I have, actually.  Real life seems to get in the way though... you know how it is.  :smileytongue: Although I think I will publish it on fanfiction.net or something when I finish it.

Chapter 9: End of an Era... Or Is It?

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ZipperQueen performed a textbook back-flip and narrowly avoided the former agent's sword.  Her arc of travel took her twenty feet above the winged angel of death and over the edge of the building.  ZipperQueen switched back to her submachine guns and emptied yet another clip of bullets; Fog simply took the punishment as if the bullets were nothing more than raindrops falling from the sky.

"ZipperQueen, this is crazy!" the operator was screaming into her ear.  "There's no way you can take this guy!  Xeros wants you out of there NOW!!!"  Zip flew past the roof of the building; she saw Fog running and leaping into the air to pursue her.

"Negative, operator.  Tell Xeros that I need just a few more seconds..." ZipperQueen completed her flip and hit the ground; her veteran reflexes enabled to her leap to the right just as Fog landed where she was an instant before.

The operator looked back at Xeros and shook his head.  "She's lost it.  She ain't gonna give up this one."  Xeros scowled in disgust.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to save her *CENSORED*... again.  Operator, once Montoia jacks out, make sure she gets to sick bay.  And set up the rest of the chairs.  We're going in.... all of us."  With that, Xeros walked towards the rows of reclined chairs just beyond the operator. The operator switched to another keyboard and hurriedly typed in some more commands.

"Backup is incoming, ZQ.  Stay alive out there!" the operator replied to the embattled redpill.  ZipperQueen ducked to the right as Fog stabbed his sword into the building behind her.  She struck back with a flurry of punches and drove her opponent back.  However, Fog was seemingly unaffected.  He landed a fierce uppercut that lifted ZipperQueen up and sent her crashing right back down again.

"Had enough, little girl?" Fog taunted his redpill opponent as she spat blood on the ground.  "I told you - a human cannot beat an Agent.  Now you will pay the price for your arrogance."  He lifted his sword for a final killing blow.

ZipperQueen pushed herself up with her arms and leaned forward.  The sheer power in her arms allowed her to launch forward; her body slammed into Fog's and knocked him off balance.  ZipperQueen and Fog landed awkwardly on the cement just outside of the alleyway they were fighting in seconds before.

ZipperQueen rolled off of her opponent as he began to rise to his feet.  His sword was somewhere back in the alley.  The redpill smiled to herself.  Perfect.  She took up another fighting stance and waited for Fog to attack.

All around the two combatants, the Matrix began to shimmer with activity.  Digital reality seemed to rip itself apart as men and women, clothed in black business suits and sunglasses, appeared from out of thin air.  Within seconds, hundreds of Agents surrounded the fighters with weapons drawn.  Two agents - Pace and Gray - stood inside the circle.

"Stand down, program," Agent Gray intoned gravely.

"You too, Ms. Adamsdottir," was Agent Pace's contribution.

ZipperQueen smiled even more broadly.  "You're right, Fog.  A human cannot beat an Agent.  But another Agent can."  The redpill relaxed out of her fighting stance as instructed; she didn't want to end up dead.  Not yet.

Agent Gray approached slowly with his FM-1500 trained right on Fog's head.  "You are overdue for deletion.  You must rejoin with the Source," he ordered.  "Comply, or be deleted permanently."

A crowd was beginning to gather around the Agents.  Bluepills, redpills, exiles alike jockeyed for position so they could see what was happening.  Murmurs ran through the crowd like electricity: "Who is that?" "She's known as ZipperQueen." "Filthy Mervs..." "Stand back, citizen."

Agent Pace also had a bead on Fog.  Her heels scraped along the concrete as she moved to a flanking position.  Agent Gray was within point-blank range; there was no way he could miss, even with another Agent as his target.  ZipperQueen was still relaxed.  The operator spoke into ear; Les Enfants were spread out and ready to intervene if needed.  More redpills - Zionite, EPN, Merovingian, Machinist, and Cypherite - were all converging on the area.

A song, ancient in tune and word, came to ZipperQueen unbidden:

Everybody's coming to the party/Have a real good time/Dancing in the desert/Blowing up the sunshine

The operator on board the Cania felt his blood run cold.  "EVAC!!!!  EVAC NOW!!!"

Somehow, Fog had reclaimed his sword, yet he hadn't moved an inch.  ZipperQueen heard the operator scream in her ear, but it was too late.  Fog had twisted his body into a spin just as Gray and Pace began firing their weapons.  Everything went into slow-motion: Agents' guns were spouting flame and code packets of death, ZipperQueen leapt straight up into the air as bullets flew past her, and Fog let the sword go.

