Why I do What I do.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Alec fell from the roof, almost gracefully. He caught the toe of his boot on the side, so his body flipped, and his head crashed into the wall on the way down. Dazed, he still managed to grab a window sill a few floors above the ground and haul himself into the worn-down apartment building. Down the hall, a small pack of Lupines slept by a trash can fire. One of them stirred and looked over at Alec. Recognition sparked on his face and leaped up with a snarl, dagger in hand.

"Wait!" Another Lupine grabbed him by the wrist as she got up. "It's Zippy."

"Sorry for dropping in unannounced, but you need to get out of here."

The Lupine with the dagger growled, "Why should we?"

"Agents are coming."

The lead Lupine shook off his companion and began approaching him with fire in his eyes. Alec stood calmy, palms out in a gesture of peace.

"You lead them to us, human?"

"No, but I know they are coming, which is why I came here to warn you."

The female Lupine looked at Alec and spoke. "Your head is bleeding."

"Thanks, Carrie, I know."

"I thought you were dead."

"We all did," one of the other Lupines added. The whole pack was awake now and staring at Alec.

"I got better. Now is not the time to explain," Alec added quickly, "We have to get everyone out."

"This is everyone."

"What?"

"Zippy, you can't honestly expect to protect all of us forever."

Alec stared around at the Lupines. Eight. There were just eight now, out of a family of twenty-three outdated Code Compiling software programs. Fifteen innocent programs that wished to live in the Matrix instead of return to their shammy non-lives in the cold recesses of 01, dead.

A sinking feeling tugged at his stomache from behind, as his ears began heating up and his tightly-clenched fists began to shake.

"How?"

"Zion. They needed more code fragments to complete some in-Matrix defense network. And then the Machines started tracking us down to ensure that Zion couldn't get any more out of us."

A police siren sounded in the alleyway below. The lead Lupine rushed past Alec to the window and looked out. Alec didn't move, but stared at some unseen object in the floor.

"Where's Scrappy?"

"Agents got him last Wednesday."

Alec shut his eyes against the tears. "Scrappy is... no, it's not right. I promised..."

Footsteps echoed up the stairway a ways down the hall. A pair of younger Lupines turned at the sound nervously. A woman Lupine grabbed them and hugged them against herself, whispering in their ears to calm them down.

Alec turned silently towards the stairwell door. From seemingly out of nowhere, he drew a pair of Uzis and pointed them at the door.

"There's a back way. Fire escape. Go."

"Zippy... where have you been all this time?

"Cypherites."

"What?!"

"No time! Go!"

"But the Cypherites are ..."

A cop came into view in the doorway and was met with a hailstorm of bullets. Sounds of radio chatter began filling up the stair way.

Alec turned to the alpha Lupine and Carrie. "Get down to the subway and take the train to Murasaki. We'll meet in the park."

Carrie hugged Alec, and whispered, "You have no idea how much this means to us." The pack all exited the hallway into a seperate room.

Alec stood staring down at the doorway they just exited.

"I do."

Turning, he fired his guns into the doorway as a trio of Agents flashed in. The second Agent got caught in the lead flurry and fell down the stairs, flashing lights replacing his corpse with that of another cop. The first and third edged past the bullets and quickly rolled into cover in the hallway.

Alec quickly took a small rag out of his back pocket, holding both weapons in one hand, and slung it over his head until the bottom half of his face was hidden.

Just in time. The Agents peeked around the corner to make visual confirmation, but the masked man was unrecognizable.

"Surrender, human, and Sentinels will not be dispatched to your hovercraft."

"Say my name, biiitches!" Alec roared, and fired again into the corner where the Agent's head previously was. His partner snaked his arm out of hiding and fired a shot into Alec's shoulder. Alec trained one of his guns on the arm and fired at it, but it disappeared behind the wall again. By this time the Agent that had been unlucky in the stairs had returned, and now all three were positioned just out of sight. Alec began backing down the hallway.

"Unknown operative, you are in violation of the Preservation of System Resources code of conduct: harboring and aiding resource-draining exiled programs! Surrender and--"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard it all before." Alec caught a glimpse through a hole in the wall. One of the Agents was sneaking around to flank him. He turned quickly and fired at the Agent, who promptly dropped and rolled out of harm's way.

Alec continued walking carefully down the hallway, passing the trash bin fire. He stopped with a twinkle in his eye. He released his trigger fingers and grabbed the guns by their ammo stocks, then tossed them down the hall.

"Alright, suit, I give!"

The Agent at the end of the hallway walked out into the open, gun trained on Alec. He began closing, the other two Agents falling behind him from their hiding places. Grinning, Alec waited until they were five feet away, then suddenly lashed his leg against the can, sending it and his flames straight at the lead Agent. All three dodged the can easily, but it was just the distraction needed. Alec was already halfway out the window by the time the Agents registered that he was fleeing.

**ZippyTheSquirrel** · 07/25/2007 05:40:33

The blood flowing down his face wasn't as distracting as the splitting pain in his shoulder, Alec decided as he ran down the alley's length. Under the shadow of the old and unused buildings, he ducked and weaved through several moldy fences, which fell apart anyway under the pursuing bullets of the SWAT rifles.

A solitary officer appeared in Alec's way and was promptly used as a spring over the next fence, hat falling to the ground. Alec landed on the other side a bit off-balance, but recovered quickly enough to throw a handful of dust into an Agent's eyes as it vaulted over the fence after him. Alec turned and ran back a few steps to see who else would follow, then turned and smashed through the closest door he could.

"Figures." A kitchen. Several chefs looked his way curiously, then the other as an Agent appeared through the other doorway, a handful of knives raised to throw. Alec ducked under the counter as a knife sailed through the air to hit an Agent-- a SWAT officer in the neck. Striding along the length of the counter and keeping as low as he could, he grabbed wildly for whatever was on the counter to hit the Agent with. He stood, faced the Agent, and whipped it at his head. The Agent reeled from the force of the hit, and Alec pushed past him into the restaurant. A couple stared at him; a family and its kids jabbered and ignored him; the waiter began walking towards him with a questioning gaze. Alec grabbed him and shoved him towards the door where the Agent was recovering, and ran for the entrance.

The wife of the couple screamed as an Agent rose from her husband's chair to aim at Alec. Without pausing, he leaped up on a table and began hopping from table to table, narrowly avoiding the Agent's fire as crowds streamed for the exits.

Alec reached the sign-in desk and leaped upon it. He hopped down to the floor and grabbed a pen, then rushed out the door onto the sidewalk. Other than the former restaurant customers, life along this particular stretch of road was uninterrupted. In fact, a businessman looking almost exactly like Alec – from the nose up, at least – was walking by at just that moment. Alec lost no time in snapping his pen and brushing against the man, who swore and wiped at his stained shirt.

“Hey!” The man shouted. Alec quickly removed his rag, then turned to face the businessman.

“Oh, man,” he said sincerely, “I’m so sorry, man.”

“I have a meeting to go to! I can’t sell stock with a big ink spot on my suit!”

“Hey, man, if it’s any consolation, you can have my suit. I’ll take yours and get it cleaned up and back at this spot in a few hours.” Alec shrugged off his dark blue suit as he spoke and offered it to the man, who in turn took off his black suit and handed it over, mumbling thanks.

Alec watched the man walk for a ways down the sidewalk, then looked over at the restaurant entrance, where a pair of Agents emerged, searching for their masked assailant. One of them nudged the other and pointed down the street at the businessman, who was entering a small office building, and the two took off, a third Agent in a long trench coat emerging from a Taxi next to them and following. Alec laughed, then coughed. He clutched at his chest. A stray bullet had hit him. Alec coughed into his hand, and shook away the blood apprehensively. A soft Russian melody began playing, and he searched his pants pocket for his cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Alec, you’re hurt.” It was Fidget, his Operator. “Jack out before you collapse.”

“I’m fine,” Alec coughed. “It’s just a..”

“Don’t say ‘flesh wound,’ Alec. You’ve been shot in the left shoulder and the right lung, plus you’ve got a deep gash in your head. You’re barely capable of walking.” She was right. Alec’s knees were shaking a bit.

“No,” he said, “I’ve got to meet Carrie and the others.” He began walking towards the subway. A sigh stirs static into the phone.

“Alec, why do you do all this for a bunch of programs?”

“I promised.”

“Who?”

Alec snapped his cell phone shut and descended the subway stairs. His head was still bleeding, and he felt woozy, but he could still walk. So he walked.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

The train pulled into the station with a jerk, knocking Alec awake. Grimacing, he pulled himself up and left the train car, leaving a small puddle of blood at his seat. He grasped the rail leading up the stairs tightly and hauled himself up into the Murasaki atmosphere. There were even more people bustling through the streets here than Guinness. Alec quickly dashed across the street, to the annoyance of a few Taxi drivers who voiced their opinions through their car horns. The park was right across the street from the subway. This was where he and the survivors were supposed to meet. Alec looked around the park apprehensively. The usual groupings of people occupied the park. A man and his son threw frisbees away for a pair of dogs to chase. A young couple were having a picnic under the shade of a tree.

He found the Lupines at the other end of the park. They were all dressed in large trench coats and hats to hide their tattoos and faces. One of them was huddled over in the middle of the group, with the older woman checking him over. As Alec approached, he could see that the Lupine was covered in bruises. Another Lupine stepped up to him. It was Carrie; Alec could tell it was her by her traditional long brown hair with braided bangs.

"You're hurt," she said.

"I'm fine. Looks like you ran into trouble here, though."

Carrie looked back at the Lupine's bruised form, and Alec recognized him as the leader.

"We ran into a small security team on our way out of the alley. Roy took them all out. Not one shot was fired."

"Everyone make it out okay?"

"Other than.."

"Other than Roy, yes."

"Yes, we're all fine."

One of the young Lupines spoke up at this point. "We're not all fine! They're going to hunt us down and kill us all! Nowhere is safe. We should have gone back to the Source..." The older Lupine gathered him and the other young one and held them close to her again, brushing their hair and whispering into their ears. Alec guessed that she was, of lacking a better word, their mother.

Alec looked around at the other Lupines. Carrie, Roy, the young pair and their mother.. there was also a couple off to the side nustling each other, and a lone Lupine leaning against a tree, wearing a dark fedora with matching rain coat and gloves. As Alec gazed upon him, the Lupine looked up, and Alec saw that his eyes shone brightly despite the shadow he was in. Carrie saw Alec watching the dark Lupine and said, "That's Cristofor. The Effectuator set him with a Dire coding." She motioned to the young Lupines and their mother. "Over there is Rock, Tan, and our control program, Compiler 14.008.37. She refuses to be given another name," she explained. She nodded at the lover's couple. "Over there is Evan and Staissee. Staissee is from another branch of code compilers."

"Hello, everyone," Alec spoke up. The Lupines all looked at him. "I'll be your saviour tonight. Please, rest until it is time for us to move to a safer location."

"When will that be?" Staissee asked.

"Can't say," he responded. "Just rest, be not concerned. You're all in safe hands now."

And with that, Alec finally collapsed from the blood lost through his head, chest, and shoulder wounds.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

"Well, well, well..." The voice boomed and echoed through Alec's mind. Slowly, he opened his eyes against the early morning sky. A boot shined just inches away from his face. Alec guessed the voice came from whatever the boot was attached to.

