##Welcome to Network Imperium Archives...##Enter Username:##********## Enter Password:## *******##Unknown Login Entry...##Accessed Denied##Using Program Neb 1.7## Accessing %.............. Granted.../## Begin Transmission...There are only so many things in this world that scare me, one or two of them happen to bare the title of “Sin”-ShadowGriever, memoirsSegment 2: Pot of GreedDebir court had seen it’s bit of bloodshed, before being dominated by the Blackwoods it was the site of the first battle between the One and the Smith Virus, later dubbed “The Burly Brawl.” Because of the violent nature of the neighborhood, many don’t visit it. Many believe that because of the fight between Neo and Smith the area became unstable, and information nodes would appear at random, leading to those who could find them to siphon them, making them, in redpill terms “rich”.“Oh there we are,” Said a short, stunted man behind his Node Locator goggles. “Almost found ya.” He was in the center of the court when he found what he was looking for. Like a glowing star of ones and zeros, the node glowed a bright gold. The small man looked around for any one else that might be in the area to spy on him. Satisified, he greedily went to work at the task at hand. Using his tools he began to siphon the information out of the node. “Ah, like coins from the sky!” he selfishly said. By the time he took in a thousand $info the sound of windows shattering were heard throughout the complex.By the time the data miner could figure out what was going on, Rhyse, Pyxel, Lt, Commander Temsik, Etheno and ShadowGriever had surrounded him. The man was panicking. “Get away from it! It’s mine!” “Actually it’s ours.” replied Pyxel, twirling his guns in his hands. “We waited three days for you to show up.” Nervous, the man began to twitch. “what do you want.” “Information.” Replied Rhyse. The man shrieked in fear. “Not that information, you **bleep**ing leech, information on The Cardinal.” “Dunno where he is, you can’t make me!” He then noticed a wave of purple light coming from Griever. “Maybe we can talk this over.” Before they could all pounce on him, Greed threw a small marble on the ground, creating an explosion of smoke. Etheno’s voice was the first heard in the smoke. It quickly disappeared as it began to fan around Pyxel’s twirling guns. “Where’d he go?” asked Rhyse. They turned towards the western apartment building in time to see Greed land on the rood, to where they quickly followed. “Car, Midnight, he’s headed your way!”Greed had made a dash over three rooftops, trying to get as much distance from the NI as possible. Just as he began to feel safe he heard gunshots come from ahead of him. As he slowed down another man appeared, attempting to drive a boot into his stomach. Much to the man’s amazement he shifted past his cross kick and continued running past. Soon, the machine gun wielding Car and his kung fu master partner Midnight were joined by the other five NI members. Panicking, Greed’s fingers began to move quickly, creating the green glow of matrix code combined with information. He produced a shotgun and began pumping shells towards his pursuers. They all took cover behind the rooftop access doors, which began to disappear in puffs of chalky brick with every shotgun blast. “Holy **bleep**!” exclaimed midnight. Rhyse peered around the corner, only to quickly return to dodge the blast. Without another word he reached into his coat pocket and produced his cell phone. “Statik.” Another shotgun blast, this one on closer to the access door, Midnight, Car and Temsik took cover in. “I’m fine, thank you. Do you have a fix on our location? Good, when you get in range you’ll see a short, fat man with a shotgun on the roof. No, Kayosss isn’t back. Just take him down. But we need him alive, repeat: we need him alive.” A second passes. “Thanks. See you in two.”All of a sudden the next bullet was exclaimed by a bolt of electricity. “That was one of those rail rifles.” Shouted Car to the others. Pyxel was anxiously gripping his guns. “Seven of us and one of him and we can’t touch him, why?” A bullet shot through the door, just missing Griever. “Cause he’s using all his information to code items and weapons buffed up the *CENSORED*.” “you really think we can’t take em?” “Do you see ME making a move!?” As he said that, several loud blasts rocketed, after that, silence. Rhyse made several hand gestures towards the group. In tactical form the converged on Greed, weapons drawn, only to see that he was on the ground. Rhyse and Pyxel moved towards him. “Can’t…have…my…INFO!!!” Greed began to emit an Oragne Glow. Grieve was the first to respond. “Hit the dirt!” Everyone jumped out of the way as Greed’s body exploded in orange Code as he screamed “GREED!!” Rhyse immediately went for his phone and redialed Statik’s number. The phone picked up. “Statik I said we needed him alive!”A voice not Statik answered on the other end.. “Smile pretty, boys” As he said that a rifle shot echoed through the neighborhood. Before he knew it Rhyse saw a small brass colored bullet an inch from his face. It was emitting a purple glow. Griever’s hand was turned out towards the bullet, allowing it to drop as he lowered his hand. “Owe you.” “not needed.” Pyxel moved towards the lesge and pointed to a far rooftop. “Guys up there!” They all looked up and saw a man carrying an unconscious Statik. As they moved forward, He let slip his unconscious hostage. All of NI hyper jumped up, with Temsik being the one to catch the body. They rest met their mysterious assailant on the ledge of the roof. “Hiya fellas.” They all knew who it was. “Skoalmint?” The legendary fighter did a small bow. “One and only.” Without another word he moved towards Midnight, and with blinding speed grabbed him and using aikido threw him off the roof. The yellow flash of his body autojacking out could be seen in the distant darkness of the alley. Car, who is midnights “code brother” took no time trying to exact revenge. He let loose both clips from his sub Dual Nishiki Tempests. Even at point blank range, the bullets didn’t even make a hole in him. Skoalmint just smiled as he flung a small knife, connecting with Car’s neck. He autojacked out almost immediately. Skoal jumped off the ledge to the roof to greet the other four NI members.Etheno was to first to charge, but as he got close to punch his hand collided with something two inches in front of his target, like hitting a piece of safety glass. “You’re bugged!” Skoal quickly used Eth’s distraction to stab him in the chest, jacking him out of the matrix. Rhyse jumped up, apparently trying to land on Skoal, but the evade bug blocked him and sent him