(Author's Note (4/2/06): Well, finally got my old hard drive working to the point that I could recover most of the old parts of this story and as that is the case there is now a chance that this will be at the very least rewritten. Please also note that this will be purposely uploaded to the wrong language in order to keep it off the main page temporarily. Don't ask…)
(Author's Note: This takes into account only 'The Matrix' and some of 'The Animatrix'. It takes place a few months after the original movie.)
--Redwall Reloaded--
--One--
The cityscape stretched on for as long as the eye could see, a place where glass and steel contained everything. People bustled through the streets, blissful in their ignorance of the truth, some of them so involved in their systematic existence that they would fight to protect it. Among them moved the gatekeepers, the guardians of the so-called paradise. They were those who held all the keys, they guarded the truth. They were not to be defeated by the small pockets of resistance within, there would have to be a time when drastic measures would be taken by those on both sides of the line.
Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and all of their fellow soldiers of Zionwarred in their own horrid reality, fighting for the lives of these near mindless automatons that inhabited the city. For the moment there was a strange sort of peace, but the plans for the future had been decided, the chain of events that would the lead to one side's defeat had been set in motion. Whether it was the system or the human resistance that had begun the chain it no longer mattered, in the end it would all be over. The end was approaching and ina fiery inferno of war it was coming, unstoppableas it slowly picked up speed.
---
That day started off as any other day would for a lowly subservient of the system known as Terrence. He awakened to fight the rays of sunlight streaming through the window blinds, as his alarm blared ceaselessly, the digital face of the clock flashing '7:30'. A comforting hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, he stood up beside the bed, chuckling softly as she slept on through the alarm. Quickly he readied himself for work, slipping a suit over his janitorial garb for his summer job, a gig at one of the local high schools.
"I really got to start looking for another job . . ." He muttered as he glanced at the gray jumpsuit, stepping out into the hall of his apartment complex, locking the door behind him. Jogging down the steps to the base floor he stepped out into the sunlight to find the city eerily silent. Everything seemed to be frozen in place, everyone staring up at the sky, a look that was a mix of awe and dread upon their faces.
"What's going on?" Terrence asked a man who stood over his bike, staring upwards.
"Just look at it . . ." The man muttered, pointing up at the sky with a trembling finger. Terrence followed the man's gaze to find that there was hole in the sky, at the very peak it had broken and was slowly disintegrating away, revealing the green wire frame behind it.
"That . . .ain't . . .right . . ." He muttered, staring up at the gaping hole to find himself entranced by it, it somehow beautiful to him, there was something almost mystical about it. There was something familiar about it, comforting almost.
"Oh god, it's coming, run!" People about him began to panic, they scattered about screaming and running from what was the most inevitable of all. It was the end; no one could escape its grasp. Terrence stared up, standing his ground for he had that knowledge, the knowledge that it was inevitable. He watched as the whole expanded, entire skyscrapers disappearing into the abyss, then people and finally he himself disappeared leaving a great void.
---
In the void of nothingness a pair of voices echoed endlessly.
Are you ready to load program number five-nine-seven-six-nine?
Yes, sir. Program number five-nine-seven-six-nine is ready to be launched.
Interesting choice I must say.
It should make it much more difficult for them to be freed.
Have their memories been reset?
Yes.
Have the recalibrations been completed?
Yes.
The translation?
Yes, sir. The program is ready.
And what of the virus?
It was effective I'm afraid.
That was a definite advantage lost.
This will be a grand advantage as well.
Load the program.
The voices ceased to echo at the order as in the infinite darkness there was a flash as an entire world simply burst into existence in the void. It was a far cry from the masses of glass and steel of the cityscape that had preceded it; it was a natural world of forests and mountains, a familiar landscape yet infinitely alien.
---
It was the morning at the peaceful abbey of Redwall. Creatures of all kinds bustled about their daily chores in the light of the new day, all of them with smiles upon their face. One beast still slept, a weary otter that had traveled from the eastern coasts, he slept in one of the soft infirmary beds, his great rudder-like tail tapping heavily on the floor as he slept halfway off the bed, clinging to the bed sheets.
"That ain't any way ta sleep." An old hedgehog muttered to the infirmary keeper, a young mouse maid of her middle seasons, as he shook his head disapprovingly.
"Bet that you would show him." The mouse maid replied airily, smiling up at the aged hedgehog.