"If it ain't a bunch-a Exiles waitin' to be popped," the voice continued loudly. Alec snapped awake and lurched to his feet, mindful of the frayed bandages replacing his shirt.

The man standing in front of him was huge, bald, and draped in a bright red shirt, with black pants and a jacket with flame decal. Behind him were three others - a man with wild brown hair and a brown bandanna matching his scaly shirt and cowboy pants; a woman with white, short hair to go with her flowing dress, and gloves that seemed to brush against the air; a shirtless islander with long bangs and short hair, with dark blue long-shorts and sandals. The two men each carried a large machine gun.

The woman piped up from behind the man in red. "I don't think that one's an Exile, Jook. In fact... yeah, that's definetly a human."

The man in red - Jook - looked back at Alec with narrowed eyes. "What's a human doin' sleepin' with the Exiles? What kind-a perv are ya?"

Alec said nothing, but stood staring at the four reds. If he could find a way to incapacitate the three men all at once, he might have a chance of moving the Lupines before they recovered and sent in reinforcements. "We don't want any trouble.." he warned.

"Lookee, Jook, he's trying to shove us off," the islander said. The wild-haired man grinned and added, "Oooweeee, let's make them piggies squeal."

Jook laughed, and Alec saw his chance. Jook threw his head back in a laugh, and Alec took three quick steps forward, grasping him by the throat, and pulling him towards the islander, who only had time to let out a shout in surprise before the two men's heads collided and sent them both sprawling. Alec turned with the momentum of the throw and watched the third man swing his gun around to bear on him, and stepped lightly to the side, grabbing the woman's shoulder and pulling her in front of him, slinking his other arm around her throat to grasp her chin.

"No funny business," he barked, "or I'll put her in a wheelchair for life!"

The wild-looking man grinned again, but put his gun down. By then, the Lupines had all awoken. "Carrie, take them to the subway again. Pick any random spot, find the nearest hotel, and then figure out a way to meet me at the usual spot." She nodded, and the pack ran off into the dewey fog.

Jook and his partner were stirring, and the wild man seemed about ready to launch at him, so Alec did the only thing he could think of. He threw the woman at the man and turned to run, but didn't. He could hear the machine gun being picked up off the ground. He heard the woman crying out with rage as she drew whatever weapon she had. But that didn't matter now. Turning again, the grenade fresh out of his pocket and in his hand, he flung it at the woman and jumped back, turning mid-air. He hit the ground running, a bullet spray firing ahead of him. A warm tingling sensation shot up his right leg, but he ignored it and kept running until he heard the explosion.

The four humans were still there. Obviously a simple grenade isn't enough to take out a squad of troops. But the Agents that the grenade summoned definetly were. Alec turned again and fled down the street, removing the rag from his back pocket and tying it around his face before any potential Agents could get a look at him.

The train pulled away just as he turned to rush down the last flight of steps in the subway. Alec leaned heavily against a pillar, breathing heavily. Again, he was weakened by the bullets in his leg.

Footsteps. Heavy ones. Alec turned to face the man calmly walking down the stairs. Dress shoes, followed by neatly pressed black slacks. A sports jacket, black, with a white button shirt, black tie complete with clip... and a pair of reflective glasses riding his bland and dull nose.

The Agent eyed Alec as he took the final steps. "Mister..."

"Call me 'Charlie,'" Alec replied.

The Agent paused. "Charles.."

"Can I help you?"

"Your visual description matches an incident last night in which the culprit assisted a group of resource-draining programs escape detention and deletion."

"What's your point?"

"You are to be brought in for questioning, considering your proximity to the current incident on the streets above us."

"Yeah, about that, I'll take a rain check. Call Veil, she might arrange something."

The Agent paused. Alec subtly reached into his jacket pocket, keeping his eyes on the Agent's holster, which rested almost out of sight on his belt buckle above his back pockets. He felt his own pocket for something to disarm the Agent if things got out of hand.

"So," Alec stalled, "which Agent would you be?"

"Daniel Brady."

Alec mulled it over. An Agent giving his first name was a rare thing to someone who didn't belong in the Matrix. He must have been stalling, too. Down the tunnel, the faint echo of another train approaching hit Alec's ears.

"So, Danny Boy. What's your record?"

"My what?"

"You know.. how many blues have you had to go through to 'get your man', so to speak."

"Seven."

"Huh." Alec seized the hardest material in his pocket. "You're about to make it eight!" He threw the ball of hardened lint at the space where he knew the Agent would draw his gun. The lint and the gun collided as the Agent attempted to squeeze off a round, and both tumbled into the corner. The Agent looked over to find the gun, and Alec ran up to him and grabbed his throat, hauling him over to the tracks. Holding the Agent out in the tunnel, he strained against the Agent's super-strength arms weakened by the lack of oxygen he was receiving.

Slapping at Alec's wrists, Agent Brady muttered, "The instant you release me, Charles, I will jump away from the train and detain you easily."

The train was seconds away, and Brady could barely hear Alec responding, "I know."

The Agent's eyes visibly widened behind his shades just before the train swept him up. The force pulled Alec along with it, until he hit the pillar. A large popping sound echoed in his head, and he fell to the floor, clutching the stump of his left shoulder where his arm once was.

"Well, crud," Alec said. "That's probably going to hurt."

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

He swam through a tunnel of darkness, falling farther and faster every minute. He didn't know how long he had been falling, or why he fell at all. He knew he was still sitting and bleeding to death in the subway. Maybe this was the dying part.

Suddenly, a wrenching feeling exploded behind his gut, stopping his falling sensation with a jolt. He sat there in the dark for what seemed like an eternity.

Then the darkness swallowed him.

"Wakey, wakey, Charlie..."

A blurry picture forms in his mind. A woman with an oddly dark tan for her perplexion, and covered in tattoos, bends over him. He moans, and a dark finger sweeps into view and rests on his lips.

"Don't speak yet, Charlie. You need to rest." The finger is whisked away, and suddenly the woman swoops in and kisses him. His vision abrubtly clears, and he sits up, knocking the woman back slightly. The room he is in is covered in black cloth, minus the stark white walls. All the light comes from the ceiling, but there isn't an actual light fixture in the ceiling. He sits in the middle of the room, the woman kneeling beside him.

The woman... he turns to her. "Shara..." he says. "Is that..."

The woman smiles, and her sharp teeth shine in the light. "Of course not. Deleted programs cease to exist. I'm just a compilation of your memories of me."

He looks at the female Lupine. He knows that she easily stands over five inches taller than him. Her light brown hair sweeps down half-way to her waist. Her eyes are an unusually bright green, and her nose juts out at him like a knife. Exactly like he remembers her.

"You're beautiful," he says.

"Thanks."

He looks down at himself. He is wearing a white t-shirt with matching shorts, but no shoes. His left arm is still gone, but the stump is covered in blurry air. His right leg, chest, and left shoulder all are blurry where they were shot, with no visible speck of blood to be seen.

"I cleaned them up for you," the woman says.

"What... how..."

"Charlie," she implies, moving in front of him again and grasping his shoulders. "Your time has come and gone, and you're still alive. There's no way you can die at this point."

"I find that hard to believe, with my life spilling out of my shoulder."

"Why are you always so negative?"

"It's more fun."

His vision begins to become blurry again. The woman suddenly embraces him, and he fights the urge to cry.

"Charlie, you're waking up."

"I don't want to wake up. I want to be with you!"

"Everyone has to wake up sometime. Just remember your promise."

"I... Shara, Scrappy is..."

"I know. Just keep your promise."

"Okay... I will. I love you."

"I know you do."

"Zippy...? Zippy, wake up!"

The Lupine pawed his shoulder again, and Alec awoke, staring up into Staissee's face. Evan stood off to the side, watching the subway exit. The pain in Alec's shoulder was nearly gone - it still throbbed - and, looking down, he noted that it wasn't bleeding anymore. In fact, it was covered in bandages. Staissee spoke up again.

"I stopped the bleeding and patched it up. We thought you were dead anyway. Your lung is collapsed, but I managed to fix it up as much as I could, plus I got the bullet out of your shoulder and leg."

"You did all that... ahhh," Alec grunted painfully. "You did all that by yourself?"

Staissee shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. But we really need to get you better medical attention. Fidget says--"

"Fidget?!"

"Yeah, she walked me through it. I still say it would have been easier to jack you out manually, but she says you need to be concious or something. But now you are, so we can get you out of here!"

Staissee grabbed Alec and helped him stand. Evan ran over to help him balance. He still felt weak, but he wasn't bleeding, and he wasn't dying.

"No.. I have to get you guys to a safe place.. where's the others?"

"You have to get out, Zippy. We'll be fine. We all split up so they couldn't track us down."

"Split up?!" Alec felt a rush in his veins, and he stood up straighter, ignoring the dull throbbing feeling in his stumpy shoulder. "That's a stupid idea! You'll all get killed."

As if on cue, a police man rushed down the stairs, weapon drawn and aimed at Evan, who had his back to him. "Freeze!"

Alec acted instinctively and dashed behind and around the pillar until the cop came into sight. The officer turned his gun on Alec and fired a round, missing him widely. A warning shot, Alec thought. Shoulda aimed for me. He ran up to the officer, jumping and lashing out his foot. It connected with the man's nose with a crack! and spun him down to the ground. Alec turned to the Lupines.

"I can handle it," he shouted. "Let's go!"

The two lovers looked at each other questioningly, then followed him up the subway steps. "Where are we going?" Staissee asked.

"Somewhere safe," Alec replied.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

"If you're not going to jack out, we could at least get you to a hospital."

"I'm fine. I still have both my arms in the Wasteland."

"Yeah, but your mind's gonna get used to not having an arm, and you'll be lugging around dead muscles."

"Your safety's the most important."

"Why? Why are you doing all of this?"

Alec turned on Staissee, who stopped a few inches from his face. "I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

"What promise? Who?"

Alec didn't answer, but turned and kept walking down the alley way.

Chinatown. There was a lot of places to hide here, but only a few good places. One such place was the Jade Room - a club filled with green lighting and other objects that made one question the sanity of the owner. Alec turned another corner, and the back door of the club came into sight. Evan and Staissee, walking close behind him, held each other's hands.

"Here we are," Alec said.

"What is this place?" Evan asked.

"A club. I'm gonna stash you in one of the VIP rooms."

"Wow," Staissee breathed. "Can you do that?"

"Of course. The DJ owes me a favor." Alec opened the door, and a soft green light filled the dark alleyway. Overhead, a full moon shone pale through the clouds momentarily, and a drop of rain fell on Alec's nose. Staissee hesitated, then entered the club. Alec stopped Evan with his foot.

"This place is safe, but it's not a haven," he warned.

"I understand, squirrel man."

"I don't think you do. If Agents get a whiff that you're here, there's no secret escape route."

"We'll keep a low profile."

The rain began drizzling. Alec looked up at the sky, then back at Evan.

"Take care. I'll be back for you once I secure the others."

"Okay. Good luck." Evan patted Alec on his shoulder stump lightly and headed inside. Alec watched him climb down the stairs until he was out of sight, then closed the door.

"Ya think you're funny, ya little punk?" The voice creeped down the alley. Alec froze.

"Turn around so's I can shoot ya." It was Jook. Alec turned to look over his shoulder. The man in red stood alone, but he undoubtedly had backup on a rooftop or around a corner somewhere.

"How did you find me," Alec inquired.

"Ya ain't so tough ta find, what with yer doggie pals leavin' their little pawprints all over the code."

