"Zion's more important than you, more important than me, more important than any of us."
Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole
The Nebuchadnezzar ran low, lights and heat off, creeping towards the main line that would take them to Zion, their home. Ghost kept a wary eye on every screen, looking for Sentinels.
"No signs of movement," he said to Morpheus. "We're clear. But it's a narrow window of opportunity."
"We'll hurry, then," Morpheus said. He spun on his heel, walking towards the cockpit.
Trinity slowly guided the hovercraft over the ruins of the ancient sewer system. As it passed into the main shaft, three figures detached themselves from the roof and slipped after it.
These were the Hunters, the newest creation of the machine army. Modeled after Sentinels, they were colored pitch-black and without lights, making them almost impossible to see by eye alone. Thanks to the latest machine technology, they were just as invisible to the human's primitive radar.
The Hunters were the ultimate stalkers, and the ultimate killers.
"Still no enemies in sight," Neo said.
"Good."
Neo lay back in his seat. "Morpheus, thank you for not abandoning me."
Morpheus smiled, a rare sight. "Neo, do you remember what you did on your first mission into the Matrix? You saved my life. I would never abandon you if there was even the smallest chance that you could return to us. We need you, Neo. Zion needs you."
"Though, I must admit, I don't understand one thing."
'What?"
"How did you manage to put me into Phoenix's body?"
"While you were in the Chateau, Phoenix fought an Exile. He was shot during the battle, while he was exiting the Matrix. Somehow the timing of his wound caused the actual wound to appear here in the real world. We literally pulled a bullet from his chest.
"But he couldn't survive it. He fought against the wound and somehow, using the fact that he had been partly inside the Matrix when wounded, pushed the wound from his body. But the effort tore his brain tissue and killed him…in a sense. Mentally, he was dead, but physically he was not. We managed to hook you into his brain and give you full control of his body."
The lead Hunter dropped right behind the Neb, reaching forward with a long, metal claw and depositing a package on the rear of the hovercraft. The box broadcast the ship's position to the entire machine army.
"Two contacts on the radar!" Myst shouted.
"Where? How?"
"Behind us!"
Morpheus leapt forward and hit the controls. The Neb spun wildly, coming to a stop facing the two contacts.
"Hunters…" Myst whispered.
"Cannons!" Morpheus shouted. "Now! They'll have broadcasted our location! Get ready for a fight, people! Trinity, get us home!"
Trinity slipped into the pilot's seat. Myst felt a swift pain at the thought that Phoenix would normally be the one doing so, and ran back to the Core, yelling for Ghost.
The first Hunter flowed towards the hovercraft, twisting in air. A stream of bullets shot out of it, missing wide.
"Where is it?" Myst said over the radio. "It's too dark!"
Morpheus reached forward and slammed on the Neb's lighting. The Hunters shot out in two directions, splitting up. The first cannon tracked one, firing wildly. The second Hunter wheeled around and shot towards the cockpit, metal arms clicking as it attacked.
A stream of bullets slammed into the front of the machine, which exploded in a ball of flame.
"Nice shot!" Myst yelled. Ghost didn't bother to respond, already turning to face the second machine. The second Hunter darted forward, ducking under a salvo from Ghost's turret and passing out of his range.
"Where is it?" Ghost called.
"I see it!" Myst yelled, opening fire. The Hunter weaved around her shots, stretching forward and connecting with the Neb. He extended two claws and ripped the gun turret open, ducking his head inside. Myst's scream was quickly cut off.
"Shit," said Neo, unbuckling his harness and heading for the rear of the ship. Trinity grimaced, hit the thrusters, and rounded the next turn.
Myst scrambled out of her chair as the Hunter squeezed in through the gun turret. She dashed for the down ladder. The Hunter slammed its arm into her and grabbed her leg, pulling her down and dragging her backward.
She screamed again, kicking at the metal arm. The creature's arm expanded, a long metal spike extending from the limb. He stabbed it down, through her shoulder and into the floor, pinning her. She yelled again, this time in pain.
The hatch swung open and Phoenix's head appeared.
