(Author's note: This picks up right where The Matrix Resurrection left off, so if you're feeling confused, go read that.) 

*The green stands of code we are all too familiar with begin to fall down over a sea of blackness. Code characters drop down into place amidst the trickling coding. They spell out "THE MATRIX". We move forward into the coding, past these words. Another is word is spelled out. It says "REVELATIONS". Moving forward once more we go in through the "O" of "REVELATIONS". After passing through the "O", the code forms into the familiar Mega City.

The focus shifts to the roof of a building, where two people are standing. One lowers a gun and shoots the other through the torso, killing him instantly. After a few moments though, the coding that forms the dead person soon begins to change from green to white, one strand at a time. Soon, an entire pulse of white code overlaps the green code and envelopes the city for a time, before reverting back to green. However, the person's code remains white, and he gets back up, his ‘killer' turning around and re-aiming his gun, but no bullets come out.

The white coded man, apparently humoring him, throws a gun to the attacker, and begins walking toward him. More bullets are fired, but they merely deviate from their flight path, flying around the white coded man as he continues toward the attacker. The bullets of the gun run out, and thus, the attacker reverts to hand to hand, running at the white coded man and throwing punches and kicks. One punch is caught in the white coded man's hand, and after observing it for a moment, he crushes it, and then punches the attacker into the wall. The white coded man, Janus, leaves the rooftop and his attacker, Balthasar, and then exits the Matrix*

Prologue: Hunted
----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Nosferatu
5:07 PM Matrix Time

"Get a trace on that *CENSORED* ship!" Blood snarled. His own tone of voice threatened to rip the hull of the Nosferatu to pieces.

The operator, Sideways, immediately got to work, and began a trace program to track the Nemesis. Blood wasn't the only one shocked by this turn of events, and the result on Sideways was that he was typing at three times his normal speed.

"What's happening?" Leon asked, in disbelief of what he was seeing. This spectacle could be seen by anyone who could watch a construct monitor, and it made sense to anyone.

"I don't know, I've never seen this before," Sonia said.

"None of us have." Blood told them.

A beep went off, the trace was complete. "I found them," Sideways said, "A hundred kilometers from here, out in the open."

"Great." Blood hissed, getting off from his spot, and keying in the intercom to the bridge.

"FIND THAT SHIP!" were the first words out of Balthasar's mouth when he awoke, in a tone of pure rage that perhaps rivaled, if not surpassed Blood's trademark roar. The fight had since ended, with for the first time in perhaps five years, Balthasar losing a fight. Thus, both shock and anger came across Balthasar's face at the sight of that boy knocking him into the building side, as if he were no more than a mere exile. And to make matters worse, it was a newbie with great power. Power that shouldn't exist in a newbie.

"Nitro, take off! Set a course for the Nemesis, full speed!" he turned back to the rest of his crew. Sonia was just helping Balthasar out of the chair.

"Sonia, Leon, turrets now! Sideways, transfer the coordinates to the cockpit computer. I want that ship, and I want it now!" Blood barked.

Immediately, Sonia and Leon ran off to their turret controls, while Sideways began the process of activating the computer assist for the rest of the guns. Balthasar wandered hazily over to Blood, the same guilty face that Vega had in what felt like hours ago.

"Captain..." he said in monotone.

"It's not your fault Balthasar." Blood reassured, slapping a hand on his first mate's shoulder, "Get to a turret. We're going hunting."

The Nosferatu lifted off, its two front guide lights activating, giving the ship the appearance of an angry beast. The sounds of its hover-discs starting up also added to this, as they gave off a sound that could be likened to a roar. Sonia, Leon and Balthasar all took seats at the turret controls, each pulling down the control stick console one by one.

As they did, the targeting screen activated, and displayed the tunnel around the ship, as well as red cross-hairs. Finally, the familiar sound of the bullet feed system echoed around the room, with conveyer belts of high caliber rounds being pumped into the ammunition boxes to the turrets, thus giving off a machine-like sound. Sideways had gotten off the Matrix console, seeing as the ship had been located already and there was no reason to keep watching the Matrix, so that he could monitor the bullet feed.

Balthasar saw the irony in it, but he chose to ignore it for now. His rage was already focused on one thing: the image of that man who came back to life. "I will rip that body apart, just as Neo did to Smith," he hissed, as the ship began to move forward.
----

As he lay in his chair, a voice came from the side.

"Janus..?" It was Irvine. As he approached Janus, he could see something about the look on his face that gave Irvine a sense that there was different about him.

"What happened in there?"

Janus turned his head to face Irvine, with an omniscient look in his eyes.

"The mind can live without the body."

It was at that point that reality intervened. The Nemesis' proximity alert went off.

"Oh no, not now!" Blade let out.

Irvine nodded to him and the two dashed up to the cockpit, to which Irvine activated the holo-display, expecting a swarm of sentinels to appear flying toward his ship. However, what he did see was not a swarm of sentinels, or any weapon that the machines possess. But that didn't matter, as both Blade's blood vessels and his bones ran cold at the same time. Upon the holo-display was the design of one of Zion's large hovercraft designs. The Nosferatu.

"The Bloodsucker..." Blade let out in a single breath.

Having been nicknamed so for its name being the latin translation for Vampire, it was the largest hovercraft Zion had produced next to the older Mjolnir. However, thanks to the so-called final battle five years ago over Zion's harbor, the design philosophy of hover ships had changed.

Aside from being transport ships that would jack their crews into the Matrix, ships were designed or refitted into combat vessels, designed specifically for anti-sentinel and anti-machine warfare. For this, aside from upgraded EMPs, each ship was armed with a larger arsenal of machine guns and ammunition.

In the case of the Nosferatu, it was specifically designed as a dreadnought, to take on entire swarms of Sentinels and machines while driving toward its target. It was armed with over twenty machine gun turrets, a computer assisted targeting system and its armor was specifically designed to resist Sentinel attacks. The only thing larger than it were the Hover Barges that carried hundreds of Zion's redpills as they did battle inside the Matrix.

The setup reminded Irvine of an ancient battle he had read about in the historical archives at Zion. The battle was between two ships of similar design, a larger ship named the Merrimack that was armed with more weapons, and a smaller ship called the Monitor, which was faster.

However, the deciding factor of that battle was that both ships were the first ironclad ships, in an age where navies used wooden vessels to do battle, thus as a result, cannon shells merely bounced off each and the battle ended in a draw. It wouldn't be the same case here.

While the Nemesis was a faster ship, and could evade shots easier, it was ‘only' armed with eight machine gun turrets, and its armor was thinner than the Nosferatu's. There was no doubt in Irvine's human mind that in a chicken fight, his ship would be no match for Blood's. And at the current speed the Bloodsucker was traveling at...

That's when the image of the Nosferatu flickered and disappeared from the projector. Irvine tapped it, then started hitting controls, but he couldn't get it back online.

(Prologue cont'd)

"The tunnel walls must be full of minerals. Radar waves aren't getting through." Blade said as he checked over the display.

The comm. system soon buzzed. "What's going on up there!?" Glitch yelled.

"It's Blood! He's gunning for us!" Blade exclaimed, after he slammed the intercom button in panic.

Irvine shoved him out of the way. "Get everyone into turrets and charge the EMP. We're getting out of here. Rig for silent running and standby." With that said, Irvine jumped into the pilot seat with Blade beside him, then activated the engines. He didn't wait for the pre-flight checks to come up, instead lifting the Nemesis off the ground, retracting the landing gears.

"He's got us located on the surface. We'll go back into the tunnels to confuse him."

Irvine then navigated the Nemesis back to the hole they used to access the surface, and dove into the tunnel as if Hell itself were following behind.
----

"*CENSORED*!" Glitch let out, "Everyone into a turret, now! We're going to have company in a minute!" he shot to everyone. Upon that note, Anubis, Solitaire, Janus and Marley ran to the gunnery chamber, the four Matrix fighters taking individual turrets while Marley managed the ammo feed. Even with the change of focus, Anubis was still dwelling on Janus' apparent resurrection from the grave. He didn't show any form of emotion as per usual, but something inside Anubis had opened its eyes and awakened when he saw that white code. It was that same chilling feeling that ran up his spine, then metamorphosed into a sharp twinge, a similar experience to being impaled by a blade into the torso, except there was no pain, just awe and fear. Fear of the unknown.

Anubis closed his eyes for a moment and took in a breath of air, then exhaled. You never lost your calm when you were Daniel Lancaster. Don't lose it now, Anubis. That thought in mind, he focused on the red crosshairs on his display, waiting for the silhouette of a steel beast to fill it. He didn't notice Janus looking over to him when he took the breath of air in, but Janus at the same time held back from asking if Anubis was okay. After all, he'd most likely just get a shrug or a narrow gaze as an answer.

Back at the operator console, Glitch was hard at work configuring the active sonar array. While radar was inactive due to the strong mineral content of the tunnels, sonar waves could easily bounce off the walls and outline the Nosferatu's hull for the four gunners. The Nemesis' sensor systems themselves were custom designed by Glitch, and he had taken inspiration from the bat for the sonar array, configuring the system after the bat's usage of sound waves and its sensitive hearing. There was no way Blood could slip by him when it was active, but for now, he left it on passive.
----

Irvine keyed in the comm. again, "Hear anything Glitch?" he whispered.

"Nothing on the outside, besides our own engine hum. I'll call back." Glitch replied. He then disengaged the intercom on his end.

"Out of curiosity, why are we going into a silent run?" Blade whispered.

"Call this a hunch, but I think Blood detected us by tracing us through Janus' signal while he was thrashing Bal. Now that the link's severed, he'll have to rely on conventional sensors to find us, and that will be difficult in these tunnels," Irvine said, as he continued to maneuver the Nemesis through the narrow passages. "Why? Are you scared?"

"Have you ever seen the movie Das Boot?" Blade asked.

Irvine shook his head, "No, I heard about it. World War II movie on a German U-Boat, right?"

"I'm not a WWII buff, but our situation reminds me of what the U-96 had to go through during its run at sea. Running silent while being searched out by destroyers, then bombarded with depth charges, and the only way we can see the bad guys is through our ears. It isn't a pleasant experience, and I can't say this is any better," Blade said, looking around the view port, looking for any sign of a ship.

"I don't know, I heard Lothar Buchheim had a thing against U-Boat combat in general, enough that actual crews came out against his works. Besides, we're not dodging depth charges, we're just trying to sneak around a maze." Irvine said.

Slowly, the Nemesis cruised through the narrow passage, its search lights and hover discs dimmed to keep visual distinction low from the rest of the tunnel. According to the map, the medium hovercraft was somewhere in what used to be Syria and proceeding southward to Iraq, otherwise known as Sector 84 to the machines and the Badlands to Zion. It was kind of strange to see the network of sewer and power lines stretch out even so far as an otherwise desolate area like these mountains, since there wasn't any major urbanization in the area besides the ruins of the city Damascus some distance away, which was also close to one of Zion's gates. But Irvine had bigger things to contemplate at this point: survival, for one.

Thankfully, he was still quite close to Zion, and although he had no clue on how the city and its forces would respond to the Nemesis, he knew they had bad relations with Blood. He had no doubt Lock would make an EMP burst for the occasion, the pirate Captain just hoped it wasn't also meant for the Nemesis as well.

"I hear something..." Glitch reported, "Electric engines, no more than three kilometers from our port and closing. Signature matches that of the Nosferatu's array."

"Does it look like they detected us?" Irvine asked.

"Negative, they're just cruising. Looks like they're having as much trouble with their radar," Glitch said.

"Tough *CENSORED*." Blade said sarcastically.

"Not now Blade." Irvine said.

"Wait a sec." Glitch reported again, tapping on his headset, "They're turning to a closer angle... I'm hearing sonar pinging, but no increase in speed."

"Alright... I'll get closer to the wall for camouflage." Irvine said. He juked the Nemesis to the left and continued on his flight course south, making sure not to hit any of the pipes. "Easy girl..." he whispered to his ship, easing the great hovercraft down the pipeline. He looked over at Blade for a moment, who was wiping sweat off his forehead, trying to hold back his nervousness. Irvine couldn't help but feel that his crew... well, maybe not Anubis, but the rest of his crew felt the same way Blade did. Who could blame them? Sneaking around trying to avoid combat was a lot worse than fighting directly.

"Hey, Captain..." Glitch said, "The Nosferatu's getting close, but it looks like she's going to fly by. I can hear her engine loud and clear, want to listen?"

"Patch it on the intercom," Irvine ordered. Soon, the speakers went silent for a moment, then followed by the sound of a low, echoing growl that vibrated the Nemesis hull. It was the sound of the Nosferatu's engines, the distinctive beast-like growl made by the combination of twelve high-powered hoverpads running along a metal frame. The growl cut off for a moment, but soon started back up again with the familiar hum of electrical batteries and conduits. Blade looked up at the speaker, his eyes fully concentrated on the sound, as did the rest of the Nemesis crew.
----

Only Janus and Anubis didn't look up. Anubis was attention was on his targeting computer and nothing more, though even he could not block out the ‘growling' from his mind. Janus, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about the opposing ship at all, but rather who was most likely on the ship. The man with long black hair, who had punched through a brick wall, single-handedly defeated an Agent and perhaps others like it, and then killed him. Even though Janus had emerged as the victor, he could not push out the hardened glare of his adversary. "How are you doing?" Solitaire whispered, concern filling her voice.

"I'm fine." Janus said. His omniscient look from only a few moments ago remained while he contemplated what was going on. He'd never been in this situation before but for some reason he was calm, and he didn't know why. You could see it on his face.

"Balthasar?" Solitaire asked. Call it female intuition.

"Yeah. He killed that Agent with no effort, after what it put me through." Janus said, distantly. "And then I disposed of him the same way."

"Balthasar.. the Potential. He is the Resistance's ace Matrix fighter, and as far as regular humans can go, he's the closest to Neo's level." Solitaire explained.

"Kira mentioned that. Why's he called the Potential?" Janus asked.

"When Neo died, Balthasar chose a path of discipleship to the service of the One and joined E Pluribus Neo. But after all the conflict that rose in spite of Neo's sacrifice, he gradually lost all of his faith in the One's memory and Zion for buying into the act. But during his time with EPN, and continuing into his service with the splinter fleet, he got more powerful as time went on. People started to think he might be The One, but with no one to confirm it, people simply started calling him The Potential, like all the kids that used to be with The Oracle before Neo was found." Solitaire explained.

"Great." Janus muttered in sarcasm, "This makes me his rival now?"

"My deepest sympathy for your predicament." Anubis replied in monotone, but his words were laced with sarcasm, "I thought you of all people knew what you are and what your not, and that since you're here now, you're obviously not a ghost."

Janus sighed at that, but then, a smirk grew on his face. "Yeah, you're right. Take that Aristotle, the mind isn't tied to the flesh..." he said, narrowing his gaze on the target cursor. The sound of the Nosferatu's engines was growing louder.
----

It felt as though time had slowed for one brief second, one short moment that felt like a lifetime. The sound had gotten so loud, that to the human ear, it felt as though it had phased out. Everyone continued to await the inevitable, for the time where the beast would smell them out and attack with a loud, thunderous roar. However, instead of a thunderous roar, the sound emitted was lowed hum.

"*CENSORED*!" Glitch let out. It didn't matter at that point, he knew what the sound was: the sound of the Nosferatu's radar coming back online.