Alec's eyes widened. Of course. That's how the Zionites kept finding them. They were tracking their unique code signatures the whole time. Why didn't it occur to him earlier? It was too late to find someone that still had the ancient Signal Manipulators. Jook laughed again, but this time, he kept his eyes on Alec - and his shotgun. Alec faced the man full now, palm out.

"Well," Jooke said. "Ya look like ya could use a hand. Gwa hwa hwa!"

"You look like you could use a face lift," Alec retorted. Jook's smile disappeared, and he leveled the shotgun.

"You must have a death wish, dog boy."

"It's definetly not to be killed in the least honorable way imaginable. Put down the gun and fight me like a real man."

"Gwa hwa! You don't even look fit to take on one of them emo kiddies that would kill demselves in a fight."

"How is your boss nowadays?"

With a roar, Jook threw down his weapon and started walking down the alleyway towards Alec with fire in his eyes.

"Ya don't know half the pain I'm gonna put on ya."

"Bring it on, cookie crumb."

Alec turned and ran at the alley wall. Jook placed himself carefully out of his reach, but Alec wasn't planning on close combat just yet. Just before he hit the wall, he turned sharply and kicked at a garbage can filled with various alcoholic beverages into the air. The can flew into the air above Jook's head, and began pouring out glass bottles down on him. Jook instinctively guarded his face against the debris, and Alec used the moment to get close to him, lashing out again with his foot, connecting with Jook's groin. Jook grunted in pain, and dropped his arms to his crotch just as the garbage can fell with a clang on his head, muffling his cries of surprise. Alec pushed him down with his arm, then kicked him again in the sunshine spots.

Gunshots rang out. Alec winced, but no ricochet sounded in the alley. He looked around, but didn't see a shooter. Another gunshot sounded, from within the club. Alec turned sharply and ran to the door, throwing it open as he cursed in Russian.

The club was filled with green lights. The carpet was green. Even the wine glasses were green. Alec ran down the stairs of the back room to the basement, and turned to find the elevator. He mashed the call button and waited impatiently, dialing a number on his cell phone. He fumbled the phone as he tried to dial and hold it with his one hand at once, then held it against his ear.

"Operator." It was Fidget.

"What's going on?"

"Alec, why haven't you jacked out yet?"

"Not now!"

"Your vitals aren't very good here."

"I said not now! What's going on?"

"You've got Agent activity near you, and some Zion movements. Looks like the reds are leaving, though."

"Yeah, I just kicked their leader's arse."

"Last time you fought an Agent, you lost your arm. You wanna lose a neck this time?"

"Nope. Thanks for the scan."

"Wait, Ale--"

Alec hung up. The elevator arrived. He got inside and hit the button for the VIP floor, grabbing his rag as the doors shut. A few minutes later, the elevator pinged, and he raced out into the hallway. The sounds of a fight were heard around the corner, so he ran to it and looked around it. Evan was grappling at an Agent's weapon, keeping it from aiming at him. As Alec watched, the Agent shook Evan off and grabbed his shirt. Alec ran down the hall at the Agent, who promptly threw Evan through the wall behind him and fired at Alec. The bullet grazed the side of the wall. Alec leaped and kicked both of his legs into the Agent's chest, knocking him back. Alec landed on his shoulder-stump with a shriek of pain, while the Agent shook off the impact of his blow. Alec leaped up to his feet and faced the Agent.

"Oh, it's you, Charles." The Agent cooly aimed his pistol at him with a blank face. A familiar face. Alec squinted.

"Agent... Brady?"

"Correct."

"You look good for a subway victim."

"Was that intended as a joke?"

"Maybe."

"It was not funny."

Alec opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly Evan appeared behind the Agent, wrapping his arms around the man's torso. The Agent dropped his gun and bent over, flipping the Lupine over his shoulders, then forcefully freed his arms of his grasp and punched Evan hard in the side. His other arm came around and plastered Evan in the chest, and finally he grabbed Evan's shoulder and pulled him down against his upraised knee, sending the battered Lupine flying past Alec into another wall. The Agent grinned and straightened, dusting himself off.

"Well, Charles, perhaps you would consider cooperating with us this time..." he started. He looked down at where he dropped his gun, then up at Alec, who aimed it calmly at the Agent.

"You can't hit me, Charles, give it up."

"Oh, I can't, can I?" Alec ran at the Agent and kicked out at him. The Agent instinctively grabbed his foot and twisted it, spinning Alec mid-air, who shot several rounds into the Agent as he spun. Both Agent and human hit the ground at the same time. Alec raised himself up again to check the Agent, who had already exited the bluepill's body. He turned and ran down the hall, and knelt by Evan. He checked his pulse and cursed. Dead. He jumped up and looked down the hallway at the open door where Evan and the Agent were first fighting, and slowly approached it, afraid to see what was within.

Staissee was sprawled on the couch, half-naked - the Agent had probably caught her and Evan off guard - with bullet wounds in her chest and stomache. Alec rushed over to check her pulse, when she coughed.

"Staissee!" Alec held her head with his one arm.

"Evan..." she gasped.

"Don't move, you're hurt."

Tears blurred Alec's vision.

"Evan..."

"Staissee, stay with me."

"Kiss me..."

Alec paled. Staissee was dying. Evan was dead. He failed again to fulfill his promise. He could at least let Staissee die with a kiss. He hesitated, then bent down to lightly kiss Staissee on the lips. She reached with her arm and grabbed his neck, pulling him down with shocking power, and kissed him back forcefully.

"Evan..."

"Staiss..."

"I... love you..."

Her eyes closed, and Alec knew Staissee was gone. Standing, he wiped at the free-flowing tears streaming down his face, then angrily kicked at a nearby table.

"Operator."

"Fidget."

"Alec, you did your best."

"Shut up. Scan the city for the others' signatures."

"Okay. But you really--"

Alec hung up. He was on the roof of the club, looking down at several police cars that were pulling up on the nearby roads. The rain was pouring heavily now, but his tears were still clearly visible dripping down his face. He looked up into the sky again, spreading his arm out. He called out against the storm.

"This isn't over yet! I made a promise. I intend to keep it."

Alec's pose - and the rain - froze. A television screen showing the one-armed man glowed brightly in the small room, which was lit only by the thousands of other televisions all stacked along the wall. A swivel chair faced the television, an old man perched upon it, gazing lazily at the monitor he had just paused with his remote-pen. He swiveled to face another monitor, this one observing an old woman with an oddly dark tan holding two younger men with similar tans and covered in tattoos close to her, sitting next to a group of homeless people in a run-down shelter somewhere in the residential area. He tapped his pen again, and all the television screens shone brightly, then shimmered to show the two pictures of Alec and the Lupines enlarged. The man clasped his hands together as both screens returned to normal speed and said nothing. He just watched.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Alec was a sight to behold. His arm was reduced to a stump. His injured leg gave him a severe limp. His blood-stained hair was messy, compared to his usual tidy look. His eyes, normally a steely grey, were partially clouded over with stress - both emotional and physical.

It was no surprise, then, that everyone else on the train was sitting as far away from him as physically possible. He look around the cab for potential Agents, then leaned back in his seat with a sigh. His thoughts turned astray in the rare moment of true peace. He probably shouldn't have kissed Staissee, he knew. Karma would surely get him for that later.

Fidget had told him that the young brothers, Rock and Tan, and their chief control program/mother type were hiding in a homeless shelter down town, which struck Alec as somewhat ingenious. Carrie and Roy had also split off by their selves to find sanctuary in a church in the residential zones in the slums on the outskirts of the city. Cristofor was nowhere to be found on her scans, which was to be expected, with his special dire coding that the Effectuator had given him. Alec wondered how he had managed to convince the old coot to give him that special privilege.

The train came to its stop, and the occupants hurriedly poured out of the cab, not because of the disturbingly mutilated man in the cab, but because they were simple worker drones trying to live their lives as comfortably as the Matrix allowed. Sometimes, Alec wished he could go back to them. He waited for the last one to disembark, then left the cab himself.

It was still raining hard, and it was still the middle of the night, but the city street lights managed to make the blocks all visible. Alec stood in the rain a moment, closed his eyes, and allowed his once-formal, now-muddled suit, complete with ink-stained shirt, to soak in the rainwater, just to feel it on his skin.

"Feelings are the best way to prove that you're alive," a voice said.

"So true.." Alec replied. He suddenly snapped open his eyes and looked around for the voice. From the subway behind him, he saw a figure rise slowly, climbing the stairs as if they were holy. His dark skin contrasted sharply with his bright eyes, which shone from beneath the shadow cast by his fedora. His rain coat's collar was tugged up to conceal his body beneath his neck, and he kept his hands deep within his pockets. A solitary tattoo of a snake wound its way from his chin up and around his nose, across the other side and over the eye, where the head rested on the corner of his lip. He wore construction boots that looked new, as they clinked on the sidewalk. He drew up in front of Alec and stared directly into his eyes. Alec felt he couldn't look away.

"Cristofor?"

"You shouldn't have kissed her."

The two stood silently as the rain continued to crash around them.

"You.." Alec started. "You were there?"

"I've been watching you since they found you at the station." Cristofor cooly stepped back as Alec lashed out at him with his only hand.

"Why didn't you help?!" Alec thundered. People walking by paused to look at the commotion.

"You don't think I tried?" Cristofor replied. "I did my best to make sure those Neo flunkies didn't catch up to you. It's not like it did any good."

Alec glared. "It didn't do any good at all. Evan and Staissee are dead, and look at you! No scratch. Not one goddamn hair out of place!"

"I realize you're a little stressed.."

"Stressed? Stressed?! You don't know half of my problems. Look at me. Look at me!" A lot of people were stopping to stare at the commotion now. Cristofor hadn't moved to avoid Alec's grabbing him by the collar and shaking him.

"Focus, Zippy. Think about what you're about to do."

"I'm gonna kill you, and then I'm going to make sure what's left of your brethren that you haven't left for dead is safe!"

"Look around you. Agents are going to investigate."

Alec stopped shaking Cristofor and looked around. A small crowd had formed around the pair. He waved his arm at them and shouted. "The communists are coming! The commies!"

Cristofor took the hint and grabbed Alec around the chest and explained to the crowd. "Sorry, folks. War vet syndrome." The crowd made humble noises and dispersed. Cris smiled and turned to Alec, but lost the smile to Alec's frown. "I'm sorry, Zip. What did you expect me to do, die in some vain hero's attempt? I'm not you."

"No. No, you're not. Clearly not." Alec looked up at the sky again, ignoring the small puddles of water that started to collect on his eyes. "Why have you shown yourself now?"

"I want you to think about what you're going to do next."

"I'm going to find Rock, Tan, and your den mother."

"Why?"

"They're not safe."

"Says who?"

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but those reds that have been showing up are tracking your brothers' signals."

"They've been tracking yours."

The statement rocked Alec coldly. After a long pause, he stammered, "What?"

"Zippy, think about it. They haven't been going straight for the rest of us. They always find you, first. And the Agents are always close on their heels, simply because they know that if they find them, they find you, and us."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the best way to ensure our safety is to simply back off."

"I can't do that. I made--"

"A promise, I know. But, Zippy, you're going to have to tell me who you promised, or even just what exactly the promise was."

Alec looked down, and the water slid off his eyes and fell down his face like tears. Cris was gazing at him calmly.