Neo's head…
Neo raised his plasma gun above his head and fired, striking the Hunter. It spasmed and collapsed onto the gunner's seat. Neo dropped the gun and pulled himself into the turret, hurrying over to where Myst was pinned.
"Don't," he said as she tried to pull the spike from her shoulder. He grabbed the spike in both hands and stood quickly, yanking it from her shoulder. She gasped in pain.
"Let me," he said, helping her stand and supporting her on one shoulder. She pushed herself off him and stumbled, hitting a wall.
"What?" Neo asked, coming to her side. "Did I hurt you?"
"No…" Myst mumbled. "It's just…"
"What?"
"It's strange, alright? Phoenix and I were lovers once, before he left the Logos. We were just reconnecting…and he died. And you're in his body…it's a strange feeling. I'm confused. Physically, he's there, but mentally it's you. I'm just not sure what to do anymore."
Myst gave a choked little laugh and turned away.
"It's fine, I'll be okay."
Neo grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around.
"It's not "fine." You have a good point. I've never had to go through anything like this in my life, and for that I'm eternally grateful. But I've lost loved ones. Sometimes, after you lose someone, you think you see them everywhere. And that's all Phoenix is right now. Just a figment of your imagination. But I'm still here Myst, and I can't do for you what he did, but I can protect you. And I will."
Morpheus leaned forward and hit the radio. "Neo? What's happening?"
Neo's answer came back, and Morpheus thought he could hear faint crying in the background. "We're fine here, sir. Just talking."
Morpheus nodded and called Ghost. "Ghost?"
"Yes?"
"At one point during the fight, I thought I had seen a third figure on the radar. Did you see anything like that?"
"Actually, I did. I thought it had just been me…"
"Do you know where it went?"
"No…"
Then it was there. The third Hunter swung down from its space on top of the Neb and slammed through the forward view port. Trinity ducked left, hitting the controls and sending the Neb into a wild spin. The Hunter raised its arms to attack. Morpheus ducked under the attacking machine and out onto the floor.
"Trinity!" he shouted.
"Fine!" she grunted, kicking the Hunter twice in the face. It turned its attention to the woman, clicking its claws in an almost hungering way. Morpheus grabbed the cable leading from the radar to the Core and yanked it off the wall.
The hiss of sparks attracted the Hunter's attention again. It turned to Morpheus, slamming him into the bulkhead with its powerful arms. Trinity jumped up and wrapped her arms around the machine, wrestling with it. Morpheus pushed forward with the cable, driving it home into the Hunter's face. It sparked and fell dead.
"Trinity?"
'Yes?"
"We need to go. Now. The Sentinels are coming, and we have no radar."
"Already on it, sir."
Later that night, as the generators hummed around them, Neo and Trinity met in the Core.
"I've missed you," he said, kissing her. She kissed back, but seemed cold and distant. He could sense it. Pulling away, he asked what was wrong.
"It's a little strange," Trinity admitted. "Mentally, you're there, but physically…you're not. I'm not sure exactly how it works."
"I'm still the same," Neo said.
"I'm not so sure."
"Let's see if I can change your mind."
They had powered down the Neb and set it on the cavern floor. Ghost crouched on the top, scanning the surrounding tunnels. He spotted a faint light in the distance and called it in.
"Thanks, Ghost. Stand by for more instructions."
Morpheus clicked off the radio. A new transmission cut across the comm waves.
"Hello can anyone here us? This is the Blackened Sky. Can anyone hear us? We are under pursuit by Sentinels. Can anyone help us?"
Morpheus hit the radio again. "Ghost, get inside and man the turret."
Trinity and Neo rushed into the cockpit.
"We have reports of a ship being pursued by Sentinels," Morpheus said. "We're going in."
Trinity took the controls, while Neo hung back and closed his eyes.
"What's the ship's name?"
"Blackened Sky."
"Never heard of it."
"Neither had I."
Neo sat down and began accessing the rebel's battlenet.
"Stop!" he yelled. "There is no Blackened Sky!"
Trinity jammed the Neb right, and they slid into another cavern. Sentinels leapt form holes in the wall, converging on the Neb.
