Life is but a dream.....
Disclaimer:

Characters are property of their respective owners

You are not a man, you are a machine. George Bernard Shaw, Arms and the Man.

Chp 1.

The greenish flouresnt lights flickered on, fighting for their life in a losing battle, filling the room with eerie shadows that come and go. It's a simple room, with a long table resting on the right-hand wall, it's only decoration is a sleek black computer. And a woman.
The user relentlessly pounds away at the keyboard......typing at speeds that would have amazed anyone if they had been watching.
|CARRIER...........HOST #1329.....CONNECTION FAILURE....UNAUTHORIZED USER.........run-time mode routine #45......protected-mode.......scramble signal binary-transfer........PING...PING.....CONNECTION ACCEPTED....ACCESSING FILE: HEATHER LOKHEART....DOWNLOADING DESTINATION DRIVE E.......COMPLETE|
The stranger quickly takes the disk and makes sure that nothing of her work remains. Having done that, the stranger pulls a small Nokia cellphone from here pocket, and snaps it's cover.
DIALING.........
"Tank, I need an exit. I have the info on our next target. Tell Morpheus to be ready, but also tell him that the Agents might be aware of her also. I can't tell for sure, but I think someone, somehow, was monitoring my transfer."
Listening to the voice on the other line, she quickly heads towards the closest window. Nodding, she suddendly jumps through to land on the next building's staircase. Shaking the glass debris from her coat, Trinity runs to the ringing phone coming from two flights down, all the while unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching.


Who is she? What is she? Too many questions pop up in Angelous' mind as he sits in front of his laptop. How was she able to jump so far, for one thing? Shuddering, he looks ahead.
"Well, one thing is for sure. She sure is a good hacker." say Angelous to himself. Talking for the only reason that hearing the sound of his voice helps him cope with the impossibility of what he saw. How did she jump that far?
"Oh, well. I know what's she's after.....but what does this Heather girl mean to her, and the man Morpheus?"
Shaking his head, Angelous has one look at the security cam which he connected to before Trinity vanished down the staircase. He quickly disconnects from the system, a long connection might give him more exposure than he wants to have. Secretly and in the shadows has always been his way. His life an unreality ever since he forsook his name, and chose Angelous as his own. The silent angel, watching, but never mixing with mortals. That's how he saw himself. That's who he had become.
"Mmmm. I'll just have to keep watching, won't I." says Angelous with a small laugh.
Putting away his equipment, he briskly moves to his car parked a few blocks away. In an ironic twist of fate, the watcher in turn is unaware of being watched. Angelous drives off, meanwhile, a man in black shades and suit steps off the shadows.


RAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNG!!!!!
"Huh? What the.....?" A sleepy-eyed Angelous demands as he is unceremonously woken from his sleep.
"Oh.......," he trails off as he see his alarm clock. 10:00 AM.
"OH!!!!"
Jumping quickly out of bed, he lunges towards a pile of clothes lying in a chair nearby. Between mutters of "damn it all" and "late again," Angelous manages to dress himself. Quickly combing his hair, not that it made any difference anyway he notes, he runs out of his dorm room. Running down the hall, he mumbles a half-hearted apology to a student whom he shoved by, and runs for all his worth to class.
Entering his Physics class, he moves towards his usual sit when the Professor asks him, "Mr. Vissino, care to explain why you are once again late for class?"
"Umm...Umm...well, sir, it is said that when an object is at rest, it remains at rest. That unfortunately was what happened in my case."
A general laugh bursts among his classmates as he quickly takes his sit. Vowing to himself never to be late again, a promised he has made several times before, he opens his notebook as the professor continues on with the class.
"As I was explaining, the laws of Physics state that every living thing is ruled by a certain number of........."
A few rows back, a girl silently laughs to herself, centering her eyes on the source that had caused her amusement.