"How did you convince the Effectuator to give you that shell?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine. You tell me how you got that shell, and I'll tell you why I help programs like you."

"Very well." Cristofor motioned towards an office building, and the two men walked over to rest under its awning. A security guard looked up from the receiving desk to watch the men. Apparently he didn't have anything better to do.

Cristofor reached out of his pocket to reveal a box of cigarettes. He offered one to Alec, who turned it down, then lit his own and took a long drag, before exhaling the smoke in a tidy plume that wisped away into the rain.

"Where do I start?" He inquired.

Alec thought for a moment. "Start from when you and your family went into Exile. I've already heard the story from Carrie's side. I wanna hear from yours now."

Cris shrugged. "Alright. Let's see....."

**ZippyTheSquirrel** · 08/14/2007 17:44:36

Cristofor took an extra long puff on his cigarette and blew a perfect ring of smoke. He watched it fly out from under the cover of the awning and become systematically mutilated by the rain. He turned to Alec.

"My designation is Code Compiliation Program 14.008.43. I didn't do anything special. I made sure there were enough particles of certain items in the Matrix. Air, water, sand, tiny things like that. You wouldn't even notice, unless there wasn't enough. The errors stemming from a shortage of particles would stack on each other exponentially until people began to notice."

"It certainly sounds simple."

"The powers that be thought so, too. My whole family was replaced by just one program that could handle all the menial tasks we ourselves used to do. My mother was offered the choice of going back to the Source or to live as rust repair machines in the City. Neither appealed to her, so she took us all into the Matrix and straight to the Merovingian."

"Seems the smart thing to do."

"Not exactly. The Merovingian gave us all our current shells - minus me - and told us that in order to remain under his protection, we had to do some things for him. Mother sensed danger in what he said, so we all left his service, which is around where you and Carrie met."

"It seems like such a long time ago."

"Right. But... something about working for him... seemed good, to me."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm. So I went back, and he put me with those that protected that annoying Effectuator."

"I take it you didn't enjoy it."

"That time when he got kidnapped was the best. I thought it was because of the action and adventures our squads had when we went back to rescue him, but it turned out that it was because he simply wasn't around to annoy us. Do you know," he added with a dark face, "that sometimes he would mess with our shells? He gave some of us mutliple heads. Turned my nose inside out. He was trying to teach himself to create his own programs."

"So that's why you left him?"

"No, actually. It was when the Truce ended, and the Zion solders began hunting down my family that I had to leave."

"To protect them?"

"You could say that."

"I could?"

"You'd be wrong."

Alec stared. "You didn't leave to help your family?"

"No. I left because my family needed protection."

"I don't understand."

"Life working for the Effectuator was dull. Running from desperate soldiers is an adventure."

"I can't believe you."

"Believe it."

They sat in silence for a moment. Alec turned to look at the building's security guard, who was reading an adult magazine. Cristofor took out another cigarette and tossed his first one down. After he lit it, he said, "Well, you've heard my side. Now, I want to hear your side."

"My.. side?"

Cris nodded. "Why do you help us? What's in it for you? We've all heard the promise thing now, but I really want to know why."

Alec looked down at his fingers and involuntarily chuckled. "It's not a fun story to listen to. It's not even a very fun story to tell."

"I want to know."

"Alright." Alec looked up, but not into Cristofor's eyes. "Okay. See... back before I got unplugged, I was this greedy little punk that did bodyguard detail for some drug lord. One day, when I was heading to my job, I saw this lady getting in trouble with some gang of low-lifes. So I helped her out. Turns out she didn't really need help. She was a Lupine. But, ah, she thanked me for the help anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah..." Alec paused. "She kissed me. I don't know why. Maybe she saw something in me. She explained her situation, and I offered my assistance. My life, adventurous as it was, was dull for me. I felt like I was missing something."

"Are you saying..."

"Yes. We became..."

"That's... something new."

"I know, it's not right. It's not natural. But at the time, I didn't even know she was a program."

Cristofor blew another perfectly formed circle of smoke and waved idly at Alec. "I can't fault you for it, then. Continue."

"Um, okay. Well, Shara--"

"Shara?"

"Yeah?"

"Nevermind."

"No, really, what is it?"

"Shara just seems... like an unusual name."

"Whatever. Anyway, Shara was the one who showed me to the Lupines and the Merovingian."

"And that's how you got unplugged?"

"No. That, um.. I'm not comfortable with this."

"Come on. Tell me."

"I don't have to, you know."

"I told you my story. You tell me mine."

"I don't want to."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Zippy, I can't figure you out," Cristofor snapped. "You act all tough, but you're nothing but a pathetic little child. Immature, expendible, slow-witted. You're not suited for the kind of heroism that you expose to my family. You're not good enough to be one of the Unplugged. You're not even fit to be a Redpill. You're not even fit to love a--"

"She died, alright?!"

The rain became stronger. Cars on the road began turning on their emergency lights as they disappeared behind the sheets of thundering water. Alec looked away, clutching his stump-shoulder with his hand.

Cristofor's face darkened, and he tugged his hat over his eyes. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I don't tell a lot of people this."

"How..."

"Agents set fire to this big warehouse we were in." Alec laughed, but it was a sad laugh. "She saved my life, at the cost of her own. I think that's when I really was Awakened."

Cristofor was silent for a few minutes. "So... that's what all this is about?"

"Sort of."

"I have a feeling you're not telling me the whole story here."

"Tough. That's my story in a nutshell. This is why I do what I do. Because I can't stand to see programs like her, or you, or Evan, or Staissee, or Scrappy, or all your brothers and sisters, or any program that just wants to keep living."

Cristofor looked down the street. The rain was beginning to let up. He looked back at Alec. "I have to be honest. That's a pretty lame story."

Alec shrugged. "That's all you're getting out of me."

"I want the whole story."

"You're not getting it. And you know what else?" Alec started walking in the direction of the homeless shelter. "I'm not going to stop until everyone in your family is safe. Except for you. You're a coward, and I don't care what happens to you."

Cristofor stared after him. "Fine. You don't want my help--"

"I don't need your help."

"--then I'm not going to help you." And with a sudden shudder in the air around him, Cristofor vanished. Alec sighed and turned to continue, when he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a very familiar red jacket.

Jook exited the subway station and looked around him, scanning the crowd. Alec hopped quickly into a nearby alleyway, and peeked around the corner to watch as the human's cohorts joined him. He swore softly. "What a time for you to disappear on me, Cris," he mumbled.

The group conversed briefly, then Jook pointed out in different directions. The wild man took off in the opposite direction of Alec's position. The islander started to come his way, and the woman in white and Jook both headed for shelter from the rain and waited. Alec ducked behind the alley corner. He didn't have much time before the islander came upon him. He looked around and saw a fire escape ladder several yards off the ground. Gathering his strength, he leaped up high into the air and grabbed the middle rung of the ladder. Climbing it proved to be difficult with just one arm - he scrambled quickly with his feet and hauled himself up on the landing with his arm. He turned around and looked down into the alley just as the tall man ran up to it. He paused and whipped out a cell phone and listened to it, then walked slowly into the alleyway.

"I don't see him," he said. Alec knew then that they were looking for him. The islander walked underneath the fire escape, and Alec saw his chance. He swung down from the fire escape and dropped down, connecting his feet with the top of the man's head. Both fell to the ground with a loud crash, but the islander didn't come back up. Alec leaped up quickly and searched the giant man's pockets for a weapon. He found a revolver and a box of bullets, and tucked them both in his belt, mindful that he didn't shoot himself. He stood and listened for the sound of a police siren or alerted Redpills. Satisfied to hear neither, he briskly turned and walked deeper into the sub-maze of alley ways. Cristofor was right, he knew that now. But that didn't mean he had to give up.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

The light of dawn was peaking low over the horizon, lighting the tops of the tallest buildings on the block. Surrounded by skyscrapers, the homeless shelter looked pathetic and wanting. A pair of children with worn down clothes and filthy hair exited, both eagerly chewing on a half-loaf of steaming bread. A woman in rags entered, leaving a few minutes in a loose, but improving, dress shirt and pants. Eventually, a pair of young adults with peculiar skin tones emerged.

Rock and Tan walked out into the dawn's light, followed closely by the den mother. They all turned and began walking slowly down the street towards the docks, distant on the horizon. From across the street, on top of a busy grocery store's roof, Alec watched. He turned and looked up the street, to where Jook and his lackeys were meeting at the entrance to an alleyway. He grinned and turned again. The trio of Lupines were about to cross the street. A black sedan appeared in the corner of Alec's eye, rolling slowly with the traffic towards the docks. An odd feeling sprang up in his throat, and he turned his full attention on the sedan, just in time to watch a man in a dark trench coat exit out of the passenger side. Alec gripped the roof edge tightly and leaned in for a closer look.

The man was wearing an ear piece. Alec lost no time in vaulting himself over the roof, plucking his stolen revolver from his pocket and firing it into the air as he landed. Civilians scattered. The Lupines looked his way, saw the Agent, and bolted. The Agent looked in his direction. From his lower elevation, Alec got a better look at the man. Tall and skinny, his hair was a bit longer than the typical Agent's, and was tied back in a ponytail. The minute Alec noticed the ponytail, the wind, by perhaps bizzare coincidence, picked up, whipping the Agent's hair back. It also had the effect of brushing his trench coat back to display his weapons, and Alec immediately regretted drawing the man's attention. This was no ordinary Agent. It had to be the fabled Special Agent he had heard of before. Alec wished he could fight Agent Brady again.

The Special Agent drew a long rifle from a strap behind his back. Alec moved quickly, ducking and rolling forward to hide behind a parked grey taxi. Gunfire erupted, and the windows on the car shattered. Alec looked up at the sound of screeching tires to see the black sedan moving to chase the Lupines. He swore and reloaded his gun. A pause in the gunfire, and Alec was up, aiming and firing his own puny revolver at the Agent, who suddenly disappeared into a blur of himself. Alec closed on the Special Agent as he fired until he was within arm's length, then dropped his gun and kicked out at him. The Special Agent reacted quickly, seizing Alec's foot and swinging him around. He let the foot loose, and Alec flew down the street into a bus stop bench, which promtply broke under the force of impact. Alec slid a few more feet, then picked himself up quickly, holding the Agent's rifle in his had. He tossed it aside as the Special Agent whipped out a pair of pistols, and ducked and ran from his aimed shots. He heard a swooshing sound suddenly, and looked back to see.

Cristofor had materialized behind the Special Agent, and was now grappeling with the suit's weapons. With surprising agility, he ripped them out of his adversary's hands, and followed up with a kick to the machine's chest, sending it flying into the window behind Alec. Alec straightened up with astonishment.

"You..." He stammered.

"No time," Cristofor said. "Get the others." He ran at Alec, past Alec, and leaped into the window, straight into the Special Agent trying to stand. The two were locked in struggled and rolled on the ground a ways. Alec watched Cristofor match the Special Agent's speed and power, then turned and ran in the direction the Agent's car had gone.

He ran for two straight blocks, until the city sidewalk ended. The Edgewater Docks spread far to his right. A stairwell back a few yards led to the city's elevated highway, supposedly built to cut down on traffic. Alec turned and practically leaped up the stairs up onto the highway, then crossed the road and leaned over the railing to get a better look into the docks. A pair of headlights were scrambling quickly around the corner of a warehouse, then roared down towards Alec before turning around another corner of a warehouse and speeding through an assortment of crates. Alec grabbed the railing with his one hand and vaulted over into the docks. He fell at least sixty feet, and felt a stinging pain when he landed on his wounded leg. He straightened and ran in the direction of the sedan, which had stopped near the end of the warehouse.