"EMP!" Neo yelled.
"We can't," Morpheus said. "Punch it, Trinity."
The Neb shot ahead of the Sentinel horde.
Two Sentinels jumped ahead of the rest, firing waves of blue energy towards the Neb. Trinity skillfully avoided each blow, while Ghost turned one Sentinel, then the other, into dust.
"What was that?"
"I don't know," Morpheus said. "But if the machines have decided to use some form of concentrated EMPs, we could be in serious trouble."
"Turn," Trinity announced. They both grabbed hold as Trinity veered sharply around and into the main pipe.
"Call Zion," she said. "We're coming in."
Three more Sentinels spread out, firing the blue waves of energy. Ghost turned his fire on one, quickly shattering it. The second dived under his range and began to fire again, scoring a hit on the Neb's underside.
Nothing happened.
Neo frowned. Something felt wrong. He reached forward and began to change the channel of the radio until he came across a loud buzzing and hissing sound.
"Normal Sentinel chatter," Morpheus said.
"Can you drown it out?"
"Sure."
The noise faded away, and Neo heard a pulsing burst of sound every few seconds. He turned towards the view port and watched the Sentinel fire.
"They're not attacking," he said. "They're communicating."
Ghost destroyed the third Sentinel with a quick burst from his cannon. Five more leapt forward, firing as they came.
Neo stared at the code that shot across his screen every time the Sentinels fired.
"I'm not sure…" he said. "It's some sort of reactivation code."
One Sentinel slipped past Ghost's fire to the ruined turret where the Hunter still lay and fired. The blue energy struck the downed machine. Its systems slowly came online. The red eye glowed brightly.
Neo ran towards the gun turret where the Hunter still lay, scooping a plasma gun from the floor as he ran. He kicked the hatch open and climbed up, spotting the Hunter as it powered up.
It stared at him and fired its cutting beam straight through his chest.
Trinity suddenly lost control of the ship. The Neb began to spin. Trinity fought to steady it, but to no avail. The hovercraft's rear end swung about and slammed into a rock, tearing off. The wreckage came to a rest on the cold ground.
Trinity ran to the Core as fast as her legs would carry her.
"No!" Trinity cried, seeing Neo's body lying on the ground with a hole through it. She sunk to her knees. Morpheus appeared in the doorway, holding a plasma gun. He fired. The Hunter ducked under the blast, shooting towards Morpheus and knocking him over. The machine flew around the room, ripping out cables and wires from the central unit.
The Hunter reared up before Trinity, clicking both killing claws. She squeezed Neo's hand.
"Guess this is where it ends," she muttered.
The Hunter suddenly seized up, blue sparks flying out of it. It hung there for a second and then fell to the floor.
"What?" Trinity mumbled.
Neo opened his eyes.
"Neo!"
Neo looked down at his chest and shrugged. "It's not my body…"
Trinity laughed and leaned down to kiss him.
Myst came running in. She glanced at Phoenix – NEO – and Trinity and shoved away the quick burst of pain.
"What happened?" she asked. "The Sentinels outside all just collapsed."
Neo smiled.
"We need to get to Zion," Morpheus said. "Any suggestions?"
Lynx pointed at the map. "Here."
Morpheus looked where she pointed. "Yes…"
"There's an access shaft," she said. "We cans slide down that straight into Zion. It's too small for a Sentinel, but we'll be able to fit through with ease."
"Let's go," Morpheus said.
A long line of humans left the Neb, running towards the access shaft across the cavern. A single Hunter detached from the ceiling and broadcast a short radio message to the central control room.
target inside Zion
The reply came back quickly.
ATTACK
The Hunter relayed the commands to the Sentinels surrounding Zion and started off to join the fight.
Neo flipped open the hatch and motioned for Trinity to jump in. She disappeared down the hole, followed quickly by Myst and Ghost. Morpheus followed suit, and Neo took one last sweep of the area before jumping down himself.
As he slid down the pipe, he noticed a faint glow at the end of the tunnel. It was yellow – the color of the sun that would never shine.
And the color of fire.