The bluepills and other Matrix denizens didn't have a chance.  A lot of redpills survived; their operators were on the ball and managed to prepare their redpills for the worst.  Bullets flew through the air towards two blurs of motion, one a flat disc, the second a tornado of feathery death.  Agents found themselves sliced in two or targets of devastating blows not seen or felt since the days of Neo.  And ZipperQueen continued her ascent, safe from the carnage below.  Her Bluetooth headset was pounding against her ear, relaying screams of pain and reports of massive death below.

Something slammed into her and wrenched her towards the roof of a building.  ZipperQuen saw a white trenchcoat, a serene expression, and sunglasses.  Seraph landed on a building and placed ZipperQueen back on her feet.  "What the hell are you doing, Seraph?"

"I could ask you the same question," he responded.  "Thousands of humans and Agents are dying right now thanks to your actions.  The Oracle warned you that this could happen."

"I know that!" ZQ turned away and began moving back to the edge of the building.  "I have to put a stop to it."  She heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed behind her.  Seraph had drawn his own blade, a perfect copy of the killcode generator she had stolen from her own master just a day before.

"You will need this."

*half-grins*

Welcome home, Zip. I been waiting a long time for this to be finished. Thanks.

Wow, ShiXin.... that's awesome of you.  I'm honored.

The story ends in Chapter 10.... coming soon!

ZipperQueen turned back towards Seraph.  He held his own sword, a Chinese long sword, in his right hand.  It was thin and sharp, designed for fancy slashing maneuvers and quick strikes, and a perfect companion to many styles of kung fu.  ZipperQueen preferred Japanese karate with its hard, sharp movements and powerful strikes... but from she heard about Fog's weapon, it would adapt to her particular style easily enough.  ZipperQueen stepped forward and took the weapon from Seraph.

"I can only give one last piece of advice: Even with my weapon, you will need to finish him quickly before his code recompiles.  His RSI is designed to regenerate very quickly, but he does have a weakness," Seraph instructed.  ZipperQueen wasn't listening, her eyes were focused on the sword as it began to reshape itself.

Now the sword had become a katana and wakizashi set, much more appropriate for a Japanese-trained fighter.  Both blades appeared to be of the finest craftsmanship, worthy of the ancient Masamune name.  ZipperQueen tested the blades in her hands... light, quick, and very well balanced.

"You have to take his head from his shoulders," Seraph was saying.  ZipperQueen glanced back to Seraph quickly.  "Only then will the killcodes work properly and his regeneration subroutines will cease to function."

ZipperQueen nodded and turned back towards the edge of the building.  Seraph called for her one last time; ZipperQueen looked back slightly.

"I want those back when you're done," he said evenly.  ZQ smiled in response before she leapt off of the building.  "Good luck," he also said, even though the redpill didn't hear him.

In the streets below, Agent Gray and Fog were fighting each other.  The two Agents, past and present, were fighting hand-to-hand, trading blows evenly between them.  Fog seemed uninjured while Agent Gray was already hurting.  Agent Gray had lost his sunglasses early in the fight, and his pistol was out of ammunition.  The only reason he hadn't been taken down was because Agent Pace had managed to confiscate his sword... at the cost of a bluepill's life.  Fog threw one last punch at Agent Gray, catching him in the center of his chest.  Agent Gray flew backwards, landed on his back, and did not move.  Code shimmered around his body as the program left its bluepill anchor behind to find yet another bluepill to inhabit.

As Fog turned to look for his sword, ZipperQueen ended her hyper-jump with a bone-crushing impact on the cement.  She looked up to the angel of death and felt a growl emanate from her throat.  Fog looked to his left at the armed redpill; his face showed puzzlement at first, but he quickly realized what the redpill intended to do.

"I told you, Fog," ZQ said as she rose from her crouch, "You aren't getting out of here in a human body.  Not on my watch."

Fog smiled and clenched his right hand into a fist; his sword materialized out of the ambient code and burst into flames.  "If I can't have your precious Montoia, I'll have to settle for you instead!"

The former bluepill stripper turned Merovingian assassin felt a grin spread across her face.  She felt powerful, even feral.  She could take an Agent now... perhaps even Agent Gray... or even the now-dead Agent Smith.  Fog seemed much less of a threat now than before.  ZipperQueen felt ready to take on everyone, everything.

"Bring it, *CENSORED*!!!" she screamed in response.