As he neared the sedan, he saw an open door leading into the warehouse. The car had parked so that the driver could step out and immediately enter the building. Alec jumped onto the trunk and leaped again into the doorway. As he entered, he grasped the top frame and used it to swing into the building, propelling himself a ways inside before landing. He winced as the pain shot up his leg again.

He was in a large room, filled with racks, themselves filled with big cardboard and metal boxes. The racks were arranged along the room's length as to create a maze. The lights were all old and low on power, and cast an eery glow and filled the room with shadows. Alec walked slowly through an aisle of boxes, listening intently. He stopped as he heard the clacking of dress shoes one aisle over. He knew that the Lupines normally wore boots, so the body that belonged to the shoes was probably the Agent. Or some unfortunate civilian, he thought, as he estimated the shoes' location and shoved a box through the rack, satisfied with a grunt of pain and a thud on the floor. The boxes he pushed left a sizable hole in the rack, so he leaped up on it and crossed to the next aisle quickly. The Agent stood as he landed, and he quickly grabbed the man's throat with his hand, and kicked at the pistol he was drawing, which flew straight up, and fell with an angle, so it landed on a box high above the two men.

The Agent didn't struggle, and as Alec's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized why. Recognition widened his eyes.

"Brady!"

"Charles."

"Why is it always you I face?!"

"It must be a coincidence," Brady said with a cold grin. Fear pulsated down Alec's neck and settled between his shoulder blades. For some reason, he was afraid of the Agent now, but he didn't know why.

Alec asked, "Where are the others?"

Brady replied, "What others?" and shrugged his shoulders. Alec tightened his grip on the Agent's throat, but the suit didn't react.

"The Lupines. I saw you chasing them."

"Was I? I didn't notice."

The fear intensified. Something was wrong with the Agent. He was being coy. Agents couldn't do coy. Could they? Maybe the females could, but definetly not the males. A voice in the back of Alec's mind began screaming something, but he couldn't make it out through all the possible reasons why the Agent was acting so non-chalant. He smashed the Agent against a wall of boxes, knocking the smaller ones down.

"Where?"

"No idea."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

"You."

The Agent's words sent Alec into a hell of ice. It was a set-up. On cue, a SWAT team rushed around the corner. Five rifles swung his way. "Release the civilian!" One of them screamed. Alec looked back into the eyes of a petrified young woman with dirt-blonde hair and a construction worker's uniform. His grip relaxed, and the girl fell to the ground with a gasp, then picked herself up and ran down the aisle. As soon as she turned the corner, the SWAT officer yelled, "Get down on your knees!" Alec fell heavily onto his knees, too stunned to speak. His mind was churning with shock and realization.

The Agent had trapped him. That meant he wasn't even chasing the Lupines. That meant he knew where they were, precisely. Impossibly, the air chilled around Alec even more. They were dead. He was too late. Again. And he knew that Brady was probably moving to help the Special Agent finish off Cristofor. Then they would probably find a connection between the Lupines' codes and track down Carrie and Roy, and kill them, too. Every fact hit him at once, and the hopelessness of the situation dawned on him.

He knelt there, in the cold warehouse, with a bloody leg and one arm, a tattered face and several broken bones. The picture of failure.

The SWAT team closed in slowly, two standing back to keep a watch out for possible trouble.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Arguably the most impressive building in the city, Kalt Chemcial Corporation's headquarters stretches far above its neighbors and intimidates even the laws of physics that said that a building that tall couldn't possibly withstand the unforgiving wind. Sometimes when a Redpill has been particuarily troublesome, the System would bring him or her to a secluded office that was rented seperately from Kalt's offices.

The lobby is grand, and it alone could scare any Unplugged Human into spilling information. Historians from Zion dictate that Neo once shot up the place in an attempt to rescue his superior officer. The Merovingian would scoff and claim that the warrior who could manipulate the Matrix at whim merely pulled that stunt "for show." The Machines, of course, refused to comment.

High above the ground, a small office, normally empty, is now filled with persons. Seven Agents pace the the room in a seemingly random manner. Four technicians busily power up computers and activate specific programs. A single medical officer stands in the corner, watching apprehensively. In the opposite corner, a wooden chair is placed. Sitting in the chair, single arm bound tightly with rope round the arm and leg, but not his waist, Alec sits, staring around at the Agents. The lead Agent - Brady - takes off his glasses and stopped pacing. None of the Agents had spoken since Alec was brought into the office by the SWAT team. But now Brady speaks.

"Mister Romanov."

Alec doesn't flinch. Of course the Agents would know his real identity now. He hadn't been wearing the rag he concealed his face with since the fight with the Special Agent. And Cristofor...

They had stripped him of his clothes and given him a simple pair of blue jeans with white sneakers. No socks, and that bothers Alec the most. He hasn't gotten a shirt - instead, they attach wires to his chest. No doubt to facilitate the torture he is in for.

"Also known as Charlie Roderick."

One of the Agents' hand flies to his earpiece, and he listens intently, then walks out the office door. The other five Agents look after him, but Brady continues.

"Hacker alias (and most known among the redpills): Zippy the... Squirrel." Agent Brady chuckles. Another Agent grins slightly. The others remain passive.

"Care to explain where you came up with that one?"

Alec doesn't speak. Agent Brady looks over at a technician, who nods at him and quickly steps to a computer. He taps a few buttons, and a pink liquid fills one of the wires leading into Alec's body. He can't see the other end of the wire.

"Do you know what we're injecting you with?" Brady asks. He keeps talking without waiting for an answer. "A virus that will feed on brain cells."

Great, Alec thinks. More brain viruses. As if he hadn't been infected enough the past two years.

"This one is a little different than the others you've been infected by," Brady continues, as if reading Alec's mind. "This one tracks your Residual Self Memory copies stored upon your ship, and will delete them all. You will die, if you don't provide us with answers that will satisfy our questions. Then will we give you the antidote."

Alec doesn't speak.

"Still nothing?" Brady frowns. "You refuse to speak at the peak of death?"

Alec speaks at last. "I've died before. I can handle it."

"There's no coming back from this one."

"That's what they all say."

"How did you infiltrate the Cypherites?"

"I asked to join. They're not very bright."

Brady seems taken aback, but continues his interrogation. "What information have you taken from the Cypherites and given to any opposing forces?"

"Veil's bra size."

Brady's face darkens. His hand comes out of nowhere to impact hard on Alec's left cheek. Pain tingles throughout his face, but he grins in spite of it.

"Who do you report to?"

"Eat me!" Another strike. The room is turning blurry. The tech that had activated the serum clears his throat nervously. Agent Brady leans in closer to Alec so that his face comes into focus. Alec notes that his cheek bones are slightly more elevated and pronounced than his comrades.

"Where is Shara?"

The question rocks Alec to the core. His mind, or what was left of it, reels.

"She's dead."

"Where is Evan?"

"He's dead."

"What is your name?"

The room is losing all focus. Colors bleed away. Only Brady's face remains stable.

Brady speaks again, but his voice is different. "Who do you work for? What is your name? Where is Shara? Where can I find your parents?"

The room becomes dark. Everything turns black, save for Brady's face. Silohuettes are all that remains of the rest, dimly outlined by a pale green line. Alec looks down and sees that he is floating in a dark void. He looks about him, and sees that he has both arms. The rest of the silohuettes have disappeared. Brady's face becomes lined and wrinkled.

"What is your promise? Who did you promise it?" The voice comes from Brady, but it isn't Brady. It is many voices, and it is one voice. Alec realizes that he is dying.

"Why make a promise that you can't fulfill?" The question echoes. Brady's face begins to dissolve.

"Why do you continue to live?" The voices become a mix of men's and women's. Alec hears himself replying, but can't discern the words. The voices asked again.

"Why do you help them?

Why are you still alive?

Why can't you just die?"

Alec felt pressure closing in on his body. A cold sensation crept up his back. A single voice suddenly raged, "Why do you persist?!" It echoed away. Another singular voice, a woman's, flew past Alec. "Why do you love me?"

The many-but-one voice suddenly called out, "Why, why, why?" It began chanting the single question, louder and louder.

Alec could finally hear his voice. "Why not?!" It boomed and echoed. The voices stopped chanting.

The pressure relieved off his back. The void began to shrink. A single light appeared in Alec's vision. The cold feeling began to spread throughout his body. Above him, a dull light swung back and forth. He looked up and saw a box, with a black pistol placed so that it jutted out over the edge. He blinked.

He blinked again.

He knelt there, in the cold warehouse, with a bloody leg and one arm, a tattered face and several broken bones. The SWAT team closed in slowly, two standing back to keep a watch out for possible trouble. A cloth was covering his face where it hadn't previously.

"He's only got one arm," a SWAT officer was saying, "So Stevens, we'll cuff him to you." Another soldier nodded and moved closer to Alec. With all his strength, Alec leaped up and grabbed a box high above the ground. The soldiers yelled in surprise, and a burst of gunfire racked across the box Alec was holding onto. A warm feeling exploded from his waste. He'd been hit. He ignored the pain that came quickly and dragged his legs up on the rack where the box was sitting, then leaped again at a box across the aisle. As soon as he hit the box, he pushed off with his feet even higher, and fell upon the box holding Agent Brady's pistol. The box fell, and Alec with it, who let go of it and reached out and snatched the pistol mid-air. Gunfire erupted again, piercing the box below Alec and spinning it. Alec planted his feet firmly against the box and pushed against it, slow his descent just enough to land lightly on his feet as the box shattered on the ground beside him. He tracked his gun to the nearest SWAT officer, and shot her in the face. Turning quickly, he fired twice more at the other two soldiers that had approached him. All three dropped quickly. The two officers at the end of the aisle cursed simultaneously and aimed their rifles at Alec, who promptly turned and ran for the still-open door. The sedan was gone, so he kept running through the doorway and out into the open. The sun had almost completly risen now. Alec turned sharply mid-stride and ran for a staircase leading back up into the city. He stuffed the Agent's pistol in his waistband and grabbed his cellphone from his pants pocket after he stopped at the top of the stairs, and dialed, picking up speed again.

"Operator." Fidget's voice was a welcome noise.

"Fidget, track those three Lupines I was chasing."

A pause on the line. "Alec, they're dead. I stopped reading them on the sensors after you went into the warehouse."

Alec stopped. Ahead of him loomed the subway station. On his right, the homeless shelter. He could see the woman in white, one of Jook's cronies, a block down from him. The whole street was in perfect condition, as if a firefight had never taken place. Of course that meant that the Special Agent and Brady had won. Cristofor was dead, that much was clear.

"I thought they would be. Fine, find me Carrie and Roy."

"Okay." Another pause. The woman in white looked in Alec's direction, and stared directly at him. She quickly pulled out her own phone and began speaking hurriedly into it.

Fidget's voice swam back. "They're still in the church. Camon Heights Residential Housings."

"Thanks, Fidget."

"Do you want to jack out for a bit to rest?"

"No." He hung up the phone and put it away. He strolled purposefully towards the woman, drawing his weapon. Civilians scattered at the sight of his weapon glinting in the sunlight. Down the street, Jook and the others were running towards Alec. The woman froze on the spot. Slowly, she faced her hands palm-out to show her cell phone.