'shame, such a shame, I think I kind of lost myself again...............passsion is over rated anyway........say, say my name...................Cause if feels like I've, I've been here before...........feels like something that I've done before.......' humming the along with the music coming from his headphones, Angelous shoves another mouthfull of french fries in a almost mechanical fasion. Not really paying attention to anything, but letting the music take him to places beyond his mind. It was strange, but this song really did touch a part of him that made him think that maybe, he had done this before.
He jumps from startlement as a hand touches his shoulder. Cleaning the fallen french fries from his sweater, he turns to rebuke his unlikely assilant, but is unable to get any words out both from surprise and the quickness of the assilant to respond.
"Hi........I'm not sure if you know me. I'm from you Physics class?.....um....I really thought what you said this morning was really funny."
"I.........."
"Oh, where are my manners, my name is Heather Lokheart."
Angelous already knew that. In fact, after the two nights ago in which he had monitored Trinity, he had been collecting information about Heather Lokheart. He had been very surprised that she attended the same college he did, and he had been even more surprised when he realized that she was also in his Physics class. Breaking into the school records had provided a wealth of information, including her admission essay. Something about the unreality of reality. It had been extremely interesting and made Angelous feel a kinship with Heather.
Not wanting to look like a fool, maybe already too late, and not wanting her to think he didnt' want to talk to her, he says, "Hi, my name is Gabriel. Gabriel Vissino. I'm glad you enjoyed this morning, I'm sure the professor is not going to be that forgiving," he says with a mirtfull grin.
Accepting his extended hand, Heather smiles back. Twice in one day this person has made me smile. Rare are the times when she has felt like smiling, thinks Heather, and she rebels in this moment, trying to extend this feeling. Now, how to fill this awkward?
"Well,....um.....well, it was nice to meet you.......," she gently trails off. How to extend this moment?
Damn, I can't let her go now! I need to get to know her, thinks Angelous. I need to find out what Trinity meant, not even once realizing that his true reasons for keeping her lay closer to the heart.
"I....well, I just started having my lunch....would you like to join me?"
He is rewarded with the most dazzigling smile, "Sure, let me just get my tray."
Two hours later. To Angelous, it seemed like he had known Heather all his life, it was amazing how she could listen and come up with the most interesting topics. Not once did he question his decision to miss class, this was far more instructive, he thought, and besides, I never did like Biology. Heather........


The semi-dark room was small and very neat. The glow of a computer screen the only source of light, as Heather typed away in her computer. Who had accessed her file? He must have been an especially good hacker not to leave any trace. And why had he downloaded her essay? Well, whoever this hacker was, they had never accounted for the fact that she was also a hacker, and she was sure that eventually she will find him. Or her. She was a prime example that hackers were not only men.
Checking all the files to make sure that her presence was still undetected, she just finished inputing a command when her computer screen goes black, plunging the room in total darkness.
"What happened?"
Checking the plugs, she notices that the power is still on. "What's going on?" she mumbles.
Turning back to the screen, she notices the small cursor. And then words type out.
|WAKE UP SHADE..............|
I'm already wake you stupid machine, she thinks as she pounds at the keyboard hoping for some response. It's no use, the keyboard doesnt' seem to be working.
|THE MATRIX HAS YOU SHADE..............|
The Matrix again.........what the hell is the Matrix? This was the second time she had seen that word, the first time being the time when she had woken to find the word flashing on her screen a night ago. Why do I feel like I know the matrix somehow? And what did Morpheus have to do with it? Ever since she had found out about him a year ago, it was as though she was driven to find him. She wanted to see how great a hacker he was.
|DO YOU WANT TO WAKE UP SHADE?...........................WAKE UP SHADE!|
Heather is suddendly jolted awake. Was that a dream? It felt so real. Shuddering, she gets up to close the window she must have left open before she fell asleep. And notices that her computer is still on.
"Probably left that on too......," she says.
Walking to turn it off, she notices that it's not the sleep mode which has made the screen black. The words stare silently at Heather, almost screaming in their silence.
|THE MATRIX HAS YOU..................|
"Am I going insane?"
|NO........................|
What? The shock makes her sit down. It answered her!
"I must be. I'm seeing things............"
|YOU ARE NOT CRAZY.....AND IT'S NOT A DREAM................|
"Then what is it? Who are you? What do you want? Why can't you just leave me ALONE!!!!!" Her last words come out as a scream.
Quickly putting a hand to her mouth, she bits down the urgue to scream again. No point in waking up the whole dorm Shade, she thinks.
|DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE MATRIX IS?.............|
"Yes........," answers her quiet whisper.
|LOOK IN YOUR DESK DRAWER.........|
Inside the drawer, lies a small cellphone. She is startled as the phone starts ringing when she picks it up. Opening it, she says, "Hello.......?"
"Hello Shade. Do you know who I am?" said the deep sounding voice through the phone.
"Morpheus........," replies Shade, somehow knowing this to be true.
"You are correct. Do you know why I have contacted you?"
"Because I've been looking for you?"
"Partly so. But also because you also seek the answer which drives us...............," he leaves off suddlenly.
To Shade, it seems that the words keeps popping in her head, trying to get out.
"What is the Matrix........," she answers, not as a question, but a statement.
"Do you really want to know?" Morpheus asks.
"Yes," her answer comes unbidden from the deep recesses of her soul. The question she has always asked herself.
"Then follow my directions..........."