Immediately, machine guns began to blaze on the other end of the wall, shooting at the Nemesis, but not necessarily aiming at it. To the onlookers in the Nemesis' cockpit, it looked as though an active volcano had just formed on the side of the tunnel. The resulting explosion wasn't large enough to shake the Nemesis with its shockwave, but that wasn't the part that made everyone jumped. It was the sound of a loud, bellowing roar, that seemed impossible for a machine, much less a hovercraft, to generate. But there it was, the large hovercraft Nosferatu, with its two search lights flared up like the eyes of a jungle cat, gazing into the Nemesis' own cockpit and side. Its own machine guns continued to blaze, as the Nemesis' also started up.

"Nemesis!!" bellowed a voice over the Nemesis' comm. system, overriding the Operator command console. The voice was obviously Blood's. "It's not over yet!!"

"Hold on back there, I'm going to punch it!" Irvine ordered through the intercom, and then kicked the Nemesis into overdrive. The twelve machine gun turrets on the of the medium hovercraft lit up, firing directly to the port side of the bow at the Nosferatu's "head" section, as the ship drove past the large hovercraft at full speed. As it passed, the Nosferatu broke out of the hole it had made through the tunnel's side and turned to pursue the Nemesis with its own machine guns firing. It was a high speed chase between two Zion ships through a network of tunnels and passageways, a sight that five years ago was something no human had thought could happen, much less the crew of the Nemesis. All three of the hovercraft's gunners had targeted the Nosferatu and were pumping shot after shot of ammo into the behemoth's armor, but none of the shots were doing major damage.

We're definitely no match in a direct attack, and we won't last long in a chase. Best bet is on the surface, where we have more room, Irvine thought. He pulled the Nemesis into a barrel roll from starboard to port, moving faster than the planet's gravity could effect the crew so they remained in their seats, then pulled into a climb. The Nosferatu followed the climb, continuing to pump fire from all twenty of its machine gun turrets. At one point, one of the turrets tried firing up into the tunnel ceiling to drop debris on the larger ship, but the shards merely scratched the ship's thick armor. The bloodsucker retaliated by focusing its machine gun fire onto a certain point on the Nemesis.

"Hey Irvine, are you doing what I think you're doing?" Blade asked, looking over the Nemesis' damage display. As he said that, an explosion rocked across the Nemesis.

"No choice! Our best hope is in the open sky! We'll get slaughtered if we stay down here!" Irvine yelled at Blade, as the Nemesis shook violently again.

"We lost hover discs six and seven!" Glitch yelled over the intercom.

Irvine snarled, "Blood, you *CENSORED*." Smartass knows we can only outrun him, not fight him. *CENSORED*! He banked into a tight turn, trying to outmaneuver, but the Nosferatu continued to follow its target, going as far as slamming into the side of the wall to match the tight turn. "We'll still outmaneuver him!" With that, the Nemesis pulled into a ninety degree climb, ascending straight up through the tunnel. It banked and weaved through the various pipelines that were in its path.
----

"Watch it Captain, we can't keep a steady aim with you rocking the ship!" Sonia called out through her own comm. The 3-D image of the Nemesis, which was outlined in red to distinguish it from the bluish-purple surroundings on the targeting monitor, was constantly weaving in and out of her scope, as well as Balthasar's and Leon's, only allowing her to pump a few bursts at time into the target.

"Hold still, traitors..." Sonia hissed as she finally got her targeting icon centered on the Nemesis.

Unfortunately, one of the Nemesis 'gunners got smart enough to fire on the piping around the ship, blowing them up and allowing the shards to drop on her pursuer.

"What the hell are they doing?" Leon questioned, seeing as the Nosferatu could burst through a solid wall with not so much as a scratch. His answer came when Sonia targeted a falling piece of metal with her machine gun turrets and traced rounds into it before it could hit the ship. This resulted in the shard getting split in half, and while it didn't hit the array, a few of the pieces actually struck a line of hover discs.

The ship rocked tremendously from the impact. "What was that!?" Sideways roared.

"One of the shards struck a hover disc, and we're losing propulsion for it!" Blood said, "Just concentrate on the Nemesis, and let me deal with the shards!"
----

Here comes the tricky part... Irvine thought, he banked from another pipe. He was about to make another turn for another pipe, but he had a better idea, one that would ensure their survival. Closer and closer, Irvine could see a dead end to the tunnel in the form of a large metal vent. "All guns, concentrate fire to the bow! We're going up top!" he ordered.

Simultaneously, all the fire of the Nemesis began to pour up to the front, striking the single plate of metal that blocked the ship's way to freedom. It was unreal, and impossible, even as the Nemesis flew like a great phoenix trying to escape the coming inferno, constantly banking to keep the Nosferatu from acquiring its aim at a target. Blade was beside him, holding onto his chair as if he were on a roller coaster, where if he let go he would fall from the great height. If he were religious, Irvine knew Blade would have prayed to whatever God he chose to worship. He knew because he would personally, and he wasn't a very spiritual man. All in all, they had to get the hell out of there, and now.

Had the city been inhabited above, one would have felt the ground shake and the sound of machine gun fire echo from the sewers below, plus the great roar of a beast that followed the bursts of metal. Bullets ripped from the street and into the sky, cracking and breaking the concrete and metal that once was the heart of the city of Damascus, followed by a great explosion, caused by the Nemesis' hull shooting out of the sewers and into the sky. The Nosferatu as well emerged from the hole in the ground, but Irvine was ready for him.

The Nemesis performed a Split-S halfway and presented its back to the Nosferatu, along with all the turrets that lined it. Fire poured from them toward the behemoth below, practically blasting the larger ship at point blank, while the Nemesis shot deeper into the city, weaving around the ancient sky scrapers, then spun around and continued to lay fire at the acclaimed Bloodsucker. Blood and the rest of the crew, however, were far from down and out, and even when a single round pinged against the Nosferatu's cockpit, Blood gritted his teeth in rage.

You've always been a thorn in my side, Irvine, even when you were an ally. Why is it that you always got to win...?

He shoved the control stick down and put the Nosferatu into full burn. The Nemesis countered by ducking behind a building to avoid the machine gun fire, then circling around and firing back with its own turrets. More bullets ripped into the Nosferatu, but she would hold, oh yes, Blood knew his ship would hold on. Machine gun fire poured from his own ship again, but the Nemesis weaved behind another tower, and appeared again to shoot a building. The shards exploded at the Nosferatu's side, and knocked it off balance, while the larger amount of firepower from Blood's ship ripped holes into the medium hovercraft.
----

Circuitry exploded and sparks flew around on the Nemesis as the massive amount of bullets poured into her, and hit hard. Irvine gritted his teeth as red areas appeared on his damage control display, and from Glitch reporting what systems they were losing. In the gunner room, one of the magazines had exploded with its contained rounds shooting in all directions. Marley managed to dive from a stray bullet, but one had shot through Solitaire's leg, then flew into a circuitry box that connected to her console, showering her with glass fragments. "Solitaire!" Marley yelled.

"Marley, shut the feed off! I'll take care of Solitaire!" Glitch ordered, getting out of his seat and grabbing Solitaire's body. Marley shut the feed off, and while Anubis and Janus were continuing to fire, Glitch chose that moment to get Solitaire to sickbay. She was still breathing, but she was cut up pretty badly, and the combination of the shock and exhaustion from her jump in the Matrix had put her unconscious.

Marley knew they couldn't hold this up, and that even with the larger amount of flying space, Irvine was barely keeping his step ahead of Blood's.

"DAMAGE REPORT!" Irvine roared from the bridge.

"We lost disc three, and turrets eight through eleven! Solitaire was hit during the last attack, and we're running out of ammo!" Marley proclaimed.

Glitch also keyed in, "Request permission to trigger EMP!"

"No, we'll drop as fast as they do!" Irvine replied. As he said that, a klaxon went off in the cockpit, and his engine power display showed he was losing thrust. He looked up at the klaxon and hit the red light, and shivered when he saw that it was for a power failure.

"Crap, they nailed the battery!" Irvine yelled, "I'm taking her down! Blade, get back there and get Glitch to help with the repairs!"

Blade didn't question orders, and jumped out of the co-pilot's seat as Irvine tried to level out the damaged hovercraft. The Nemesis lagged and dropped in altitude, but Irvine maneuvered it so his ship would land on a building. He opened the landing gears and let the medium sized craft drop onto the flat surface, which was once used as a helipad. The ship settled comfortably, but Irvine's frustrations didn't end there. The beast like-roar of the Nosferatu's engines bellowed once again, as the larger and more powerful hovercraft lowered itself from the sky to level out with the disabled Nemesis. The two ships faced each other down...
----

Blade ran down the ship, past the gunnery room, and as he moved, he saw that no one were in the chairs. "What the hell-?" he griped as he moved back further, looking to see where everyone was. That's when he came to the armory, where Glitch, Marley, Janus and Anubis arming themselves with EMP blasters. "What the hell are you doing?" Blade snapped.

"Even you should know about last stands. We're not going to let Blood win easily." Glitch said.

Blade shook his head. "We have work to do. Captain wants the battery repaired, and I can't do it alone."

"What's the point, mahn?" Marley retorted in his thick Jamaican accent, "'Dere ain't no way we can repair it before ol' man Blood sends us to Hell."

"Don't worry about Blood, Irvine's distracting him." Blade answered.

"Yeah, so what? They're going to detect our engines coming back online, and when that happens, eheheheheheheheh." Glitch said, imitating the sound of a machine gun while gesturing with his hands, looking as though he were pulling the trigger on a turret. He then spread his hands out open. "Boom. No more Nem."

"Grab a gun, Blade. It's going to be one *blinking*' showdown..." Marley said as he continued to take various weapons.

Janus and Anubis were ignoring them, having better things to do than get into another ego bash with Blade, when they both came across a particular locker in the armory. After it was opened, both looked at its contents up and down, with Janus actually stepping back a little. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Eh?" Glitch said, turning back to see what Janus was amazed at, "Ah, those are double barreled rocket launchers, designed to strike against heavy armored craft.

"Remember the Alamo..." Anubis said, as he and Janus began to pick up the launchers.

"What are you two doing?" Blade demanded.

"Going to swat an annoying fly," Janus said, looking up.

"That's crazy! The Nos' was designed to repel sentinel claws..." Blade began.

"And these are designed to pierce dense armor," Anubis said. "We'll buy additional time with these."

"Using human made rockets on a human made ship..." Glitch said, observing the situation. "Where did that idea come from...?"

"I saw it in a video game," Janus said, as he loaded two rockets into the launcher. He looked over at Anubis, who just shrugged and loaded his own launcher. Both then slung the launchers over their shoulders and moved past the trio. "Guys better hurry..." Janus said, as they passed.

"Yeah, right, come on!" Blade ordered. He still wasn't fond of the newbs, but they did have a point. With all the other crazy *CENSORED* that's happened, this just might work.
----

It was like a wild western stand off between the two ship captains. Yes, the stand off was between two hovercraft instead of two cowboys, and rather than being in the middle of a town, it was in a city with one ship hovering over the other, which was stranded on a building. But the concept was still the same, as both were waiting to see who would move first. "I've been waiting a long time for this..." Blood hissed over the Nosferatu's megaphone, rather than over the com system. His voice echoed around the desolate city like an earthquake. "Do you have any idea how much I've wanted to kill you?"

"Take a number and sit down Blood, and wait like everybody else." Irvine rolled his eyes.

"I don't believe you..." Blood snarled irritated, "You were one of our best, Irvine, part of the most powerful warrior fleet Zion constructed. Django, Raven, Ravage and Vega all looked up to you for all your brilliance, and you betrayed them by turning your back!"

"Betray? Hah! I didn't betray *CENSORED*; I just got tired of leading a bunch of berserkers that were willing to attack their own city because they were shut out." Irvine said, looking over his nails as he did, like this was all usual for him. "And what are you complaining for Ahab? I thought you wanted to command."

"That's beside the point! You're weak, Irvine, letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment. No commander should let that happen!" Blood barked.

"What are you talking about?" Irvine rose an eyebrow, still nonchalant.

"Don't you remember why we left Zion? For the very reason we're here right now, Irvine! The day we found that Sentinel army, you were the one that first said we should attack right then and there!" Blood shot.

Irvine gave Blood a hardened glare, and even though it was through the cockpit glass, Blood felt it. "That's right Blood, I said it first, but we were all thinking it at the time. We all let our personal feelings cloud our judgement, so don't act like you didn't!" Irvine yelled.

"That's why we left Zion, we left because we wanted to protect those people when they didn't feel the need to protect themselves. But I never turned around and planned to attack Zion out of some crazy lust for revenge. That was your idea, and that's why I left the fleet."

"That's why you're weak, Irvine. You, and the rest of your crew..." Blood snarled.

"Hey, whose crew took down your little army? Which one of our own killed Gash, severed Kane's arm and beat your Potential like an abused child?" Irvine said, smirking. It wasn't broadcast over the megaphone speaker, so Blood didn't hear it, but he got the news from Blade. Anubis and Janus were in position with the rocket launchers, but they still needed time to get the battery back. "Of course, I can imagine how embarrassing it is for you. Getting your asses kicked by a former Syndicate hit man and an ex-narcotics detective must really be bad for you big, bad Resistance chumps..."

"Former syndicate hit man and ex-narcotics?" Blood asked, confused.

"Oh, you should meet them. Fascinating people, and quite skilled for newbies. You should know that part though." Irvine smirked.

"Just what are you going on about?"

"Destiny, my friend." Irvine continued, "Ever get the feeling that some things were meant to happen? You obviously saw Janus come back from the grave. Don't tell me that's not anything special."

"Bah! You sound like Morpheus when he found Neo," Blood growled.

"Eh, not quite. I don't know what anyone's roles are in the stream of things, but I do know is, whatever's gonna happen..." Irvine's smirk turned into a full smile, "It's going to be fun."

"Bull," Blood laughed, "In a moment, you're not going to be anything above fire and melted metal. I can personally guarantee that." All of the Nosferatu's bow turrets turned and focused on the Nemesis' bridge upon that comment. "I'm going to enjoy watching you all die."

Irvine laughed, "Really, Blood, is that all you have to say?"

"What?"

"Well, you know..." Irvine chimed, "Last words. Yours." Both Janus and Anubis saw that was the signal. They both fired their twin rocket launchers, the four warheads streaking at the Nosferatu in swirling flight paths.

"*CENSORED*!" Blood yelled as he saw the four rockets blast at his cockpit. The first three shot past and destroyed three of the hoverpads, but the fourth slammed right into the Nosferatu's canopy. Blood felt the shockwave as the projectile exploded against the reinforced canopy, cracking it. The force was so strong that his head rocked forward and slammed into a control nob, giving him a new cut across his forehead. Fortunately, the canopy was designed to hold against explosions, mostly from the machines' tow bombs, but that wasn't Blood's main concern. His ship was losing power, thanks to three more of the hoverpads being destroyed. "*CENSORED* you, Irvine!!" he roared as his ship dropped from the sky.

Irvine merely shook his head, as he watched the Nosferatu drop like a weight. "That wasn't much better," he said, disappointed.
----

(Prologue cont'd)

Outside of the Nemesis, Janus and Anubis got up from their individual hiding places on the building roof, running back up the Nemesis ramp and into the confines of the ship. When they got back in, the ramp closed behind them, and Janus dropped his rocket launcher on the ground, kneeling and breathing heavily.