"I'm not armed," she said.

Alec replied, "I don't care," and shot her in the chest. He watched her crumple to the ground, then raised his gun and fired at Jook's subordinates. He got lucky and nailed the now-concious islander in the head, which exploded with a shower of blood as he went down. Jook and the wild-looking man both dove for cover in a nearby alleyway. Alec took the moment of confusion and ran straight at the entrance to the alley. The wild man poked his head out to get a look at Alec, and found him to be much closer than anticipated. Alec shot him between the eyes, too, and the man fell with a grin frozen forever on his face. Jook appeared with a garbage can lid, which he threw at Alec. Alec shot the lid to deflect it. He fired again at Jook, but his gun clicked. Empty. He dropped the gun, then changed his mind and kicked it at Jook's shiny bald head, dropping him instantly. He knelt by Jook's body, and checked his pulse. Stil alive. He left Jook and ran for the subway station. Next stop, Camon.

**VSLL** · 08/19/2007 04:14:19

((Posting for Zippy. Enjoy!))

The subway train screeched to a halt, and Alec climbed out into the suburbs. The station was conveniently located right next to the church. Alec supposed that it was placed there for easy access to the center of religion.

What crock.

Alec entered the church. It was a pretty standard house of worship. Benches filled the length of the main sermon chamber. An altar filled with water sat at the end, just in front of the podium of which the preacher would stand to deliver his or her speech. Despite the fact that redpills converged at a nearby phone booth, civilians still regularily attended the church. Alec scanned the crowd for Carrie and Roy. They saw him first, and Carrie waved him over. They were sitting near the front. Alec hurried up the aisle and sat next to them. A sermon was taking place, so they spoke in low voices.

"How did you find us," Roy whispered.

"What happened to your arm?" Carrie asked.

"I've been tracking your signal. The others are dead."

Roy and Carrie stared.

"I don't have a choice anymore. I'm taking you two to the Merovingian."

Carrie whispered, "What? We can't go back to him!"

Roy added, "Are you mad?" His voice picked up in volume slightly, and a nearby church-goer glanced in their direction.

"You two really don't have any basis to argue. Agents are coming right now as I speak. They'll be tracking you, too."

Carrie nodded and rose, but Roy frowned. "How did the others die?" He asked.

"Agents," Alec replied tersely, rising himself. Roy grunted and stood, and the trio made for the exit. From behind him, Alec heard the preacher drone on.

"Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not murder. Indeed, many men today use the second interpretation as a means to commit killings in the name of God. But I tell you now, that killing in the name of our Lord in Heaven is an abuse of His name. The followers who commit these deeds in His name are blinded by the Devil and his schemes to pull Man into the eternal war between the Fallen Angels and their Master, our Lord, who art in Heaven, hallowed by His name. Indeed, they who claim to fight for Truth, fight against it."

Alec, Carrie, and Roy walked out into the daylight. Alec walked slowly and with a limp, clutching with his remaining arm at the wound in his waist. Roy also walked slowly, but because he was busy scanning the area around him for potential foes. Carrie sauntered briskly. The three came to the subway station. They all descendeded the stairs, waited for the train to arrive, and rode it. Once inside, Alec sat with a grunt of pain on the first bench he came to. Carrie sat next to him and nursed his wound. Roy sat across from them, watching the other people in the cabin. Wisely, the civilians didn't stare.

"What are we going to do with you," Carrie soothed, dancing her fingers along Alec's wound. If he could see the Matrix code, he would see various code streams escaping from her fingertips to line the wound and speed the healing process.

Alec grunted. "I'm still alive."

"You're definetly not in one piece."

Roy said, "Where were you when they died?"

"Oh, don't pressure him, Roy."

"I was getting my arse handed to me by Agents," Alec said. "Have you been hiding out in the church this whole time?"

"Yes. It seemed like a safe place to go."

"Nowhere's safe." Alec looked around at the people in the cabin. The train continued to speed along its tracks. Nobody spoke for a long time.

As the train neared their destination, Roy spoke up again. "I never thought it would all come down to us." Carrie didn't say anything. Neither did Alec.

Roy elaborated. "When we came here, and when Mother left the Merovingian, I didn't think for one minute that the whole family was doomed right there. Maybe we were cursed. Maybe we were fated to die."

"Roy--" Alec started.

"No, he's right," Carrie said. "We all thought of a happy ending. We thought the happy ending had already happened. Then things went to hell.""From Hel to Hell," Roy mused. "I guess there's no escape. What if you and I are meant to die, too?"

"Don't say that, Roy."

"Everyone else is dead. Even Cristofor. Of all of us, I thought he stood the greatest chance of surviving. What are the odds against us?"

"Enough," Alec said. "I don't want to hear that talk anymore. I swore an oath to protect you, and I'll be damned if I lose either of you! I'll give my own life up to ensure yours." That shut them up.

Carrie eventually spoke. "You would give your own life to save ours?"

Alec pointed the stub of his left shoulder at Carrie. "What do you think?"

They remained silent until the train stopped. They all disembarked and made their way to the exclusive Club Hel.

It was midday now. The club at first looked like nothing more than a parking garage. The trio made their way around the back and down into the sub-basement. Alec remembered to remove his mask as they descended. Four large, bald men in identical blue-grey trench coats stood around a slender parking valet with fiery hair and pale skin. They stopped their conversation and stared at Alec and company as they approached.

The bald guard closest to him raised his hand and said, "Halt!" They stopped. "What business do you have here?" He asked.

"I'm here to see the Merovingian, or Ookami," Alec answered.

The guard sneered. "I don't think so, pal. Not without clearance from one of our officers."

"Uh... I have this badge from Terentia."

The guard spat towards Alec. The wad of spit landed just shy of his dirty shoes. "Terentia don't work here no more. Try again." Two of the other bald men pulled out sub-machine guns. The third one moved towards a wall phone. Alec looked over at Roy and caught his eyes. Roy twitched his eyebrows in response. So, they were on the same page. Alec looked back at the guard.

"Don't you know who I am?" He said, spreading his arm out. The guard took a step back reflexively, then relaxed, not noticing that Roy had taken a few steps to the side.

"No. I don't."

One of the other guards said, "Hey, isn't that the crazy guy that tried to make his own code bomb once?"

The other guard with a gun replied, "Hey, yeah. That's that squirrel guy. Didn't he die?"

His partner said, "No, no, that lady with the personality thing did something to bring him back."

"Oh, yeah. Wait, didn't he go to the Cypherites after that?"

"Yeah! Hey, he's a Cypherite!" The two men raised their guns, and Roy made his move. Alec stepped up quickly and pushed his hand, palm out, at the lead guard. He made contact with the man's nose, and heard a small crack. The guard was dead before he could even begin to fall to the ground. The guards both tracked their guns to him, but Roy rushed up to one from the side and chopped down on his hands. The man dropped his gun with a yell of surprise and pain. His partner hesitated, and Carrie, who had gone around discreetly, grabbed his head from behind and twisted it savagely. The pale valet looked around at the Lupines and the one-armed man, and promptly fainted on the spot. The fourth guard started shouting into the wall phone. Alec walked slowly towards the man, followed closely by Carrie and Roy. He looked at them apprehensively and held up his hands, phone locked in his shoulder.

"Don't hurt me," he stammered.

Alec nodded at the phone. "Hang it up." The man did so. Alec looked back at Carrie and Roy. They had both picked up the guards' weapons and were aiming it at the fourth guard. He looked back with a smile. Finally, something was going right. "You're going to take us to the Merovingian," he said. "And you're not going to make a peep the whole way down." The man slowly nodded--

A clacking sound suddenly filled the parking basement. Alec whirled around to see where it was coming from. A dark silohuette stood at the far end of the garage, and a small shadow bounced from it towards him. It slid the last few yards past Alec's feet, and he recognized it as a grenade. It stopped a few feet away from the shaking guard by the phone. The last thing Alec heard was someone yelling, "Oh, sh--".Fire erupted and spun away from the grenade. The guard was consumed by the fires. Carrie and Roy ducked down and fell to the floor. Alec didn't react, and the fire flew at him. The force of the blast blew him far down the garage and into a sea of darkness. Alec felt himself being tugged through a void of unconcioussness, until a bright light flashed, and he flew into it. He emerged to land at the feet of the person who had thrown the grenade. He landed on his back and looked up into a face of rage, topped by a bald dome. A red jacket fell across Alec's eyes for a moment. Too stunned to move, he could only groan as the man reached down, picked him up by the shirt, and held him in the air.

"Ya killed my friends," Jook growled. "Now ya die." He threw Alec down. His head impacted the concrete with a CRACK, and lights exploded in his mind. He felt himself being picked up again. Jook's face came into view, and was brought close to Alec's eyes. "Any last words, punk?"

Alec murmured, "You killed my family. You can die first." Weakly, he kicked out at Jook. He felt his foot hit something, and another grenade fell from Jook's belt. It clacked against the ground, and both Jook and Alec looked down to see the pin fly out. Jook swore and dropped Alec, who fell on his knees, and picked up the grenade and threw it away. He crouched to avoid the explosion, which rocked the garage and sent loose dust and debris raining down on the pair. Alec heaved himself up and brought his fist against Jook's chest. He hit, sending Jook bending back the other way. Jook's head hit the wall behind him with a sickening thud, and he grabbed at the back of his head with a yell of pain. Alec straightened and faced Jook. Jook brought his hands down and roared, running towards Alec and grabbing him by the shoulders. Alec thrust his knee into Jook's stomache, bringing Jook down, and grabbed him by the collar and threw him down the garage towards the exit, which was covered in flames, as was the elevator. He looked back. Carrie and Roy were stirring and getting up. He looked back just in time to see Jook's fist fly into his fist. He stumbled back, blood spurting from his nose. He felt Jook's foot connect with his chest and flew back onto the hood of a parked car. He got up again and slid off the hood, then suddenly bent back to rest his back on the car to dodge Jook's sweeping fist. He kicked up his left leg into Jook's side, stumbling the man in red to Alec's right. He got up this time and kicked at him again. Jook dodged under his leg and kicked his own foot out, but Alec spun with the momentum of his own kick and lashed out the same leg again, knocking Jook's aside.

As his foot came down, he ran on the momentum again and turned, bringing up his left foot again and swinging it towards Jook's face. He saw his foot connect, and heard a crunching sound, as he brought it into Jook's right cheek. Jook spun around in the air and fell backside up. Alec dashed over to Jook before he could get up, and grabbed his feet. Jook twisted and rotated his waist, spinning his legs - and Alec's arm - around mid-air. Alec quickly pushed off with his foot and spun until he was on his feet again. This time, Jook was on his back, facing up to Alec. Alec grinned maliciously, and began dragging Jook towards the fire by the exit. Jook struggled violently, and almost tore free, but Alec kept going. He reached a car that was burning fiercely, gathered all his strength, and tossed Jook into a shattered window. He heard screaming from inside, but ignored it.He limped over to Carrie and Roy, who were just getting up. From behind him, the screams were becoming quieter. Carrie stared wide-eyed at the carnage. Roy stared with a look of awe at Alec. Alec's face was covered in blood now, and he didn't try to disguise the fact that he was severely injured. He limped over to look at the club guard's smoking corpse.