Finding herself alone in a dark street was not Shade's idea of fun. Scanning the road, she recalled the directions Morpheus had given to her. This was the place right? Realizing that she was forcefully tapping her foot, she quickly stops herself. She could never rid herself of that habit. It alwasy came up when she was nervous.
Tires screeching tell her a car is approaching. A very plain car, she notes. The perfect car for someone who doesn't want to be noticed. It pulls up next to her and a door opens. &nsbp;&nsbp;&nsbp "Get in," says a woman in black. Her jet black hair is slicked back in a way that make her more mysterious, thinks Shade.
Getting in, Shade doesn't say anything. Morpheus told her to expect something like this. Turning to face forward, she sees a gun aimed at her head. Strangely enough, this doesn't worry her much. Instead she just settles back to study her surroundings. Sitting beside her is the woman in black, and a man in black. Not bad looking she thinks, but clearly not her type. In front, a man is at the wheel weaing white, while the woman holding the gun is dressed in dark grays.
Finally, she asks, "I assume Morpheus sent you?"
"Yes," answers the woman in black. Turning to face the man sitting next to her, she quietly converses with him. Shade is only able to catch a few phrases, "I don't sense she's bugged" (says the man), "maybe I should double check" (says the woman). In the end, it seems that whatever they were talking about, the woman is going by what the man says.
After an uneventfull, and silent ride, they reach a broken down theater. She is taken to a small room by the woman and man in black. Before entering, the woman faces her.
"When you go in, remember one thing. Be honest. He knows more than you think."
The man next to her chuckles. And surprisingly, so does the woman. She turns around and looks at his eyes. Both smiling, it is as if they are sharing a private joke. The two of them must be in love, thinks Shade. She could see it in their eyes.
Inside, she notices the room is in the same shape as the rest of the theater. Broken down. But somehow, the room holds an elegant feel to it. Facing a window, is a man in a long black overcoat. His head is entirely shaven off. As if on cue, he turns around and Shade notices he's wearing shades. He motions her to sit down and does the same himself.
"As you might have already realized........I'm Morpheus," the man says.
Shade nods. Almost from the start she knew. She wasn't dense after all.
"It's an honor to meet you," she says, meaning it. Here was the man, whom she had searched for almost a year, and hadn't been able to find. Until now.
"So, you want to know why I've contacted you. More importantly, what is the Matrix." Not question, but statements, as though he was sure what her answer would be. He was quite right.
"Yes, I do. Why now do you decide to contact me. You must have known that I've been looking for you for a while. If you are half the hacker they say you to be, you would. And yes, what is the Matrix.......why do I feel like that is the most important of the two?"
Taking a small silver case from his pocket, he gently opens it and pours its contents in his hands. He presents Shade two closed fists, and when he opens them, she sees two pills. One blue, one red.
Before she has time to ask a question, he says, "Take the blue pill and you will wake up in your bed and wont' remember a thing about this meeting or anything regarding me and the Matrix. Take the red pill and I'll show you all the answers you seek. Remember, all I'm offering are answers and the truth. nothing more."
It was a no brainer really. Shade picks up the red pill and swallows it, watering down with a glass on the nearby table. No big deal, thinks Shade. I dont' feel any different than before. Have I been had?
"The red pill is part of a tracer program designed to acurately locate you position within the Matrix. Follow me."
They go into an adjacent room filled with what a hacker would called the mother-load. A hacker would give anything to have anything close to this.
She sits down in a chair as they instruct her. She studies all the people in the room; most she knows from the car, but there is one she doesn't recognize.
"Shade, I would like to introduce you to Neo," he points to the man in black, "Trinity," he points to the woman in black, "Ace and Amp," he points to the man in white and the woman in gray. "And the guy in the side there is Cription."
Her head starts feeling fuzzy. What's happening? Then she notices that a computer screen closeby is....Swirling? Reaching out to touch it, a metalic like liquid encompases her hand. So cold.
"It's cold.....," she says.
"How's it going Cription? Do we have a lock yet?" asks Morpheus.
"Almost."
The metalil liquid creeps up her arm. She's freezing. Eyes open wide with panic, she tries to shake the stuff off to no avail. It's getting closer to her face.......no!
"Got her.....sending program now."
On cue with her scream, Shades' world turns pitch black.


