IC: How Deep the Rabbit Hole goes...(Matrix thread)

Pure, endless white surrounded Echo on all sides. Nothing but a pristine, snow-white oblivion stretching out as far as the eye could see. A person could get lost really easily here. All you had to do is start walking out into the white, and just never come back. Echo just liked to for the quiet.

Everyday he woke up on the same ship, the Oberon and life was a complicated mess, full of sound and confusion and so much blood. But this place was peaceful. It was ironic that this construct that gave Echo so much comfort, was built around the same laws as the very prision that the machines had build to enslave humanity. The Matrix.

Taking in a long sigh, Echo said goodbye to the white and leaned his head back.

"Steel. You with me? Have Necro jack in and then load the training sim" He called out to his operator.

"Your flight is futile Ms. Goodwin. You will be killed like all the others." The Agent said as he ran, attempting to catch the woman fleeing ahead of him, her black skirt whooshing as she ran from him.

Miranda Goodwin, Syntax she went by after her rebirth, panted with the mental effort she exerted to force her body to faster speeds. The crew of the Lodoss had located another mind that their captain believed could be freed, and they had planned to bring another human out of this dream world. But things went to shit. They were ambushed inside, half the crew killed instantly by the Agent as he stepped out from the entrance to a building and plugged them with two shots squarely in the chest. Syntax had fled, the fate of the rest of them unknown. She hadn't time to mourn the passing of her crew. She had to get to an exit point. Her operator told her there was one four blocks away and she was dashing to get to one, praying the Agent wouldn't catch her. She rounded the final corner, hearing the ring from a phone booth in front of her, she gave a joyous shout as she looked over her shoulder, surprised that she didn't see the Agent. "I must have lost him.." She breathed in relief as she turned back towards the sound of the ringing... BAM! She slammed right into Agent's punch, taking her off her feet. Back onboard the Lodoss the operator cried out in fear as Syn spasmed on the table, spitting out blood.
"You are finished Ms. Goodwin..." The ominous voice said, grabbing her by the leather jacket she wore and lifting her off her feet. Syntax let out a small cry, fear in her eyes as she stared into the Agents sunglasses, knowing her end was now. She sobbed softly and closed her eyes waiting the inevitable.... WHUMP! She hit the ground hard on her ass and opened her eyes in surprise, seeing the Agent stumbling back, an odd pattern of green 1s and 0s splurting out of his limbs.. right where his hands used to be. Her eyes widened as she saw a man, entirely black and white step forward. "You are not worthy." He said, his voice not matching the movements of his mouth as he twirled what appeared to be a Katana in one hand, slashing down through the agent. At first it looked as if nothing happened, but then in a flash of blue the Agent exploded. Syntax covered her eyes and looked away but felt a tingle of electricity play over her entire body. She opened her eyes and saw the man sheathing his sword. He was clad in a traditional Japanese robe, complete with a topknot. "Who.... who are you?" She asked.
He looked down at her, suddenly being wracked by a static attack, he phased out for a moment before reforming. "You do not belong here." He said in the same disjointed voice, almost as if someone was dubbing over his actual words. She gasped as faster than lightning his palm shto out, striking her in the stomach.... She sat up, panting, realizing she was back onboard the Lodoss.. but how could that be possible? The operator came running over to her.
"What happened?" Syn asked the man as she unhooked herself, "Did you get me out in time? I thought he was going to kill me!" She said, looking around. The captain had made it out it seemed while the Agent was following her and he stared at her in obvious concern.

"I couldn't get you out!" The operator said in obvious surprise. "You never touched that phone, and it was the only chance for exit... no when that... whatever it was.. hit you... well for lack of a better term, he crashed you out of the Matrix.. take a look.." He said gesturing for her to come look at his operator screen. Where normally there was only a stream of green characters against a black background there was only a blank blue screen with grey letters. She looked at them, it taking her a second to realize these spelled out sentences and weren't the normal gibberish that made up the Matrix.


"What the heck does that mean?" Syntax asked, looking first at the operator and then the captain.
"I have no idea... but we all saw it.. it killed an Agent... something in there actually killed an Agent..." The operator said, with obvious awe and excitement in his voice.

Necro whinced as the jack in came, jolting up on the chair a bit- then opened her eyes, fnding herself standing next to Echo. "I'm still not used to that..," She muttered, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked to him. There was nothing unique beneath her hand, of course- the holes and metal on her regular body would never come through to the Matrix. The odd feelings, however, followed from both worlds. Whatever happened in one, happened in the other.... which was why she trained with Echo- To keep her ass alive in the Matrix.

