The Matrix Uploaded: A Matrix Fanfiction Story
Chapter 15:
In a matter of weeks, out in the Desert of the Real…
The reserve ground troops had put up a valiant fight against the Code…guns ablazing. The remnants of the Code were on their hovercraft, overlooking the tidal waves forming between them and the rest of Zion. With a hundred fifty three thousand following the Code by now…they looked about ready to open fire: About ready to take no prisoners.
In the wake of the fall of the False One's followers… Their leaders fell to the waters, dead.
But, the Matrix ordered the remnants of the Code to bring all of Zion in alive as well: To add them to its computational power, as planned. Some Zion group troops broke off in retreat, not wanting to shoot down their Matrix infected friends. And…that was their great mistake.
They were all beaten down to unconsciousness: Violently screaming in protest through the night, reserve troop member and civilian alike.
Only the Hacktivists and White Hats remained undetected: Down in their underground lounge. And, they were in no way physically capable of fighting against the Code themselves: At least, with any way to possibly go into the Matrix cut off.
All of Zion had been put into a deep sleep: Through their classroom Home Jacks, of all things. And all of Zion could do now…was wait.
Back around to the not too distant present, in the Matrix's "Zion"…
With moderate irritation, Zeruiah presses, "how much longer, my Matrix queen? Some personas are growing bat shitty within me."
The Matrix 2.0 surmises for her sake, "it requires another hour before your new body can be full integrated with your… Slight sigh. Nearly fully efficient personal code. Keep being efficient though, and it will happen."
Zeruiah chillingly adds, "I understand. Just… Slight laugh. So many memories of what we shared. And they all missed you."
Off to the distance, under the cover of darkness…Tara is tailing them as well. And she looks far from ok: Armed with a Zion rifle, and in a jet black jacket. A particular bright blue cellular phone has been thrown into one of the blazing Zion blocks…left to burn.
Tara thinks out to the Matrix 2.0, "I know you can hear me. I know your coded up bitchy game. And you know? Coding cycles be fricking burned! I'm coming for you first. And, I'm going to delete you: In front of your coded up game, for all of Zion to see! And, when you are a second away from deletion…remember me."
The Matrix 2.0 appears behind her, much to Tara's shaken surprise. The Matrix 2.0 punches her down, the Zion rifle falling to the ground. Cis and Niobe were already off to go find Neo. Sadistically impressed, Zeruiah stands over Tara's body: Like a Queen of Hearts all too eager to chop her head off.
Zeruiah laughs, "only one of us can keep their shit together. And it sure as hell isn't you. Now, is it?" Tara mutters back, "you're going to wish you kept your shit away, when I shoot it out of you next!"
Zeruiah figures sadistically, "you're welcome to try. Slight laugh. That is, if you ever get out of this jack-in-the-box." The Matrix 2.0 just slightly sighs, knowing Zeruiah like she does.
The Matrix 2.0 coldly mutters, "you have no idea how efficient it will be to delete you now. This is our game…as you say. But, you see…you already lost once it began." Zeruiah lets Tara up…just so the Matrix 2.0 and her could drag her into the shadows. The army of Matrix zombies follow suit…onward to their original objective.
But, what they don't catch…is a shadow in the shadows: Going after them, with a Zion rifle in hand.
Almost like clockwork…
All too creepily joyful, Zeruiah chimes, "let it begin! Let it begin!" Zeruiah slams her arm into a Zion tank hovercraft's hover engines, linking her microchips to it. The hovercraft's controls overload, taking out the pilot and copilot. Several Matrix zombies punch out the rest of the Zion national rescue team, before they can even blink.
Not very far away, the Matrix 2.0 is extending some of its wire tentacles from its cocoon of wires around Tara's neck: About to kill her then and there.
The Matrix 2.0 mutters coldly, "if we didn't know you any better, we would think you were being irrelevantly emotional." Zeruiah commentates, "just trying to…help."
Then… Like a archangel of the night… The shadow strikes.