"That was close..." he whispered. He didn't know why he was out of breath, but he figured it was lag from his jump in the Matrix combined with the adrenaline rush in his body. All Janus wanted now was to climb into a soft bed with blankets and pillows and dream that life was getting better than this. He looked up at Anubis, and saw he hadn't yet fainted. "Aren't you wiped out?"

Anubis, in response, leaned against the metal hull of the Nemesis. "Yes, exhausted." Anubis said, "But I prefer standing."

Janus laughed a little, "What, you have a thing against kneeling?"

"You could say that." Anubis said, all serious. His eyes narrowed challengingly at Janus.

"What the? Lighten up man, just a joke. I don't give a *poop* what you do." Janus explained.

Anubis just turned around, taking one last glance at the Matrix fighter and ex-narc detective, then began to move away.

"Hey, wait a second."

Anubis stopped.

"You never did tell me. Why did you leave the Matrix?" Janus asked. "What's in this world that you can believe in?"

Anubis turned his head to the side, and Janus saw he was looking down at the floor, thinking. It was obvious that he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer or not, but after a moment he did. "I didn't like the world I knew and saw everyday or the beings that lived off of it like parasites..." he explained. "I thought there may be something here beyond what I knew and saw; something that was much better..."

"You still think there is?" Janus asked.

Anubis turned his head around, "Perhaps..." He then continued on his way, disappearing down the corridor.

Janus just laughed. "What a strange guy. Not at all like your average gangster hitman," he said to himself. Too exhausted to get up, he decided to take a moment of peace and lay down where he was. Despite the rough metal floor, Janus actually felt very comfortable with it against his back. The feeling of the cold temperature combined with the rhythmic vibrations caused by moving parts made Janus relax easier. Something to believe in... he thought, Was that why I chose the red pill? He wondered.

He looked up at the ceiling, past the lights, imagining the great, dark sky above and thundering clouds. However, Janus looked past the clouds and into a twilight sky, with the sun setting in the horizon and the clouds moving in a slow, steady gale. It was a similar feeling to when he died, but here he could feel himself breathing. It feels so... real, he thought, putting his hand over his face and looking up at it. It was red and covered in grit, and he could feel his pulse flow even without touching a nerve. He smiled, with the knowledge that it was his real hand, and not a simulation. Putting his hand down, he closed his eyes, deciding that he would just sleep there until they started moving again...

At least, until a new rumbling sensation came over him. Faster than he thought possible for himself, Janus bolted off the floor. "Don't tell me..." he hissed.

Sure enough. "WE WON'T DIE THAT EASILY, IRVINE!!!!"

*poop*, what is this guy, Freddy Krueger? He griped and ran back to the machine gun turrets.
----

Below the Nemesis' perch, the Nosferatu flew in a circle, firing its machine guns into the building itself. Round after round pumped through the ruined glass into the desolated office rooms within, ripping out foundations and supports. The large tower began to rock, and the Nemesis was right on top of it.

Irvine grabbed the controls again, but there was no power behind them. "Anytime now boys!" he called into the intercom.

"We almost got it..." Glitch replied, over the sound of mechanical noises in the back.

"Not good enough, we need it now or we're dead!" Irvine ordered.

"We know!" Glitch called back.

The building rocked again, almost throwing Irvine out of his seat. It had already started to tilt left, with Nemesis skidding across the rooftop on its landing gear. Instinctively, Irvine turned the control pad to the right to level out, but again nothing happened. "Come on baby, hold together." He said calmly, almost as if he was asking it to cooperate. Still feeling no power, Irvine turned the PA on again to say ‘now or never' when he was interrupted by two welcome noises.

*Bzzt!* *wrrrrrRRRRRRRRR...*

"We're back in business! Go!" Glitch said almost happily.

"Right, lifting off!" Irvine pulled the controls back and put energy into the remaining hover discs on the Nemesis. The ship seemed to jump back in the air like a bird would on take off, just as the roof finally gave way. After gaining some distance from the building, he had the ship turn around so he could watch as the building collapsed into the ground below, forming a new pile of debris on the surface. "Yep, that was *CENSORED* close..." Irvine remarked as the once proud tower now collapsed into a pile of gray dust.

The proximity alert went off again, but Irvine knew Blood was gunning from him because the still-present growl of the Nosferatu reached his ears before the alarm went off. Through the dust clouds, the larger ship flew straight at him, guns blazing away. A good portion of the rounds hit, as the Nemesis rocked again. Control panels exploded, sparks flew and light bulbs broke. Irvine was getting irritated fast, "I am getting sick and tired of this!!" he roared much like Blood did, putting all power into his hoverdiscs.
----

"What are they doing!?" Sonia asked over the sound of bullets firing, as her target ascended in the air. "They're leaving themselves an open target!"

"Who cares-!? Makes things a lot easier for us!" Leon laughed enthusiastically as he put as much fire from the Nosferatu's dorsal guns as he was able to. Shot after shot blasted up at the target, and he was gaining a lot of hits.

I'm with Sonia, what are they doing? Balthasar, however, wasn't as sure as Leon. He continued firing the guns like Leon, Sonia and Nitro, but something inside him was telling him this wasn't right. By now, the Nemesis was a good ways up and still climbing like a rocket, but it didn't make a lot of effort to maneuver. Although Blood didn't put an effort to pursue it, he at least ascended in altitude so the gunners were still in range.

When the Nemesis was over the Nosferatu, realization hit Balthasar like an Agent's punch to a novice. He reached for the PA system. "Blood! Get us away, now!!"

It was too late though. When the Nemesis reached the appropriate position, Irvine dipped the medium sized hovercraft into a straight dive that sent the ship propelling right into the Nosferatu's back. The larger hovercraft rocked upon impact, and even though its armor held against the Nemesis' ramming force, it still took damage and shook violently. Sonia was thrown out of her chair, and the shock made Leon throw his head against his monitor, breaking it. Sparks flew up, lights broke and fires ignited.

To make matters worse, the gunners on the Nemesis targeted the dorsal hoverpads of the Nosferatu, destroying three more of them as the smaller hovercraft put forth even more power behind its drive. In the cockpit, Blood, clutching the wound on his head, felt his skin turn pale white as he felt the smaller ship drive his downward. Irvine was actually overpowering him! Despite his efforts to push back, he could not shake the smaller ship off of the Nosferatu's back, and the ground was coming up ever faster.
----

Let's see how tough you are when you're a battering ram! Irvine thought triumphantly as he pushed the Nosferatu further and further. He couldn't see the ground through the canopy, since the Nosferatu was right in front of him, and the glass had smashed and cracked upon the impact, but he knew he was getting close. A sudden rocking sensation jolted through the Nemesis, and whatever light the surface offered disappeared around the Nemesis. Irvine knew they were underground. And now for part two...

Pulling back on the control stick, Irvine had the Nemesis break off of the larger hovercraft and fly past. As Irvine expected, the Nosferatu leveled out into its own dive, and soon it turned back into stage 1, where the Nemesis was running like hell itself were chasing it. Difference now was, that's what Irvine wanted. He keyed in a PA. "Glitch, charge the EMP now!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to drop an EMP charge. If that doesn't work, blow the shipboard EMP and we'll take them with us!" Irvine ordered, as he flipped a switch off to the side.

The EMP charge, as it came to be known to ship captains, was one of the better anti-machine weapons Zion had created. The charge was generally an unguided, unpropelled projectile that was ejected off of a ship like a grenade or cannon ball, which held until its proximity sensors detected a hostile target. It then generated an EMP wave that had a slightly smaller range as the ship mounted model, but caused the same effect: shorting out all electronic devices in a given radius. This was a weapon made shortly after the Osiris' destruction years ago, basically a method keep such an incident from happening again. But in the Nemesis' case, it would prevent their destruction against one of their own.

In similar fashion to a submarine, an outer door on the tail end of the Nemesis retracted to reveal a single drop tube in the middle of the hovercraft. A single, metal cylinder slowly loaded out of the tube.

With a grin on his face, knowing that there was no way in hell Blood was going to see this coming, Irvine pressed the trigger. "Drop dead. Literally." He said, grin increasing as the button lid up. The charge launched out and started to fall behind the Nemesis.
----

As the Nemesis flew deeper into the tunnel, the charge tumbled through the air, when the Nosferatu descended and reached its level. In the shattered cockpit of the Bloodsucker, Blood saw past the broken canopy and immediately recognized it. However, he knew it was too late. Even if he could pull out, there would be no escaping the resulting shockwave.

*CENSORED* you to the end, Irvine. You and your prodigy... he thought bitterly. "Everybody hold on tight, it's going to be a long fall!" he called out over the ship's PA system. He then closed his eyes, accepting his fate in the drop.

That's when EMP charge's proximity sensors went off, exploding right in Blood's face. The resulting shockwave shot through the Nosferatu, frying all electronic equipment and systems. Even though the ship's circuitry had been designed to survive an EMP wave, it didn't help that it was in freefall. And so it plunged deeper and deeper into the tunnel, its great roar finally died down...
----

The Nemesis, on the other hand, sped up as fast as it could, jumping into another tunnel as the wave continued on. Irvine leveled out the ship and put on more speed, but he knew he would never outrun the shockwave, not with the damage he had. He turned on the PA system. "All hands, brace for crash landing!" he called out, then putting out the landing skids. He held on tight, praying that they were close enough to Gate 02 for Zion to notice them.

With sparks and electrical explosions in its wake, the shockwave caught up and passed the Nemesis, and disabled it. The ship dropped in altitude and slammed to the ground. Its landing skids held in the impact, but it still slid due to its momentum, slamming through various debris that littered the tunnel's bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, the Nemesis slowed down and slammed into the ruins of another Zion hovercraft, finally stopping in its flight. Silence came back into the tunnel soon after.

Interestingly, the ruins that the Nemesis flew into was that of the Zion hovercraft Icarus, which had been disabled by an EMP burst itself during the war, but had the poor luck of being ripped apart by sentinels, all hands lost. The Nemesis, on the other hand, had much better luck, and despite its damage, had survived with its crew. For the moment at least.
----

(Prologue cont'd)

Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Nabonidus
9:47PM Matrix Time

Perhaps an hour out of Zion's dock, the Nabonidus hovered slowly down a tunnel, the blue rays of scanning beams emanating from the ship mapping everything that surrounded it, from pipelines to cooling ducts. The buzz of its hoverpads gave it an almost animal-like characteristic, as though it were signaling to any other life forms around it, machine or otherwise, that it was busy and wouldn't take kindly to being disturbed.

Niobe sat at the helm, her eyes piercing into the darkness ahead with a look on her face that showed she'd be ready for anything that might come out of it, friend or foe. But you'd already know that without having to look if you've ever worked with her before. It was just common knowledge.

Link served as her co-pilot. His eyes darted around from screen to screen inside the cockpit, studying anything that the scanners and performance monitors could display. He wasn't worried about piloting the ship; Niobe had it covered. All he had to worry about was being able to keep up with her in case they ran into trouble. And by the looks of what was coming in from various radar, heat, and sonar scanners, that wasn't going to happen. Smooth sailing for now.

Morpheus was on the main deck, contemplating various things as always, at the same time. He stood in front of the chair array, his arms crossed and one hand upon his chin. The war had taken its toll on Morpheus, both physically and mentally. Various fights, sudden unexpected events, and most of all, still after five years, the absence of his friend, and in some ways, his mentor, Neo. Each had their effect on him.

A line or two had formed in his forehead. Slight darkness under his eyes and a scar or two. His eyes remained unchanged by some miracle perhaps. They still had that dangerous and at the same time welcoming look that he'd always had. The look many newcomers to Zion came to know him by. He missed Neo, as well as Trinity.

He remembered how he had gone about trying to reconstruct Neo's RSI in the Matrix. Then there were the Agents resembling Neo that followed, a fabrication of The Merovingian that was his way of mocking Neo and his truce, which also served as an effort to get under Morpheus' skin, from holding a grudge against him ever since their ill-fated meeting over The Keymaker. It almost felt like he was being haunted for trying to bring Neo back instead of honor his sacrifice.

Neo had been a light of hope for him. Without him, the world seemed dark. With a new war in place, he now felt as though those six months in which Neo was with them, were a dream he'd had, because nothing was different otherwise. Now, Neo had existed only within Zion's constructs to aide newbies in their training. It brought back good memories to see him, next to his companion program that was Trinity, but the simulacra inside the simulation couldn't ever be the real thing, even if they were 99% accurate and had collective intelligence.

But Neo wasn't what was on his mind. Right now, the only thing on his mind was what had happened in the Matrix approximately four hours ago, that everyone had witnessed on their construct monitors. Green code turning White. White code turning into crystal clear picture feed. Picture feed of a new face, one he'd never seen before, doing things he didn't think were possible for someone who had been freed only weeks prior. Things he thought only The One could do.

Morpheus watched the code recordings of this man take a beating from an Agent and still manage to live. Fight back even. He watched him as he was shot mercilessly and killed by Balthasar. That was no surprise to him. This was War; Soldiers were killed left and right. At that point he figured that the guy had had merely a streak of luck that was abruptly stopped in its tracks. But when he got back up and everything changed... He knew there was something special about him. What it was he did not know. Two questions plagued his mind; Who was this man, and what is his purpose? Surely, only The Oracle knows such things, he reassured himself. Everyone knew that.

Around him, people were at work. Gizmo and Hacksaw, two new crew mates he'd picked up while at Zion, were handling maintenance. It's what they were good at. In the Matrix, aside from soldiers, they served as hardware wizards, and acted like Police on a stakeout, inside a van with all of the high tech equipment. Only instead of surveillance, they hacked the Matrix from the inside, helping Operators back in the real world get their work done faster.

Ghost was plugged into his meditation construct. Kid was in a combat training program. Zee was checking munitions, making sure everything was clean, loaded, and where it belonged. Sparks sat at the Operator's console.

Since all of the sensor readouts were being handled in the cockpit, he had been at work on other things: Checking on Zion hideouts inside the Matrix, monitoring Exile activity, making patches and updating software, playing a game he downloaded from the Matrix. The usual.

Inside the cockpit, sensors sounded off, notifying something had been detected. Niobe checked the map readings; They were just coming upon a junction. Link brought up the bio-scanner readouts. Whatever it was they had stumbled across was made of metal, and it was big. Really big. Infrared sensors showed that it was emanating heat. There were signs of life. Niobe and Link exchanged looks and brought up the holographic display. The floating blue image before them flickered to life and spun counter clockwise slowly. Exchanging looks now was impossible; They were both wearing the same expression of awe.

"Holy *poop*.." Niobe said, breaking the silence.

"What the hell happened here?" Link asked himself out loud

"Get Morpheus, he's gotta see this," she told him.

On the main deck, Link's voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

"Morpheus, come to the cockpit."

"What is it?" He asked, looking up as though he were talking to the topside.

"We found something. You're gonna wanna see it, I ain't kidding around here."

"Patch it through down here," he answered, shifting his eyes over to Sparks. He got to work right away, his fingers working the keyboard like lightning as he brought up the relayed image onto the construct monitors.

"No friggin' way.." Sparks said. Now Morpheus wore a concerned frown as he walked over to see what it was. When he finally did, his concerned expression remained as he studied the image. A few seconds went by, and Niobe anxiously spoke up.

"Morpheus, do you see that?" She asked over the loudspeaker.

"Yes."

"That's the Nemesis!"

