»THE MATRIX: REDEFINED«

The Matrix: Redefined
0

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When I ran I didn't feel like a runaway
When I escaped I didn't feel like I got away

Offspring, Staring at the Sun
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It was time.

Cain and Abel gave no warning before they burst through the door, startling the old fool and the two humans with him. Cain, the first one out, pointed his gun at the female's temple. "Anyone moves," he said with a dark grin, "and her brains are a Jackson Pollock."

Abel was already covering the male, pressing his gun against the human's chest and snapping, "Drop it!" as his free hand wrapped around the human's gun. The human let go, and Abel tossed it out of the way. He turned back, giggling a bit. Cain made a note to talk to Abel about that.

"I see we're just in time," Cain said, turning his gaze onto the Keymaker. "You didn't think we left that door unlocked by accident, did you?"

Abel reached out and snatched the key from its maker, twirling its chain around his own finger. "Uh-huh... I think he did," Abel grinned, looking up at the Keymaker. He paused for a moment, watching the other program's expression. He swung his gun around to point at him, saying, "Look at his face! It's just like a human!"

"This mustn't happen!" the Keymaker cried as Abel returned to the Château with the key.

"It already has," Cain replied, stepping in as well and closing the door.

Abel holstered his pistol, grinning like an idiot. "That was almost too easy," he said to his brother.

Cain nodded as he slid his own gun into his jacket. "Who would've thought the old man wouldn't have realised it was a trap?"

Abel shrugged as he slipped the key around his neck. He paused for a minute, considering their options. They would have to leave the château. They had committed an act of rebellion in stealing the key meant for the One, and the Merovingian did not tolerate rebellion. What would they do on their own? He and Cain had been working for the Merovingian ever since he'd saved them from deletion long ago.

Briefly, the werewolf considered turning the key over to his boss, then decided firmly against it. It was high time he and Cain lived their own lives. "Let's go," he said. They slipped into their library, where Abel turned to Cain. "There's no turning back now," he told his brother seriously.

Cain nodded, then he and Abel clasped hands. "We'll make it through this."

Abel smirked, then he opened the door to another part of the Industrial Hallway, and both werewolves set off in search of the door the key went to.

----

My only excuse is this: All the half-assed, poorly written AUs piss me off. Obviously, this AU diverts from canon after the meeting of the Captains in Reloaded, when Niobe and Ghost meet the Keymaker in ETM.

The Matrix: Redefined
1

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Time won't heal this damage anymore
Don't turn your back on me: I won't be ignored.

Linkin Park, Faint
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It wasn't too surprising that Cain and Abel had begun to argue soon after agreeing on a course of action. They were brothers, in a certain sense. They had been fine until they came to a split in the never-ending hallway: Cain had wanted to go to the right, Abel to the left. Subsequently, they argued, which gave the Merovingian's men enough time to track them down.

Seth was the first to find them, bearing down upon them like a fallen angel – a fitting description, as Seth was one of the Nephilim – and barely giving them the chance to avoid his strike. Cain and Abel had fled, both going down the straight path, argument forgotten in the face of deletion. At the next split in the hallways, Abel ran right while Cain peeled off to the left. Abel felt a quick flash of fear for his brother, a longer one for himself, and pushed himself to a higher speed.

Esau, Jacob, and Tiger were tailing him; even when fleeing he could detect their scents. Tiger was the fastest of the three. Thinking fast, Abel suddenly swung left, ramming his shoulder against the door and forcing it open with his program strength. Sunlight poured into the Industrial Hallway; Tiger barely managed to avoid running into the beam. Swearing, he watched Esau and Jacob chase after Abel.

Abel lost them quickly enough, running into a crowd, making his way out of sight, and them shifting to his lupine form and calmly trotting away. He could feel the chain of the key around his neck and felt somewhat relieved that he hadn't lost it.

A car horn blared, Abel looked up and tried to leap out of the way of the oncoming vehicle—

He felt a crushing pain against his side—

A pained yelp burst from his muzzle—

Nothing.

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Ghost was at a loss. He and Niobe had gone into the château to try and get the key back from the two thugs, but had only wound up getting separated and, in Ghost’s case, lost. Eventually he wound up in a library/lounge of sorts, occupied by the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, even compared to Trinity.

She reached beside her and pressed a button on the remote control beside her as Ghost shut the door. “I’ve been watching you,” she stated. “You’re looking for your friend. But you will never find them.”

Slightly annoyed, Ghost raised his gun and pointed it at her. "Then you're going to help me."

She smiled, looking amused by this. "I could have this room full of my husband's men in a heartbeat if I wanted to. But that wouldn't serve either of us, would it?"

"What do you want?" Ghost asked her.

A distant look crossed the woman's face for a moment. "A long time ago, I did not even know what that question meant. Now, it is all I ever think about." She paused for a moment, then went on, "I see that you care for your friend a great deal. If they were to die, you would feel such terrible pain."