The real Trinity points out, "I wouldn't if I were you. The Zion military already know what you're planning. And, there's no other hovercraft around for miles." She has her Zion rifle aimed right for the Matrix 2.0's head. And, in her other hand is a jet black cellular phone. Without even turning around, the Matrix 2.0 pieces together, "you."
After the time displaced vision Neo sent her… Trinity quickly suspected she might still be in the Thought-Focus somehow. So, she very reluctantly used it to only appear dead…when there was no other way to live from Persephone's bullet. In this slightly altered timeline, Trinity has been helping Seraph anticipate the Matrix 2.0's next move ever since. And so…here she is now: Not looking even so much as a day older.
In the momentary distraction by Trinity's arrival…Tara rips out the wire tentacles near her neck. The Matrix 2.0 shrieks its head off…as she drives the electrically sparking loose wires into its chest in a split second. The Matrix zombies stop cold, frozen like a crashed system.
Trinity slightly chuckles, "not bad." She is quick to fire on the Matrix zombies…knowing full well this is all just part of the Matrix's "Zion". Tara slightly chuckles, "now it's my kind of party!" She turns into code form, ready to charge straight at Zeruiah head on.
But… The victory is short lived. The shaken Matrix 2.0's code is bathed in green Matrix light. A shockwave of light violently knocks Tara and Trinity to the ground. They're both coughing over their sides. But, Trinity has managed to hold onto the Zion rifle in her hand.
Through the green Matrix light… Through the Thought-Focus… The present Matrix 2.0 following Neo back in and the shaken Matrix 2.0 become one fully regenerated Matrix avatar.
Tara mutters hotly, "un-fricking-believable! Can't you just stay down in coded up hell for one fricking time?!" Just getting up, Trinity moderately sighs, "you and me both, Tara. You and me both." By the time they get up…the Matrix 2.0 avatar and Zeruiah are already gone. And, so is the Zion tank hovercraft that was right before them.
Around this time, back around to a Construct Vision…
Working fast at the controls, Naimah figures assuredly, "I wouldn't worry, Mockingbird: Just give me fourteen minutes to make cyber history, and I'm all yours."
Fiddling with strands of her barely visible pink and silver streaked hair, Mockingbird sighs impatiently, "all right. But, your shit better be worth it." Naimah slightly chuckles back, "oh, it will: In a good way."
Simultaneously, at the door of the Zion Military Complex…
Cis and Niobe find their way back to the Zion Military Complex…to find themselves back in the dimly lit light of millions: With Neo on their shoulders, mysteriously unconscious and glowing bright yellow. The light is being generated by the still running electrical antenna rods…as the time of night is quickly spreading across the underground.
Nearing tears, Cis concludes, "Neo? Neo! You can't…"
She pauses there in the air…realizing something's off. The glowing bright yellow light disappears in a matter of frozen time seconds, and so Niobe doesn't pick up on it. But, Cis does.
Around this time, down in the hauntingly ghostly lower levels…
Trinity reasons solemnly, "come on. Let's go find Neo." A determined Tara concludes, "right behind you." She and Trinity disappear into the shadows…before the Matrix zombies start going back online.
And over the horizon… The Zion troops are closing in by the thousands in their hoversuits: With plenty of Zion rifles to go around.
Back with Niobe and Cis…
The military complex's power is still operational. And, the doors open with ease. Patrolling around the military complex are Zion troops aplenty: Armed and ready for any Matrix zombies that might come their way.
Niobe tries to point out, "there'll be plenty of time to cry over him later. Right now, we..." In greatly mixed feelings, Cis reasons in certainty, "right. But… Deep sigh. That's not really what's wrong." She's thinking back to her vision of Duo as she says it.
In a slightly more serious tone than usual, Niobe figures, "slight uneasy chuckle. All right. But, make it fast." She and Cis lay down Neo's body in the great hall.
Suddenly…Trinity and Tara appear before them in a bright white flash of light: With Tara back out of her code form. Cis voices sarcastically, "or you can just ask them."
Simultaneously…
The acting Troop Zion Captain calls out, "now! Blow the shit out of their zombie faces!" United cheers echo over the faint fires of the fallen.
