The Matrix Continuations (A Multi-Author Story)

TO ALL NEWCOMERS: BE SURE YOU READ THE RULES IN DETAIL IF YOU WISH TO BE A WRITER ON THIS STORY

Hey all! I was looking over some fan fics that have been posted up, and I got an idea for a fan fic in which every one who wants to can collaborate.
I know there are several of these sorts of stories already out there, but I thought I'd try to start a new one, to get a fresh perspective, I think. As far as I've seen all the Matrix 4 stories are pretty old, and I think it would be cool to get a new one going. Let me all know you what you think and we can go through with it. Hopefully this will turn out good, with all the good authors collaborating.
I was also looking over Matrix Rebooted, and I like how the leader of the thread made certain ground rules, so that's what I'm gonna do too.

1. You can create only up to five characters, because anymore than that, and they will become hard to keep track of, resulting in possible plot holes. I've dealt with plot holes before, in other fan fiction sites, and let me tell you, they're a pain in the ass to repair. Anyone who's worked on a multi-author story should know what I'm talking about.

2. If you have five characters, you can kill one, making it drop down to four, and bring along another, bringing it back up to five, but not so much it becomes ridiculous.

3. When you create a character, I would appreciate it greatly if you could do your best to flesh out that character, and make him or her different from the rest of the characters you have created. NO CHARACTERS can be all-powerful. Obvioulsy, some characters, such as Exiles and Machines, can be very powerful, but not to the point of ludicracy.

4. Plot holes. Please do not post if you have not read all of the story so far. Read over the whole story so far thoroughly, and then post, doing your best to avoid all possible plotholes. As I said, these are a pain in the ass to repair.

5. You may use other people's characters, and you may injure them, but you may not kill them. If you want to kill them, PM THE PERSON WHO CREATED THE CHARACTER, do not post it in the thread. Then they will PM you back if it is okay with them or not, and if it is, go ahead. If not, however, you may not kill their character. And, of course, you may not completely incapacitate them.

6. When writing somebody else's character, or even with writing your own, stay true to the character traits. Do not make someone act out of character, but if you feel it is necessary to advance a certain aspect of the storyline, proceed as you would if you were killing them, and PM the creator of that character.

7. You may not write absolutely inexplicable plot points. Example: "Neo appeared and saved everybody. The end." You are not allowed to end the story. Nobody is. When I feel we have reached a conclusion of sorts, I will post up a post that says people may begin to draw things to a close.

8. As for old characters, such as Smith, Trinity, Neo, Mifune, and so on....as of now, they are not allowed to come back, and nobody may set the stage for them coming back. Maybe later on in the story they could, but as of right now, let's try not to do the cheap sequel thing and bring the good and bad guy back from the dead. (And let's not get into any "is neo REALLY dead?" debates.)

9. As for killing characters that are still alive at the end of the third movie, such as Morpheus, Niobe, Locke, Kid, Link.....this is a toughie. So here are the ground rules: There are two people you may not kill: Kid and Morpheus. Later on the in the story I will introduce a point where you may kill them, but do not do it so rashly. If you plan on killing the other characters, you may do so, but again, not rashly. It must fit in with the present plotline.

10. When you make a post, fit it in with the previous post that somebody has made. If one post is about a blue pill working on his computer in the Matrix, the next post could only be about Zion if it somehow related to this. Draw a common thread between the two. It does not have to be super strong, just enough there so people can see the connection.

11. Proper grammar and punctuation. I noticed this in the Matrix Rebooted story, and I must agree with its starter. Please please please do your best to put on your best grammar behavior. It makes it easier for everyone to follow, and easier to keep this story free of plotholes. Obviously, some mistakes are going to happen, and that's okay, but do your best to keep your posts mistake free.

Well those are the basic rules. I'm sure there are some I probably haven't thought of, and if there are, I will post them later. If anybody has any questions post here or PM me.
I will write the first post of the story as soon as we get some writers on this bandwagon. So.....anybody up for it? I hope this turns out the a fruitful collaboration among the authors here at MatrixMania.

EDIT: Here are more rules that must be followed.

Once the story gets going, any person who wishes to be a writer will have to come to me and PM me and discuss it with me, then they will write it. You may NOT just up and start posting in the story.

We have four writers. Everyone who is a writer, and everyone who wishes to be a writer: This story will hopefully take a while, stretching out into an epic, which means it will take much time on your part, and please don't subscribe to writing in this story if you are not willing to give your time and effort to it, and read all the previous posts.

We will write in a specific order, and unless otherwise stated, will keep that order. No writing out of turn, and before you post your next part of the story, you will enter into PM discussion with the group of writers at the time, making sure to include everyone in your PMs.