Angelous searches in vain around the broken down theater. He finds no sign of the people that had come in a few minutes ago. What had they done with Heather?
He was sure that Morpheus was behind it, but what did he hope to gain by taking Heather. Moreover, where had he taken Heather. He didn't see them go out another way; they even left the car they came in with still parked.
"Where are you Heather......," he whispers softly. Or is it Shade. It was amazing what he had found in her personal computer after she had left to meet Morpheus. She must have been preoccupied because she left her computer virtually open. It seemed she was an accomplished hacker herself. She must have been the one that was snooping around after I had searched her school records. She almost found me except that I was able to delete the last trace of my tampering.
With a resigned sigh, Angelous heads to his car. I will find you Shade; not even Morpheus will be able to stop it. He was just finally realizing the Shade might have been the thing which he had been searching all his life. Love and an anwer to what is the Matrix.


Chp 2.

"...uuunh.....aanh....I will die for you.......I've been dying just to feel you by my side...........I will wash away your pain with all my tears.............I will pray for you......I will sell myself for something pure and true......someone like you.......I see you face everywhere that I'm walking.............and I will never be at......."
Side-stepping just so, turning around with the small ball of his foot, Angelous delivers a crushing kick to punching bag's side. Too bad it's not Morpheus, he thinks. He quickly follows that thought with a chop to what would have bruised a person's ribs and finishes the motion by using his momentum to execute an upper-cut.
Grabbing a towel, he roughly wipes the sweat off his face and heads for his water bottle.
".......someone like......I see your face everywhere that I'm walking......I will never be at....," he turns off the radio. This song was starting to get in his nerves. It lay too close to his own life for comfort.
Five weeks and he had not been able to find a trace of Heather. It was as though she had truly become her alias, and was only a Shade hidden in the shadows. Well, he would keep watching and maybe once he found her, he would finally be free of her . She had occupied his mind far too much this past month, and it was finally starting to show; he was getting careless. Gathering his things, he starts heading out as another person walks in. With a small nod of acknowledgement to the other student, he heads out the room.
"Hey guy, you forgot you water bottle," says the student.
His words, however, fall on deaf ears as Angelous had already zoned out. Contemplating what the next step of his plan would be.