arcing over to the far end of the roof. He immediately looked at Griever, who was radiating with purple glow. “At last, I finally get to fight the purple eyed Griever.” Pyxel was ready to charge, but Grieve gestured him to stand back. “What do you want Skoal?” He looked at Grieve with a grin, “ I want a fight worth having. Do you think you can give it to me, freak!?” He exclaimed the last word. It didn’t take Grieve long to run towards him. Skoal threw a knife, but in a purple haze Grieve dodged it. “That’s it, show me your power!” Grieve, concentrating his power into his hand, connected with Skoalmints shield.The two tussled for what seemed like a while. “Is this all you have, Griever?” Griever focused on Skoal’s eyes, looking for his reason for being here. Then he caught it, that orange glean. Losing his concentration, the purple glow around faded. “WEAK!!” Skoalmint did a spin kick, knocking him down. But before he could see it coming he felt two hot streaks move on his arms. He looked up and saw Pyxel, guns in hand. He looked at the walls on the roof and saw several signs of ricochet. “You wanna go, Skoal, let’s go!” Without another word Skoal turned around and jumped off the roof. Pyxel followed, only to see no signs of Skoal on the ground.Later on in the Real, the Rhyse, Pyxel, Temsik, Etheno and Griever were all in the briefing room. “How did Skoal know about the trap?” asked Rhyse. “Only people who knew about that was us and the Digital Remnant.” Responded Etheno. “Regardless, we may have a spy in our midst.” Pyxel said bluntly. “What worries me more is how did Skoal get his hands on the Evade Bug?” Temsik looked over at Grieve. “Grieve, you’ve been quiet ever since we got back heh, more so than usual. What’s wrong?” Griever kept his eyes facing down at the table. “I know why Skoal is bugged, why we couldn’t touch him.” They all moved in to listen. “When I connected with the shield, my powers saw something in his eyes, an orange tint.” Everyone had a look of shock the moment he mentioned “orange”. Pyxel was the first to say something. “A redpill can’t be a…” Griever interrupted. “Apparantly they can, because Skoalmint is one of them, he is Pride... the indestructible Sin.”End of Segment 2“This world is a lie; it is nothing but a dream. And those trying to pull you out of that dream are only leading you into further darkness. The only way out is by abandoning this world, it’s “masters”, it’s “liberators” and it’s exiled “criminals”. The only way out, is to go back. Together, we will form a new eden.”-Emissary of the Cardinal in Mara C, five seconds before being shot to death.Segment 3: Very Bad News
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“Why did this have to happen? Why does everyone I care about have to either die or be sent to this **bleep** ward?”
Leka’s personal diary upon Griever’s entry to the terminal wing in Zion
Segment 4: The Need to Feed
“How can we even trust this guy?” asked Sack. “We can’t.” Pyxel replied. “But if it’s true, the Oracle can help us.” The two of them continued to walk down the corridor silently until Pyx broke the silence. “I know Grieve’s dying.” Sacky stopped in his tracks. “He made me promise not to say anything.” “I know, but I can see it in his face. He knows he may not be coming back from this.” “Are you going to let him go in?” Pyxel closed his eyes. “Don’t have much of a choice…do we?”
Many of the faction was sitting in the Loading Deck, waiting for Griever to dive. He solemnly took a seat in the loading chair. “When you get back I’ll have some punch and pie waiting for ya.” Said Simia. He smiled at her. “Can’t wait…” He lied back as Ivan approached. Ivan grabbed the jackin plug and inserted it into the back of Grievers head. The faction, including Rhyse and Pyx, watched as Grieve’s face jerked. Rhyse’s heart sank for a second. Simia quickly jumped up to her seat infront of the loading screen. “Ok, he is being sent to Debir Courts in Mara south central.” Rhyse sat down in an adjoining chair and closed his eyes, muttering a prayer.
The moment the plug connected with the jackin hole in his head, the green code of the Matrix began to wash over him. Slowly forming into the apartment courtyard in Mara. He had been there only yesterday, but it felt different to him. It was empty, except for the usual flock of crows that surrounded the courts, waiting for old ladies to feed them bread. He sat down at one of the benches. He waited, patiently. The entire area was dead silent, usually you could hear the sounds of fighting from the hardline in Mara, but today nothing seemed to enter here. Finally he noticed something moving towards him. What seemed to be a woman in a green. She was holding a green umbrella in her hand, blocking the sun from her face. He stood up, but his face suddenly dropped when he realized it wasn’t the old woman he was expecting. She had the same face, hair and clothing as the Oracle, but her eyes, those orange eyes told him everything. She quickly placed the umbrella in front of her and twirled it for a moment, removing it and showing a body wrapped in a black leather cloak. “hello Nephillim.” The voice was indistinct, it couldn’t be identified as male or female. “Lemme guess, a Sin?” It nodded in affirmation. “Envy?” “Very good.” “I’m getting better at this.” “I bear a message from the Cardinal.” Griever’s violet eyes rolled. “Let’s hear it.” “His grace the Cardinal wishes for you to reconsider his offer, join him and help create a perfect world for all sentient beings.” “Or…?” “OR…face the fate of all those who don’t hear his word.” “Lemme think about that.” In a split second Griever sprung into action, immediately giving a crosskick. Envy blocked and the two went into a rapid succession of martial arts moves. They stepped back from each other. “You are wonderful!” Envy exclaimed. “I wonder, did you learn those moves from your old captain, Zeldar?” In a shimmer Envy’s form changed into that of Zeldar, the original captain of the Arbiter. “Still in a coma is he?” Grieve’s hands began to clench, his eyes began to glow. “Come on, boy. Bring it.” Envy charged at him. “Big mistake!” Grieve shot a wave of purple energy, launching Envy up and out of the courtyard. Just as he was convinced that the Sin had reached the simulated stratosphere he felt a sharp pain on his neck. The pain was so excruciating that he didn’t even feel the blow to his back that sent him into the apartment wall. His eyes had glazed over; whatever bit him had drained him of energy. “Interesting.” Said a deep, modulated voice. “Nephillim’s energy tastes like…strawberries.” Grieve could feel the sensation in his mind click, the Nephillim was taking over.
