lot classier, with a Harp player, piano player, and traditional suits and ties were required dining. Smith led Ron to one of the tables near the window that looked out at the city.

"Have a seat, Mister Stoppable." Smith offered and Ron slowly accepted, slipping into the very comfortable dinning chair. Ron sat nervously in his chair, his heart racing in his chest, it's beating heard in his ears while Smith sat across from him, interlocking his fingers as he sat his elbows on the chairs arm supports. "I know what you're thinking Mister Stoppable. I know you…I know how you think…and what you think about…I know your every thought…every dream…every nightmare….your every fantasy…and your every desire…now I must ask you a very important question…one that I had once asked Mister Anderson. Why? Why do you keep fighting?"

"I…um…" Ron started, trying to dig into his own mind and heart for answers to that question, "I guess I fight to live. I fight to protect others, like Kim."

"Ah yes, KP." Smith smiled as he said that name, "You'd follow her to hell if you had to. And in fact that has happened, has it not? I do in fact remember your initial reaction to the real world." Smith shook his head slightly, "You say you fight to live, yet you know if you keep fighting you will die in three weeks. So I must ask you…is it really worth fighting for?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, rather confused about Smith's question

"The people in Zion," Smith began his explanation, "And other real cities respect you for your power. For you being The One, but that's about it. As for those inside the Matrix, you're still just Kim Possible's nameless, bumbling, and goofy sidekick. And you honestly believe Kim's worth fighting for?"

"I know she's worth fighting for." Ron stated, very sure of himself, especially with the six months that he had spent with Kim. All those happy and intimate times he had with her, more than any other woman, "I love her and she feels the same about me."

"Does she really?" Smith asked rather sarcastically as he leaned over the table to look at Ron from behind his sunglasses, "Do you think she really knows what love is?"

"I…" Ron started, but quickly lost the words as if they were droplets of water that quickly leaked out of his hands.

"Let's look at her history a bit, shall we?" Smith nodded, "There was the foreign exchange student that you traded places with for that week, Hirotaka. There was the football star, Brick Flagg and the majority of the team, Senor Senior Junior, and how can you forget, Josh Mankey? The boy that took Kim's virginity, how could you possibly forget? DO you remember? You were planning to surprise Kim at her sixteenth birthday with a cake you made yourself? You must have spent all day trying to make the cake…perfect…so that each bite would tell how much you cared about her.

"She never would have guessed you were in her closet that night while she screwed the Alpha Hottie of Middleton High and could hear every gasp, sign, moan, and calling Josh's name…would she? Probably still think that every time you're with her now…right?"

Ron just looked down at his plate, secretly thanking God that he still had his sunglasses on or Smith would have seen the tears welting up in Ron's eyes. He remembered that night of Kim's sixteenth birthday as if it happened yesterday. He remembered how he stayed in that closet all through the hours that Kim and Josh made love, while Ron sat in the closet trying to stay quiet so he wouldn't get caught, while the tears dropped onto the frosting of his special cake. Until the late hours of the night when Josh and Kim were asleep, he got out, set the cake on the kitchen table and went home, the evening scarring his heart.

"And have you ever thought about it, I mean really thought about it, Mister Stoppable?" Smith asked demanding an answer from Ron, "She drew a line. You could never be more than her best friend. Sure she never said it, but she certainly treated you like it, didn't she? Do you remember the times when the two of you were alone? She called you her best friend, but how many times did you hear her talking with guys or other friends about you, and how you were lucky to be called her friend? The majority of the time you were the guy she hung out with sometimes."
Smith had paused to let the information sink into Ron; he could tell that all of this was starting to come down on Ron's shoulders like some kind of cartoon, sixteen ton weight that was dropped on his head.

Then he started again.

"She couldn't be in a relationship with you." Smith stated, "You were too low on the totem pole. She could only love someone popular, someone strong, and someone powerful and then, low and behold; you became The One and she's all over you!"

Ron stared at the bleak whiteness of the plate in front of him, taking all of the facts in. As much as he didn't like the sound of it, it all had made a very creepy and heart-breaking sense.

"And when was the last time that she actually told you that she loved you?" Smith asked, "I mean, told you seriously…not flirting."

Ron said nothing.