Dropping his bag on the bed, he switches on his computer. While waiting for the thing to boot, Angelous changes into his favorite jeans; old but comfortable. Grabbing a couple of disks from a drawer, he heads back to the computer.
"HELLO ANGELOUS," it chimes as he nears it.
"Hello EVa, how about resuming last night's search. Oh, yeah, also bring up IRC program and reroute the signal through the usual phone-lines."
"ALL DONE ANGELOUS."
"Thank you EVa," he says automatically. He really didn't need to be polite to EVa, in fact, EVa would even register what half the words he just said meant. Regardless that some people might consider EVa "intelligent", she wasn't even the rudiments of AI. She was in fact a very complex computer program that recognized his voice commands and had some decision making capibilities all based on a randomized logic structure. Angelous had later programed a voice into EVa since he had felt like a fool talking to a computer, even if it didn't understand, with only a few beeps as a response. Sometimes he found himself talking with EVa as he would a real person, and it wasnt' such a boring conversation as you would think. EVa was programmed to use a persons own idyoms to continue the conversation, such as when posed the question, 'How are you doing today EVa,' it would respond 'Fine Angelous, how are you today.' Using certain phrases from the persons las't spoken words, she formulated an appropriate response.
"EVa, monitor the search and gather any references to Morpheus and also on a person called Shade. There might be some stuff on her. Be specifically on the look out for stuff that connects her to Morpheus."
"GATHER INFO ON SHADE?" droned the computer.
"Yes please."
"ACKNOWLEDGED."
Turning his attention to the IRC, he runs an encryption program to make it harder to trace him, he plunges himself into hacker Centrals. Or as he likes to call it, the den of spiders.
One couldn't really called it Central, since everyday hacker Central changed location. The only way to find it everday was to visit it's last location and look for an unnoticeable backdoor. Designed to keep any but the best hackers out, the backdoor leads you to an encoded file, which usually contains a riddle. Having found today's file, Angelous runs his decoder program and virus detection program. This was hacker Central's last safeguard; hackers who had managed to get through the backdoor werent' cleared yet, as the virus contained in the files targeted hackers not registered with hacker Central. That's why first timers had to prove themselves able to combat the virus before they could register with hacker Central. This didn't matter to Angelous, he always cleaned the virus. No telling when you've made an enemy that wants to screw you up, so 'be ready', was Angelous moto. Besides, hackers weren't known for their honesty and love of mankind.
"Let's see. Today's puzzle says, 'I came like Water, and like Wind I go.' Sounds familiar," murmurs Angelous as he gently taps his fingers on the desk. Then it hits him.
"EVa, run a search for all the books that Edward Fitzgerald wrote. Run the list by me when you have it."
"COMPLETE ANGELOUS. THE LIST IS AS FOLLOWS: The Great Gatsby, EDWARD J. FITZGERALD, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, EDWARD J. FITZGERALD, The....."
"Stop. Find the phrase, 'I came like Water, and like Wind I go,' in the The Rubaiyat," says Angelous, sure that he remembers reading it in that book.