“**bleep** me!” screamed Simia as she watched the coded screen show what was going on. Etheno looked on. “We need to get in there!” He yelled. No sooner had he said that did the klaxon alarm go off. Rhyse jumped into the **bleep**pit and turned on the display. “Sentinels, hang on guys, we gotta go!” Etheno shouted back. “But what about-?” “can’t risk anymore inside!” With that the he powered up the ship as everyone took their battle stations. Simia stayed with Grievers body while they tried to fend off the Sentinels.
His eyes focused, he could see a man, he reminded him of a Blooddrinker, but his hair was messy and wilder, his skin was darker than the vampiric programs too. Somehow…this man was both vampire and lupine programs. “Gluttony…” The Sin took a small bow. “A Drinker and a Lupine? That must’ve been a party.” Gluttony grinned. “What you see is not the result of intermingling. I am not the end, I am the beginning. I am the first Damned, the progenitor of both blooddrinkers and lupines. Two races bred to hate each other, bound by one common goal, the need to feed on the code of others in the Matrix.” “Fascinating story.” Grieve pulled out a revolver and quickly fired it’s contents into Gluttony’s chest. The Sin just stood there as the bullet holes riddled his body. “That’s a strange weapon. Mateba?” He asked, completely ignoring the fact he had been shot. Grieve gave a small nod. “Autorevolver, silver bullets…” Gluttony walked up to him and gave him a sharp right. “Silver does not affect me,” He gave him a hard left. “nor wooden stakes.” “Nor tap water!” If Griever’s jaw was real, it would have been shattered by the uppercut. Gluttony’s strength had rocketed him onto the roof of the building. Before he could compose himself he heard the Sin land right next to him. Gluttony picked him up, lining him up for his next shot. This punch was so hard it had launched him from the roof of Debir Court all the way to the door step of Mara Congregational Church.. “Keep it up, **bleep**.” Griever whispered as he crawled through the doors.
This was Griever’s home turf. When he was the bluepill known as Jason Ixios he was raised in Mara. A writer with a lot of imagination, he studied literature under Sister Margaret. “Sister!” He screamed into the church. He could see her run out of her office. “RUN, a Sin is coming!” She immediately ran out of the church. The door exploded as Gluttony charged in. “Time to for the last bite.” Griever, still drained from the bite, began to crawl towards the altar. “Run little mouse, I have all the time in the world.” He mused as he stalked towards his prey.
“What the **bleep** are they doing?” Shouted Rhyse. Pyxel was checking the monitors. “They aren’t advancing, they’re just chasing us.” He looked back at the loading bay and back at the monitors. “They don’t want us to help Grieve.”
“The Cardinal will reward me from your demise. Perhaps he will give me the Oracle’s little orphan girl, Sati. It’s been a while since I had Indian food.” As Gluttony talked, Grieve has pulled himself onto the stone altar. “**bleep**, they shoulda made you Pride from all you’re talkin’” He turned on his back, trying to face Gluttony. The Sin was right over him now. “Any last words?” Almost on cue, the glaze from his eyes faded and his body stopped trembling. With the speed and strength of the Nephillim Griever grabbed Gluttony by the throat and threw him on the altar, holding him down with one hand. “You’re not very **bleep**ing bright, ya know that!? Like all of your kind, you’re still the Damned. And look where we are: a holy place.” Gluttony’s eyes shrank in realization. Without another word Griever began to emit a purple energy, surging it into Gluttony.
The moment Griever had trapped Gluttony the Sentinels in the Real broke off and retreated. Everyone returned to the LoadingBay to look at what Simia had been witnessing the whole time. Grievers body had been convulsing in his chair. Finally a huge burst of blood spurted out of his mouth…
At the Mara Central hardline Skoalmint stood amidst the bodies of the operatives he dispatched, listening to the sounds coming from the church. “GLUTTONY!!” A final flash of Purple light blew out the windows of the church. Skoal took in a heavy sigh. “Kid has more juice than I thought.” He noticed something behind him, quickly turning around he aimed his gun at a woman who had just appeared out of nowhere. “Still keeping an eye on me Sloth?” She nodded her head. “I take it your sentinels did their job.” She had a wry smile and nodded again. “hmm, lets go see the damage.” They walked through the rubble and wreckage of the church, knowing the Agents will be there soon to investigate. They looked at the altar and saw nothing, no sign of either Gluttony’s remains or of Griever…who should have been there.
But out on the Real the Network Imperium looked on Griever, as he slipped into a coma…
End of Segment 4
“It’s the same song, just a different verse…”
-The Oracle
Segment 5
The Prophet
Message Edited by Shadow Griever on 07.02.2006 11:12 AM
Within the hour they had Griever headed towards Zion. Rhyse, Etheno and Sacky had gone in the Imperium while Pyxel and Temsik stayed in the Sublimitas to investigate what had happened. Rhyse was greeted at the docking hanger by Leka, who was better known to the world as the operative “Sharred” before retiring from the faction. She had become the head of the Medical Department after Griever’s former captain, Zeldar, had slipped into a coma saving him. “Should have seen this coming.” She muttered to herself as they rushed him into the emergency wing. “Not now Lock!” shouted Rhyse at the head of Zion command, who was about to intercept the gurney. As they got in the wing Leka told Rhyse and Etheno to leave while she and Sacky examined Griever. They waited in a small antechamber near the wing, it was here where Lock came in, full of bluster. “Don’t you dare tell me to…” Rhyse was already on his feet and in Lock’s face. “Don’t you dare argue this while one of my own is in there! Don’t you **bleep**ing dare!” “To think the council let you back in the Matrix.” “That’s enough Lock!” They all turned around to see Councillor Hamann at the door, his face flushed with both sorrow and rage. “If it weren’t for the NI the Cardinal would have full control of the Matrix and we would all be dead. That boy...” He exclaimed those last two words while he pointed at the emergency room doors. “That boy is the only reason any of us are alive, so stop complaining.” Lock was in a state of shock, so too was Rhyse. Neither had seen the councillor this angry before and neither knew how to react. The rage in his eyes seemed to die down. “If you don’t have any other business I suggest you leave now.” Lock seemed to hesitate for a moment, still in shock, but he silently walked out of the waiting chamber. Hamann looked at Rhyse, “are you alright, Rhyse?” He finally sat down. “Nothing a month swimming in alcohol can’t solve.” Hamann sat down next to him, Etheno kept his distance, not sure what to do. They all were silent after that.