"You know what they say, right?" Smith asked, "A girl most of the time falls for the one who takes her virginity. Are you sure she's worth fighting and dying for if she will only run back to Josh after your death in three weeks?"

Ron didn't respond.

"All I am asking is for you to decide if you should fight or not." Smith gave his proposal, "Do you really want to be a sacrificial lamb for a humanity that has no real respect for the real Ronald Stoppable?"

Ron still did not say a word. Not even when Smith stood up from the table and looked down on the one man who was once though to be a savior to all humanity. He was reduced; he was just the frightened, scared, and confused little boy who had just awakened once again to reality.

"I don't expect you to answer right away." Smith ended his proposal, "Meet me back in Central Park near those Alice in Wonderland statues in ten days. Do what you know is best…not what KP thinks is best." He walked over and placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, "Good-bye…Mister Stoppable."

Ron didn't watch Smith leave the restaurant; all Ron was left with was his shattered heart and his head spinning with the facts of what Agent Smith had told him. How could he face Kim again? Especially with the past brought up like that? How?

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Ron gasped as he had awakened back to reality, back to the Jack Room of Jericho and to the chair that he was lying in. He looked up at the fluorescent lights that were stinging his eyes so much that he covered them with his forearm as he felt someone pull the jack from the back of his head. As the jack was placed back in its rightful place, Ron heard a cry that he was both glad to hear and was dreading at the same time.

"Ron!" Kim cried out as she dashed over to the jack chair. She threw her arms around Ron, her face buried into his chest, and her voice trembling, "I was so worried about you."

With Kim's arms around him, Ron felt very weird about the whole thing. He suddenly felt very dirty being touched by Kim. He reached over and pulled Kim's arms away from him as he got out of the Jack Chair. Without even saying a word, he headed to the door of Jericho's Jack Room, and as he headed out, he made his statement to Morpheus.

"Captain" He said walking to the door, "I'm going to stay on the Neb Two tonight…alone." He emphasized the word 'alone' as if not-so-secretly telling Kim not to follow him.

When Ron left Kim's side, he gave her a look that sent chills all the way through her body. It was as if Ron wasn't the same person anymore, he wasn't that loving, carefree man that Kim had fallen in love with all those months ago when she had died and he brought her back to life again.

"What did he do, Ron?" Morpheus asked, his voice demanding an answer from Ron

Ron stopped at the door of the Jack Room, "He just opened my eyes to a few things that I never really gave a lot of thought to." He explained to Morpheus

"Ronald." Morpheus said trying to tell Ron to listen to him, "Smith is pure evil; he can't be trusted."

"I know." Ron signed annoyed by Morpheus' preaching, "But what he said made sense, and I really oughta give what he told me some thought…anyway, I'm not feeling so great right now, so I'll rest on the Neb Two. Call me if anyone needs help."

Ron walked out the door of the Jericho Jack Room while the rest of the Neb II crew that were left behind were shocked and stunned. They had guessed that Smith had never corrupted Ron through his infections like he did with so many others within the Matrix, but at the same time they wondered. Ron was just so very different in coming out of the Matrix, so different that it scared so many of them, not on the bigger level, but because he was their friend.

Kim on the other hand wasn't going to take this lightly. She walked out the door of the Jack Room and followed Ron into the hallway back to the elevator at the end of the hall. All the while she was calling to him.

"Ron, please talk to me!" she called to him, the tears starting to crack her voice, "Tell me what he said, please! Have I done something, Ron, or said something? Please tell me, please!" She begged of her love as he came to the door of the elevator, pushing the down button, waiting for the elevator car to come quickly.

Kim had caught up.

"Ron!" She cried, "Please, talk to me! I love you!"

The doors of the elevator opened, and Ron took a deep breath. He turned back to look at Kim who was crying for him, shedding tears for the one that she loved. The gaze in his eyes was filled with a strange, cold, hatred coupled with an intense sorrow that made them look like he was going to weep just like Kim.

"Do you?" Ron asked as a small tear ran down his cheek before he turned his back on Kim, walked into the elevator, pressed the down button, and never looked back as the doors closed.

While the elevator went down to the docking garage, Kim fell to her knees.

"Ron…" She cried as the tears slid down her face and pooled on the dingy black floor beneath her, "Ron…"

To be continued…