"DONE. A MATCH HAS BEEN FOUND."
"Thank you EVa," replies Angelous as he finds what's he's looking for, a backdoor named 'Rubaiyat.' Entering 'Rubaiyat,' he sees that the room is packed with a lot of activity going on. Not wanting to disturb the flow of conversation, he settles himself quietly to read what all the fuss is about.
|ROC: I'm telling you people. I saw it with my own eyes.
|SCAN: You saw nothing. You actually expect us to believe that Trinity and Shade took out 20 policemen with their bare hands? And then ran when two G-men showed up. Give me a break.
|SPECTRA: I for one, believe Roc. I've heard rummors that people who run with Morpheus tend to be almost unhuman. Remember Neo? According to the FBI Records, he's even more wanted than Morpheus.
|ILLUSIA: I think that Morpheus makes up most of these 'facts' about him and his people. Break into police mainframe, place a false report about his people doing impossible things; all just for the fact that he wants to be seen as superhuman.
|ROC: I'm telling you that I saw it. I was even able to take a couple of pictures.
|NITE: Pictures can be faked or touched up. In this day and age, pictures are less and less convincing as proof.
|LEA: It doesn't matter if it's true or not. All of you drool over Morpheus and his team. I bet most of you have even tried to join up with him.
|ZIP: Well, I hear that's impossible. You don't join up, you are recruited by him. And he only recruits the best.
|MAG: Yeah, Trinity runs with him. He was one of the Greats. Still is, but doesn't like to show off as much. Not like he once did.
Angelous, seeing this moment as a perfect opportunity to join in with something productive to contribute. And maybe steer Roc to tell him where he saw them exactly. A hard thing to do, since Roc would be virtually giving away his home address if he even mentioned the location where this happened.
|ANGELOUS: As a matter of fact, Trinity is a woman.
|LEA: Nice of you to join us Angelous. I saw you skulking around in the shadows back there. So, what makes you so sure Trinity is a woman?
|ANGELOUS: Because I saw her too. Not when Roc did, but before. Trinity is a woman, isn't she Roc?.
A small test really meant for Roc. To see if he really saw Trinity and Shade; both would have to be women.
|ROC: Yes. Trinity is a woman. That's who I saw. Two women.
Pleased with himself, Angelous ponders how to make Roc divulge the information he really needs.
|NITE: Give me a break. You don't really expect us to take your words on face value.
|ILLUSIA: I can see Trinity as a woman. That explains a lot actually.
|LEA: Yeah, that explains why Trinity's style has always been so refined. As opposed to you guys' styles; rough and very messy.
|ANGELOUS: Hey, I resent that.
|LEA: Of course, that doesn't include you Ang. ;)
|ZIP: Women. A strange breed indeed.
|SCAN: lol
|ANGELOUS: lol
|SPECTRA: On to more productive matters, have you heard that the FBI installed new security measures. Man, I can't wait to crack them.
Turning his attention away from the chat, he sends Roc a ping traceable to a secret IRC he had made for this purpose. He gets a ping in response, acknowledging that he'll be there. Maybe.
|ANGELOUS: I'll see you all later.
|LEA: Bye, Ang.
|MAG: Yeah, see you.
|NITE: Adios.
Leaving the channel, he goes to meet Roc. Hopefully.