"Where's the valet," he asked. Carrie, still staring at Jook's fiery coffin, didn't answer. Roy himself had to shake himself of the moment before responding.

"I think he ran off."

Alec didn't reply. He stood at the edge of the fire and stared through to the elevator. He was so close.

"Zippy," Roy spoke. "I think we should get out of here before the Merovingian sends someone to finish us off."

Alec glanced over his shoulder, then continued to stare into the fire. "No, our next worry is the Agents."

Carrie snapped out of her reverie. "Agents?!" She hollered.

Alec turned to face her. "Yes, Agents. Maybe just one. Probably a full group. Possibly a Special to follow them." Alec had told Carrie and Roy all about the Special Agent on their way to the Club, and both had decided quickly that they didn't want to see one. He limped over by the body of one of the other guards and knelt by him. He searched his pockets and was rewarded with a gold key, with a small black chit on the end. He stared at it lovingly.

"Zippy...?" Roy walked over to Alec, who abrubtly stood with a shout of joy. "What is it?!"

"Fellows, I have the key to your salvation," Alec sang, twirling the key along his fingers eagerly. "Now, let's get out of here befo--"

"Why, hello, Charles."

Carrie turned. Alec grabbed her shoulder and yanked her behind him. He pocketed the key and spread his legs slightly to face the Agent as flexible as he could. The suit walked through the fire as if it didn't touch him. In fact, the fire seemed to shrink from his presence.

Alec snarled, "Agent Daniel Brady. I'm not surprised."

"You know that Agent?" Carried asked in a hushed voice. Roy growled lightly to silence her.

The Agent looked down at the burning car. "I see you've dispatched of a few foes. You're quite the gory type, Charles."

"Hey, I do what I can." Alec shrugged. He kept his eye on the Agent's hands. He knew the Agent was just waiting for the right time to shoot him where he stood. He motioned with his hand for Carrie and Roy to get down, but didn't look back to see if they got the message. "Hey, here's a fun idea," He said. "How about you not shoot us where we stand and fight me? Hand-hand. Unless you think you can't take poor one-armed me on..." He mentally crossed his fingers.

Agent Brady's expression couldn't be made out from the distance he was from Alec, but he said, "Why not? I enjoy a bit of gloating." A tingle of coldness raised Alec's shoulder blades, but he forced it down, and limped half-way down the garage. Agent Brady made a show of dropping his pistol and walking out to meet him.

The two men met in the middle and stood staring at each other for what seemed like eternity. Eventually, Alec mock-bowed. The Agent followed suit, and raised his fists in a street boxing pose. Alec simply took a step back and raised his single hand in half a pose.

The two men moved at the same time.

**ZippyTheSquirrel** · 08/27/2007 20:34:36

When a human and an Agent square off, assuming the human has all his limbs, he has a large chance of escaping, but a very
low chance of defeating the Agent.

When a human with one arm, a bruised, bloody, battered face that was beginning to swell a little, a gunshot wound in the
waist and many in the leg, faces an Agent, the odds of escaping and defeating are right about even, then.

Alec stepped to his left and forward. Agent Brady came straight forward. When they closed distances, Brady suddenly charged straight at Alec. Alec barely had time to put enough momentum into his step to leap as high as he could - his head almost hit the ceiling. He lashed out at Brady passing underneath with his foot, and was rewarded by the Agent's head whipping backwards. It didn't fall, though. Instead, Brady turned as Alec landed and kicked into his back. Alec flew straight into the wall, feeling several ribs break on impact. Before he was fully recovered, he willed himself to push off the way, using his arm to spin in mid-air, and tackled Brady. This time the Program fell. Alec released his hold on the Agent just long enough for the Agent to attempt to kick him off, and used the power of the Agent's foot to propel both of them into mid-air.
He spun the Agent so that when they landed, he was face-down. Alec wrapped his only arm around the Agent's neck as they fell
again, and pulled tightly.

The Agent's neck refused to break. Instead, he flipped himself - and Alec - over from his knees. Alec landed roughly on his back, while the Agent landed in a crouch. Alec dug his heels into the ground and pushed, skidding backwards a few feet, then quickly pulled himself back up. The Agent had moved to a pillar while Alec was preoccupied, and now he was grabbing at it with a strained face. The pillar began to crack, and the Agent let go. He stepped back, then chopped his hand sideways at the pillar. A second, large crack spread through the pillar horizontally. Brady jumped up, almost hitting the ceiling, and repeated his chop. The whole pillar shuddered. The Agent landed, and grabbed the pillar again. He wrapped his arms around it - his fingers were a few feet apart - and pulled. The entire garage shuddered as the pillar broke free, and the Agent stumbled backwards with the effort. Alec stared. The Agent began to spin his body, and the pillar slowly but surely spun away from Alec, and he watched as it began to swing back his way. He couldn't think of anything other than to duck, but as he fell to his knee, a plan formed in his mind, and he forced himself into a roll.

He cleared half the distance to the Agent as they pillar swung overhead, and he rose to his feet at the end of the roll and ran at the Agent. Brady stomped his foot into the ground and picked the pillar over his head. It scraped the ceiling with a loud crashing noise as he moved to swing it down onto Alec's head. Alec lost no time and leapt as far as he could, and kicked out at the Agent. His foot bounced off the Agent's chest, and he fell to the ground. Agent Brady stumbled with the kick, and he lost his grip on the pillar, which promptly crashed down on him with a resounding crash.

Alec got up and looked around the pillar for signs of the Agent. The pillar began to tremble, and Alec leapt back. But it fell in the opposite direction, revealing an incredibly injured Agent. It stumbled and limped towards Alec with surprising speed. Alec fell back and tried to kick at the Agent, but it dodged, twisting about in a circle to come up behind Alec. Alec felt the Agent's hand snake around his neck, and before he could think, he was in a choke hold.

The Agent was breathing hard and irregularily. "Charles..." Brady gasped. "This is where you die. You can't possibly win against me... I can die as many times as you can kill me and still come back. But you only have one life." He spoke quicker and whispered menacingly. "That means for every time you run to save your skin, I get to kill your little friends. Face it, you pathetic piece of..." He spat, and Alec saw a glob of red-hued spit hit the ground out of the corner of his eye. "You..." He tightened his grip. "Just... Can't... Win..."

Alec's vision faded quickly. He struggled against the pain, but knew that it was hopeless. He relaxed and let the darkness take him.

Carrie rose to her feet. Roy picked himself up carefully, whispering, "Don't, sis, he'll see us."

"Alec's dying!"

"Quiet!" Too late. The Agent looked their way and tossed aside Zippy's limp body. He limped slowly their way. Carrie and Roy instinctively leaped into a combat pose, knowing they couldn't possibly defeat the Agent, even an injured one. The Agent stopped mid-step and looked back. Carrie narrowed her eyes to see past him.

Zippy was rising off the ground again. The Agent strode back briskly to his side and kicked him. The one-armed man fell again. And began to rise again. The Agent hesitated for a brief nanosecond before kicking him again. Zippy didn't fall this time. Instead, he continued to rise. The Agent stepped back. Zippy looked up at him, and Carrie gasped at the sight.

His eyes were wide open and pupil-less. The man took a step towards the Agent, who stepped back, taken aback by the sudden sight. Zippy suddenly ran at the Agent, and grabbed him by the wrist before he could react. Carrie watched as the beserk human threw his arm in a wide arc, spinning the Agent until a loud crack was heard. The Agent shrieked in pain. The shriek echoed loudly throughout the garage, causing Carrie to wince. She stared with a dropped jaw as Zippy pulled tightly on the arm.

"You owe me an arm, Agent!!" Alec yelled. He could barely see the Agent through the red haze of his pain-induced rage, but he pulled at the arm anyway until he heard a loud pop signifying the arm's dislocation. Satisfied, he threw the Agent down on the ground, then stepped over to him quickly. He bent down and grabbed the back of the Agent's head, then, with a roar, he hauled the suit up and dragged him to the nearest wall, where he promptly smashed its face into. He brought the Agent's face back, and slammed it against the wall again. This time, he held it there with his knee, grabbed its arm, and pulled roughly. With a wrenching sound of ripping tissue, the arm tore off, spraying Alec, the Agent, and the wall with blood. Alec droppes his knee and pushed his elbow in the back of the Agent. He dropped the arm and grabbed the back of its head again, smashing it into the wall several times.

On the fifth or so smash, he pulled the head back to reveal the bloodied face of a middle-aged woman. Undaunted, he smashed the abandoned Sleeper's face into the wall again, for good measure, then dropped the body, which slid slowly down the wall, smearing it with blood and eye gore. He stepped back to drink in the scene with his eyes, which were beginning to return to normal. The strength that had inexplicably arose within him and saved his life had faded. During the first parts of his enraged brawl, he couldn't even control his actions, until he had already pulled the arm off the Agent--

The arm! He looked down. Just as he suspected, the arm still bore the cufflink of the Agent. He looked up at Carrie with a thought in his eye, and called out, "Hey, come over here!" Carrie dashed over with Roy.

"I can't believe.... you just... how.." Roy stammered.

"You ripped that Agent apart!" Carrie burst.

"Yeah. I don't even know what happened. Did you see what he did with that pillar?"

"I thought he had you for sure!"

"You... the Agent... the pillar... the arm..."

"You should have seen your eyes! They were almost pure white."

"I couldn't see anything but red."

"The arm... the... the..." Roy shook himself visibly and growled. "You tryin' to show off to us, human?"

"No." Alec turned to Carrie. "Carrie, see this arm?" He held up the Agent's arm.

"Of course! You tore it clean off!"

"Exactly. Clean off. If the Agent was here now, a surgeon would easily be able to sew it back on. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Carrie stared. "You're insane."

"What's your point? Do it."

Carrie hesitated, then reached out and picked up the arm. It was slightly smaller than Alec's arm, but of the same length. She looked between the flesh hanging off the shoulder point and Alec's own shoulder stub, then put the two together. She turned and took a knife from Roy, then carefully cut into Alec's shoulder. He didn't wince as he felt blood begin to drip again from his severed artery. Carrie once again paused briefly, than quickly pressed the Agent arm against Alec's shoulder. She ran her hand quickly over the exposed flesh, and suddenly Alec felt sharp pain course through his entire shoulder. The Agent's arm swelled slightly to match the size of his shoulder, and suddenly the pain spread out from his shoulder... into the arm. Whatever Carrie could see in the code, she was slowly repairing it and melding it together. The Agent arm was now Alec's arm.

It felt numb. Alec winced this time as the pain flew through his arm and into his fingertips. He smiled as he realized that they were his fingertips. Carrie covered the wound with both hands, and an electrifying feeling tingled up and down Alec's new arm. She removed her hands, exposing a pale scar where once there was two pieces of flesh touching. She stepped back as Alec flexed his arm. Feeling its connection now, he could clearly tell how much smaller it was than his natural arm. But it moved much quicker, and felt somewhat stronger.

Another idea popped into Alec's head, and he turned to face the wall. Slowly, he pulled his arm back. Then, he swiftly punched at the wall with as much force as he could. The entire wall bucked under the force of his new arm's power, and a large chunk of it surrounding his hand crumbled to pieces and fell to the ground. He smiled and flexed it again.

He turned to Carrie and Roy. "Well," he said confidently, pulling out the key with the black stone set into it. "Shall we?"