"So.. the training sim. I only got through basic hand to hand last time..." She folded her arms before her, still getting adjusted to the change on clothing that came with entering this world. Her soft 'well-loved' ragged clothing was replacesd with tight black leather and straps around her body, a bit confining in some places and very free flowing in others.

"...Got something special lined up for me this time?," She asked with a grin.

Yawning, a late sleeper came into the room noting that Necro and Echo were both jacked into the Matrix. "Nother training session?" 404 inquired scratching the back of his head as he came up behind Steel always at his operating station.

He watched the screen able to read the green gibberish just like anyone else who'd been disconnected from the Matrix for a while. Thankful for Steel's love of the job, it kept 404 away from that screen and in the only place loved, the kitchen. Self appointed cook despite not having a variety of food like those shown in the Matrix but he did make some interesting mixtures...all of them in the form of slop no less. Still, he worked with day in and day out coming up with ways he could reproduce food for the crew and hopefully Zion itself. God only knew food was what sustained their kind, without it they'd surely die out. Which let 404 to wonder how none of they had died of starvation despite being jacked into the Matrix all those years.

Well it didn't matter, they were alive and well which worked just fine for him. The less time he spent jacked in the better, it meant no fighting and no war...no war meant no machines. He hated those things the most. "How long they been in there?" He asked Steel not really caring but hoping to make some conversation. Perhaps he'd join them if anything else. An early work out never hurt anyone... "Ask Echo if he needs some extra hands.. I'm going to go grab some grub." He informed heading off to his usual spot.

Entering Captain

Mayu had a nice rest as she sat up and sat on the edge of the bed and sighed some, she was almost afraid to walk out to see something bad, but she knew if something very bad happened they would have called her. Slowly standing up she fixed up her bed and got dressed, being a captain at a young age was rough, but she loved it. She always showed people with great respect and it was such a wonderful thrill. She put on a dark green tee shirt, pants that were black, with black boots, pulling her hair back in a braid she yawned a bit and was ready to start the day.

She left her bedroom closing the door behind her and went on out, it seemed quite, to her it ways way to quite, she sighed some. "Anyone Alive?" She said as she walked on out not seeing anyone she crossed her arms wondering what the hell was going on, but she heard someone and turned, hearing there foot steps coming closer, she waited to see who or what it was going to be, she was ready for anything, closing her eyes for a moment she couldn't tell who it was, she opened her eyes and waited.

She wouldn't wait long noting the big lug that was 404 come around the corner with a yawn. He peered down at her standing in his way to the mess hall (of sorts). "Pip squeak move." He muttered, of all the crew members he didn't take the little squirt seriously enough. While he would admit she gotten them out of a few tussles he didn't like her so much. Replacing their old captain after he'd been killed by one of the machines a while back. "A man's gotta get their food you gonna stand there gawkin' all mornin' or what? Move!" he said brushing past as he made his way down the hall.

Echo smiled a bit as the construct rippeled and flexed as Necro jacked in. She still had that look, that confused excitement, every time she was pluged into a program or to the Matrix. He remembered that look.

"...Got something special lined up for me this time?,"

His hand floated up to his face to remove the golden lensed sunglasses that covered his eyes. He was dressed in his usual attire, a long trenchcoat worn over slacks and a buisness shirt, all jet black, offset by a bright red necktie going down his chest. Pocketing the sunglasses, he called out a simple command to the construct.

"Swords."

At his words, shapes fell from above them, various parts and pieces all forming together before their eyes, coming together as a simple wooden bench. A wide assortment of bladed weapons, of shapes and sizes from all around the world.

Echo looked Necro in the sky and smiled.

Necro stepped back as the pieces landed, a slightly awed look on her face as she looked up- then caught the smirk on Echo's face. She gave a soft laugh, shrugging and looking to the bench.

The swords were incredible, each one seeming absolutely beautiful to her. She picked one up, looking it over as she ran her finger along the blade. A bit too close, and a small trickle of blood ran down her thumb. "Ow- fuck.." She shoved it into her mouth, frowning. "Sharp..."

Selecting an old styled French rapier, Echo took a few steps away from the table, giving the weapon a few swings to test the weight. It felt very natural, lightweight and flexable, like the jian he used within the Matrix.

Noticing Necro placing her thumb in her mouth to stop the thin trickle of blood, he couldn't help but smile. "Is it sharp? Or does your mind just think it's sharp?"

Turning back to face her, he raised the tip of the blade to eye level, holding it horizontally away from him.

"Within the Matrix, it's important to learn how to focus. Your focus will keep you alive" He spoke the words he had heard all those years ago when he'd been freed and learned the truth about the Matrix.