"Aye, you bet I would, missy. Look at 'is, tis atrocious I say." He grumbled before plopping down on one of the infirmary beds next to the otter. "I'll show 'im what real sleepin' is all about!"
"Aw, go back ta yer cellars, Dory." The infirmary keeper said, shaking her head at the hedgehog's antics, as she checked through the infirmary's cabinets for certain herbs and the like, making sure that she was prepared for the day.
"As you order, High Sister Chloe." The hedgehog saluted as he hopped up off the bed, doing a phony little bow before leaving the room, a grin upon his face as the sister glared at him. From his bed the otter merely stared, light blue eyes standing out from dark brown fur.
"Oh." Sister Chloe jumped in surprise as she turned to find that the traveler had awakened, her heart picking up its pace a bit, shaking I off she addressed the otter. "You're awake." Chloe smiled brightly as her pulse returned to normal, a bright beam of golden sunlight washing over her as the sun rose ever higher in the sky.
"Where am I?" The otter asked, moving himself slowly to the edge of the bed, being careful not to crush his tail, a look of confusion on his face, as he stared around the room, looking for some clue.
"You're at Redwall Abbey in Mossflower County." The sister answered, a bit perplexed by the otter's sudden amnesia. "You were conscious when you came here, are you feeling all right, Conlan?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The otter replied, shaking his head a little, trying to rid himself of the thoughts. However, Conlan couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. He could not remember coming to the abbey, he knew that he had, even before the mouse maid had said so, but he couldn't recall anything clearly past waking up in the infirmary. "Jus' needed a moment ta collect myself."
"Here, let me check you over anyways. Can't be too careful." She stated with a smile as she laid him down carefully and began to check him over, trying to find anything that could possibly be the sign of something terrible. After a few minutes or so the sister stepped away, satisfied for the moment.
"So am I all right?" Conlan asked nervously, almost hoping that there was indeed something the matter with him, something that could explain the confusion he awakened in.
"Yep, you're as healthy as anybeast here." Sister Chloe answered, a smile on her face as she stared into the otter's eyes, finding something odd within their depths.
"Something the matter, sister?" Conlan asked, a look of concern washing over his features as he stood up from the bed.
"Nope, you're all right. Best get down to the Great Hall and get your self something to eat. It'll do you a world of good." The mousemaid replied in a light tone, smiling as she motioned for the otter to follow her directions.
"Yes, marm." Conlan saluted smartly, slipping off the bed and out into the hall, closing the door softly behind him.
What's wrong with this? He wondered silently, leaning against the cold stonewall opposite the infirmary entrance, sighing heavily as he studied his paws carefully in the brightly lit hallway. What is it?
"Somethin' interestin', mate?" Conlan jumped as the silence of the hall was broken by an inquisitive voice, spinning the otter found another otter standing next to him, looking at him with a sort of naïve cheerfulness in his demeanor.
"Aye, there sure is, mate. Look, it's a paw." Conlan replied with a sort sarcastic excitement.
"Aye, that it is, mate. That it is . . ." The otter muttered in response, staring at him strangely, wondering if he had some sort of mental deficiency.
"Sorry, jus' need a bit o' breakfast ye see." Conlan said and the otter nodded his understanding, motioning for him to follow.
"Don't worry, mate, we'll get ye a bit o' brekkers right enough, as long as the hares haven't gotten downstairs yet. Name's Jaggfur." The otter stuck out a paw in a friendly fashion as their climbed down the stairs from the upper levels of the main abbey building.
"Conlan." He replied, shaking the other otter's paw heartily before they both emerged into the Great hall, sitting down at one of the dozen or so tables that lined the walls. Quickly, a young kitchen mouse served them both as he hurried about the hall with a cart loaded with food. They both sat eating, getting to know one another in the company of the scores of abbey beasts, discussing whatever came to mind. Only a single thought was hidden, driven beneath the surface, Conlan's sense that something was wrong, that he was facing something that was to be dreaded and feared. There was something terribly, terribly wrong to the otter.
---
In the real world, somewhere in the vast system of ancient sewer lines, the last remnants of the great metropolis' that had dotted the earth, a hovercraft sat, intercepting signals from the human's enemy, the machines. Inside the ship sat a man by the name of Cubit, surrounded by computer monitors, studying all of them intently. Standing behind him in silence were two of the more famous rebels, the man known as 'the one', Neo, and his mentor, Morpheus.