"I know what it is."

"Look at the thing, it looks like it's been through hell and back!"

Morpheus chuckled at this remark. By now he had to agree with Cypher on one thing: Could any place be worse than this?

"Diagnosis?"

"She's been smacked around pretty bad, Sir," Link answered. "It's got bullet holes and impact damage all over it and it's missing a few hoverpads."

"Bullet holes..?" Sparks asked as he stared at the relayed image. "Squiddies don't carry guns. You think they might have rolled out a new sentinel?"

"Irvine must have gotten himself caught up in a dogfight with another hovercraft," Morpheus assessed.

"Do you think it might have been one of ours?" Niobe asked.

"No, we would have heard about it already. Must have been a Resistance hovercraft."

"That must have been that disturbance they were talking about before we left Zion, there were seismic reports of rumbling not far away from Gate 2." Sparks said.

"You think it was the Nemesis, Sir?" Link asked.

"It could have been. It might have been the other ship, the Nemesis looks like it performed an almost perfect landing rather than a crash." Morpheus said.

"Well if Irvine was the winner I'd hate to see what happened to the other ship." Link remarked.

"I'm more concerned about what's inside the ship." Morpheus replied. "Any signs of life?"

"Sensors detect seven life forms." Link answered.

"Seven... He must have picked up a new crew mate at some point after he left," Sparks said.

A new crew mate... Morpheus thought to himself. I wonder...could he be on there?

"What do you want to do about it Morpheus?" Niobe asked.

"Set the ship down. We're going to board the ship and find out what happened."

"That's it?" She asked, as though she knew there was some detail he left out.

"We're going to proceed as though there are hostiles on board. Last time we saw these people, it wasn't a fond farewell."

"Got it."

----

(Prologue concluded) 

"Somebody's found us..." Marley whispered.

The lights were off inside the Nemesis. Glitch was instructed to prevent the auxiliary power from starting up when they'd landed. It was pitch black inside. Outside, the buzz of a ship's hoverpads sounded so loud it was as though the Nemesis's power was still on. It was like a flashback of only moments ago when the Nosferatu was stalking them in the tunnels, only you could tell it was a smaller ship. Whose side it was on was unknown, as with no power they had no way of telling. But they were ready for anyone no matter what the allegiance.

"Who do you think it is?" Glitch asked the darkness.

"Gotta be a Zion craft. We're too close for the Resistance to be poking around here. They dwell in unmarked territories," Blade answered. The rumble of a ship setting down shook the deck and echoed in the junction they'd landed in. In the dark, Blade had picked up his EMP rifle and pointed it in the direction it came from.

"They know we're on here, their scanners will pick us up. They're gonna board us," Anubis said.

"That's the idea..." Irvine replied. You could hear in his voice that he was more concentrated on listening to what was going on than talking about it. Janus liked the idea. He'd seen it in a movie once and it worked. But he also knew that if Irvine was planning an ambush in the form of a trap to capture another ship, then it was going to get messy. Although unfamiliar with the weapon, he gripped his EMP rifle as though it were an assault rifle back in the Matrix.

There was a loud creaking noise, and then the hiss of air pressure being released from a rampway. Then nothing. The sound of a panel being pulled open; circuitry being taken out. The *CLACK* of a conduit being fastened onto it. Morpheus' muffled voice: "Okay Sparks, open it."

"Morpheus..." Irvine whispered to himself. This was going to be interesting. He was as glad as he was precautious; He'd rather have Morpheus find him, knowing the guy, but he knew he'd likely be brought in as a prisoner and his ship taken from him.

Come and try... he thought to himself, tightening his grip on his rifle's trigger handle. At this point, he figured negotiations would be aggressive or none at all. He could feel the pressure of his pulse against the headset he wore.

Now, the even louder creaking noise of the Nemesis' hatch being opened, followed by the air pressure released. Small booms of the crew's footsteps coming onto the ship, unheard as they were leaving their own. White searchlights shone into the ship. Anubis watched with narrowed eyes. This was like an extreme version of manhunt. He made sure to stay behind the mainframe tower he'd been hiding behind.

Morpheus peered into the ship. Sparks burst from wire fixtures and consoles all over the place. There was an eerie quiet inside. It was as though the ship was dead.

"The auxiliary power didn't even come on..." Gizmo said. This was a bit unsettling to Morpheus; He knew this ship when it was first built. Saw it leave on its maiden voyage. And now it was a wreck, like every other ship.

Go figure... he thought bitterly to himself. He slowly made his way into the ship, looking up a ladder leading to higher decks to see if anyone had been near there.

Hacksaw made sure to double check. Ghost's eyes darted around in the dark, trying to see anything not mechanical. Irvine waited until he walked by, his gun barrel poking out from the pipes he'd been hiding behind. Ghost didn't see that. He waited for his pick of the litter to come by. When Morpheus started to pass by, Irvine felt his heart pounding with adrenaline. He whispered into his headset: "Glitch..." Morpheus heard him. But he wasn't fast enough.

The auxiliary lights turned on bright with a *SHMMM*. It scared the *poop* out of the rest of the search crew, giving Irvine's the element of surprise. Irvine stepped out and wrapped his left arm around Morpheus' throat while settling the bore of the EMP rifle's barrel right over the plug on the back of his head. Blade came up but found Hacksaw's gun in his face, however Anubis was aiming at Hacksaw. Gizmo aimed at Anubis. Blade was aiming at Gizmo. Janus aimed at Link, who was aiming at Glitch. Marley and Ghost aimed at each other. Kid aimed at Janus. Glitch aimed at Kid. Irvine's team had checkmate.

"Well well well, Morpheus, so nice of you to stop by. Interesting little Mexican stand off we have here."

"Irvine, we came here to help," Morpheus said under the grip Irvine had on his throat.

"I don't recall asking anyone for help," Irvine snapped back.

"I don't think you're in the position to be turning down anyone's help," Link said.

"Oh really? Hmm..." Irvine said as he quickly checked around the room, his eyes darting from person to person. "Looks like I'm the only one who doesn't have a gun in his face. I think you need the help more than I do."

"We've got no time for fun and games here..." Ghost said in his monotoned voice, staring Marley in the eye.

"I think we've got plenty of time, for some questions at least," Glitch said.

"Hey, we're the ones who're supposed to be asking the questions here!" Hacksaw said angrily.

"Yeah, like what the hell are you guys doing so close to Zion?" Kid demanded.

"Simple, we needed the help and we knew where to find it," Irvine said with a smart *CENSORED* tone and a matching grin.

"So what the *CENSORED* is this all about?!" Gizmo yelled out.

"Well, we had no idea which ship might find us. Could have been from Zion or one of Blood's," Irvine began. "But I doubt it'd be any of them, they're all probably dragging his big *CENSORED* out of the trench his ship made when he went down."

"You took out the Nosferatu?" Link asked.

"He's quick." Anubis quipped.

"Hey, who the hell are you?!" Gizmo asked him.

"He's going to be your worst nightmare in a moment if you don't get that gun out of his face." Janus said.

"The same could be said for me." Kid chimed in.

"Try it, punk." Janus shot back.

"SILENCE!!" Morpheus yelled over them.

"Gettin' a bit testy, eh Morpheus?" Irvine taunted.

"No, I'm trying to get everyone settled down here. Everyone put your guns down."

Everyone exchanged looks. Then they all looked at Morpheus and Irvine. Irvine took a moment to think about it. He nodded, and his men slowly lowered their guns. Morpheus's men followed, and then Irvine let go of Morpheus.

"Okay then," Morpheus said, adjusting his head and cracking his neck after getting out of Irvine's grip. "What happened here?"

"Hmm, what did happen, what did happen...You saw that huge occurrence in the Matrix a few hours ago right?"

"You mean when all of the coding on the construct monitors started scrolling extremely fast, turned white and then developed into an actual picture of what was going on inside the Matrix?" Link asked.

"I'll take that as a Yes," Irvine said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, that was all the work of a new crew member of mine," he nodded towards Janus. Morpheus turned and looked him over.

"So it was you..." Morpheus said in a low tone, almost to himself. "What is your name?"

"Janus." He answered.

"Janus.." Morpheus considered the name, and the mythological attachments to it. "Can you explain what happened?"

"I can tell you," Irvine piped in, but Janus put up a hand.

"It's okay, I used to be a cop, I can handle it," he said. Irvine shrugged. Janus looked at Morpheus.

"We went into the Matrix, to investigate a code malfunction when we were attacked by these...ghosts," he started. Morpheus showed a look of concern or confusion at the mention of the word ghosts, but continued listening. "After they showed up, we went to get out, but Blood sent a few of his men in after us. We ran, and Irvine and Anubis," he nodded over to his silent comrade, "Had gotten caught up at a construction site. Kira, Solitaire, Blade, and myself, got our stuff together and went in to get them out, with Solitaire and Blade causing a distraction. We ran into more Resistance trouble there."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Kane and Gash had these combat programs with them, and they were hunting down Irvine and Anubis."

"..Combat programs?" Ghost asked.

"Yeah, almost like disposable soldiers. Some acted like animals."

"That sounds like the simulacra Zion was developing to give its troops an advantage against enemies inside the Matrix. How did the Resistance get its hands on them?" Gizmo said.

"We'll find out later. Keep going, Janus." Morpheus said.

"Well, Kira and I went in and dispatched the guards on the lower floors of the building they were in, one still in construction. When we got to the top floor, a large fire fight broke out. We gave Anubis and Irvine new weapons since there's had been taken away, and in the process of getting Anubis' sword back from Gash, I killed him."

"You killed Gash?" Kid asked in a tone of amazement. Janus simply nodded. The rest of the Nabonidus crew members, except Anubis, all exchanged looks with Morpheus and themselves. Anubis just let out a ‘heh'.

"Gash was one of the best fighters in the Resistance," he explained.

"Apparently not, since he dropped that fast." Anubis said.

"After that, Kane was wounded and ran off. Glitch loaded up a helicopter for us and we planned to be dropped off at different exit locations since it would be safer. Around that time was when Blade and Soliatire came in with the distraction to get the shitload of cops off of our attention for a few moments. Before I got out, I ran into an Agent near the exit that Kira and I were assigned to. We fought, and he almost killed me, but I kept getting up. Balthasar came in at that point and took him out. He fatally shot Kira... and I went after Balthasar."

"You're crazy," Link said.

"Not now, Link." Morpheus ordered. "Go on," he said.

"We made it to a rooftop, and I was already smashed up by the Agent, so it was no contest for him. When he had me on the floor, he shot me in the chest. I believe I died then."

"...."

"What I saw...I can't really describe because it only just happened recently, and I haven't had time to think about it. Whatever happened, I was revived, I felt like I was a part of the Matrix. I stood up and Balthasar tried to fight me, but this time I had beaten him with no effort. I can't understand why or how."

"That does sound peculiar..." Morpheus remarked. He didn't know what to make of it.

Irvine spoke up. "After Janus got out of the Matrix, Blood must have been pissed. He came after us the way a man does when he has a lust for vengeance or the other party owes him money. We were chased into the abandoned remains of a city on the surface, where we had a huge dogfight. Janus and Anubis managed to stall him for a few moments which gave us the chance to get outta there, but he still came after us. We took him out with an EMP charge and he nose dived. We set down here and shut down the power, waiting for someone to find us. You know the rest."

"Hmm..." Morpheus said in thought. He paced around back and forth for a minute or so before he spoke up again.

"I have an idea."

"Oh yeah?"

"Come back with us to Zion."

Everyone looked at Morpheus like he had three heads.

"Hmmm... That's a good offer, except for the fact Lock would sooner have us thrown in the brig and take the Nem away than give us sanctuary." Irvine protested with dry sarcasm.

"Not necessarily. Things have changed since you left. When this war started, the Matrix Corps was formed for soldiers who would fight for Zion specifically in the Matrix. I am the General of the Corps, and Lock's equal in terms of military ranking."

"So you're saying we would be out of his jurisdiction."

"Correct."

Irvine looked over at Blade. "We could use the repairs."

"We could use a home." Blade said.

"Not to mention new equipment." Glitch chimed.

"And real food, mahn." Marley said.

Irvine looked at everyone with a "Hmm..."

"Alright, we'll go. Home is, after all, where the heart is."

Morpheus smiled. It was nice to have interesting people on the same side again.

"Welcome back."
----

Chapter 1: No Place Like Home

Zion, Gate 02
Zion HvCFT Nabonidus
11:44PM Matrix Time

It had been pretty quiet in the tunnels, as the two hovercrafts moved closer and closer to Zion territory. The Nabonidus, which was towing the Nemesis with multiple tow cables from its aft, slowly rode on its hover discs toward the city, showing no apparent lag from the extra weight. In fact, the scene was tranquil until a pair of curious shapes flew by the Nabonidus at speeds beyond that of a regular hovercraft.

These were curious craft, with four hover pads attached to panels, two on top, two on the bottom of a pair of outstretched wings. Currently, these panels were engaged in all-range mode, where the panels were opened up and perpendicular to the rest of the wings, with the pads facing outwards. These smaller craft moved around the two ships with the grace of a pair of hawks.

These craft were small, the pod parts barely large enough to hold one pilot and cockpit instruments, but the way they flitted about the hovercrafts, one could've likened them to flies buzzing around a pair of bulls. Still, one could see they were heavily armed, as each wing held three high explosive missiles and a pair of rails that could emit high-powered arcs of EMP energy much like the rifles used by Zion personell, along with two machineguns that had an output equal to those of an APU's, which were mounted on the front of each craft.

These were Zion's hover fighters, otherwise known as ‘Defenders' to those who fly them. Made shortly after the end of the original war, they were Zion's answer to sentinals, in case another war started, like now. And they were just as effective at taking down hovercraft if necessary.

The Nabonidus crew was fast to react, with Sparks rushing to the operator's station. "I don't know why they're here, but I don't think it's to welcome us back," he spoke through the comm. system to the cockpit, worried as usual.

Niobe and Link sat at the controls in the cockpit, as usual, and Morpheus came in shortly after. Link put on a headset and turned on the holographics monitor, which displayed the two Defenders. "Attention Zion fighters, this is the Nabonidus. State designations and purpose for being here."

One of the Defender pilots acknowledged. "This is Guardian One of the Zion Defense Force. Nabonidus, you are towing an enemy vessel toward home territory. Disengage your tow cables immediately."

"Nabonidus to Guardian One, the vessel in question is another ship of Zion. We are only helping it back home..." upon Link's mentioning that, the two fighters fired off bursts from their machineguns, which rocked the hull of the Nabonidus.

"What the-!?" Niobe jerked at the controls. The shots didn't seem powerful enough to break the Nabonidus's armor, but it did send vibrations through the hull.

"Guardian One, are you insane!!?" Link jumped.

"I'll take it from here." With a deft motion, Morpheus reached out, slipped the headset off of Link and put it on his own head. "Guardian One, this is General Morpheus of the Matrix Corps. I will not tolerate any trivial acts of intimidation on my vessel. Fire again and we will consider it an act of hostility."

There seemed to be a flash of hesitance in the Defender pilot's voice from that point on, as he realized who was on this vessel. "A-apologies General, sir! We were ordered to stop the advance of the Nemesis into Zion territory, by force if necessary."

"On whose authority?"

"This was Commander Lock's direct order."

"Good ol' Jason." Niobe rolled her eyes as she kept the ship steady.