Ghost kept his face expressionless. How was this woman reading him? "To be honest," she continued, "I do enjoy the taste of tears, but there is something I enjoy so much more." She stood and walked towards him, apparently unconcerned about the gun aimed directly at her chest. "You have it," she murmured, "very deep inside of you. Hidden, perhaps from yourself. But I see it."

He felt her hand touch his chest just over his heart as she added, "There. Like a flame, creating such heat—"

"Back off," he said quietly. He did not like how easily she was reading him, how she was seeing things even those closest to him couldn't.

She smiled and pulled back, her hand running down his arm, her fingertips just grazing his wrist. "You are in love, are you not?" he kept the gun on her, kept his face expressionless. How was she doing that?

"If you want me to help you," she went on, "what you must do is kiss me as if you were kissing them."

"What?" he asked flatly.

"If you kiss me," she replied, "as if you were kissing your true love, I'll tell you where your friend is."

"I could beat it outta ya," Ghost pointed out with an arched eyebrow and a small smirk.

She smiled, as if she were honestly considering that as a possibility. "I like the sound of that, too, but a kiss will do," she answered him.

He didn't move or answer her, until she asked, "Are you going to let your friend die over a silly kiss?" He hesitated a moment, then lowered his gun, allowing her to come closer.

"You have to make me believe," as she approached him.
She leaned in, gently pressing her lips against his. He kissed her back, softly at first, but more passionately as he mentally put Trinity in her place. He could feel her hands coming up to caress his face and neck, but remembered himself as she drew away. "Oh…," the woman said, "oh my. Unrequited love."

She looked directly into his eyes as she said this; Ghost, feeling angry with himself for his momentary weakness, looked away then back at her with an expression of disgust on his face. "Such longing for something you will never have." How did she know all this? How could she know of his feelings for Trinity? "How deliciously tragic."

Ghost was done playing games. "Now tell me where my friend is," he gruffly ordered.

"For a kiss like that," she said, her expression unreadable, "I won't even tell my husband you're coming." She walked to a bookshelf and pulled one of the books out; the bookcase beside the trigger turned on its axis, revealing a hidden passageway. The woman gestured down the passageway, and Ghost walked to the entrance. As he passed her, she whispered in his ear, "I am called Persephone. I will see you again, Ghost."

This woman had more issues than he did.


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extensive damage sustained
repairs commenced



SYSTEM FAILURE



reboot program ABEL



ERROR: memory not found



reboot completed



ERROR ERROR ERROR memory not found...

The Matrix: Redefined
2

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Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide; no escape from reality…

Queen, the Bohemian Rhapsody
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After being separated from Ghost, Niobe ran through a rather ornate hallway, covered with paintings and stained glass windows. At the end, she spotted a black-clad man. When he saw her, he laughed manically before dashing off at inhuman speed. She ran after him, but found nothing as she turned into a darker corner.

She jumped and mentally swore as her cell phone went off. Intending to verbally rip Sparks a new one, she answered, only to find no one on the other end. She frowned, then felt something strike her hard on the back of the head and promptly blacked out.

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Outrunning Seth and Omri was no problem for Cain, who liked running anyway. Outrunning their bullets, however, was another matter entirely, and Omri’s bullets, unlike Seth’s, were silver. The graze he’d gotten was proof of that; Cain’s entire arm felt as if it were on fire.

He had to get our of the Hallway, and fast. He took a hard left and angled across the hall, slamming his shoulder against one of the doors, snapping both the lock bolt and the door’s throw, forcing it open. The werewolf stumbled out into a library.

His path ran him straight into a startled young man, bowling both of them over and saving Cain’s life; Omri’s bullets soared through where his head had been moments before. Cain rolled to his feet and drew his Browning, returning fire and forcing the Nephil and the intuitive program under cover.
Screams erupted simultaneously, and the library’s patrons fled; Cain slipped among their number, attempting to use their flight to cover his own. This was not to be, however: A hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder, hauling him behind a bookcase just as a bullet passed by Cain’s face, close enough that he could feel the wind of its passage on his cheek. Deprived of its target, the bullet instead hit one of the running coppertops, felling the man.

Cain whirled to see the kid he’d knocked over, and his eyes widened behind his sunglasses. The kid tossed him a cocky smirk, flipping a throwing knife to the ready before sending it straight into Omri’s gun hand. Surprised by the unexpected ally, Cain nevertheless focused his fire on Seth until he ran out of bullets. The boy let fly another knife at Omri, who caught it this time, glaring daggers at him. Seth started to come out from under cover with the other program; Cain muttered, “Time to go,” grabbing the kid by the collar of his jacket and dragging him back under cover.

“You got a car?” Cain asked, reloading his Hi-Power.

“Down the street,” came the quick reply.