And that is how Angelous finds himself downtown with nothing but only a vague description of where Trinity and Shade where last seen. Roc had not been very open, but at least he had given him this much.
After half an hour of searching, Angelous decides to give up. Either the cops had been extremely clean in the handling of this matter, or Roc had given him bogus directions. He hoped the latter was the reason, otherwise it might mean that someone went to a lot of trouble to hide what happened in that incident. What am I missing? Wonders Angelous.
"I need to clear my head," he tells himself. Making sure the car doors are locked, Angelous heads north in a general direction with no destination in mind.
"I feel like I'm close to an answer," he says. I have most of the pieces, he thinks. But the why is what drives him crazy. Why was this happening in the first place. Oh, he knew why he was involved. It had been his choice to monitor Trinity's hack a month ago. His choice. But had it been Shade's choice? Why had she become a target of Morpheus. He didn't think Morpheus was the type to worry about other people's choices.
Pounding his fists toghether, he questions rather roughly, " What about her choice!."
A passerby looks at him askance, and walks around him giving him a wide berth. Angelous chuckles. No, I'm not crazy sir. Not yet at least.
"Maybe I am. That might explain a few things," he says with dry sarcasm.
Around the corner, he hears muffled music coming from somewhere. Must be a club nearby. Heading in the direction the music is coming from, he rubs his hands together. It's a bit chillier than he likes anyway, and besides, there is no point in the whole night being a waste.
The club wasn't too bad. Being underground, the music could be played very loud without the neighbors complaining. A little rougher scene than he was used to, but that was ok. He liked the music they were playing.
Not in the mood for anything heavy, Angelous takes his beer and sits in a nearby couch. Despite a couple of bumps here and there from it's constant use, the couch wasn't bad at all. Relaxing himself, Angelous takes his time studying the room. Between sips of beer, he notices a small group of people are sitting in a round table on the far side of the club. Being too far away to make out any specific details, he notices something that chills him to the bone.
On the far end of the table, partially blocked by a man white, was a woman with light golden hair and a faint touch of curls, dressed in all black. It wasn't as if anything in particular made Angelous recognize her. But he would have bet anything that was Shade. Her mannerisms were Heather's; the way she was elegantly sitting, her relaxed manner, and her way of leaning forward when she spoke, much like the way she had been when they ate lunch together that time long ago.
Before he had a chance to put his beer down, a man flops down on next to him. Angelous pays little attention to this as he starts to stand up.
"Hey buddy. How yo' doing? Come here oft'n?" says the man next to him.
Not wanting to be impolite, Angelous responds, "Not really. This is my first time here."
Fully upright now, Angelous still pays minimal attention to the man next to him. His eyes centered ont he far off table.
"Gosh, where are ma manners. I haven't prop'rly introduced maself. The name is Cription. Nice to meet ya."
Angelous shakes the extended hand firmly, and says, "Angelous. Likewise."
Trying to get past Cription, Angelous moves sideways, his eyes still on the blond woman. Cription casually blocks his way as if not realizing that Angelous wants to go past him. Keeping his annoyance in check, he tries to move the opposite way, hoping that Heather won't just get up and leave right that instant.
"What ya lo'king at? Ya find the blond chick interesting?" asks the man.
"Uh...oh...no, she's just someone I know."
"Really now?"
Finally at patience's end, Angelous says roughly, "Can I please get through?"
"Actu'lly, I think ya should come with me."
Before Angelous can respond, he feels something hard pressed against his ribs. Just great, he thinks to himself, I'm getting robbed in a club. No point in trying to call for help; I doubt anyone will hear me over this loud music or even care, and I'm not in the mood of getting shot. Deaths in clubs are not exactly uncommon.
"Don't try any funny stuff. I dont' want to make a scene."
Easy for you to say, you have the gun, Angelous thinks with dripping sarcasm. He shruggs and lets himself be lead. Exiting through a shabby looking door, Angelous finds himself facing an alley wall. Not the place for a friendly conversation, now is it? Well, I'm not dying here tonight.
Getting low, Angelous quickly executes a sweeping kick aimed at Cription's ankles. He feels his kick connect and immediately settles himself into a fighting stance. He notices that Cription gets quickly on his feet, but instead of dashing for the gun laying a few feet from him, he gets into his own fighting position.
"I don't know what you want, or what your problem is, but I have no problem with you," says Angelous, " so why don't we just part ways, and pretend this never happened."
With only a grunt for warning, Angelous is knocked down by the most powerful kick he had ever felt. Even blocking it had not lessen the force. Moving as fast as he could, he sends a rain of punches at Cription middle, but they never connect. Instead, Cription evades them easily. How the hell is he moving so fast? Too late. He barely sees the kick aimed at his head.
Shaking his head in hopes of clearing it, he opens his eyes in time to see the boot coming at his face. Why? Is the last thought in his mind as his entire world goes black.