The order will be:

1. Novus
2. Snoopy
3. renegade-agent
4. The Neo ghost

As I mentioned earlier, the first installment of the story will be posted MONDAY, AUGUST 29TH. We will start discussion earlier, though.

To all the writers of this story: Any conversation about the story will be kept to private PMs. Example: If Snoopy is discussing what he is going to write next turn, he will not talk about it in public, but will PM the group and talk about it. Keep all conversations confidential. This is to insure that the upcoming story remains suspenseful and spoiler-free for the readers. If a story leaks and it is found that someone has violated this privacy agreement, then they will be removed from the story.

Rule Number 10 as of now is anulled. Since all the writers will be discussing every installment by PM, the writers will decide there if it is necessary to move to another section of the story that isn't necessarily related to the previous scene.

Hey novus,can i help write some of this? pleeeeeease???
I am capable of good grammer-it's just i usually write off the top of my head,but my grammer and spelling will be flawless i swear!
can i pleeeease help :) ?

Sure, no problem! Just as long as you follow the rules! I'm sure you'll do awesome. So, there's one writer we have on board, besides me. Anybody else up for the challenge?

I'd like to help with this, Novus.

-Snoopy

Absolutely, Snoopy! I've been reading your Chronicles of the Thirteen and it's really good! I'd think you'd make a nice edition to the writing team. Welcome aboard!
So now we have r-a, Snoopy, and me. Anybody else want to come? You're welcome to it!
I will wait several more days to wait for writers to get on board. After we have gotten at least five writers I will set a one day deadline, and then we will start the story. If, in several days, we do not have five writers, we will start anyway.
You can sign on to start writing for this story after its started, but you must have read all of it, to keep up do date.
Thanks, guys.

I really don't mean to bring you down Novus but what I'm going to say is constructive criticism toward the idea of creating a multi author story. Any advice I give you is not given in the view that you don't know how to write, it's simply given because that's what I do and I figure you might as well hear it. I'm not trying to say I'm better than you, I'm trying to spread the knowledge.

Firstly I'd like to say that you're going to have a hard time, regardless of what you may think at this point, it's going to get very tough to keep your story going, not because there aren't good writers here on MM but due to the fact that creating a multi author story takes alot of collaboration, cooperation and most of all organization.

I've participated in several multi author stories who've all gone down the toilet, mainly because those based on The Matrix lose their thrill after a certain amount of time mostly due to the fact that people have a static view of what the Matrix is all about and the plot line gets cought on trivialities that truly have no emotional kick to the reader.

Secondly because the authors have real lives (some anyway) and things happen in those real lives that may take them away from being able to write and unless you have a backup plan, your story will lag and drop dead.

Thirdly, some animosities may grow between the group, this could be started by something within the story or something outside the story. If you're going to lead a successful multi author story you're going to have to make sure that your group is close and comfortable with eachother and their ideals, one small arguement can pull the entire group appart and that would spell disaster for the thread.

Fourthly, you have to stick by your rules, it's going to be frustrating and perhaps even insulting to those who you're going to dictate aren't eligable to write in your peice, but if you don't stick by your rules than you're not running the show and if you're not running the show than who is?

Lastly I'd like to wish you good luck, cause god knows the Fan Fiction forum is lacking in some respect toward peices that are under good management. Although this is going to be tough, I do encourage you to try it, if not only to experience the kind of work that is needed to keep it up and running.

Basically the advice I have for you is this.

1. Get organized, get your authors on MSN or AOL or some kind of instant messenger and make sure everyone's up to date on what's going on. Know who's writing next, know the main idea of what they're supposed to be writing and make sure they know it too.

2. Get a plotline, Don't just write random crap it'll all fall apart in your face (I'm not saying you were about to do that, I'm just saying that shit happens)

3. Market your peice. Your authors may lose interest if no one is commenting or reading your peice, put links to it in your signature and try to find regular readers (There's always a few).

4. Make it interesting. Being a group of super kick ass matrix guys is wicked, but the reason why the Matrix 2 and 3 nearly flopped is because the main character was nearly invincible and people can't relate to that. Human beings are fragile, emotionally and physically. A good story is when the reader can put themselves in the hero's shoes and know that the hero can trip, fall, and bleed just like they would.

5. Be an ass, as Stephen King said himself " Don't be afraid to kill your babies." He means make a good character that people will like and fall in love with, then throw the poor soul to the dogs cause that'll make the reader cry and pout and get angry. The reason people read books is to be emotionally stimulated, regardless of what emotion it is you gotta make sure you can hit home and get their hearts pounding.