Back in the matrix, Pyxel, Temsik, Zemaj and the rest of the faction began to investigate what caused Griever’s coma. They decided to check the church No sooner did they walk through the doors they were greeted by three Agents, two in the middle of the aisle and one talking to Sister Margaret. Although most of the Agents looked almost identical, every Zion operative was able to identify Agent Gray, who was the one talking to the exile nun. Both the Agents and the members of the NI looked as if a fight was about to break loose, but with a quick word from Sister Margaret, Gray ordered the Agents to stand down and to allow Pyxel and Temsik to pass. Midnight, Car, Lancaster and Zemaj took a seat in the back pews. “Mr. Illuminai, Mr. Porter.” Gray addressed to Pyxel and Temsik respectively. Both flinched when their real surnames were mentioned. They instead focused their attention to Sister Margaret. “I saw what had happened. Jason…Griever.” She had to stop herself from saying his bluepill name. “He had grabbed Gluttony and had him on the table. Then I saw it, this bright, purple glow.” She looked like she was going to break down in tears. “Then they were both gone.” Pyxel and Temsik both showed compassion to her while Agent Gray merely stood stone-faced. He cleared his throat and began to speak. “A full investigation will be conducted in the Matrix.” Pyxel glared at him. “**bleep** right there’s going to be an investigation! Our friend could die!” Gray remained stone-faced. “There is not need for emotion. The Nephillim program embedded in Mr. Ixios’ brain is integral in defeating The Cardinal. If Mr. Ixios…” “His name is Griever!” Pyxel exclaimed. “Gentlemen!” called a voice from behind them. They all turned and saw one of the reasons why redpills joined the Machines: Agent Pace. The first female Agent created in the Matrix. She was also more emotionally adept of the Agent programs. She strolled passed the captains in the back of the church, giving them the slightest nods. Every one of them were star struck by her. The first two Agents stepped aside for their superior. She looked directly towards Pyxel, Temsik and Grey.
“We can help each other in this situation.” She said. Pyxel was already at attention. “Ma’am, I just want you to know that it is an honor to final meet you and that this isn’t the only time we have inner-org relations…” Temsik interrupted him by planting an elbow in his rib. Agent Pace smiled back at them. The only person who wasn’t enjoying this exchange was Grey. He placed his hand to his ear piece, the other two Agents did so as well. “Agent Pace, we seem to be having connection problems, is connection functioning?.” She placed her hand over her earpiece. “No, mine is functioning normally. Let me run a diagnostic on yours.” He pulled his earpiece out and handed it to hers. “Stop!” Came a voice from the distance. Gunfire rang through the church. Sister Margaret did the smart thing and ran into the back room. After they dodged all the bullets, they looked towards the entrance, and there they found an unexpected guest. “Seraph…” whispered Pyxel. The Agents had their earpieces back. “It’s him…” said one. “The Fallen One.” “Stop him!” Shouted Pace. The two Agents charged after the Exile, who quickly knocked took them out in a blaze of martial arts kicks. “That isn’t Pace.” He said in a voice so calm that you couldn’t tell he just fought two Agents. Everyone looked at Seraph and then to Pace and then back to Seraph again. “That’s ridiculous!” she said. “Then explain who’s talking to Grey on his earpiece.” They all looked at Grey, he was listening to his earpiece and looking at Pace. In a fast, fluid motion, he took out his gun and put it point-blank to Pace’s head.
“Agent Pace has just called in, she was being held in the 01 construct.” Pyxel and Temsik pulled out their guns at her now. The faux-Pace looked at Seraph. “Tattle tale!” Her body shifted into the ambiguous Sin of Envy. “Get it!” commanded Seraph. A loud explosion went off, covering the place in smoke. When the smoke cleared Envy was nowhere to be seen. “**bleep**ing Sins!” screamed Pyxel. Seraph approached them. “You rescued the real Agent Pace, explain?” “She told me to.” They didn’t need another explanation, or to whom he was referring to. “She also wants me to show you something, but first, we need someone.” He motioned towards the back office. “Sister!” cried Temsik, “It’s all clear!” Cautiously, the Program emerged from the office door, noticeably shaken by everything that had been going on. “Follow me.” Without another word, Seraph walked out the side exit, Temsik, Pyxel, Grey and Sister Margaret following behind. The exited the church, facing the Hypercube monument, it’s red squares linked together. It was a pastime for many redpills to climb and to fight on the top of the monument.