"Have you found out if it has taken effect yet?" Morpheus asked, breaking the silence, impatience in his tone.
"It was working, but I'm not sure what happened. It's as if the entire system just crashed for a moment." Cubit replied softly, sweat dripping down his face, irritating his already tired eyes, bloodshot from a lack of sleep. He had been watching the green mix of symbols for nearly thirty hours straight all ready; his eyes had never left the screens, not even for a moment.
"Have you seen anything else?" Neo asked, his eyes staring at the screen intently, trying to find patterns in the jumbled mess of code. Even being 'the one' didn't help him in deciphering the code.
"Besides the stop that you both saw a few hours back . . ." Cubit paused for a moment, sighing heavily. "As far as I can tell it was minimally effective if at all, but that's not what is really bothering me."
"What do you mean?" Neo asked, anxiety clearly showing up in his tone, the long hours had been getting to him as much as they had for any other member of the Nebuchadnezzar.
"Well, it went down, but when it came back up it was completely different, almost as if they had to completely reload the entire Matrix, but I believe that the first purpose of the virus took effect. They no longer have complete control over those still hardwired into the system." Cubit answered in a quick burst of dialogue, fingers flying over his keyboard as his searched through the code for a certain line of code.
"Well, that's good." Neo said in soft tone, glancing up to find Morpheus with a look of rage on his face.
"Cubit?" Morpheus asked, leaning over his shoulder to look at the screens carefully.
"Yes, sir?"
"Could they have rewritten the Matrix?" At these words Cubit froze, a look of shock on his face as he glanced up at Morpheus.
"You don't think they . . ." Cubit asked, a look of utter horror on his face.
"Yes, I do believe that they have. Neo, come. We have to go in and see for ourselves." Morpheus motioned for Neo to follow as he made his way over the chairs; their link to the Matrix, Trinity was already there, waiting for them.
"Be careful, Neo." Trinity whispered as her husband lay himself down into the chair, awaiting insertion into the Matrix.
"You too, Trinity." Neo whispered back as she slipped the needle into the back of their necks.
"Do it." Then, at Morpheus' order, the real world vanished at the press of a button.
Suddenly, they found themselves on the ground in a thick forest, sunshine filtering down through the leaves.
"What the?" Neo whispered, glancing around he found himself completely surrounded on all sides by foliage, the chirping of birds filling the air.
"Neo?" Neo whirled around as something tapped him on the shoulder, but his quickly fell to the ground, backing away in fear at the sight of a giant, gray-furred creature that wore a long black cloak. Neo held up his paws, preparing to defend himself.
Paws? Suddenly Neo realized that something was off, the Matrix had seemingly stripped him of his humanity, leaving him as some sort of giant animal.
"Morpheus? Is that you?" Neo asked, rising to his foot paws shakily as the creature nodded slowly. "You're a weasel?"
"And you are a ferret, but that is beside the point." Neo looked down to find that Morpheus was indeed right, he was giant, ashen furred ferret, a black cloak covering his lithe figure.
"What is going on here?" Neo asked, as he studied his new form, testing it out a bit. He knew that everything he had learned as a human was irrelevant now, but perhaps it could be reworked a bit.
"It's what we feared, Neo. Remember that transmission that we intercepteda few days ago?"
"Yes, the one about . . ." Neo trailed off as he realized what was going on, their fears had been answered, the machines had initiated what they believed would be the change to end the war.
"A new Matrix. One far more alien to the human race, one that would serve as the first step in creating a Matrix that would make them the masters of beasts that think no more then a worm or fly does. This is the first step. This is the trial test." Morpheus stated, a look of anger washing over his now musteline features as he slammed a paw against a nearby trees, splintering some of the bark. "That is why the virus could not work to its fullest extent. It would have freed their minds, but the machines have changed all that."
"We should look around then, shouldn't we?" Neo asked, frustrated with the new turn of events, but still hopeful for a miracle. "Perhaps we can find someway to reverse this…or perhaps even use it to our own advantage."
"Yes, we must gather information and figure out as much of this as we can, but we must be as discreet as we can be. We no longer know what form an agent might take nor how this world works." Morpheus replied in a low voice, beckoning for Neo to follow him as he disappeared into the foliage. Neo followed closely, eyeing the strange, alien world that they had been plunged into. It was all wrong, so very wrong.