Chapter Text
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
~
There was a haze over the Matrix.
Most days made it appear to be blue, the color shining against the cool glow in the glass-covered skyscrapers. The sun never seemed to stop shining in the artificial world, enhancing the bright blue sky hanging over it all. The color popped out on people’s clothes, their faces, and everywhere they looked as they went about their mundane lives.
But on this particular day, there was no blue to be seen. Instead, the Matrix had taken on a thick fog that sucked everything into a gray vortex. A low rumbling echoed through the clouds, and the streets were lined with a mist that waded around one’s feet. To those who knew better, it almost seemed to resemble the real world. But to everyone else, they would never be able to differentiate between the two. It would just be a normal day with a slight change in the weather.
Luckily, it wouldn’t be long before a change in the environment settled in, and it came in the form of deep blue hair poking through the gray.
Bugs slowly pulled her head around the side of the building, keeping her gun raised by the side of her head. She peered out at the empty streets before her with her blue lens sunglasses perched on the tip of her nose. Her eyes darted down every direction of the block, finding nothing but fog no matter where she looked. The coast was clear...for now.
Looking back at the rest of her crew, Bugs waved them forward with two fingers on her free hand. As she moved out into the open air, she felt a group of people follow close behind, their footsteps treading lightly onto the street. Despite her status as captain, she let her teammates with the most experience lead the way.
Neo and Trinity moved past her on opposite sides, keeping close with their heads held high. Their deep shades of black helped them stand out in the haze, and they hardly broke their position while they marched on. Bugs moved slowly down the middle of the path, occasionally looking back to find Lexy, Berg, and Morpheus following close behind.
Slightly turning her head to the side, she asked, “Seq, what’s the status?”
“Nothing, Captain. No sign of agents just yet,” her operator’s projection said.
“Alright. Keep us posted.” Bugs made her voice slightly louder to address the rest of her crew. “We want to catch the bastards before they catch us. Once we do, let’s keep it as simple as possible. We find them, kick their arses, then head home. It’s nothing more than a recon mission.”
Lexy couldn’t help but huff. “You say that like they’re always simple.”
“Well, it’s not my fault the programs like a good show.”
“It doesn’t help that we’re here,” Neo spoke up. “We’re exactly what they’re looking for.”
“Please. You’re our secret weapon. You’re the reason this is going to be simple. Once you and Mum have a go at it, they won’t even think about touching us.”
“Let’s hope they don’t,” Trinity added.
The crew slowly moved through the fog, their ankles covered by the clouds surrounding them. Each person’s gun was aimed at the ready, their trigger fingers pulsing while they peered inside every shop window and alleyway.
The silence of the area was deafening. There was no sign of life in the once-populated neighborhood. There were no people walking along the sidewalk, no cars driving by, not even a stray cat trotting past them. It seemed the weather was keeping everyone inside and asleep for once.
Bugs grew more antsy with each step. The Matrix wasn’t supposed to be quiet. It was loud and obnoxious and filled with sounds to keep people distracted from what was really going on. It was built on noise. She didn’t want to feel like they were walking into a trap. She had to ease her nerves somehow.
Making a low chuckle, she asked the group, “Do you think we’ll see any R.O.U.S.es?”
“Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist,” Trinity spoke up.
Bugs stopped walking and stared at her smirking face, her mouth open in a loud gasp. The crew skid their feet to stop and whipped their heads around.
“What? What is it?” Morpheus asked.
Bugs made an accusatory point at Trinity. “Mum knows The Princess Bride!”
“Get out!” Berg said with the same shock.
“I didn’t think you of all people would understand that!”
“Hey, Bugs?” Sequoia commed in. He tapped his fingers in the open air as if accessing his monitors on their ship. “You got company coming on the next block.”
“Shit. Let’s move.”
Neo began jogging ahead down the street, bringing the others to follow close behind. Bugs and Trinity trailed towards the back, the former moving closer to her mother.
“How the hell do you know The Princess Bride?”
Trinity kept her smile on her while looking over her shoulder. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
Bugs stopped running to watch her move without her, blowing out her lips as she sagged her shoulders. “Understatement of the year.”