"Consider those orders belayed. The Nemesis is under my jurisdiction, and will be regarded as a friendly from now on. Am I clear, Guardian One?" Morpheus spoke in his usual commanding tone, but there was a bit more edge to it this time around.

"Yes sir."

"Very good. You may disengage at your leisure."

"With all due respect General, it is protocol for a flag vessel to have fighter escort upon the return home," the Defender pilot replied.

Link looked up to Morpheus with an arched eyebrow and smirk on his face, the kind of smirk that said ‘you still got it in you sir'. Morpheus himself returned the smirk, then looked toward the holographic projection of the two fighters. "As you wish, Guardian One. Move forward and maintain escort formation." When he saw the fighters move into view from the cockpit, he gave the headset back to Link.

Niobe herself flashed a grin. At least this was something new... she thought, realizing that of all the times they had gone through this procedure, not once had there been a sudden burst of security.

"Zion control, this is the Nabonidus, with the Nemesis in tow. We are on approach and request access through gate two." Behind the gate operators plugged into their chairs sat another operator, hovering over his keyboard and listening in to the conversation on his headset. His screens displayed blue code strands falling down the screen, and he logged in that the Nabonidus was incoming, then patched Link through to the control, and then monitored the procedure. Looking over the operator's shoulder, a certain man, with an African-American ethnicity and a seemingly permanent scowl observed the code with interest.

In the construct sat the six Zion gate operators clad entirely in white. A red headed female pushed, pointed and dragged several boxes on the interface before her that formed pictures of the gate, the turrets, the tunnel, several trickling numbers that were statistics, and the oncoming ship. She smiled at the sight of the Nemesis coming in with the Nabonidus. Despite what happened years ago, and although it seemed to be heavily damaged, it was one more vessel that had found its way home. "Nabonidus, your request is confirmed, standby."

"Roger that control." came the response.

-----

Zion, Gate 02
Rogue HvCFT Nemesis
11:48PM Matrix Time

"Wow that was close." Blade said, as he had listened to the bout between the Defenders and the Nabonidus through his own headset.

Irvine nodded. "It's good to see the General is still a man that doesn't take *poop* from anyone. Not even his equals or superiors." He grinned. "Neither am I for that matter."

The Nemesis slowly drifted behind the Nabonidus as the two ships drifted towards Gate 02 of Zion's dock. Having been given a minimal recharge jump from the Nabonidus, it floated low. The only power in the ship was being fed directly to whatever pads it had left after Blood's assault, so it was only keeping itself hovering while the Nabonidus pulled it along.

Irvine, Janus, Blade, and Anubis, were all packed inside the cockpit, looking at the Nabonidus' stern out through the shattered windshield. In the meantime, Glitch and Marley were on the main deck running diagnosis checks to determine the exact amount of damage to report to Zion's repair crews after they landed.

Over the radio, Blade, Anubis, and Janus all listened as Link communicated with Zion's gate control operaters as they ran through gate access and docking procedures. Irvine, however, was paying attention to the groans and whines coming from the Nemesis' frame. It'd always been able to take a good beating, but in the condition the ship was in now it was nearly the worse for wear. Irvine nearly cringed at every sound of the ship's structure buckling under pressure.

"*CENSORED* took a rough trip," Irvine finally said.

"Yeah Cap," Blade answered. "You got that right."

"How long will it take them to fix it?" Janus asked.

"Who the hell knows?" Irvine replied. "I just know it better be fixed ASAP."

"Get a load of this one," Blade said, looking over at Janus.

"What are you talking about?" Janus asked.

"You ain't even been to Zion yet and you're already questioning the competence of its workers."

"All the more reason for me to wonder, no?"

"I guess you have a point," Blade conceded. He looked ahead through the broken glass, as the gate ahead opened, light pouring through and silhouetting most of the Nabonidus. "What you're about to see though, newbie," Blade continued, "will take your breath away." He then looked over at Anubis. "You too, mute."

Anubis merely narrowed his eyes, and Irvine rolled his.

"Alright, I can handle the rest from here Blade. Go in the infirmary and check on Solitaire, make sure she's okay."

"I'll do it," Anubis volunteered, earning him looks from the others, even Janus. This kind of eagerness to be of aide wasn't something they were used to, especially with the display they'd been given in the last few hours.

Irvine studied Anubis' facial features for a moment, trying to get whatever psychological hints he could as to why Anubis had jumped to the task. Finally, he nodded his head. "Go ahead. Make sure her I-V is still working right."

"Right," Anubis said, with a nod to Irvine before exiting the cockpit.

The three remaining redpills all exchanged looks. "That was weird," Irvine said.

"Yeah, not like him at all," Janus concurred.

"Ever since you got ballsy and cheated death, it's like he's gotten a boost of morale or something," Irvine added.

"Eyes forward, gentlemen. We're about to look on a sight for sore eyes, and ours are hurtin' like a mothafucka," Blade said.

As the Nabonidus cleared the gate, it rolled slightly and yawed to the left, angling out as the Nemesis was pulled behind, giving a full open view to the men in the cockpit. Taking in the view, what he saw before him put Janus into a state of awe: Zion. The last free city, and home to all free humans left on the planet. The large vastness of the dock size alone, nevermind the mechanical equipment all over the place, had him the same way as when a kid sees Disney World in person for the first time.

Humans built this...? Was all he could ask himself as he looked all around, taking in the details. He saw at least three other ships parked in the dock, conduits running all over the place, men and women walking around attending to whatever business they had at hand. And they were all soldiers, he thought to himself, not forgetting the stories he'd heard about when Zion had nearly faced its end, and civilians had volunteered to join in its defense. To him, this was amazing. Irvine and Blade, however, felt more like they'd been returning home after a very long, hard time away. It was how every ship-crew felt when they came back, but it was more special in their case.

Link's voice cut in over the speaker.

"Irvine, you hearing me?"

"Loud and clear Link, go ahead."

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't tranced out after not seeing home for so long, hehe. Alright, here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna set your ship down in one of the repair bays under us. Carefully, lower your ship's altidude by reducing the power to the pads, and do it slow, so that you're hanging under the Nabonidus. We'll handle the rest."

"..What if they drop us? Or we fall out of the air?" Blade asked.

"We've been through a lot of *poop* in the last few hours, a free-fall to end it all isn't sounding so bad right now so don't let my mind wander on the subject," Irvine answered. Blade looked over at Janus.

"I'd go with his idea," Janus said. Blade nodded in agreement.

Following Link's instructions, Irvine reduced the power to the pads keeping the ship afloat ever so slowly, and there was a little bit of swing play in the tow cables once the power had been cut and the Nemesis' weight was being held up by the cables alone, causing the ship to rock back and forth a bit while hanging under the Nabodinis. It made Janus a little bit nervous, but it would have done the same to anyone else.

"Alright Link, we're just a buncha swingin' dicks down here, whenever you're ready," Irvine said into the radio.

"Copy that," Link replied. The Nabonidus was navigated over to one of the open repair bays on the dock, until it floated directly above it. Then, it slowly lowered itself down, setting the Nemesis down neatly into the landing space. It touched down on its landing gears with a rock, having never retracted them from the crash landing earlier.

"The Nemesis is down in repair bay one," the dock controller confirmed.

"Roger that. Releasing tow cables," Link said. With a loud *CLICK*, the tow cable locking mechanisms disengaged from the Nemesis, and the cables were then automatically rolled back up into the Nabonidus' hull.

"Alright Irvine, you're good to go," Link said over the radio. "We're gonna land this ship, we'll be over with you shortly. Morpheus says to wait up before you go anywhere."

"Got it," Irvine said. He then shut the radio off, and sat for a moment. He breathed in, held it, and then let out a long exhale. He felt like he used to when he was just about to walk out the door to go out on a date, back during his days as a bluepill. Nervous would be an accurate way to describe it. He looked over to Blade, and then Janus.

"So. This is it. We're finally back."

"I'm not expecting any warm welcomes though," Blade answered.

"You and me both. Let's get everyone together and wait on the deck. If anyone's got a snide remark for my crew, we'll take it in stride."

"Yes, Sir!" Blade said, somewhat enthused. "C'mon Janus, let's go round up the gang."

Janus nodded, and followed Blade out of the cockpit. Before getting up to join them though, Irvine reached up behind his head and felt around, pulling a small, tattered book out from a small space between hardware modules. It was his Captain's log. He opened it, and flipped through its pages as though it were a flip book before closing it and looking at the cover once more. As he leaned over to push himself up off of the chair, he tapped his forehead with the book.

"Time to report in to the Council," he said to himself as he left the cockpit.

----

(Chapter 1 cont'd) 

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:07AM Matrix Time

Django, Resistance fleet Captain of the Rebellion, looked over the transmission one more time. It was a series of coordinates not very far from one of Zion's gates, and it was sent as a burst transmission from the Nosferatu. No message recorded, no instructions. Just coordinates. Any attempts made to contact Blood's ship, either by radio, coded message, or encrypted transmission, had failed. No responses were received. Why isn't he answering? What's at this location??

"Orders, Captain?" asked Masai. He was the Rebellion's crew assist, and was one out of the total five crew aboard the small-class vessel. Aside from himself and the Captain, there were two other redpills, and Cable, the ship's Operator.

Having been snapped out of his trance, Django glanced over at Cable's screens, looking over the coordinates again. He covered the microphone on his headset with his hand. "Cable, forward those coordinates through to the ship's navcom."

"You got it," Cable answered, and with a few quick keystrokes, it was done.

Django took his hand off of the mic. "Masai, take us to the coordinates you see before you on the navcom. Apparently there's something Blood wants the fleet to see."

Little did Django know, Blood wasn't summoning the fleet to show them anything. Rather, he wanted to be found.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Nosferatu
12:37AM Matrix Time

The damage wasn't just on the exterior. The entire Nosferatu was in critical condition. Everywhere in the ship, sparks were popping from damaged breakers and conduits. Lights that had been strung up around the ship had either fallen and smashed, or shut down all together from the EMP.

In the total darkness that was inside the ship, the only light provided was whatever there was given off from the small fires burning throughout the ship. With the structural damage the ship had sustained from being used to smash a hole into the ground for tunnel access, being hit by rockets, and then plowing headfirst into the ground and leaving a trench in its wake, it was a miracle that the ship wasn't torn to pieces when it crashed.

As powerful and durable as it was built, the Nosferatu was down and unable to pick itself back up. On the main deck where everyone would plug into the Matrix, the crew was gathered, waiting in the darkness and the dim light of the fires for a rescue they weren't sure was even going to arrive.

Blood layed back in one of the plugin chairs, cuts on his head and arms sustained from the crash bleeding. Sideways was hunched over his consoles, having hit his head during the crash. Balthasar was propped up against the wall, sitting on the floor, his eyes half open. Sonia and Leon lay on the floor, holding each other. Nitro sat on a crate with his head in his hands.

"Who's coming for us...?" Nitro asked.

"I don't know... whoever got the transmission first I guess," Blood answered.

"We crashed almost forty-five minutes ago," Sideways added. "Been sitting here waiting to get ripped apart by sentinals."

"What if that happened to the others? What if no one shows up because they were all attacked by squids?" Nitro asked, almost frantically.

"Shut up Nitro," Balthasar growled. "You're slipping into hysteria, and you're wounded. Keep your trap shut before you start scaring the rest of the crew, help's gonna be here soon."

Leon turned his head to face Balthasar from where he was laying. "Hey Bal, why are you so confident? You trying to BS us into a positive mood?"

"No, dipshit. I know we're going to be rescued. You know why? Because I'm not meant to die here. I'm going to live to get my chance to fight that Janus again and put his face into the street. I'll kill him dead," Balthasar said, with death in his voice. There was a scowl on his face as he finished his sentence, and he spit a wad of blood into the steel grating floor plate.

"Yeah well... help better come quick before sentinals do find us. I'm sure our little stunt chase woke up every machine from here to Zero One," Sonia quipped.

Blood narrowed his eyes, darted them around, and then looked up as though he was trying to see the outside tunnel ceiling through the ship's topside.

"What's the matter, Blood?" Sideways asked.

"Shut up!" Blood hissed in a whisper. "I'm trying to listen."

A low, muffled buzzing tone slowly but gradually got louder and louder, and soon the Nosferatu crew realized it was a ship.

"See? I told you someone would find us," Balthasar said triumphantly, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Yeah, but how do we know it's one of ours?" Leon asked, as he and Sonia sat up.

"Because no one else knows we're here," Blood said. "It's gotta be one of ours. Sounds like a small one."

"That means it's either the Rebellion or the Vendetta," Sideways said.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:37AM Matrix Time

"Holy *CENSORED*..."

Django didn't want to believe what his eyes were seeing. Unfortunately this wasn't the Matrix, so he didn't have that luxury. As the Rebellion hovered in its place, the Nosferatu layed before it, dug into a ditch that extended far past the ship like a scar in the earth, indicating that it had dived into a crash and dug itself into a trench as it came to a stop. It was still steaming from the outside, with various locations sparking and popping with electrical short circuits all over. Riddled with bullet holes, the entire outer frame appeared to be seriously damaged, with bends and twists and ruptures in the armor all over the ship. The legendary Bloodsucker, flagship of the pirate fleet, looked as though it had been used as a weapon to batter a giant with, and then left to rot.

"What the hell happened?" Masai asked, bewildered by the sight.

"I have no idea. But we're gonna find out," Django answered. He put on his headset. "Cable, are you seeing this?"

"I can't believe it, but yes, I am seeing the Nosferatu in a **CENSORED* up* condition on my screens right now."

"You're very observant. Now tell me what the scans say."

"The ship's got no power in it at all, it's hot, and there are people inside. I count six people on infrared scans."

"That means they're alive by some miracle. Cable, I want you to send an encrypted transmission to the rest of the fleet, have them gather on this location."

"You got it," Cable answered, and got to work.

Django turned to Masai. "Get us landed. We gotta get Blood's crew out of there. By the time the others get here I want our tow cables ready so we can get the 'Nos out of here and someplace more... safe."

"You think we can repair it?"

"You better believe it. Not only is the Nosferatu the flagship and symbol of our cause and will to fight, but I don't think anyone else wants to put up with Blood or his crew on their ship."

"Understood," Masai said with a nod. "Right away, Sir."

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Vendetta
1:22AM Matrix Time

"And then he launched an EMP charge at your ship and it nose dived into the ground? At top speed?" Raven asked astoundedly, repeating what Blood had just said to him. Blood himself was sitting in a chair, with the rest of his crew crowded in around the main deck, while Raven and his own crew, except for Kahn, who was piloting the ship, listened in.

"Yeah, the *blinking*' weasel," Blood muttered reluctantly. He hated having to admit Irvine won their little duel. "Sneaky son of a *CENSORED*, wait til I get my hands on him..."

"No wonder the Bloodsucker's so smashed up. What entertainment we've been treated to tonight!" Raven exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Raven, how do you get entertainment out of this?" Blood snarled.

"Would anyone here like to explain what I mean? A show of hands?" Raven asked, a bit enthused.

"What he's saying," Axe began, while swiveling around in his chair at the consoles, "Is that we basically got a fireworks show inside the Matrix, and then hours later, we get a story about how Irvine stuck it to ya."

"And, dare I say it," Arius added, "Not only did Blood get it, but Balthasar was also dealt a beating in the same night. Not such a morale booster for our little group here." Raven said "Heh," and Blood understood why he seemed like he was laughing. He wasn't making light of the matter, he was being sarcastically negative about both incidents, and Blood didn't look happy upon realizing it. Neither did Balthasar, for that matter.