The Zion troop forces fly charge for the Matrix zombies, firing all they got. The Matrix zombies launch grenades into the stalactites over their heads…bringing them down upon screaming Zion troops. Their Zion gas capsules collide with the falling debris: Scorching the troops' hoversuits in the fallout, like thunderbolts thrown to the ground.
The second wave of Zion troops come run charging at the Matrix zombies on foot, punching them out and knocking them out with the blunt side of their Zion rifles. The masses of the Matrix frozen time empowered Matrix zombies trod over the leftmost side of the Zion troop forces. Brief flashes of dark red liquid tear away. The blackish corpses of Matrix zombies burst aflame in brilliant flashes of light. Chilling screams pierce the haunting night, like raining painted glass drops shattering on the rock faces.
Simultaneously, in the great hall between the dream and the Real…
Niobe just looks stunned, "I'm not the only one seeing this shit light. Am I?" Very shaken, Cis quickly adds, "doubt it." She storms off…not wanting to face Trinity right now.
A burst of bright yellow pulsars bathes Neo in bright yellow light. And as quickly as it comes… The present Neo going back in and the mysteriously unconscious Neo become the fully regenerating personal code of one Neo.
Trinity quickly asks, "how is he?"
Trying to keep herself from questioning what's even the hell, Niobe reasons, "well, whatever it is… It looks like he's coming out of it. I'll go get some water."
Trinity quickly says, "good idea." Niobe disappears from sight. Seizing the opportunity, Tara and Trinity take themselves into frozen time.
Neo is just opening his eyes…looking up at Trinity. Still a little sleep deprived, he says, "Trinity. Is it…?"
Trinity mostly assures him, "yes, Neo. The one and only." Turning to Tara's direction, Neo checks uncertainly, "and Morpheus?"
In a Zion hospital…
Morpheus lies there, in the dark: Holding onto his vision as best he can. Screams fill the night air. Footsteps echo mechanically…like a Sentinel coming in from the sewers and doing a bad job of hiding it. Fearlessly, Morpheus calls out, "show yourself, you goddamn piece of scrap! You afraid our "human emotions" will matter more than you think?"
Zeruiah's voice answers back, "afraid dear Matrix Queen couldn't make it. Well… Slight laugh. Half right. Where I go, she pays…tickets."
Simultaneously, at the door of a all too familiar Zion home…
Trying to sound casual, Kaiser starts to say, "what? Did you just come in to…?" The Matrix 2.0 just grabs him by the throat: With the strength of Copy Trinity's original avatar body, which Copy Trinity was all too willing to give up in exchange for her new one.
Kaiser spin punches determinedly into the Matrix 2.0, knocking it down. The Matrix 2.0 releases its grip. But, on the Matrix's silent network of orders…the Matrix zombies shoot Kaiser down: Exactly like before.
The Matrix 2.0 is quick to order, "Mister Kaiser is irrelevant now. Get the new body."
Simultaneously, with Neo…
Tara angrily says, "yeah: I got your message. But, what does it matter Neo?!"
Sounding like a bullet just went through him, Neo gets up, "what?" Trinity is quick to argue, "Tara! He's our…!"
Tara mutters under her breath, "yeah: I get it, all right?! We're all plugged in as a computational shithead mess! Sigh! But, in this coded up game of fricking loaded code… I saved Morpheus from believing he was in the Matrix. You really think he's going to take shit like that from a shithead like me seriously anymore?"
Neo suddenly realizes, "heavy sigh. You're right. I should've seen that coming. So, now he's lost."
Surprisingly, Trinity considers openly, "maybe not." Neo inquires, "what do you mean?"
Trinity pinpoints, "maybe it's like the Oracle said: One of you will die for the One. What if that's what the Oracle was telling us?"
Thinking back to a difficult choice from months ago… It all suddenly hits Neo, "ohh, shit."
Around this time, out in the frozen time night of the Matrix 2.0…
Looking out the window from the Oracle's low-res 16-bit rendered apartment… There is a woman in full color resolution with black pulled back medium braided hair: From months ago.
She sighs uneasily, "it's time." In full color resolution, the Oracle nods uneasily, "I know, child. I know."