Bringing her gun up, she joined the crew in their charge ahead and pushed herself towards the front of the group.
As she tried to catch her breath, she asked, “Seq, which way?”
“Left. Next block. Be ready. They look enhanced.”
Bugs nodded then turned down the left street once they reached the corner. Her crew moved in the same way but stopped once they saw their foes face to face.
Agents tended to come in threes, and these were no exception. The three programs in dark suits stood together in a triangle formation, their square forms seeming to tighten up the longer they held their ground. They never took their eyes off the Coppertops standing before them, their faces showing no sign of emotion while locking onto their prey.
The Mnemosyne made no effort to keep themselves in any formation. They remained clumped together with their backs arched, giving the agents the same type of threatening calm.
Neither group moved for a moment during their standoff, almost waiting for some type of signal to draw their guns. The signal seemed to come in the form of Bugs.
Slowly stepping forward, she pushed up her sunglasses with a small smile. “Afternoon, boys. Mind if we pass through?”
The agent standing in the center of the formation was the first to raise his gun, aiming it directly at Neo’s head.
Trinity’s eyes widened in an instant. “Get down!”
The crew ducked as the first shot was fired, missing them completely while they kept their bodies low. They each readied their guns with a firm click before charging ahead, allowing the fight to truly begin.
The group split off into pairs with their own agent to fend off. Berg walked towards the one on the right, firing at will to land a bullet in any direction. The agent turned his body in a slow motion swivel, watching each bullet sail past him into the waiting fog. He marched ahead to stand inches away from Berg, grabbing him by the wrist with a hard glare.
Berg grinned as he jumped in the air, aiming out his legs to kick him square in the chest. The blow was enough to make the agent stagger back and loosen his grip, but he wasn’t down yet.
Berg landed on top of a bench with his fists at the ready, saying, “Trinity! In your corner!”
“I’m on it.”
With a growl, Berg swung his leg around to push into the agent’s side. The program was knocked to the ground and landed on the sidewalk, his face pressed into an outstretched boot. Without hesitating, Trinity kicked it in and sent him flying back to his feet to loose some punches of her own into him.
On the other side of the street, Bugs and Lexy stood together and watched another agent march towards them with his gun at the ready.
The former asked, “Do you want to tag team this one?”
“I was hoping we could.”
“Get ready.”
Lexy nodded then stood tall, her own gun raised and firing at the agent as best as she could. She held her breath while she watched him dodge each one, trying not to lose her nerve while Bugs ran off.
She had total faith in her captain. After all, she held her heart too. She just wanted it to be over with.
While Lexy distracted their foe, Bugs turned around and ran towards a nearby fire hydrant. She jumped onto it then leaned towards a nearby brick wall, her feet landing perfectly on its side. She ran along the wall to get back to Lexy, the agent now standing feet away from her.
“Now!”
Lexy bent over as Bugs jumped off and used her back to leap forward to the agent. She pushed her feet into his shoulders to knock him over, wrapping her ankles firmly around his neck. Once he hit the ground, she pressed the barrel of her gun into his forehead and fired with perfect aim. The agent went limp in her grip in an instant, allowing her to stand back up.
“Thanks for the assist,” she told Lexy. Turning out to the street, she asked, “Does anyone have eyes on Neo?”
“I got him!”
Morpheus fought off his own agent that attacked from behind, punching him with the barrel of his gun. He whipped his body around to karate chop his side, sending the agent toppling into the fog.
Morpheus wiped at his lip and panted while tugging on his jacket, bringing himself back into form. He spotted Neo staring at him in the distance and kept his gaze, trying not to lose sight of him. He wasn’t able to register why his face suddenly paled over with wide eyes until it was too late.
“Morpheus, wait!”
Morpheus felt his body be pulled to the ground in a chokehold, the agent body slamming him into the fog. Neo charged after him with a yell, his fist at the ready for a true fight.
The agent started to run over as well, but he was no match for the One’s great power. With a loud cry, Neo chopped his hand into the side of his neck. The agent staggered back and wobbled in place, his head shaking in disorientation. With his opponent unsteady, Neo swung his leg around to collide into the agent and fully knock him over.