6. Know your story. Do some reasearch, make sure you know what you're writing about and make sure that you know where you're writing about. Even if it's something you invented make the reader think you're the smartest bastard on the planet because then it feels authentic. You think all that crap Captain Pickard is spewing out on Start Trek is real? Hell no, but it sure as hell sounds real and that's what counts.

That's about all I've got to say for now.

Remember, I'm not trying to say you don't already know all this, I'm just speaking from experience.

Good luck, and I'll see you around.

Thanks for the info, Jaideska. Yeah, as I've mentioned, I love fan fiction, and I've noticed what you're talking about on a lot of other sites. I was involved in a multi-author story awhile back, and it fell dead because only two authors ended up remaining. So, yeah, thanks for the info.
And it's Picard, not Pickard, lol. Jk jk jk jk no seriously that is how it's spelled. I'm a big Star Trek fan, lol. Okay on with life now.
Yes, I will be marketing my piece, putting a link into my sig like I did with A Merging of Worlds. And I doubt this will fall into the slumps that Matrix 2 and 3 fell into. I absolutely love the second and third one, but I realize that they have many downfalls. (Actually M2 is my favorite movie of all time).
Lol, good Stephen King quote. I write as a hobby, and I always find it very hard to kill characters that I've created and loved along with my readers, but I've found that it's easier for me to kill characters if I plan in advance on killing them.
Thanks for the advice on the messaging other members. I'll definitely do that, to help keep the story on a basic plotline, and that way, not in actual posts, because that way, the readers don't see what's about to happen before it happens.
Yes I will enforce rules on my piece. This goes for all you potential authors in this story: Do NOT think that I will bend the rules for you. I'm not trying to be an asshole here, but it's important for a good story to emerge. r-a, this goes for you. I realize you have trouble writing good punctuation and grammar, but it's important if you want to be part of the story.
To any author: If you show a steady disregard for the rules, you will no longer be allowed to post the story. Of course, since I am not a mod or an admin, I don't have this full authority, but I am setting down these rules, and will contact a mod or admin if necessary.
Good advice on the potentially static quality of a Matrix story. I have several ideas percolating in my head, and will communicate with the authors of the story on this, and I do have a general idea of where I want my story to go, so it doesn't become all convoluted. Awhile back I was listening to the critics commentary on Reloaded, in the Ultimate Matrix set. (These commentaries are really enlightening, it made me realize how many faults there are actually in M2, even though I'm a huge fanf.) Anyways, the critics were commenting how they didn't like it when sequels recycled the storyline and didn't do anything really new.
M2 was a good movie, and the reason it worked box-officially was because of the success of the first movie, and also because it introduced a lot of new characters and new plot points and an interesting twist on the story of the One. M3 really didn't do much new at all, it just really brought the story to an end with a lot of superfluous action added in. (Though the Super Burly Brawl was awesome the the Super Punch was amazing.)
Other sequels do the exact same thing they did in the first movie, with a shallow attempt to imitate what was done in the first movie. Examples: Miss Congeniality 2 (GOD I hate that movie), Tomb Raider 2, 2 Fast 2 Furious, XXX: State of the Union. They're just pathetic.
Movies that ADD to the original, that bring in brand new plot points, are what end up making much better movies than the original. Rare examples: Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, The Two Towers (though it is a little repetitive.)
So, to all the authors and potential authors on this story, start forming ideas in your mind right now, and don't communicate them on the board. Write me a PM. Unfortunately I don't have IM on this computer, so there's not that option. But do write me a PM, and when you write a PM, write it to all the authors on the story. So far, there's me, r-a, and Snoopy.
Just keep all these things in mind. All this brings to mind more rules, but I will post them later.
So, thanks, Jaideska, and I'll see you around the board.

.. r-a, this goes for you. I realize you have trouble writing good punctuation and grammar, but it's important if you want to be part of the story.
Yes sir :( ,i will make a mega effort here tomake sure all my grammer is perfecto :D i know some people out there will be going over it with a fine pick comb(you know who you are!)
come on people!we need more good writers here.

Suggestion for all you budding writers out there: Write out your story in a word document, then copy and paste. I know some of you out there are experienced writers and you know this, this is just for the newbies. Also, separate the paragraphs; it makes it easier to read.
And don't worry, r-a, I know you'll do great.
Soooo....anyone else up for it?

Yes sir :( ,i will make a mega effort here tomake sure all my grammer is perfecto :D i know some people out there will be going over it with a fine pick comb(you know who you are!)
come on people!we need more good writers here.


Sometimes I really think you make on perpose...

I really don't want to insult you, cause every single instance that I have in the past was purely in the midst of joking and never to actually cause you any distress.