“Good. We’re taking it. Move!” He pushed the boy towards the door, concentrating his fire on the more dangerous Omri until he was out of the building. The car was easy enough to spot; the kid had just vaulted over the hood and was starting the engine by the time Cain had the passenger door open.

“You might wanna buckle up,” the boy said, and floored it.
Cain found himself gripping the brace above the door tightly; this kid drove like a demon. “I’m Bob,” he said conversationally as he cut off a blue Ford and narrowly missed a collision.

“Cain,” the werewolf replied, letting go of the brace with the recollection that a mere car wreck wouldn’t kill him.

Cain looked the kid over an sniffed experimentally; ‘Bob’ smelled as though he spent a lot of time around computers and knives. He didn’t look much older than twenty-one, though Cain did a startled double-take when he noticed the kid’s waist-length braid. Brown eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror, then Bob spun the car around in a wild u-turn and shot off in the opposite direction.

Cain grabbed at the door handle again; why couldn’t humans drive?

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Niobe woke to an odd bumping sensation; it took her a minute to realise she was being dragged up a flight of stairs. Her captor paused for a moment when he saw she was awake. "I know I should take you to the Merovingian," he mused, "but the thing is, he might just kill you." With that, the man backhanded her, knocking her out again.

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"Shit!" Malachi yelped as a dog leapt into the road in front of another car. The car's horn blasted his ears, then the dog made an amazing leap out of the way – right into the car in front of Ballard's. Ballard slammed on the brakes, but couldn't avoid rear-ending the car that had hit the animal.

The impact jolted all of them forward and slammed Malachi's face against the dashboard; luckily, that was the only injury.
Ballard swore violently, however; the impact had torn up the front of their car and with all the people gathering around to see, they wouldn't be able to leave. "You go see her, captain," Bane said urgently. "Malachi and I aren't internationally wanted criminals yet." Ballard hesitated, loathe to abandon his crew to the cops, then he left; Bane was right.

While Malachi tended to his bloody nose, Bane gave a statement to the cops about what had happened, so it was Malachi who noticed the girl trying to care for the injured dog. He sauntered over, the effect of utter cool ruined by his having to keep his nose in the air. "I dod't thigk he'll make it," Malachi told her, wincing as he heard his own voice. Damn dog.

"He's still breathing!" she argued, glaring at him as she took off her jacket to wrap around the animal, trying to stop its bleeding.

"He's probably dyigg," Malachi muttered, but she wouldn't hear any of it.

"I have to get him to a vet!"

Bane came over in time to hear the last. He opened his mouth, but Malachi cut him off. "Doh way, Bade. We habe to see de Oracle, rebember?"

"There's a vet on the way to her apartment," Bane answered. "What's the harm in dropping her off?" Malachi grumbled, but let Bane make the decision. They helped the girl and the dog into their car, which luckily hadn't been totalled, and Bane drove them to first the vet's, where they left the girl, and then the Oracle's.

The girl carried the dog in, staggering a bit under its weight. She let the vets take it away and collapsed in a chair, unaware of the blood staining her clothing. After awhile, the vet came out with a key on a chain. "Your dog had this around his neck," he told her, placing it in her hand before walking back to tending the critter. She looked at the key for a moment, before sliding it around her own neck.

She could return it when she found the dog's owner.

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Niobe’s eyes flickered open again; she seemed to be in an empty attic made completely of wood. Eight tall candelabra surrounded her body, which had been tied down with, of all things, rope. A plan began formulating in her mind as the man who’d caught her approached, kneeling down to touch her face.

He stopped before she could bite him, grinning as he realised she was awake. Were those… fangs in his mouth? He backed off, then the candles began to tip and fall, creating strange patterns of light-lines….


She woke up alone, still tied to the floor, though the candelabra were again upright. Not for long. Niobe turned her head to glare at the one nearest to her hand, focusing her mind on it. It rattled for a bit, then tipped, neatly depositing a candle in her hand. Quickly, the Logos’ captain used it to burn away her bindings. Rolling to her feet, she found a loose floorboard and tugged on it, breaking it away and using it to fashion a stake. That vampiric bastard was going to regret interrupting her search for Ghost.

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Omri and Seth made it to the door in time to see Cain jump into a car which then peeled out of the general area as though the hounds of Hades were chasing it. “Damn it!” Seth snarled, kicking the door in frustration. “We had him!” Omri remained silent, looking at his injured hand and the two knives that had been thrown at him. Their owner had been human; why had he elected to help Cain?

Omri heard sirens and nudged Seth. “Let’s get lost before the cops try to arrest us. I’m not in the mood to fuck with humans right now.” Seth nodded and led the way to the door Cain had broken open. Omri frowned at the door, then set his unhurt hand against it and reset the code, fixing the door. It wouldn’t do to have overly-curious humans wandering around the Industrial Hallway.

Humans like the knife-slinging brat. Omri knew he’d remember that face, and when he found the human again, he would show him why one did not interfere with the hunt of the Merovingian’s men.