They left the way they came in, yet the garage was totally changed. Half the cars were destroyed or critically damaged, and fire still sputtered in a few places. Something else was changed, too, Alec told himself, as he stretched and worked his left arm.

Change was good.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

They stopped at the third apartment building they found, several blocks away from the club. Seventh floor. Second room. It was all very random, which was why Zippy did it. Random would confuse the Machines as long as possible. He kicked in the door and made sure there was noone in the room. Roy went into the master bedroom and promptly fell asleep. Carrie and Zippy adjourned to the kitchen, where she proceeded to clean the rest of his wounds as best she could using the various tools around the kitchen.

Zippy sighed, content, as Carried wiped away the blood from his last gunshot wound on his waist. "That feels.... arrgh..."

"What? Did that hurt?"

"No... it feels like all this pressure is just... lifting..."

Carrie smiled. "I bet it feels nice to finally have a chance to rest after all the hell you've been through."

"Yes..." Zippy's eyes drooped. Carrie stood and grabbed his shoulder, dragging him gently to the couch in the adjacent living room. She had already removed his shirt to clean some of his wounds, now she unbuckled his pants as she steered him onto the couch, mentally noting to find new clothes for him. She removed his heavily worn dress shoes and socks next, but left his underwear on. An ounce of decency, she told herself. Zippy fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the couch. Carrie looked around, found a blanket in the hall closet, and tossed it over Zippy. She checked on Roy to find him loudly snoring. She smiled lightly, and walked outside for a breath of air. She saw that the cleaning lady was a floor before her. She hopped over the side of the rail and landed on the rail below her softly. She turned and reached deep into the basket, searching for something she thought might fit on Zippy. She fished out a black t-shirt and matching pants. She barked a laugh in triumph, then turned and jumped off the rail, up into the air. She spun around mid-air and grabbed the seventh-floor rail, and pulled herself up. As she re-entered the room, the exhaustion of the past several hours finally caught up to her. She dumped the pants and shirt next to Zippy's couch,then sprawled herself on her brother's bed, and began to snore.

Alec woke in the middle of the night. He woke with a jerk, as if he felt something ripped unceremoniously out of his neck.

INstinctively, he grappled at the back of his neck--

And felt the surgical machines on it. He looked around, wide-eyed, at the faces of his crewmates. A tall, skinny, Latina

with below-the-shouler black hair frowned down from his left. A short, stout, caucasian grinned from his right. He whispered

hoarsely, suddenly aware of how un-used his voice was.

"...Fidget? Rickenbacker?" The two nodded.

Fidget spoke up. "Do you know how long we've had to switch shifts to keep an eye on you?"

Alec grunted. "A few days?"

"A few?" The short, muscle-bound man chortled. "Try a week."

Alec squinted. "Have I really been jacked in for that long?"

Fidget's frown deepened. "Technically, you're still jacked in." Alec felt the back of his neck again, and felt the jack. He

moved to pull it out, but Rickenbacker shouted.

"Careful," he said. "You're still asleep in that apartment."

"I don't understand," Alec began.

Fidget said, "We figured your being willingly unconcious was the best chance we had of safely getting you out. I guess it

worked.."

"Aw, Fidget, I've never seen you ever take a risk before."

"It's one we were forced to take."

Alec noted her tone and grimmed his face. "What's wrong?"

"The ship is falling apart." Fidget sweeped her arm out at the ancient warship. Abandoned from the first or second Anomaly occurance, the bulky hovercraft was set deep in a self-made crevice in an old matinence tunnel. A detonated EMP mid-air caused it to crash straight down into its own crater - a fatal error made by Alec, or so he was told by the captain. He had no memory of his blunder, which his crewmates told him was simply "for the best." Alec looked in the direction of her pointing arm and saw that many faded hot wires were jutting down from a hole in the ceiling. Several of them were detached and swung helplessly. As Alec watched, another wire snapped suddenly and swung low. He looked back to Fidget. "At this rate," she continued, "we'll have to get a new ship sometime next week."

Alec grunted again. "So what?"

"So what if you get yourself stuck in the Matrix when the power goes out?" Rickenbacker this time.

"That won't happen. I have a plan, of which you two are intruding upon."

Fidget and Rickenbacker looked at each other apprehensively. "What plan is this," Fidget asked.

"You need not worry your pretty fidgety head," Alec responded warmly. Fidget snorted and walked away. He relaxed in his chair. Rickenbacker walked up to him and placed his hand on Alec's shoulder.

"You sure you can get out before the ship goes under? It could be less than a week."

"I'm never sure.. that's what makes it fun."

"What do you want me to tell the Cap'n?"

"Tell him..." Alec pursed his lips in thought.

"Tell him I have one last door to open."

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Alec awoke. It was early dawn of the next day. He hopped off the couch with a spring in his step, mostly an effect of his leg wounds being treated properly for the first time. He looked down to find that there was a new set of clothes lying on the floor. A t-shirt and simple jeans, both ink-black. He grabbed them and tried them on to ensure that they fit, then flung them off and headed to the shower.

Coming out of the shower, soaked and finally clean in so many places that had previously felt rash-like, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked quietly into the kitchen. From down the hall, he could hear snoring. Carrie and Roy must still be asleep. He looked aside into a mirror and saw how much his beard had grown. He picked up a butter knife and began scraping away at his face as a makeshift razor.

It took all of fifteen minutes. By then, Carrie was awake and taking her shower, and Roy was walking off the numbness in his legs from having his sister sleep on top of them all night. Alec placed the key he had won several nights ago on the table, and now he stared at it, resting his chin in his palm.

"What do you it goes to," he asked Roy. Roy stopped pacing and picked up the key. He grunted and tossed it back on the

table.

"It's a prison key."

"What? How do you know?"

"That black stone - it's the insignia of the Blackwood guards. One of the insignias. They like to change it sometimes."

"Blackwood? Why would a club guard be holding on to one of these keys?"

"That's easy." Roy stretched and plopped his rump on the couch. "Those punks weren't guards; they were guests."

"That makes sense."

"Of course it does," Roy sneered. Alec glanced up at him briefly before returning his gaze to the key. "Wait," Roy

continued, "I thought you already knew what it did. You called this the 'key to our salvation.'"

"I thought it was a skeleton key. When I picked it up, I thought I saw a skull inside the stone. Now, all I see is some

bars."

Roy shrugged. "What use is a skel key to you?"

"You know... a skeleton key. To the Halls."

"Oh. Well, that's a shame."

"Yeah," Alec mused. "Just a petty little--"

His cellphone began ringing. Alec looked around for his old pants. The wrinkled and torn pair were slung over the back of the couch. Roy turned and grabbed it, searching the pockets until he found the phone. He tossed it to Alec.

"Hello?" Alec answered.

"You're fired." The voice was high-pitched and laced with the sogginess of one who had had one too many mimosas. Alec

grimaced at the sound of the French accent.

"Flood." Roy raised his brow. The Gunther look-alike was the right-hand-man to the Merovingian himself. Or that's what his cards read, at least. He was unceremoniously placed in charge of overseeing the numerous missions and operations that the Merovingian employed Unplugged for.

"After all," the snide voice continued, "not only have you not reported in for the past seven weeks, I am watching a video of you ransacking the Merovingian's private parking garage. What a mess."

"I, uh..."

"Stop stammering, you idiot. Honestly, I'm glad you don't work for m-- us, anymore."

"Get to the point, blondie." Alec's annoyance rose from the past. Another good reason not to work for the Merovingian.

"Hmmph. At least you're not so slow. I'm calling because we need that key back."

"The key?" Alec picked up the metallic unlocker as he spoke. Roy mouthed a question, but Flood was talking, so Alec couldn't

focus.

"Did I stutter? Yes. That key is very important to us."

"Oh, really? I couldn't imagine why."

"Of course you couldn't, you've got the brains of a squirrel. Pun intended," Flood scoffed. Alec growled.

"If you're going to be that way, I guess I just don't need to give you the key."

"Oh, I think you'll want to hand it over."

"Yeah?" Alec nodded at Carrie, who had just entered the room, toweled. He avoided staring at her cleavage and focused instead on the phone as Roy took his leave to clean himself up. "Why exactly is that?"

"I have a certain prisoner you will want released."

Alec creased his forehead. "I don't think so..."

"I know so. Think carefully, Alec. What do you know about Dire Lupines?"

Alec's face froze. Carrie bent her head sideways curiously at him.

"That's not possible."

"I'm so sure you couldn't find a dead body."

"No one person can defeat a Special Agent."

"You're right. Not without getting very badly hurt. Which is how that dog, Ookami, found him. He's resting peacefully in a little jail cell in Blackwood, just waiting for someone with enough leverage to get him out."

Alec paled. "Cristofor's alive.." Carrie started.

"He is?!" She yelled.

"Yes, although if we don't get a certain key back he may not stay in such condition for much longer."

"What do you want me to do?"

"The key will open any door into our prison. Depending on the door you use, however, it may be a bit of a walk before you get anywhere. You will meet with Ookami in the main chamber before the dungeon levels. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, Flood."

"Good. I almost expected you to duh out on me."

Alec grunted.

"Ah, there's that animalistic behavior that suits you humans so well," Flood chortled. "Now, get moving. I'd hate to have to send anyone after you." A click and a dial tone signaled the end of the conversation. Alec lowered the phone slowly.

"That was Flood?" Carrie crossed the room and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Alec. "What did he say?"

"This key..." Alec waved the key in the air. "It opens doors into Blackwood."

"We're not going there, are we?"

"That's where Cristofor is."

"What if it's a trap?"

"Of course it's a trap. I'm not as stupid as Flood thinks I am. He knows this, too. There's going to be a lot more than just

Ookami there."

"What are we going to do?"

Alec chuckled. "We're going to kick their arses and get Cris back, of course." He grinned. Fighting off the Merovingian's goons was much more fun than going toe-to-toe with an Agent. He tossed the key into the air, then swept out his left hand, which had now grown to appropiate size, to catch it with a swipe as it fell back down.

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Alec looked back at Carrie and Roy. Carrie had found more clothes for her and her brother. She was now decked out in a snug blood-red shirt with brown leather pants. Roy wore a white shirt with a soda logo on it and blue jeans with overalls. All three now wore muddy boots Carrie snagged from the janitor's closets in the building. Carrie was packing the pistol that Agent Brady relinquised in the garage. Roy had his beltful of throwing knives, plus several more knives he had plundered from their and other apartments. Alec wasn't armed, which he soon sought to rectify.

"You guys ready?" He asked. The two werewolves nodded, and Alec looked back. They were standing in front of the bedroom door. Alec pulled it closed slowly until he heard a click. He took out the key. The black stone set in it glittered in the hall light. He inserted the key and turned it slowly. No bizzare sound emanted from it. He heard the lock click, and removed the key. He took a deep breath.

"Okay... here we go." He opened the door.

A long, dark hallway, barely lit by a high ceiling light every couple of yards, welcomed them. The lights barely did more than illuminate the ground. The walls were so dark it was impossible to make out any distinction in them. Alec stepped into the hallway, pocketing his key as he turned and waited for Carrie and Roy to enter before closing the door.

The trio turned and began walking down the hallway.

((CHAPTER END. NEXT CHAPTER - CLICK HERE.

What did you all think? Yes, I do know I overused the Agent, and most of the sections are very long, but that's how I wanted them to be. I may not fork 15 bucks over to sit around and do nothing for hours on end anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't still write stories! See you all on the other side. ^____^))