“Tell us about the monument, sister.” Seraph asked. Margaret try to compose herself, but her voice still betrayed her nervousness. “The Sculptress created it, it’s said to represent the Seven…” She stopped talking as she looked at the statue. Seraph and Grey were also looking intently. “What?” asked Temsik. Pyxel, pointed to two of the squares. Those two squares were oddly colored a darker shade of red than the other two. Inside each square was a person. “Greed and Gluttony!” Temsik exclaimed. Pyxel had figured it out. “Sins…this statue represents the Sins!” “And there are five left.” Continued Seraph. “We will investigate this connection further.” Replied Grey. “We will be informed of our findings.” “You mean, what you deem appropriate for us to know.” Stated Temsik. Grey said nothing and walked away towards his black sedan. “Does the Oracle have any information on Grieve.” Seraph lowered his head. “The Oracle says that there is nothing she can do for him, if he is going to come back, it is up to you to do so. I am sorry.” He bowed to the two of them. “Sister, come with me.” Sister Margaret followed him as he pulled a set of keys from out of his sleeves. Using one of them on the church door, he opened the door to the white hallway. Pyxel and Tem knew better than to follow him after it closed. “Well that led us no where, fast.” Sighed Pyxel. “No, I think Grey is actually going to get in touch with us soon, I think Seraph bought us an opening by saving Pace. Still…” “Yeah.” Pyxel said, “Grieve.” “What can we do?” “I don’t know, but Seraph said that it’s up to us, and we if there is a chance to bring him back.” Pyxel removed his guns from his holster and fired them both at the squares holding the faded images of Greed and Gluttony. “I’ll take it.”
Back at Zion, Leka was fast asleep at Zeldar’s bedside. Ever since he was first admitted she stayed with him. By now it was an accepted fact and the medical team let her stay there. Now she had two people under her care. Six hours, Six hours of testing. She had tried to contact Griever virtually, diving into his mind the way people dived into the Matrix. She couldn’t get anywhere with him. Frustrated, she came here and dived into Zeldar’s mind. Many believed that the damage done to Zeldar would leave him catatonic for the rest of his life and that it would be easier to unplug him, but Leka persisted. There were fragments of Zeldar’s mind left, and in there she found a memory. It was of Zeldar’s parent’s, both took the redpill when he was still a boy, they were killed by the Merovingian. He had been forced to take the red pill to escape being captured. He became angry at the whole world, Zion, Machines and the World, because they were all responcible of for taking his parents away from him one way or another. Because he never had the chance to bury them, and as a place to hide, he created a mental construct of a hill where two burial markers were placed under a cherry blossom tree. Leka liked this scene and found solace here as well. She sat there. “How can I save him?” she asked. “How can I bring him back?” “The Prophet.” Came a voice next to her. To her absolute shock, it was Zeldar. “How?” “You must find the Prophet.” “Zeldar…” Before she could say anything else, he stopped her just by smiling. “Thanks, Sharred.” In a flash, her mind was sent back to her body. It took her several seconds for her mind to realize that Zeldars vitals had flatlined. A medical team were already running into the wing, but Leka topped her with a wave of her hand. With her face down, she turned off the machine. “Put him in the gardens next to his parents.” Her voice was devoid of any human emotion. She raised her head, revealing a cold, emotionless expression. She walked right past the medical team and headed for The Imperium, she knew what had to be done.
End of Segment 5
“Did you face this choice as well, Neo?”
-ShadowGriever, Memoirs
Segment 6: Living Dead Girl
“What’s the Prophet?” asked Etheno. It had been less than an hour since Leka had walked onto the ship and told them of Zeldar’s death. Rhyse has accepted that fact months ago, and was almost relieved to hear that he finally let go. Leka showed no emotion as she told them of her vision in Zeldar’s construct. “I remember something about the Prophet from when I was with the Oracle, I don’t remember what though, she said it only in passing.” “Too bad all we’ve heard from her is ‘you’re on your own’” Rhyse replied, “so who else would know about the Prophet?” “At least one, but you’re not gonna like it…” Rhyse looked at him “…Mon Ami.” Rhyse’s head tilted back til only his throat and chin were visible. “**bleep**!” was the only word that came from his mouth. It took him a moment to gather himself together. “Well, call Pyxel and tell him to go to Hell.” “ I tell him that everyday.” Rhyse suppressed a smile at the joke, Leka barely flinched. The moment was interrupted by a very distressed Sacky. “Where the **bleep** have you been?!” shouted Rhyse. “You guys have to see this!” He directed them all out to the docking area, where the lights began to crackle and pop. An emergency announcement began to broadcast. “All Civilians are to evacuate to the Caves, We Repeat, all Civilians are to evacuate to the Caves. All Zion Command Personnel are to go to the CommandCenter, Repeat, all Zion Command Personnel are to…”
Rhyse, Leka , Etheno and Sacky made it to the center just as Lock was getting ready for a debriefing. He was flanked on one side by Tyndall and Anome on the other. “I’ll make this short and sweet, someone has hacked the mainframe.” Everyone was stunned, the unthinkable had happened, someone had broken into the Zion Mainframe, the central hub of control for the city, including it’s defenses and life support. “We do not know who is responcible for this, we are investigating this with limited resources. We…” and aide came up to Tyndall, who quickly moved to Lock, whispering the message to Lock. “We ask that all personnel try to keep the peace until this is settled, individual orders will be given shortly, you are all dismissed.” Before the others could move, Tyndall spoke “Will the members of the Network Imperium please remain.” Rhyse let out a low growl, he felt that somehow they were going to be blamed for this somehow. Once everyone else had left, Lock spoke. “There is a transmission for you, we don’t know from who. He says he can help but he won’t say anything unless you’re there.” “Put him on.” Lock looked over to Anome, who began to punch a few buttons. A monitor on the wall clicked on, revealing an image of a person, heavily distorted by static. “As you all know, time is against us, so I’ll be as brief as possible. I will say that I am sorry about Griever, but I sent him the message because I felt that it was necessary. What is to come depends so largely on him, that I had to be sure he was prepared. He is not beyond hope, but it is up to you and him to bring him back. As for the problem you are facing, the mainframe has been invaded by the Sin of Sloth, she and whoever is helping her have begun the immediate take over of Zion in a maneuver to eliminate Griever while in his vulnerable state…” A surge of interference swept across the TV. “I can no longer stay on, I wish you the best of luck…” The Screen was fully engulfed in static. “Thanks for the help.” Murmered Anome. Before anyone could do anything, Leka was off, running out of the command center. Everyone followed her to the Controller’s Jack-In station. She began to punch in a series of commands on the loadout screen. “What are you doing?” “Etheno, I want you to monitor what goes on, when…WHEN I get control of the system, call Pyxel and tell him to go to Club Hell to get all the information he can.” Rhyse stepped forward to one of the other chairs, “So where are we going?” Leka paused for a second and then continued to type her screens. “If everything is still working, Zion’s main Construct: The White Room.”