"I oughta beat your *CENSORED*, Raven.." Blood growled.

"Yeah, I've got your back," Balthasar added, staring at Arius like he was ready to brawl.

"Yeah, well, there won't be any mutinies while I'm around. Not on my ship," Raven replied, sternly. Although he didn't really care, Blood knew Raven had a point. It was his ship, after all, and thus, his say was above everyone else's.

"And as thick as the tension is, I'd love to jump into the construct and go at it with either of you, but we don't have time for fun and games right now. We've gotta focus on repairing your ship," Raven added.

Blood nodded. "Yeah, right. After we tow it out of here, we need to go to the surface."

Magnus looked at Blood as though he was crazy. "Why do you want to go back up there after what you just went through?"

"Simple. We need to pay a visit to the Osiris' crash site. There's a good deal of parts there to salvage for the repairs."

----

(Chapter 1 cont'd)

Zion Dock
Repair Bay
12:00AM Matrix Time

The hatchway opened not long after, with the crew- Irvine, Blade, Janus, Anubis, Solitaire (with her arm in a sling), Marley and Glitch, marching down the ramp as if they owned all of Zion. Besides Janus and Anubis, who had never seen Zion before, everyone had warm expressions on their faces and no one could hold back smiling. They had been gone for far too long, and had now just returned to the city they had all lived and fought for years ago.

Irvine was the first to speak, after inhaling some air. "There is no place like home, indeed," he announced.

"I hate to break the moment for you Captain, but I see a lot of security..." Blade pointed toward all the security guardsmen that stood along the dock, all armed with EMP rifles, almost like sentries. "...and no maintenance crew." His arms swept around them to show no one else on the dock. There wasn't even equipment sitting nearby.

Irvine sighed at that. He dug through the pants pockets of his uniform and fished out two curious items: what looked to be a primitive lighter and a box that contained several hand-made cigarettes. He pulled out a cigarette from the box, and then stuck the cigarette in his mouth. "I wonder why they came out to greet us."

"Maybe it's your vibrant personality," Solitaire commented sarcastically.

"Very funny. Hold still." With a quick movement, Irvine struck the lighter across Solitaire's arm cast and brought it up to light the cigarette. The renegade ship captain then seemed to relax even more, inhaling the fumes and breathing out. "I wonder what they're really up to... They can't really expect us to just stay here on the dock..." He thought out loud.

As if on cue, Glitch's eyes had caught onto something moving down the dock. "Hey, it's the welcoming committee!" he said jokingly.

Everybody's attention then focused past the guards to one particular man marching toward them with two escorting guards flanking him. And at the same time, everybody froze. They all recognized the man at the front.

Irvine did as well, and a cruel smile formed on his face. "Looks like we made somebody's *poop* list." He observed the larger-than-usual scowl on the lead man's face, which he could see despite distance. Nonchalantly, Irvine strolled over to a nearby crate and leaned against it, as if pretending to not notice as the three men came up to him.

As if to counter the lead man's scowl, Irvine gave off a smug grin and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Wait, wait, wait, I get it: Lock, Stock and Barrel," he pointed to one man after another with the cigarette butt. "Am I right? Huh?" he laughed at his little joke.

Commander Lock, commander-in-chief of the Zion military force, did not look amused at the pirate's humor. Instead, he stopped no more than a few feet from Irvine's face, his eyes trying to pierce through Irvine's own and bring the man down. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't throw you and those other renegades into a hole somewhere and throw away the key, ‘Captain'." He snapped, his voice showing nothing but pure disgust upon the word ‘Captain'.

"Oh come on Deadbolt, you don't honestly mean that." Lock's glare intensified three fold at the mention of his much hated nickname. Irvine's smile grew when he saw that part of the Commander had not changed, and he got up. "Aren't we still friends?"

"There is only one reason I'm not arresting you now, traitor, and that's only because I know you're not stupid. You wouldn't just come back here and expect clemency." Lock stated. "Now tell me why you are here."

"Oh that's simple. We heard Christmas was coming to this end of the world, so me and my bunch decided to drop by for the holidays." Irvine smarted off, placing the cigarette back in his mouth.

Lock glanced at either of his two very burly guards and signaled them. The two, which Irvine had designated ‘Thug' and ‘Goon', moved to either side of Irvine now. "Do not press me Captain; I do not tolerate renegades in the least. For the last time, tell me why you are here before I impound your ship and arrest you and your crew for treason."

"You know Deadbolt, that tight-*CENSORED* attitude of yours isn't going to win over the hearts of any ladies. It certainly didn't do any wonders for a certain yon female captain who..." Irvine started to smart off again.

Before he could continue, ‘Thug' interjected, moving to position himself in front of Lock as if to block Irvine's banter. "You will speak to Commander Lock as..." he started to snap off. The rogue captain simply blew a puff of smoke into the man's face. ‘Thug' winced and coughed, tears starting to form in his eyes even as he was unused to such a vapor.

Irvine took the cigarette out of his mouth and patted ‘Thug' on the side. "You like it? It's a special weed we found growing in the unknown regions. Unlike smoking in the matrix though, it's actually beneficial to you. We found it clears the throat up and allows you to breath easier. It also lacks the addiction properties of nicotine and that other junk."

Following up, ‘Goon' grabbed Irvine by the shoulder in a display of force, but the captain simply took the cigarette and smudged it on that man's hand. A sizzling sound soon followed and the man snapped his hand off with a yelp of pain.

With both lackies detained from action, Irvine turned back to Lock. "As I was saying Deadbolt, nobody likes a stiff guy. Both men and women avoid them like sentinels, and nobody really takes them seriously. You need to loosen up and relax some, take a few out of your *CENSORED*, you know?"

Lock looked as though he were to spontaneously combust. "Do NOT take me for a FOOL, scum! I do not know how you convinced 'General' Morpheus to drag you out of whatever pit you were damned to, but it will not work one me! If it were up to me, I would have had your ship and crew shot down the moment you left that gate!"

Irvine just let out another puff. "And that's precisely the reason why it's not up to you, sir." He said as smugly as ever.

The Commander was about to open his mouth and yell something next, but he never got the chance. "That is quite enough, Commander," came a familiar voice. Lock and Irvine turned to see Councilor Hamann making his way toward the four men, with Morpheus right next to him. When they came up to them, Hamann nodded toward Irvine. "Captain, I see you still haven't lost that young defiant spirit of yours."

"Councilor Hamann, it's good to see you're still in good health." Irvine complimented. "But I didn't expect a member of the council to see the return of the Nemesis personally."

Hamann laughed. "No need to be so formal my boy, General Morpheus has explained everything to me." Morpheus nodded at Irvine, who also nodded back. "And in my opinion, it's always good to see more of our own return home. Especially lively people like you and yours."

Irvine's smile couldn't help but return at the councilor's words. "I'll take that as a compliment, Sir."

"Councilor, will you please explain to me why this... this renegade who disobeyed orders and rebelled against this city has been allowed to return?" Lock demanded, but kept his attitude in check as this was a member of the council he was addressing.

"Has the defense force been monitoring Matrix activity up until now, Commander?" Morpheus inquired.

"Yes, but I hardly see why..."

"Then you are no doubt aware of the anomaly that occurred only hours ago, the white coding that has suddenly appeared in the Matrix."

Lock arched an eyebrow. "And I am supposed to believe, ‘General', that the crew of the Nemesis had something to do with that ‘anomaly', as you call it."

"In the last several days, many things have happened to the Nemesis, and this recent anomaly seems to be tied to one of its crewmembers. Whether you believe it or not, Commander, I and many others have seen what has happened, and I believe there is more to this than meets the eye." Morpheus explained with the same dominating tone he had used on the Defender pilot earlier.

"Aside from that," Irvine started, with a triumphant grin, "We've been working for Zion this whole time."

Lock had a double take. "..What?"

"Yeah, that's right. Zion needed someone to watch the Resistance without taking part in its rogue activity, or being mandated to attack them on sight. So, yours truly was given the task."

Not only did Lock look surprised, but so did everyone else aside from Hamann and Morpheus. It seemed as though Irvine had kept his own crew in the dark about the assignment.

"We couldn't tell you, or my own crew even, because we had to make sure everyone thought we were NOT part of Zion, considering a possibility of there ever being a leak in Zion's OpSec. Sorry you didn't get that memo," Irvine said with a grin.

This only served to anger Lock more, but that anger was quelled by the presence of Councilor Hamann. Morpheus continued: "I have already re-instated the Nemesis back into the Matrix Corps. Captain Irvine and his crew are now under my jurisdiction, and they will be treated accordingly by all members of the defense force."

"Just because you are ‘General' now doesn't mean you can speak to me in such a manner, Morpheus. Whatever this man and his crew have done in the Matrix, it can not and will not excuse their crimes against Zion, and as one charged with the defense of this city, it is my duty to carry their punishment out..." Lock shot back.

"Considering that he was acting as a spy for us, regardless of what he did, which we know was intended to be for Zion's best interest, there will be no punishment handed out," Hamann said.

"You cannot be serious, councilor." Lock exclaimed.

"I am quite serious. By any chance, Commander, are you familiar about the tale of the Prodigal Son?" Hamann asked.

Lock hesitated to answer. "No councilor, I am not."

"Pity. I'm sure you would understand more if you were. You should read it sometime." Hamann nodded at him, then to Morpheus and Irvine. "Now if you will excuse me gentlemen, I have a meeting with the council to attend to. They will be expecting a full explanation later, General." He looked at Morpheus. "As well as one from you, Captain." He glanced at Irvine.

"Yes councilor." Morpheus and Irvine both said simultaneously. They looked at each other after that, and both smirked a little. "We will be there." Morpheus said.

Hamann nodded, and looked at Irvine one more time. "Good. You have three hours to settle in Captain. That's as much time as the council will give you." Irvine acknowledged, and Hamann gave a flat smile to him. "And welcome back." He said, and walked away.

Commander Lock watched as the councilor walked back down the dock, his anger diminishing back into his perma-scowl. "I will admit this much, Morpheus." Lock said, glancing at Morpheus. "Well played." He walked back down the harbor, with ‘Thug' and ‘Goon', who were stunned by all that had happened, following not far behind.

After Lock disappeared, Irvine finally relaxed, letting out a long puff of smoke. "What took you so long? I thought that guy was going to kill me for sure."

Morpheus chuckled. "On the contrary, I think you did fairly well keeping the Commander occupied. As for my delay, I had to secure my own ship before I could do anything else."

"I'm a little curious though."

"About what?"

"Did you notify Councilor Hamann before we got here, or was this all a big coincidence?"

Morpheus just smirked. "That I won't tell you."

Irvine wasn't sure if he liked that response, but it satisfied him. He noticed the bemused grins on Janus and Anubis' faces. "What the hell do you two find so funny?" he asked them.

Janus was the first to speak up. "When you guys told me about this Lock character, I had the image of some fire breathing dragon that ate machines. But seeing him now, he's just like Howard on a bad day."

"Who's Howard?" Glitch asked, which was what everyone was wondering.

"My old boss in the Matrix. He was a good guy, but he needed to loosen up sometimes." Janus explained.

Irvine then looked at Anubis. "And you?"

Anubis gave Irvine his usual cold stare at first, but figuring that the captain had already gotten enough from Lock, he decided to explain. "Just somebody I knew from a long time ago. That's all." He said.

"I'll take that." Irvine replied, turning back to Morpheus. "Any orders, General?"

"Besides what the Councilor has told you, no. Your crew will be allowed to settle into Zion, and I'll make sure housing will be provided." Morpheus replied. "But remember to meet me in front of the Council's chambers in three hours Captain." He then turned and walked away.

Irvine looked back at his crew and clapped his hands together. "You heard him, everybody's free to settle back in. I don't know about you all, but I'm going to need a real drink."

----

(Chapter 1 concluded)

Zion Dock
City Town Sector
2:30AM Matrix Time

It was just going into two and a half hours since the Nemesis had gotten back into Zion. Everyone seemed to be adjusted back to civilization, despite the long absence from the city, and were all off doing their own separate things. Captain Irvine, Janus, and Glitch were back at the Dead Duck, getting drunk on whatever the tavern put out as an alcoholic beverage, while Blade and Marley had both gone into the city to get in touch with their own families, and Solitaire was out somewhere doing her own thing.

Not that Anubis really cared about any of their activities, it was just a habit he picked up in the Matrix. In order to survive like that, he had to know what everyone, friend or foe, was doing at all times. And that led to another habit: knowing one's environment.

So I went from one hole in the ground to another. Go figure...he thought skeptically. He had been spending the last half hour wandering around Zion at random, going past the various levels of apartments, shopping areas, recreational points and the like. Compared to the interior of the Nemesis, the place was large and very spaced out, but the overall condition of the area reminded Anubis of Richland and Westview back in the Matrix, where he was used to working: bland, decayed and chock full of people. No matter where Anubis went, no matter what color he came across, everything seemed to be faded or broken down in some way, almost like the city had been destroyed in a war or two only to get rebuilt again. Anubis wouldn't realize the irony of that thought until much later.

As an assassin, he had learned to blend in with crowds and just be another nameless individual going about his daily life. Crowds were good things, because chances were nobody recognized you from the norm, even the ones that had seen your mugshot or wanted poster couldn't pick you out. But here, it was different. For some reason, Anubis was having trouble with all these people, feeling as though he were drowning. He wondered why he had this problem, finding no logical answer.

Even if he did have an explanation, it didn't help the fact there were people everywhere. One crowd after another, Anubis made his way through the city to lord knows where, now trying to find some dark corner or alley way to stand in and restore himself. As he made his way through the crowd, he became aware that several people had noticed him. He couldn't count all of them, but he found a good portion of them to be females. Just great, he thought.

While nobody would recognize him in a crowd, Anubis always had the trouble of being too easy to distinguish. The reason? It could've been just his looks (blonde hair and blue eyes seemed to be in shortage these days) or the way he walked, but whenever he went anywhere, someone had a tendency to pick him out from the rest. He considered it a liability when he was in the Matrix, and even though nobody cared what he was before, he still felt the same way. Anubis had been in the business too long for that kind of internal working to just drop away. He needed out, and he needed it now.

At last, he found a calm spot. A small clearing near the edge of a walkway, with an elevator nearby. Anubis made his way there and gained enough personal space to relax some. His panting soon turned back to stable breathing, and the inferno in his head died down too.

And this is just another day? Anubis mind quipped as he looked over the catwalk, further into the depths of the city. There were people well below him too, on various levels, like ants or termites in a tunnel network. It was apparent to the recently freed redpill that he would not get used to this place so easily, and he hoped it wouldn't augment his effectiveness in the Matrix.

"Well, well, you are mortal." Anubis turned to the back to scowl at whoever spoke up to him, but when he recognized it to be Janus, he settled for a sneer. "Having trouble?"

"What do you want?" Anubis snapped off.

Janus raised his hands up. "Calm down Anubis. It's hard on me to." He walked over to where Anubis was standing and looked down the different levels of Zion. "Amazing how you can gather so many people in such a place like this. And I haven't seen any police or security around too."

"They're there. They're just not recognizable." Anubis said.

"How do you know?" Janus wondered, looking at Anubis.

"It was my job to know." Anubis replied matter-of-factly.