Neo panted over his limp form then turned to look down at his own hand. He couldn’t fight off his body from shaking while turning his wrist, his brain numb with shock.
That was a new combination of moves. He’d never tried that before. He didn’t even know that was going to be effective. Why had that worked?
Neo broke out of his shock for a moment to look over at Morpheus, watching his friend sit up in the fog to give him the same stunned expression.
“Where the hell did you learn that?”
Neo looked between his hand and his teammate. “I don’t really know.”
“Neo!”
Neo shook himself out and whipped around at the sound of Trinity’s voice. Her body was bent over the bench, watching from afar as the last agent stomped over to him. They were inches away from each other, but Neo managed to move quick enough to think.
He held out both arms and released a pulsing chi blast into the area. Those who could held on to the nearest object to keep themselves steady during the sensation. The agent wasn’t as lucky, as he was caught directly in the vibrations and launched back into an alleyway.
Once he landed on the concrete floor, Trinity picked herself up and stood directly over the entryway. With a steady gaze, she fired her gun directly at his head just to be sure. He never moved again.
The crew each stayed in their positions for a moment to catch their breath, slowly moving to join together back in the street.
“That was it, right? Recon’s over?” Berg asked.
Seq chimed in, “Recon’s over. Area’s cleared.”
“Thanks, Seq.” Bugs looked over her crew in panting breaths. “Any injuries?”
Each one shook their head, but the way Trinity leaned into Neo’s side wasn’t lost on her.
She tried not to think about how close they might have been to losing him in the fight. That always seemed to be the case with him. It was the burden of being the One. The target never left his back no matter how many times he ripped it off.
Bugs knew how difficult it was for Trinity to be in love with him, but she had her own worries to deal with. Being the One’s girlfriend was one thing. Being his daughter was another matter entirely. So while there weren’t any external injuries that day, the internal ones would never go away.
Shaking herself out of it, Bugs nodded at the crew. “Good. Seq, bring us back in.”
Bugs turned her head up to the gray sky and closed her eyes, waiting for the sweet release of freedom. She hardly ever felt the plug fall out of her neck, but each time felt sweeter than the last.
Bugs sighed to herself as she felt the sensation of sitting in a chair once more, her eyes slowly opening to reveal her true position. The dark hull of the Mnemosyne returned to view, giving her the perfect glance at Seq’s station across the way.
“Welcome back, everyone. Did you enjoy the trip?” he asked as he helped to unplug the rest of the team.
Each person seemed to sit up and let out a loud groan, earning a laugh from him.
“That much fun, huh?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Neo began to stand up but quickly grabbed onto the arm of his chair as he fell forward.
“Neo?” Trinity asked, rushing to his side.
Bugs watched her take his arm and pick him up, forcing her to do the same.
“Dad. Dad? You alright?”
“I-I’m fine, really,” Neo said with a wave. “I’m just...a little light-headed, is all.”
Bugs glared at him. “You told me there were no injuries.”
“And there aren’t.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Ellster, the crew’s medic, walked over to pat him on the shoulder. “Let’s get you into medbay for a quick scan.”
“I’m coming with him,” Trinity spoke up.
“‘Course you are. ‘Cause I’m taking a look at you too.”
Trinity made a quiet scoff. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie to me. I saw you limping in the Matrix.”
Trinity pressed her lips together and sighed to herself. Dammit. She worked hard in hiding that. She didn’t want to put up a fight, though. Bugs was probably already mad at her for lying. She could rub it in her face later when her scans came back clean.
“Fine.”
Ellster turned to look at Bugs and gestured her head to the door. “Go get some rest. They’re in good hands with me.”
Bugs made a resigned sigh. “Alright.” She moved over to Neo and Trinity and pulled them into a group hug. “I’ll see you both later.”
“Okay.”
She began to walk out of the cockpit but stopped to look over her shoulder. She couldn’t help but smile at her parents from afar, treasuring every glance she could get at them.
There were times where she still couldn’t believe that they were real and all together. But this wasn’t the Matrix. Everything that was here mattered most. And she was going to make sure it stayed that way for the rest of their lives.
Once she was ready, Bugs turned out of the room and made her way through the rest of the ship. Her parents had survived much worse. They would be fine. What was there to worry about?