Like the name implied, it was a big, white room. No discernible dimensions, it could probably go on forever if you tried to measure it. “Where is Sloth?” Rhyse said, checking his silenced gun. Leka didn’t have a gun, mostly because she WAS a weapon. She looked behind Rhyse and saw her. She was average height, with blue hair. She was wearing an office skirt with a bright blue blouse, looking very professional. “You’re Sloth?” Rhyse asked. “She doesn’t say much.” Came a voice from the distance. As it approached, they were horrified to see who it was. “Matter of fact, she can’t say anything at all.” “Statik?” It was Statik, the member of the Digital Remnant. “You betrayed us, you sold your soul out to the Cardinal!” Rhyse was fuming with sheer hatred. “Save it.” Leka said, her voice still cold. “It’s not him.” Statik jumped back in shock, but his face slowly formed into a smile as he formed into the neutral form of Envy. “You are the best, aren’t you Leka?” “Where is he?” she asked. “Oh, Statik, he’s in Mobil Ave. Funny thing is, we didn’t even put him there. But eh, I’m sure he’ll keep the Nephillim company for a while!” Before anyone could react, Envy charged at them. Rhyse opened fire but couldn’t connect. Leka remained still as Envy kept getting closer until it launched in the air, preparing to do and extreme falling kick. Before it could connect, Leka hacked the area around Envy, rooting it in that position. Envy started struggling, without an inch of code moving. “Sloth!” It cried. Rhyse turned around, and saw the silent Sin disappear. The panic in Envy’s eyes was visible from a mile away. It’s voice was at a high pitch with panic “ If you kill me, Zion goes too!” Envy’s coat slipped off, revealing a massive Viral Bomb wrapped around its torso. Leka took one look at the bomb and looked at Rhyse. “Go back, tell Etheno to send that message and tell him to pull Griever out of Mobil.” Rhyse was confused, but then he understood what she was thinking. “Leka…” “Rhyse…PLEASE, This is the only way.” “No…NO!!.” Without another word, Leka waved her free hand, disrupting Rhyse’s connection and forcing him to Jackout. She then did a quick extra hack and block him or anyone else from coming in. “Now…let me show you something.” The white room began to fade, color began to emerge in varying places. In a blind rush, the room turned into the cemetery construct from Zeldar’s mind. Envy’s panic grew. “What…what is this place?” “I heard that you took Zeldar’s form so you could play with Grieve’s mind. I thought it only fitting that you know more about him.” She looked around, “But this won’t be where you’ll end, this isn’t your final resting place.” She began hacking the area again. Suddenly, large, flat rectangles began to form around the two of them, each with a very sharp, reflective surface. The area became a hall of Mirrors. Leka dropped Envy onto the floor. “You have spent your existence living as other people. It’s time you looked at the real you.” Envy couldn’t evade its image, no matter where it went, it saw itself. In reaction, it began to convulse, in the mean time, he activated the viral bomb. He began to speak, but kept getting stuck. “I…I..I..I…I..” “Oh, it’s always about you isn’t it.” Finally the convulsions went into it’s final pitch as the bomb went off “ENVY!!” The bomb exploded, the entire virus transferred to the mirrors, the sheer power shattering them into shards of glass. Leka’s body, taking full force of the blast, collapsed next to the funeral marker.
“NO!” shouted Rhyse, as Leka’s vital signs flatlined. “I’m sorry Rhyse, it’s too late. She’s gone…” He began to weep violently. Lock, Tyndall, Sacky, and Anome were stunned into silence. “God….**bleep** IT!!!” Shouted Rhyse. He held onto Leka’s body. “You stubborn **bleep**! You didn’t have to kill yourself. What about the people here who cared about you, what about us!” He collapsed on her body. Still sobbing. “I’m sorry Rhyse.” Lock said silently. Tyndall looked at Anome. “If Statik didn’t give Sloth the codes to the mainframe, who did?” “I did.” It was a voice from the intercom system. The voice immediately silenced Rhyse’s sobs, and shocked Etheno and Sacky. Anome went to the intercom. “He’s on the bridge.” Rhyse was already on his way to the central bridge, where he stopped. It was him, exactly the way he was three months previously, except that his hair had grown wild, and for the all orange eyes. “You look like hell, Brian.” He said, with a grin on his face. “I guess I have you to thank for that…Mordain”
End of Segment 6
Club Hell? Oh! I thought I forgot one!
-Seavyan, on clubs he’s had a fight in.
Segment 7
The Depths and Hell
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-Seavyan, on clubs he's had a fight in.
"Oh come on Pyx!" Simia shouted as the Commander began to punch in commands to his loading screen. "I've said it before, we need someone on the outside incase something happens." He said without looking at her. "So you all get to go to Club Hell and I get to twiddle my fingers in boredom?" "well, I wasn't thinking it'd be your fingers..." Simia began slapping him on the head and went towards Temsik. "Tem!" "Oh no, I value my life thank you, you two settle this yourselves." Midnight, Car, and Sixerz all came into the room, preparing to Jack In. "Sixerz" Simia approached the young captain. "Six, would you mind..." "No can do, boss lady, Pyxel..." She didn't allow him to finish as she slam him against the hovercraft wall. "Boy, you will watch this ship, you do not have an option, you will take my place or I will dump you out into the sewers. Understand?" "Sir, Yes, Sir" He managed to rasp. She let go of her grip and gave him a sharp peck on the cheek. "Thanks, you're a champ." Simia and the rest of the crew hopped onto the chairs, Sixerz began to prep them. "Seraph says he'll be there, and he'll have backup." "Seraph, needing backup?" Midnights voice was incredulous towards the idea. "I said he would have it," The Commander replied, "I think we all know he doesn't need it."