"Right." Janus acknowledged, and then continued to look at the city. "Must feel weird to you, standing this close to a narcotics detective without being in handcuffs or having any money in your pocket."

"Any weirder for you standing next to a serial hitman without a katana blade against your neck?" Anubis inquired.

"I'm just saying it all feels like a dream now. A few days ago, I would've been out to arrest you, and on the other hand, you would've tried to kill me, but now here we are, standing by each other as two soldiers in 'the last free city'. Don't you feel the irony in all this?" Janus asked.

Anubis nodded a little. "I have. Half of me is telling me to throw you over this ledge." He didn't have to look to see Janus wince. "I'm not going to do it."

"Like you could anyway." Janus shot back.

Anubis didn't give him as much as a side glance. "It's strange... In the Matrix, I had no trouble with crowds, I used them whenever I could to elude the authorities. Now though... It's somewhat exhausting."

"Technically, it's our first time." Janus informed. "We've only been out of the Matrix a few weeks, and we spent them all on either the Nemesis or back in dreamland."

"Worst part of it is it's the same for everything else. Before you came out, I had to almost learn how to walk all over again, let alone get adjusted to the five senses I never used before." Anubis said.

"You think it was easier for me?" Janus asked.

"No. I just wonder what else we'll have to go through before we're up to the rest of them." Anubis nodded to all the people below them.

Janus sighed. "Well, I heard Neo was only out of the Matrix for only six months, and he managed to adjust well." His expression brightened for a moment. "At least I get to lose my virginity all over again.." Anubis leered at him, which amused Janus a little bit. "But seriously, I think we'll be alright here. If Irvine and the others could get used to this place, then we can too."

"I suppose you're right." Anubis said.

"You know I am," Janus said. "Say, lemme ask you something."

"What?" Anubis asked.

"Why'd you rush off to help Solitaire so fast before?"

Anubis would have glared at Janus, but he merely glanced instead. "Because the rest of you were boring me in that cockpit."

Janus got a laugh out of that. "Well, come on, maybe I can talk somebody into getting you a drink at the Dead Duck."

Anubis wasn't sure if he felt like a drink now, especially with that council meeting not far away. But, he decided to take Janus up on it. "A drink would help..." For some reason, he was starting to feel a little better.

----

havent read it all yet, but what i have was good.

And that is the longest prologue evah!

havent read it all yet, but what i have was good.

And that is the longest prologue evah

Chapter 2: This is a war, and we are soldiers.
The Matrix
Creston Heights, Downtown
March 2004, 3:50PM

"Talk to me, Van."

"The exit's at Creston Heights Southwest, by the Museum."

"Okay. Anything unusual near the area?"

"It's all clean."

"Then we'll be back shortly."

Vir, Captain of the Matrix Corps hovercraft Validus, closed his phone and placed it into one of the pockets on his brown ankle-length trench coat. He reached into his olive-drab cargo pants and removed a set of keys, stepping up to the door of the Zionite safehouse. As he unlocked the door, he looked to the rest of his crew.

"Come on, let's go," he told them.

"Which exit?" Dive asked. She was the crew's first mate. Standing at 5'7, she had long wavy brown hair. She wore black leather pants and a matching tank top, cut short to reveal her abdominal section, along with fingerless leather gloves that extended up to her elbows. Aside from the GLOCK 23 in her thigh holster, she was armed with a pair of sais kept in the sheath on her belt behind her back.

"Near the Creston Heights Museum," he said, motioning toward the open door with a nod of his head.

Roman took point. He stood at 6'1, wearing a black knee-length leather jacket, with black jeans and a matching shirt underneath. His hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, and he had a Colt M4-A1 concealed under his jacket.

Shift followed behind him. She was short, standing at about 5'5, and wore a dark gray catsuit, with black knee-high combat boots and a Smith & Wesson model 337 revolver in the holster on her belt. After she was out the door, Vir followed and closed it behind them.
----

Once they made it to the sidewalk outside, the Validus crew walked over to their car. As they were getting in-- Shift in the driver's seat, and Dive moving across the back seat to get on the other side, Roman waited until everyone else was getting in. As Vir opened his door to sit inside, Roman saw across the street an armed group of men approaching that he immediately identified as Exiles. Specifically, the were The Merovingian's Elite Guards.

Without a moment's hesitation, he opened fire. *BAMBAMBAMBAM* -- *BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM*

"What the hell's going on!?" Dive yelled from the back seat. She instinctively pulled out her pistol and ducked low in the back seat to avoid being hit.

Since he was only half-way into the car, Vir jumped back out and removed his MP7 submachinegun he'd been concealing under his coat, and aimed in the direction Roman was firing. Having hit two of them, the rest of the Elite Guards started to shoot back. Vir let out a few bursts of suppressing fire, as Roman turned and gunned down another one coming from the left.

"LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"

With that, Vir and Roman jumped into the car, a black Chrysler 300, and they sped off. Roman, in the passenger side back seat, had turned around and shot out the rear windshield, in order to continue firing on the Elite Guards as they shot after the car.

"Who was that?" Shift asked as she whipped the car around the corner, heading south towards the museum.

"Looked like some of The Merovingian's men," Vir said, pulling down the fore-grip on the MP7. "I thought Van said the area was clean," he grumbled.

"What did they want with us?" Dive asked.

"Who the hell knows," Roman said, loading a new magazine into his assault rifle. "Let's just hope it was only because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He spoke too soon. As the remaining Elite Guards were firing after the Chrysler as they gave chase on foot, Vir spotted several cars up ahead parked in the road in a blockade formation. Then he realized what was going on.

This was a planned ambush.

He brought up his MP7 and began firing out the front windshield at the Elite Guards posted up ahead, creating a series of holes in the glass. As he did this, Roman and Dive had began to fire out the back at their persuants. As the Elite Guards up ahead began to fire on the car, more holes were made in the windshield. Then there was a burst of blood, and the car slowed down to a screeching halt.

Vir looked over to see what was wrong, only to see Shift slump forward and hit her head into the steering wheel. She was dead.

"*poop*! Out of the car!" Vir yelled. As the rest of the Validus crew got out, they made sure to take cover behind the car as they did so. Roman was the first to get out. Immediately, he ran forward and took post behind an SUV parallel parked to the sidewalk, and layed down a volley of bullets at the exiles in the blockade ahead, in varying bursts, taking some of the Elite Guards down

"GO!" he yelled. As he continued fire, Vir ran up ahead of him and took post behind a sedan, and took his turn firing bursts of ammunition toward the blockade, and scored a few shots. Before running forward, Roman turned around and faced the direction they'd come from and placed a series of random bursts in that direction to deter whatever Elite Guards he and Dive hadn't hit.

After replacing his magazine, Vir turned and fired in the same direction they were. He yelled to them, "GO!" and they turned and ran forward past Vir's position and continued to fire at the blockade. Ducked behind the car doors or leaning over the hoods and trunks of the cars, the Elite Guards returned fire, but didn't manage to make any hits. Slowly, they were losing numbers.

After spraying the blockade with bullets, Roman turned around to fire in the direction Vir was, shot a few bursts, and turned to fire on the blockade again. When he pulled the trigger there was a *click*, so he ducked down to change his magazine. When he snapped it into place, he stood up and shot at the blockade, and then turned once again to fire in the opposite direction, allowing Vir to move ahead, as Dive covered Roman's back and continued firing on the blockade.

Roman spotted an Elite Guard coming up from behind and fired a long burst of shots in his direction, but the exile was quick to duck behind another car. He quickly changed the magazine in his assault rifle. By the time he came up though, Vir had yelled the order and Roman moved up again.

At this point, there were several Elite Guards in surrounding locations, but they were either singled out or spread too thin to be an immediate threat. Right now, the Validus crew was dishing out more damage that they were. Dive, who had taken cover behind a van, went to move forward with Roman, but as soon as she came out of cover, shots were fired on her position.

She quickly ducked back behind the van, and ran down the street alongside a public transportation bus. For a moment she waited, then popped out around the front of the bus, and fired two shots at the Elite Guard that had been gunning for her. One hit him in the neck, the other in his forehead, and he dropped instantly. She then proceeded to run forward to join the rest of her crew.

Vir and Roman had moved up along the street, taking cover behind whatever abandoned cars there were in the middle of the road. Vir managed to hit two Elite Guards through the windows of the car they were hiding behind, and Roman was quick to eliminate two more that were firing on him with handguns.

At this point, they had moved up very close to the blockade itself, and had been taking out more and more enemies as they moved up the road. Roman took a position behind a car where he was to the right of the blockade on his side, looking parallel to the direction it ran, and was shooting at more exiles on the other side. One Elite Guard had been moving up the street, attempting to sneak up behind them.

When he spotted Roman, who was open with no cover from the position he was standing, he jumped on the opportunity to take out the redpill while he could. Roman turned and noticed him at the last minute, and took a shot in the shoulder. He dropped to the ground right away and yelled in pain.

Vir looked over and saw Roman writhing on the ground, trying to push himself along to better cover. He ran over to him and before picking him up off the street, turned and shot down the exile that hit him. When he got Roman to his feet, he put Roman's arm around his shoulders and walked him along. Dive had come up behind and was firing in the opposite direction to cover them. They ran over into an alleyway down the road. When they stopped, Vir's cell phone rang. He took it out, popped open the face shield, and put it to his ear, while he handed his MP7 over to Dive so that she'd have something better to cover them with in case the remaining guards rushed their postion.

"Hello?"

"Captain Vir," said the voice on the other end, in a thick Asian accent.

"Seraph? What is it?"

"The Merovingian's hitmen cut the hardline to your exit, you must find a new one."

"Thanks for the advice, now tell me why you really called."

"You must pass along this message: The Oracle would like to see Morpheus, as well as Irvine and Janus. When you return to Zion, please tell them."

"If I make it out of this alive, you got it."

"You must hurry. Agents will be there soon."

Seraph then hung up on his end. Vir nodded his head along to the others, and they continued moving down the alley, away from the museum this time. Vir closed his phone, opened it again, and dialed 0. It rang.

"Operator," Van answered. He sounded like he was preoccupied with something.

"Van, we need some help."

"They cut the hardline, exit's no good!"

"I'm aware of that, we're gonna need another one, fast."

"Already working on it. Creston Heights South Central, you're right by it. On the other side of the park."

"Good, be ready for us."

Vir closed his phone and put it away. He pulled out a Beretta 93R from his coat and pulled back the slide. "Let's go, other side of the park, move it. Roman, can you walk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, can you jump?"

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"I know Dive can handle it. Ready?"

"Lead the way, Captain," she answered. And then, the trio super-jumped all at once, soaring through the air like a flock of birds. They landed in the middle of the park with a *SLAM* No sooner than they had landed though did clumps of dirt start shooting up from the grass, as though a bunch of buried fireworks were exploding in a line.

The three of them dove in different directions to evade the fire, and didn't bother to shoot back. The scurried across the park, running and nearly stumbling into a crawl as they made their way over various hills and declines in the terrain, until at last, they made it to the other side of the park and were looking towards the Tarah Construction site.

The payphone was already ringing before they got to it. When they approached it, Vir ushered Roman forward first.

"You're injured, you go first."

(Chapter 2 cont'd)

Without protest, Roman picked up the phone and disappeared a second later. Vir hung it up so Van could re-establish the exit. He turned around to look in the direction they'd come from, and saw various heads come up over the hills.

He took aim and fired several three-round bursts at the Elite Guards that were still giving chase, and actually managed to hit a few, while Dive had gone to work doing the same with the M4-A1 Roman left behind. When the phone started ringing again, Vir glanced over to Dive. "Get going," he ordered. She handed him the assault rifle, answered the phone, and she too disappeared.

After firing another few bursts at the exiles that were getting closer in order to buy him some time, Vir hung up the phone again. Now it was his turn. He dropped the Beretta and picked up the MP7, while in his other hand he held the M4-A1. Pointing them ahead, he opened fire on full-auto from both weapons, spraying bullets all over the place toward the park, halting the Elite Guards' advance. Van wasn't about to leave his Captain hanging, and soon the phone rang. Without wasting a second, Vir dropped both of his guns and answered the phone.

When the remaining Elite Guards looked, Vir was gone. "*poop*..." one of them remarked. "Mero's gonna be pissed off."

"Pissed off!?" another one exclaimed. "Forget that! He'll delete us!"

"No need," a monotone voice said behind them. They turned around, only to see Agent Skinner pointing his Desert Eagle in the first Elite Guard's face. He pulled the trigger and *BLAM*, the exile caught the .50AE bullet in his forehead at point blank and was knocked back a few feet before he hit the ground. Skinner turned his gun on the other exile, who was too shocked and scared to move.

"What are you doing here?" Skinner asked him.

"We.." the Elite Guard stammered. "We detected a crew of redpills in the area, and The Merovingian saw it as an opportunity to send us to pick them apart for whatever info they had on the redpill that caused that disturbance earlier. So we set up an ambush..."

"Ah, yes," Skinner said, remembering, although he remained stone-faced. "The anomaly that occurred several days ago in the lower east sector."

"Yeah...that one.." the Elite Guard said, hoping the Agent might cut him some slack.

"Thank you," Skinner replied.

*BLAM*

The exile landed in the dirt a few feet from his dead comrade. Skinner touched his hand to his earpiece, then took his hand down. His body flurried with teal bolts of electricity, leaving behind the body of a bewildered bluepill, oblivious to how he'd ended up in the park, or why there were two dead bodies before him on the ground along with the sound of sirens getting louder. He looked at his surroundings and saw bullet-holes everywhere.

..Was I responsible for this!?
----
Tunnels of the Real
Matrix Corps HvCFT Validus
5:30PM Matrix Time

"We came back a little quick, don't you think Lock's gonna get suspicious?" Van asked as he navigated the Validus through a tunnel that lead to Zion.

"I'm not worried about it," Vir said. "There was an Agent in the area, you saw him yourself after we got out. I wanted to get the hell out of there before we had sentinals to worry about."

"Good point," Van said.

"Plus, we've got a message from The Oracle to deliver to Morpheus," Vir emphasized. "That's not something you wanna sit around and take your time with."

"I guess not. Not like I'd know the significance of it anyway." Van said.

"An end to the war? Who knows. Maybe she's gonna send him on another quest to find The One," Vir said.

"After Neo? I thought being The One meant you were the only.. one, you know?" Van replied.

"Well right now we have none, so I'd rather be optimistic about it."

"At least you try," Van said.

Vir put his headset on. "Roman, Dive, everything alright down there?"

"Everything's clear on the main deck," Roman answered. He sounded upset. "Shift's all ready to go."

Vir closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay," he said. "Put us down here Van."

Van slowly guided the ship down to the flattest spread of the tunnel he could find, and set her down on its landing struts. Upon confirmation of a successful landing, Vir and Van both exited the cockpit and met up with Roman and Dive by the ramp-hatch. Dive touched a button, and with the hiss of pressurized air being released, the hatch slowly opened. Each crew member, with a shovel slung over their shoulder, picked up the makeshift gurney that Shift's body had been laid out on, and they carefully walked down the ramp and out into the tunnel with Shift's body. When they made it outside, they gently set her down on the ground and picked out a spot, where they began to dig.

It took them about an hour to dig a four foot hole. When they finished, Roman and Vir jumped down into the hole so that they could take the gurney with Shift's body down gently into the hole once Van and Dive handed it to them. After they placed her down, the two men jumped out of the hole. Each of the four Validus crewmen stood on a side of the burial hole, and nodded their heads down.