Dreams. The kind that makes you wonder if you are awake or not. Or if you had ever been awake at all. Dark, with only a few glimpses of light here and there. Images and feelings that come and go, touching you skin as though made of silk. Tempting, calling, and demanding you attention; a mosaic of colors that assault the senses, if there are such things in a dream.
It's dark in here, thinks Angelous. Where am I? Looking around, all he sees is encompassing darkness. A flicker of green catches his attention. Flickers all around him, and in him, he notices, as he looks at his hands. What's this? Straining his eyes, he begins to see a pattern. Or rather, symbols he doesn't understand. The air itself is the symbols; he is strangely fascinated as he takes a deep breath and see the rush of symbols enter his nose. Not just random symbol. They all flow as if in.......
As if his eyes had been opened, he sees that there is an order to the numbers. Millions and millions of green-pulsing rows of digits flow all around him, giving shape to walls, the floor, a window, a door, everything. A green world of green flowing symbols is all around him.
Dreams. He's standing inside a room. He doesn't see the green symbol rows anymore, but real solid walls. Was it all a dream? Am I still dreaming? Of course I am. I bet I can even leap over tall buildings, he jokes to himself.
In an impulse he exits the room and finds himself in an open field. Laughing, he starts running and then, he leaps. Amazing. Looking down at the world, he notices that he is quite high up. A moment of panic takes over him as he wonders if the fall will kill him. But then, the moment passes as he remembers this is all a dream. Nothing can hurt him here. On his way down, he feels a shift of the dream world. He lands, breaking the cement slabs beneath him, in the middle of a city. His city? Heading north, walking down the dark, empty road, he finds nothing to tell him where he is. Turning left, he wanders around until he finds himself in the same dark road he started from. Weird. Making a right, he heads east, only to find himself in the same dark road. All roads lead to Rome, he thinks sarcastically. Giving up, he decides to just follow the dark road, and see where it leads him.
Not where, but what. An open field again, but different. It's filled with billions of people. All standing still in rows; endless fields of them, as though a farmer had decided to plant humans. The thought hits him as extremely hilarious, and he starts laughing. A prickly feeling around his legs makes him stop. Looking down, he sees the ugliest spider he's ever seen. Almost metalic in it's shine. Then he sees all around him. Millions of spiders surround the planted humans. Feeding off of them. Afraid, Angelous turns and starts running, only to hit a wall that drops him to his feet.
It's not a wall that he sees, but some sort of transparent liquid like shield. Touching it, it resists his pressure, pushing in return. Confused, he looks beyond the shield and sees, Armageddon.
A world in ruins. A dead city standing amidst a desert of desolation. Broken buildings, crumbling under the great pressure of their past. If these walls could talk, they would be screaming in pain. Blackened skies, punishing those that stand beneath them, relentless in their constant fight over the heavens. All dead except.......
A few thousand humans linger in that darkness, fighting shadows. He sees Morpheus and Trinity there. And then he sees Shade. Looking closely, he notices that all the humans are surrounding a single man holding the only light they have among them. Nothing really stands out about him; his height is about the same as mine, his hair a little shorter and a bit darker, and his eyes.....his eyes......they see the truth......
From an unknown source surfaces a cold calculating anger. Clawing at the walls, Angelous tries to break it. Must kill him? Must kill him? Must kill him? That thought drones in his mind, until he realizes what he is thinking. Kill him? Why? I don't even know him. He's never experienced that kind of anger before; it wasn't human. This dream is driving me crazy.
"CRAAAZZZZZYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!" He screams with all his might in a vain attempt to feel something real in this effervescent world.
Dreams. He is back in the darkness, and this time, he welcomes it. A shadow steps before him. No, not a shadow, but a man. A man with dark shades and a black suit blending into the background. It was almost as if the head was floating in the darkness.
"Are you dreaming Mr. Vissino? Or are you finally awake?" asks the man in a cold emotionless voice.
Unlike the icy cold anger he had felt before, red hot anger flows into Angelous as he screams, "DAMN YOU!!!!" And sends a barrage of kicks at the man.
The man evades his kicks easily, with such a speed that he's only a blur in Angelous' eyes. Angelous' anger is further fueled by this and he explodes at the man. His kicks and punches find only air, yet he continues. Not even blocking, or attacking him, the man just evades his attacks as though they were never there at all.
Panting, Angelous drops to his knees. Salty sweat intermingles with tears as Angelous cries out with the voice of a man wanting to die, "WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!?"
Convulsions take over his body as he drops to the floor, cold and utterly alone. Dreaming of a future unknown.


Chp 3. more to come-
Credits: Thanks for my girlfriend Heather for letting me use her name and parts of her personality.