Back at Zion, Rhyse and Mordain stood at on one of the many bridges hanging over the near-bottomless pit of Zion. The two former partners looked each other in the eyes. Mordain's eyes were exactly like Shadowgriever's, but instead of all purple, they were all orange. "Let him go, Cardinal." Rhyse said with gritted teeth. Mordain's face contorted into a smile befitting a piranha. "For a second there, I had you." "I said..." "I know what you said, and I don't think so. I like this body, he kept himself in shape, he has a lot of information on Zion than you know. He could MacGuyver his way in and out of mainframes without anyone noticing the difference." He started to approach Mordain in a slow, fluid walk. "And I think your friend likes being in here. He gets to have something that he couldn't have here...in this hole..." He looked at around at his surroundings with a look of disgust. "With me, he can command thousands of my followers, who, incidentally, are storming The City as we speak. He knows things that others don't, like you wanting to use that gun over there." Rhyse's eyes had strayed away from Mordain for an instant towards the emergency Plasma Rifle strapped under the guard rail. "That's okay, try for it." The moment Rhyse ran for the gun a stream of electricity surged from Mordain's body and raced through the railing, just barely missing his hand. "Try again Rhyse!" Another arc of Electricity connected with the railing, this time connecting with Rhyse as he grabbed the gun. In reaction to the charge, he pulled the trigger, firing the gun onto the railing, fighting back Mordain's charge. The pause in the attack gave Rhyse the opportunity to fire towards the body of his former partner.
The entrance to Club Hel had become widely popular, even more so than the actual club, because that would be as far as many would get to enter The Merovingian's exclusive club. At the entrance were several of the Merovingian's Elite Guards, who blocked the elevator that led down to the club. Out of the elevator lay an antechamber where the coat check girl took your coat and where you were checked for guns. Sometimes, there would only be one guard to check the guns, other times, there would be many exile guards to protect the outer chamber. These defences were only breeched once, by Seraph, Morpheus and Trinity in an attempt to rescue Neo from Mobil Station. Pyxel and the members of the Network Imperium were set to do the thing of legends. Before they even appeared near the parking lot, several bodies were splayed across the floor, with Seraph standing in the middle. "We don't have much time." His said in a whisper. He led the group to the elevator and pressed the warn out "HELP" button. "When we see Him, let me do the talking." Pyxel shot his former teacher a sideways glance, Seraph gave the slightest of smirks at the idea that any of the faction would keep silent. Pyxel's phone began to go off. "What Six?" Sixerz voice came from the other end. "I'm starting to lose you guys, but I'm picking up like twelve---" The signal became very weak, but the message was clear. "Midnight..." The moment the elevator reached the bottom floor. All the exile guards opened fire, not even waiting for the doors to open. Enough rounds were put into the booth to turn anyone inside into Swiss Cheese. When they opened the doors, they all peered inside to find nothing inside. After a few moments of silence. Midnight's head popped down from the emergency escape hatch and aimed directly to the center of the room. The RPG he fired soared in between the exiles, taking all of them in the subsequent explosion and blasting a rather large hole leading into the club itself. The entire crew slowly descended back into the elevator, each in awe of the damage Midnight caused. "I LOVE this gun!" Pyxel said as Midnight came down. After they all were down, they moved towards the massive opening. They didn't make it too far before several dozen guns are trained on them. "Entrez Vous," came a voice from deep inside the club, "I would ask you to make yourselves at home, but I dare say your lackeys have done that for themselves, eh Seraph?"
Rhyse's shot connected with Mordain, sending his body back down the bridge. Etheno, Sacky, Lock, Tyndall and Anome all approached Rhyse. "Get back!" he shouted at them. Mordain, smoking from the burst of electricity staggered up. Rhyse scanned him with his eyes and saw the orange fade from Mordain's eyes. "Rhyse..." He muttered as he got up. It was Mordain, the real Mordain. Realizing this, Rhyse ran forward to help him. "Don't come any closer!" A wall of Electricity blocked Rhyse off from him. "Rhyse...Brian....listen to me, I don't know how much long I'll have until he takes...control...again." His voice kept ebbing, as if something was trying to alter the volume on him. "The...Cardinal....exists in both the Real and The Matrix...at the same time. In the real, he is inside my mind....always inside my mind. If you kill the one in the Matrix, the one in my mind will simply jack in and copy himself again. He calls me his.....Sanctuary." Without Rhyse realizing it, Mordain moved towards the railing. "He wants to control the Matrix, not just as an influence, he wants to become one with it..." He leaned a little more towards the ledge. "The Sins are the key...with everyone...that dies...his powers increase...as does the Nephillim's...One of them....will become the Prophet of Our World...Third Rennaissance is quickly approachING!!!" His voice raised as the Orange washed over his eyes for a brief second and then went back to normal. It then occurred to Rhyse what Mordain was doing, as he put one foot over the other on top of the railing. "I have one more mission...as a citizen of Zion...as a Human....as a Sentient Being." Rhyse stood awestruck as tears streaked down Mordains face, which got soaked up in his long red hair. "I AM---" The Orange in his eyes began to glow again, but not before he jumped off the railing, his voice soaring all the way down the nearly bottomless pit. "THE GOD OF DEATH!!!" Rhyse collapsed on the ground in absolute shock. Etheno and Sacky ran towards Rhyse, he looked towards Etheno and whispered, "That's three in as many hours...do you think someone's trying to say something?" Etheno wasn't able to answer, as an alarm claxon rang through the speakers. An officer approached Lock. "Sir! We've just received a communiqué from the Machines." "What?" He looked at the communiqué closely. "Oh my god...open the emergency bay doors now!" Lock then looked at Tyndall. "We are about to be visited by a representative of the Machine City..." "WHAT!?" said everyone in the general area. With that being said. A loud rumbling came from below them. After a few moments, they could see a black shape rising up, almost insect like with many spires and spikes on one side. Surrounding it were swarms of insect like looking a machines, a part of which seemed to be carrying something up with it. When it finally made it's way up, it was revealed to be Mordain's body, crushed by the sudden impact. They laid the body down on the bridge, almost where he had appeared to Rhyse no more than 20 minutes earlier. The Machine then turned 90 degrees, the spikes facing away from humans. The insects, while still moving, formed the face of a human child. Lock slowly approached the machine. "We are honored to..." it's voice boomed, interrupting Lock. "The Nephillim must NOT be awakened!"