Vir coughed softly to clear his throat. "Tonight we mourn the death of a crew member, a soldier, and a family member. Although she is now lost from us, Shift will always be remembered for the dedication she had to fighting the fight and freeing as many people from the Matrix as this crew could. But above all, she will be remembered for what she had with her when she died, the one thing that no one, not human, machine, or otherwise could take from her: A free mind. Farewell, Shift. Stay free."

A tear rolled down Dive's cheek. She, Roman, and Van all threw a small scoop of dirt into the hole and repeated the last words of the prayer, "Stay free." Vir looked over to Van and Dive.

"Get back onboard, get the ship ready to go, make sure nothing's coming. Radio ahead to Zion, let them know we're on our way. Roman and I will finish up here."

The two nodded, and complied with Vir's instuctions. He and Roman finished burying Shift's body, and as Roman slowly headed back to the ship, Vir lingered for a moment, remembering when he first found Shift in the Matrix, freed her, and then trained her. He had no regrets or doubts in her ability. This time, he told himself, she'd been dealt a *CENSORED* hand. With a final nod, he turned and boarded his ship and prepared for takeoff.
----

Zion, Gate 01
Matrix Corps HvCFT Validus
7:53PM Matrix Time

"Validus, you are cleared to land in bay seven throught gate one," the gate operator confirmed.

Vir nodded. "Copy Zion control. Proceeding to bay seven through gate one."

Van guided the Validus through the large slab of iron and steel that was Zion Gate 01, and manuevered over to bay seven as it shut behind them. Slowly, they set down, and landed with a slight rock. The hatch opened, and the crew stepped out. Vir was greeted by a Deck Officer.

"Captain Vir, welcome home. You're back so soon, how long were you out for, a week and a half tops? Everything's alright I assume."

"We're fine. I have a message from The Oracle for General Morpheus, do you know where he is?"

The Deck Officer pondered on the question. "I believe he's in a meeting with the Council along with Captain Irvine."

"Irv-- The Nemesis is back!?" Vir asked, astonished. The Deck Officer nodded with a smug look of agreement.

"See for yourself," he said, pointing toward the repair bay. The Nemesis was now lifted up on suspensions with a full crew of men working every inch of her frame, welding on new hover-discs, reinforcing the armor plating, replacing the front glass windshield. The works, and roughly 83% of all repairs complete so far. Vir turned back to the Deck Officer.

"When did they get back?"

"A few days ago. General Morpheus brought them in himself. Apparently Irvine had someone special onboard."

Someone special... Vir thought to himself, trying to figure out what he meant. It was then that he remembered the phenomenon that he'd seen on Van's monitors viewing a strange display of Matrix code a few days ago. He nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'll go see if I can't find Morpheus myself. Thanks for the update," Vir said, and walked off. His crew went elsewhere.
----

Zion
Council Audience Chamber
8:15PM Matrix Time

"And that concludes my report, Councillors." Irvine said as he stood before the panel, in an at-ease stance with his hands clasped behind his back.

"You certainly had a broad range of information covered for the last five years of your service as an undercover rebel. Very informative. Thank you, Captain. We'll see to it as best we can that the rest of Zion makes your welcome home a warm one," Councillor Dilliard said.

"General Morpheus and Captain Irvine, I don't assume either of you have anything further you'd wish to say at this moment concerning yourself or any other redpills amongst your roster? We've heard faint rumors of a strange occurance inside the Matrix concerning one of the men within the Nemesis crew," Councillor Hamann said.

"With all due respect Councillor, Captain Irvine and I have decided not to make any conclusions about said redpill until we've taken him to see The Oracle for an examination," Morpheus answered.

"Do you really believe she'll be of any assistance?" Councillor Undila asked.

"She has yet to let me down, Counciller Undila."

"Very well then. With nothing further to address, this meeting is herby adjurned. You may go about your business, Captains," Hamann said.

Irvine and Morpheus both nodded in a bow-like fashion, and as the Council members began to leave their seats, they turned to exit. Irvine leaned in towards Morpheus as they walked, and spoke in a whisper.

"What do you mean wait to see The Oracle? When was that ever part of the plan?"

"Irvine, I honestly believe that after a spectacle like what we saw, she won't be able to help it but to ask for me."

"Oh yeah? Well when do you expect this to happen? It's not like she calls you every Sunday to invite you over to dinner. Ever since the security measures were kicked up, being allowed to see her is like winning a raffle," Irvine replied.

It was then that Captain Vir approached the two of them. He saluted Morpheus, who was quick to return the salute, and extended his hand out to Irvine, who took it in a firm shake. Vir smiled. "Good to see you back, Irvine."

"Good to be back," Irvine said.

"Captain Vir, you're back earlier than expected," Morpheus said in an administrative voice.

"Yes Sir."

"Is something wrong?"

Vir relaxed his composure a bit. "My crew and I were inside the Matrix doing a routine surveillance check on exile activity in the Downtown area. Apparently, they detected our presense, because out of nowhere, a bunch of The Merovingian's thugs showed up. We were ambushed."

"Ambushed?" Morpheus asked, concerned. He always took it personally when The Merovingian sent some of his dogs after his men. "Did everyone get out alright?"

"No. We lost one crew member, Shift. We just finished burying her just outside of Zion."

Morpheus looked a combination of sad and angry for a moment. In the absense of his speech, Irvine spoke up. "I'm sorry to hear that, Vir. I just lost one of my own too."

Vir nodded, comforted in the fact that someone could relate. "It comes with the territory. Anyway, Morpheus, during the shootout, we got a call from Seraph."

This caught Morpheus' attention right away. "What did he say?"

"He told me to let you know that The Oracle wants to see you, Irvine, and Janus, as soon as possible."

Irvine smirked, and Morpheus merely looked at him as though to ask, "What does your foot taste like?" Vir caught this, not quite understanding what the deal was, and it showed in his facial expression. Morpheus noticed.

"I see. Thank you for getting that message to me, Vir. Is that all?"

"Yes Sir."

Morpheus nodded. He was feeling giddy inside, almost like a child. First Janus' flashy stunt, and now The Oracle was demanding their audience. He knew this meant something big, and at the same time, he was the only one that knew because it was what he wanted himself to know.

"Then take some time off. You and your crew deserve it after the trouble and loss you went through to deliver that message."

Vir smiled, and patted Morpheus on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot Morpheus, I appreciate it." With that, he went off to find his crew to inform them of their newly-granted vacation period. Morpheus and Irvine continued to walk along through the crowded street.

"Don't even start it," Irvine said. Morpheus merely laughed to himself. "Looks like we have a while anyway, the Nemesis isn't finished with its repairs yet."

"I see," Morpheus said. As the two Captains walked along, they eventually found Janus and Anubis walking around looking like a pair of tourists. Having not noticed them walk up, Irvine caught Janus off-guard with a quick shove at his shoulder.

"Surprise," Irvine said with a grin.

"Oh, Irvine. I almost knocked you out," Janus said.

"Yeah, well, you're right, you almost did back in the training simulations back on the ship. Come with me, I'll show you around a bit."

Irvine put his arm around Janus' shoulders and led him off to get him familiarized with the city, leaving Anubis alone standing with Morpheus. Morpheus could see that Anubis was wondering what he'd do next, since his new friend had just been wisked off.

"Speaking of training simulations," Morpheus began. Anubis looked over to him, not formally greeting him or recognizing him as a figure of tall standing, having never actually met the man before. "It's come to my attention that you're skilled with a Katana sword."

"Skilled?" Anubis asked. "That's merely an understatement," he shot back in cool tone.

Arching a brow as a slight grin formed on his face, Morpheus brought his hand up to stroke his chin.

"Show me."
----

(Chapter 2 cont'd)

The next thing Anubis knew, no longer was he sitting in the jack-in chair. Now, he stood in the outer boundaries of what looked like Edo Castle. At least he assumed it was supposed to be Edo Castle, since he didn’t know how these simulations were supposed to work.

To his left was the castle itself and a large rock wall dividing him from the courtyard; while to his right was a row of sakura trees in full bloom. The sun was just setting in the artificial sky, casting the area into an evening setting. If Anubis hadn’t known it to be an artificial setting, it would have felt tranquil and soothing to him.

Anubis’ clothing choices in this simulation consisted of a light blue kimono and a slightly darker hakama, topped off with a cobalt blue and gold lined haori. His forearms were covered over by fingerless black gauntlets, the kind that assassins or master swordsman were depicted to wear, which were kept under the sleeves of his kimono. He also wore zori sandals and tabi socks over his feet and lower ankles. His usual combed back blonde hair was now tied into a high ponytail, which was kept in place by a magenta thread, adding more the samurai theme.

For his weapons of choice, he saw that his usual black katana was absent, having been replaced by a full daisho, or a katana and wakizashi set, to fit the simulation. Both swords were kept in cobalt and gold scabbards, and the katana was slightly shorter than his regular sword. In his opinion, Anubis didn’t look bad at all, but he did feel odd to be out of his usual attire.

But he didn’t have time to contemplate where he was and what he was wearing. The world suddenly burst into motion as Anubis jumped away from his spot. Up in the sky, a dark figure came falling down from the silhouette of the setting sun, own swords crossed together at the blades. The figure landed where Anubis had just jumped away, his foot slamming into the ground and his swords uncrossing to perform a duel slash. Even though the figure missed his mark, the attack left deep slashes into the ground just in front, coming close to actually hitting Anubis. The blonde swordsman soon landed a few feet away from his original position. “Somehow I knew you were the surprise attack type, General.” Anubis spoke in his monotone.

His opponent still standing, Morpheus slowly stood up from his kneel and matched Anubis in height. Compared to the recently freed redpill, Morpheus was dressed in full black and gold samurai armor with purple lacing from head to toe, under which he wore dark purple kimono. The armor was complete with a matching jinbaori and a dark helmet that was topped with a fan-like crown shaped like an inverted trapezoid split down the middle, and a demonic violet mask plate that covered his face.

These features created the optical illusion that Morpheus was actually bigger than Anubis, although in reality the two had a similar height. Unlike Anubis’ daisho, Morpheus wielded two katanas, much like a shogun. The veteran redpill looked at Anubis, smirking behind the faceplate of his helmet. “Surprising, very few have ever dodged that first strike.”

“In my former line of business, one must expect anything from his opposition. Any less would mean an early death.” Anubis said.

“I have no doubts.” Morpheus replied. “So, what do you think of our fair city? Quite different from what you’re used to I imagine.”

Why do I get the feeling he’s enjoying this. Anubis thought. “Not that different.”

“Oh?”

“Cities are cities and people are people. Real or not, those factors never change.”

“You speak truth. But at the same time, both cities and people can be different depending on where the spirit is. Sometimes it makes it totally separate from others like it.” Morpheus explained.

“Right.” Anubis said. He crouched a little and moved his hand over the hilt of his katana. His eyes never left Morpheus. “So, shall we begin?”

Behind his mask, Morpheus raised an eyebrow. An Iaido stance? “Very well.” He then moved into a fighting stance of his own, with one katana at his front and the other at his side.

For a moment, neither made a move, and yet it felt like they were moving. Both looked at each other straight in the eyes to see the slightest opening, only then would they make the first move. As they did this, the wind picked up a little, blowing cherry tree petals around them as if to add to the tension of the scene.

Then in the briefest of moments, Anubis lurched forward and drew his katana at such a speed it appeared as a silver flash. Morpheus was able to block the strike, but just barely, and the force behind it was enough that it threatened to throw his own sword out of his hand. He stepped two steps backwards to give himself some breathing room, then bringing his other katana around to attack Anubis. The former assassin parried the strike as well, but he did not give up the offensive and continued his attacks on Morpheus.

He’s stronger than I thought! Morpheus’ mind said in astonishment. It wasn’t so much the fact that he was being pushed back that mattered to Morpheus as much as that he underestimated his opponent. This nagged at him, as despite his information on Anubis and Irvine’s braggings of his exploits, he thought of him as a novice. Morpheus decided he would correct that mistake, this time standing his ground and taking each of Anubis’ slashes in stride. Eventually he started to gain more ground and grew bolder, making Anubis start to shift to the defensive himself.


Anubis didn't want to risk Morpheus gaining momentum. He pressed again with the offensive, continually slashing at Morpheus at great speed but still keeping his technique. After several attacks from both fighters, the two ended up clashing their swords together and holding them there for moments.

They stared into each other's eyes for those moments, simultaneously trying to overcome the other's sword. After what felt like hours of struggle, Morpheus managed to push Anubis away and make a slash across his chest.

The wound stung at Anubis. First blood. He will pay for that. Rebounding on the ground, he leapt into the air, performing a flip and then a spin to gain momentum with his sword. Morpheus immediately brought his own blade up to deflect Anubis' aerial attack, and once again the swords clashed together.

The resulting vertical cut was so strong that it made Morpheus' feet break through the ground, leaving large prints where he stood. But Anubis wasn't through yet, as he flipped again, this time landing behind the veteran, and making a slash at Morpheus' back.

Morpheus attempted a focus jump to evade the slash, but it still landed, making a deep cut across the back of his jinbaori and armor; he could feel his skin come into contact with the open air. But like his opponent, he didn't focus on the wound and concentrated on landing on the castle's wall. He then jumped again and landed on the castle itself, taking off into a dash. Anubis gave chase, landing on the castle rooftop and running after Morpheus.

Eventually, Anubis caught up to Morpheus, and the two ran at either side of each other, swords still drawn and again watching for an opening. This time it was Morpheus that attacked first, running at Anubis and slashing at him with both katana. Anubis ran to the side to try and cut Morpheus at the hip, but his blow was deflected and the two ended up trading slashes once more.

Morpheus cut into Anubis' shoulder. Anubis slashed his katana across Morpheus' upper calve, the samurai armor doing little to protect from the sword blade. Both fighters ignored these wounds and only continued to gain speed. Morpheus then made a horizontal slash that would have cut Anubis off at the stomach, but Anubis jumped in the air again and the slash landed on a statue of a dragon that was adorning the castle roof, slicing it into halves.

"Not bad at all," complimented Morpheus as Anubis landed several feet behind him. At that point, neither fighter turned to face the other, they just stood opposite of each other, looking in different directions. "Speed, adaptation, improvisation. You have made more progress in weeks than others do in months."

Anubis didn't reply to that, much less turn to look at his opponent. The virtual wind began to pick up, enough to make his haori and Morpheus' jinbaori rustle.

"It seems you are distracted by something, however. You're not thinking, you're only charging and attacking." Morpheus observed.

"One does not have that luxury in combat." Anubis said.

"In combat, we also learn ‘move not unless you see an advantage; use not your resources unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.'" Morpheus pointed out.

For the first time in that match, Anubis drew a small smirk, and then let out a ‘heh'. "Sun Tzu also teaches ‘rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.'"

"And you think you can accomplish this by going on the constant offensive?" Morpheus asked.

"It's worked so far."

At that point, Morpheus swiftly turned around, knowing what would come next, but even as he did Anubis was right on top of him. The ex-assassin executed straight downward cut, one that would have cut deeply into Morpheus torso, but the veteran managed to back away just before that could happen. Instead, Anubis ended up splitting Morpheus' breastplate with a long, diagonal gash that made it all the way to the skin. Morpheus then parried the following slash by crossing his swords together.