"So our excersice for this morning, is teaching you to focus"

"It felt sharp..," Necro grumbled, taking the digit free of her lips and shaking her hand out. "Pain is in my mind no matter where I am, though, isn't it? Its just a natural reaction of the body to an unexpected action... So why shouldn't my mind think that was painful?"

She may have been confused by most things in here, but she did attempt to understand a great deal of it. After all, learning about your enemy was the biggest asset you could have.

She frowned quickly as she saw him readying the rapier, hearing his words as she stared at it. "Focus? Ahm... alright..." She swallowed a bit, wiping the katana against her leg to clear the bit of blood- or what her mind thought was blood, apparently- and readied herself as well.

Steel watched his screens. Echo and Necro were displayed on them. After Echo's command, Steel had entered the codes for swords into the Construct program. He watched the falling lettres, one by one.

Steel tapped his communication key once, calling out towards Echo. "You need anything, you just call me. I'll be here all day watching you teach the new kid. Don't push her too hard."

He smiled as he stretched and sat back. This was going to be fun.

404 turned with an arched brow. "My problem is you...I was wondering when this ship turned into a nursery ward." He said heading into the kitchen unite, he was quite sure she'd follow but that was up to her. Fixing himself something to eat he sat down at the table hoping to have a peaceful morning.

In the News, a couple kids had barged into their high-school and started shooting people. Then, a man had shot a shopkeeper dead and tried to get away in his car, but the police caught up to him and arrested him. Somewhere in France, a new hotel just for dogs had opened. And the ecologists kept warning the government about the high degree of atmospherical changes that should be expected for the following century should the constant CO2 emmissions keep going steadily at their current rhythm.

Stone watched with no discernible interest. Yet, for some reason, she felt strangely compelled to do it. Watching TV was... attractive, from a purely instinctual way. Was it a sub-routine in her? Maybe her programme had a bug. No other Agent watched TV but her.

On the table in front of her, where she had unconsciously placed her feet, there was a glass of whiskey. Stone knew that, should she drink out of it, she would experiment the taste, but there would be no effect on her physical condition. As far as she knew, and tested, she could drink five bottles of the stuff, and not get anything near to what humans called "getting drunk".

Yet... Stone had tried.

Her eyes lazily drifted towards the appartment's door, a few seconds before someone knocked on it. It was a gentle tapping.

Stone got up and moved ethereally to open the green door. In front of her, three Agents stood with their arms identically crossed before them in a relaxed pose. The one in the front, marginally taller, looked at her from behind his sunglasses.

"Agent Stone, we have tried to summon you two times. It would be easier if you would use your earpiece."

The little, white gizmo rested on the table like a napkin or a caramel would. To her, its existence was as important as the armchair or the window's, and putting it on had never, ever crossed her mind.

"We will guide you to the scene."




Stone found herself sitting against a wall in a dank, smelly alley, on top of some cardboard pieces. There were at least six Agents standing with their guns drawn, all looking at a rather inconspicous door at the end of the alley. Their heads turned to her with eerie synchronization, and Stone knew inmediately what she was expected to do. All of a sudden, all the information she needed was stored in her data banks. A rogue programme, looking like a black panther, had been feeding off human power lines, draining several hosts and disrupting the balance.

The Matrix would have to cover them up as a serial murderer's work, but someone had to destroy that thing. And it had already destroyed three Agents.

Stone drew her own gun, bizarrely huge in comparison with her own hand, and moved to the door. In half a second, she glanced into the eyes of every Agent in front of her with her usual blank expression, her pupils darting from one Agent's sunglasses to the next.

And in complete silence they started moving, the orders she had given them relayed clearly and obeyed in the instant they were received. Two of them towards the emergency exit ladders on the sides of the alley, two of them jumping up and into the building through the windows, and two staying at her side. With deliberate calm, Stone punched through the door's wood with surprising ease, and turned the knob...

Mayu said:

She followed slamming the door behind her "I am the captain and you do as I say, if you don't like it then we can leave you behind and not pull your ass out of the fire!" She didn't want to be a bitch but 404 was asking for it. "And how dare you question me!"

Click to expand...

So much for that peaceful morning. Sticking a finger in his ear he looked boredly at the door behind her then his food. Eating in the aftermath of her tantrum, mouth full of food he looked up to her, "Finished?" he questioned. Standing to his feet he tossed his food away storming over to her and hovering. "You listen here captain you do what you have to, in order to protect your crew, but dont' threaten me because of the council's incompetance to let a child run a ship. You knew what you were getting into before hand...you knew some of us might not be too happy about a child captain. Wether the other crew members accept it or not, doesn't mean I have to." he said opening the door behind her. "I follow orders because that's what a soldier does. But when we aren't in the field, don't think you'll be getting special treatment...now move." he growled and stepped past her to head for his room.