Pyxel and the team had been stripped of all weapons, they were now in the center of Club Hel's inner sanctum, surrounded by Lupines, Blooddrinkers and Redpills. Several faces were familiar to Pyxel. Ingus of the Dark Maverick's, Q from Les Enfants Terribles. One face he knew by reputation, Tytanya, chief assassin of Causality. He knew if she made a move, few of them would not be able to defend against it. "Ah, Seraph!" came a heavily accented voice coming from the balcony. The Merovingian, in all of his glory, had a look that bordered between annoyance and entertainment. "You never cease to amaze me, which, I must profess, is becoming annoying. Since you've come here, so...effectively...." He looked at the hole that was the clubs front entrance. "...I will tell you what you want to know. Your little Ange Tombe' is under my care, and he will remain that way for the rest of his days." "Let him go!" shouted Simia. Every Merovingian operative twitched towards their guns when she spoke up. "Wait!" shouted the Merovingian. "You must understand, what I am doing, I am doing for the greater good." He expressed his next words to Seraph directly. "Do you have any idea what would happen if Nephillim or The Cardinal make it to the Source?." "The Third Rennaisance..." The silent guardian whispered. "Yes, life as we know it will end. If we can keep them both away from the source, we will be safe. I am merely keeping the boy in Mobil to protect him!" "And to use his powers for yourself!" Seraph shouted, as if from experience. The Merovingian smirked. "Well..." Seraph made a simple hand motion that only Pyxel could read. He motioned for the others to prepare for fighting. "By harnessing the power of the Nephillim, I will..." A loud explosion interrupted the French man. Most of the room was covered in thick smoke. When the insanity cleared, all of the Merv redpills had their guns drawn at Pyxel, Seraph and the others, who had surprisingly not moved much in the confusion. "DON"T SHOOT!!" Screamed the Merovingian, every looked towards him and saw a the barrel of a shotgun nuzzling his cheek. Everyone's guns trained on the man holding it. Simia was the first to identify him. "Seavyan?" Pyxel's eyes widened. It was Seavyan, the NI's smashmouth brawler. He had gone missing after the Cardinal's sentinels cut through his ship. "I'm going to give you three choices, Frog:" He said looking at the Merovingian. He pushed the barrel further into his cheek. "Do I have your attention? You have three choices: 1) you let Griever go and I let you live. 2) You don't let him go and I get REAL creative with this shotgun. 3) You let him go, I shoot you and then I bang your wife...again." The look of disgust and insult on the Frenchman's face without moving his head was priceless. There was a still, eerie quiet. "Oh,wait, did you think I was thinking rhetorically? CHOOSE!!" "One of them is going...." "I don't care if their getting naked and throwing a tea party. Get Griever out here now!" The Merovingian closed his eyes for a split second. "Done."
The moment he said that, the lights in the club, and around the whole city began to blink on and off and surge. The Architect, sitting in his construct and watching his creation through his countless monitors for possibly the first time in his existence, felt shock, as each screen had a large, purple eye in the center of it. "I can see you..." The screens blinked back random points in the city, but the Architect had already gotten up from his chair and walked out of the door on his left.
Back in Zion, Griever awoke and found the bed next to him, the bed he knew belonged to Zeldar, to be empty. He got up and began to slowly walk out of the medical ward, his eyes shut the entire time. He passed several startled people as he made his way passed Zion Control's Jack In center, where Leka still lay. Griever, still with his eyes closed, stared towards her body. Tears began to form in his eyes, but something behind his lids made them appear crimson. Reluctantly he walked to the bridge. Rhyse, Etheno and Sacky were sitting next to Mordain's body while Lock spoke to The Machine. "Grieve!" Sacky shouted. But Griever didn't respond. He just looked at Mordain's body with his closed eyes. "Grieve." Rhyse called to him as he walked down toward Lock and The Machine. Lock seemed to be trying to discuss something with the great machine, and failing. The Machine noticed Griever. "We have failed." It boomed. Lock looked at Griever, his eyes still closed. "What do you want?" The Machine asked. Griever looked towards the machine, but said nothing. "SPEAK!!!" the smaller machines making his face stormed around Griever, Lock sped away. Suddenly, Griever's eyes opened and The Machines bugs scattered back to the face. Griever looked at him. The Cornea of his eyes were still that dark purple, but the iris and pupils were a lighter, paler shade of violet. "No more." He said finally.
At that moment, every operator on every hoverbarge and hovership saw the exact same thing. For the first time, the code of the matrix began to slow down, until finally, every character on the screen just stopped. The entire screen was frozen in Time.
Griever looked up at The Machine again "No More..."
End of Segment 7
"Once upon a time, a Scorpion met a Frog along the riverside. The Scorpion asked if the Frog could carry him to the other side of the river. The Frog refused, knowing that the Scorpion would sting the Frog the first chance it got. The Scorpion persisted, and The Frog finally gave in. While crossing the river, the Frog felt a sharp pinch at the back of his neck. The Scorpion had indeed stung him. The Frog asked why he did that, especially now that he condemned them both to die. The Scorpion Simply replied, ‘I can't help it, I'm a Scorpion, it's what I do.'
Do you think Temsik heard of that story before The Succubus killed his family?
Segment 8:
Nemesis
*CENSORED*, no edit.
Thanks for the compliment Twaggy, I have been writing other stories, which explains the long gap in these installments. I'm going to try to get one of them published in my colleges magazine, which I happen to be one of the editors of