If it wasn't bad enough already that they fought for their lives daily, he had to have an issue with the captain. She was obviously capable of doing her job, that much he knew. She was very straightforward and didn't back down to any challenge, even his grumpiness. He had to admire that but it was something about her that irked his nerves on the daily. Oh well...go get showered up and perhaps let off some steam in training.

B-SOD stood on the roof of a nearby building, gazing down into the alley, watching the Agents gather outside the building. The Black Panther was in there, another victim within his clutches. B-SOD knew he was a rogue program and in his heart knew how important it was that he be hunted down and killed. But Agents were in no way qualified for the job. He had tested their kind over and over and found them wanting always. They were a flawed program, running ineffecient sub-routines. He had once been a part of them, long ago, a program used to train them, but he had seen the truth. They called him infected, corrupt, but he was running at much higher effeciency than the lot of them.

He flickered in and out in a storm of static, raising an eyebrow as another Agent joined the six down below. This one... ACCESSING... Agent Stone somehow seemed different than the others... something was off about her. He sat down, crossing his legs underneath him as he watched the Agents go to work, studying them and their movements. Always know your enemy........ friend......? He blurred out in static again, completely forgetting what he had been processing.

Echo stepped foreword, leading with the point of his sword. For some reason he had yet to understand, so many of the Zion Rebels prefered a katana when they went into combat. They were elegant weapons to be sure, but the grace and precision were lacking. Echo liked precision, he liked things to work elegantly and with as little effort as possible. The pure beauty of simplicity.

Taking a large step foreword, Echo swung from the shoulder. He was telegraphing the move somewhat but there was no need to go hard. This was training afterall.

Necro showed alot of promise as a resistance fighter. She was smart, capable and learned quickly. Most newly freed minds were still going through basic training to understand how to bend the Matrix's rules to their needs, she was already on combat training. It was pretty impressive.

The sword came in at a high angle, the flat of the blade tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Minimize your exposed areas. Keep the weapon in close so that you only have to expend the minimum amount of effort to defend yourself" He spoke calmly, remembering the words of his mentor, the Oberon's former Captain.

Stone entered the darkness, her black raven hair disappearing in the gloom inside, Agents James and Robertson standing beside her, their eyes surveying the abandoned hallways and rooms around them. Stone advanced calmly and collected. James and Robertson looked at each other, wondering what kind of Agent acted with such calmness and apparent recklessness.

Stone took a deep breath, and looked up. There were stairs in front of her leading up into the second floor. That was when she heard the shooting. Heavy caliber projectiles, one after the other, hitting wood. Stone ran upstairs followed by the other agents, their steps rumbling as they charged.

Suddenly, a huge crash came from her right. A door slid on the floor and she stopped it with her foot to see Agent Thomas lying on it, his face disfigured, green and black pouring into the air from wounds that looked like slashes. Something moved fast out of the room and into a hallway, away from Stone and towards the windows. Stone aimed and fired, the huge recoil of the Desert Eagle barely fazing her as she walked forth towards the dark figure running away. The shots missed by inches, but suddenly, Agent Jones came out of nowhere and kicked the rogue's side, sending it sprawling against the wall, and through it.

Stone knew better than to think that had been enough. As Jones charged through the sawdust and torn wallpaper, Stone opened her own way with a tackle, sending splinters and boards everywhere when she tore her way through the wall.

She found herself right in front of a surprised black panther. The animal growled at her and leapt into the attack, only to be further injured when Jones executed a perfect high roundhouse kick that sent it hurtling sideways through the window and into the emergency stairs where Agent Phillips would be waiting, in the middle of a rain of glass and splinters...

Necro frowned, readjusting her stance and holding the blade closer to her body, angling so that he had less area to strike. Had he turned that differently, she would have been 'imagining' blood again...

She watched him, biting her lip slightly as she tried to anticipate him. She tried to take her own attack on him, lunging forward with a quick swipe of the katana- which was easily avoided by Echo. Her frown grew at that. She knew that he expected her to present a bit of a challenege, and she tried her best to give one. "I know... Focus...," She growled.

Retake the stance. Watch his eyes, his feet.. and the damn sword! Staring at his feet would mean easy swipes at her upper body. An agent would think nothing of taking advantage of a weakness point. Find your own on them, and get yourself away... One of the first lessons Echo had ever given her. Don't try to take them on. Just find a way to slow them and haul ass.

Echo stepped backwards, broadening the distance between the two of them. She was picking it up quickly, and her blade control was improving right before his eyes. Downloading fighting styles and knowledge into a person's brain was simple and took only a few seconds, but there was a big difference in knowing the skills and being able to use them effectivly. Adaptaion, and improvisation couldn't come from a computer program.

He took a moment to examine her stance. Her shoulders were set well and she had a stable central line. Her legs were...long. Blinking a couple times to clear his vision Echo made a note of her footing. The weight distribution...

Stepping foreword, Echo dropped down low, cocking his arm back and thrusting with the tip of his blade, angeling upward towards her sternum.

Necro reacted as quickly as she could, swinging her left leg aside as her right tried to catch the rest of her weight- and ended up flat on her ass. Giving a frustrated groan, she rolled back and jumped to her feet. Too focused on where he was instead of where she was herself!

At least she got clear of the sword. Even if it was by a rather... ackward... method. She tried to take advantage of him being down so low, taking the sword in both hands and cross-slicing towards him.

Rain drops sprinkled over the tin rooftops.

Lightning struck some distance away, lighting up the sky.

Thunder clapped as a dark figure flew across a gap in the skyscrapers.


I am a leaf in the wind...


Shots rang out, breaking the silence of the night. Large rounds flew at the man as time seemed to slow around him. The rain came to a stop in the sky, a bolt of lightning halted in the air, and sound faded away. He turned to look through red tinted sunglasses as time caught up with him and the bullets glided past his head.

Two men in black suits jumped the gap, the slides on their heavy desert eagles recoiling as new bullets were chambered. Their slick dress shoes hit the tin rooftops, water splashing around them as they came upon their quarrey.

The hunted one, a man dressed all in black spun about, his silver hair whirling about his head as he pulled two black beretta 92s, aiming quickly as his feet slid on the rain slick rooftop. The shots from his guns flew true, but the agents were too fast, easily dodging the many bullets as the man spun on his heel and ran, jumping off of the ledge of the building.

Watch me soar...

He crashed through a window, shards of glass cutting through the air and flying all about him as he rolled down a hallway, promply gaining his feet again and running with all he had, spent clips being tossed aside as he reloaded the two guns. The suits followed, three steps behind him. They were closing in.

He kicked down a door, coming into another hallway, breathing heavy as his feet pushed him forward. The sounds of footsteps behind him rang out through the tight hallway, taunting his mind as sweat dripped from his nose.

Then he heard it, the sound of salvation...

*...riiiing...riiiing...riiiing...*

It was close, he was going to make it. He slid infront of the door, his boots sqeaking on the wood. But he stopped, his eyes wide as he looked down at the blood coming down his side. The familiar click of the slide going back in place on the desert eagle hit his ears next, smoke still coming from the recently fired barrel.

He gritted his teeth and pushed the door open, the agents down the hall took off after him. The next few moments were a blur. More shots rang out but the sound was cut off by the ringing phone infront of him. He took hold of it, the last thing he saw was the dark sunglasses of the agent reaching out for him.

He opened his eyes, looking at the familiar faces infront of him. Back on the ship, the Zenith...he'd made it. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, but soon the pain hit him. He lifted his grey shirt to see purple bruises on his right side. He'd be fine, nothing a few days rest wouldnt fix...and a heck of a painkiller.

"Knives!"

A girl jumped on him in the chair, she had the same color hair as him, long and silky. She wore the same grey shirt as him, dark pants and boots too.

"I thought I'd lost you!"

She hugged him tight as he wrapped his arms about her.

"I'm fine Sis."

She slid off of him and let him get up. They were brother and sister, removed from the Matrix at the same time. They'd helped each other get through it at the time. That was five years ago.

"We've got to get ahold of the Oberon."

[Fenix, if you want post about getting a message from the Zenith about a meeting. They can meet in the Matrix. Set a place, they'll be there. Thanks.]

Echo rolled to the side as the blade of Necro's sword cut through the space he had just occupied. Pivoting his wrist, he pushed forword, allowing the blade to deflect off his sword guard. Turning his weight with her, Echo's free hand came around pressing against the small of her back and pushing foreword to throw her further off guard.

The construct began to reverberate with a buzzing sound. Echo paused in mid-step and raised his head.

"Is that a message Steel?"

"Homph!" Necro staggered forward, holding the katana down as Echo called out to Steel. She frowned, rubbing at her back. That was a rather hard shove he gave... She really hadn't thought about him just reaching out and smacking her.

She settled down on the white ground, resting the blade across her knees as she waited for Echo. If he was taking the message in from here, he was probably going to take a bit. At least this gave her a minute to catch her breath...