However, at this moment I'm being serious. Do you actually make on perpose? Cause in those few sentences alone there are several grammar mistakes along with a botched analogy.

You may think that this post was not important and that therefore you didn't need to spend the time to go back and fix those mistakes, but you have to learn that mistakes arn't made because you're an idiot or a retard, you know how to spell and how to use grammar, you're just not taking the time to do it properly. Spelling and Grammar mistakes are habitual you do them because you're used to doing them.

Start going back and fixing your mistakes as soon as you do them and your skill in writing will increase I can promise you that.

I know you might think I'm being an ass, but all you really have to do is spend more time writing your posts.

For instance I can honestly say that I've probably pressed the back space key more than one thousand times during this post and I've probably still got a few mistakes left in it. I'm not perfect, far from it, but I try. I go back and I read my post before I post it.

You should be going over YOUR posts, your grammar your spelling, with a fine toothed comb, because it's your credibility as a good writer that's at stake.

Once again, I'd like to mention that I'm only saying these things to help you and I'm not trying to instigate anything at all, please take this criticism as help and don't mistake it for animosity.

Listen to Jaideska, r-a, he knows what he's talking about. He's probably the best writer we have on the forum, even. (Besides me jk jk jk jk roflmfao).
Yeah, correcting your mistakes even in unimportant posts like that. It'll make it more automatic in the future. If you try to start correcting your writing right when you start writing seriously, it's going to be harder. As I mentioned, I write as a hobby, and I do a LOT a lot a lot of it. I wrote a 250 page book this summer (Seriously; no joke). I love writing, and it takes practice, and a lot of work to go do backspaces and all that. But soon it becomes natural. Also, typing classes helped me a lot; it's very wonderful to be able to type while looking at the screen and not having to look down at the keyboard.
Just some suggestions, and I look forward to seeing what you can do in the future on TMC. Catch ya later.

Normally, I'd join in, but my motivation is null right now. I want to avoid bringing any of the more ambitious writers down. That, and as Jaid mentioned, this sort of thing is rather difficult to organize and keep going.

However, I do want to wish you good luck with your fanfiction. Have fun writing. :)

Thanks, Kara. Sorry you don't want to write, but that's okay. Hope you'll be able to find time to read, though, once we get going.
See ya around.

Sorry about the double post.
Hey all! So far we only have three writers, but that's actually not so bad. It's enough to get good variety in styles and not become too complex.
THE FIRST PART OF THE STORY WILL BE POSTED MONDAY, AUGUST 29TH. The writers will begin discussing what to write on SATURDAY, AUGUST 27TH. Mark your calendars, Snoopy, and r-a.

Yo Novus! sign me up!!!!!!!!!1

Sure thing, TNg. Just remember: all the rules must be followed, and, this goes for all the writers, if you don't follow them, you get kicked off the storyline.
If you have any ideas, TNg, PM me, Snoopy, and r-a.
Laters, everybody.

Okay, double post. But here a few more rules.

Once the story gets going, any person who wishes to be a writer will have to come to me and PM me and discuss it with me, then they will write it. You may NOT just up and start posting in the story.

We have four writers. Everyone who is a writer, and everyone who wishes to be a writer: This story will hopefully take a while, stretching out into an epic, which means it will take much time on your part, and please don't subscribe to writing in this story if you are not willing to give your time and effort to it, and read all the previous posts.

We will write in a specific order, and unless otherwise stated, will keep that order. No writing out of turn, and before you post your next part of the story, you will enter into PM discussion with the group of writers at the time, making sure to include everyone in your PMs.

The order will be:

1. Novus
2. Snoopy
3. renegade-agent
4. The Neo ghost

As I mentioned earlier, the first installment of the story will be posted MONDAY, AUGUST 29TH. We will start discussion earlier, though.

To all the writers of this story: Any conversation about the story will be kept to private PMs. Example: If Snoopy is discussing what he is going to write next turn, he will not talk about it in public, but will PM the group and talk about it. Keep all conversations confidential. This is to insure that the upcoming story remains suspenseful and spoiler-free for the readers. If a story leaks and it is found that someone has violated this privacy agreement, then they will be removed from the story.

Now I'm also going to put this in my first post so any newcomers can read it.

Hope you all have a good day.

Hey there everybody!! I know this is a day late, but for some reason there was something wrong with the MM website yesterday. Anyways, enjoy!!

"The Matrix is older than you know...."
-The Architect
The Matrix Reloaded

When Morpheus speaks to Neo, he says that it is the year "2199", when in fact, he only believes it is, because he does not know of the five previous Ones. If we calculate that humanity created AI about 2025, and the war and perfection of the Matrix took another 25 years, leaving us at 2050, then it takes approximately 150 years for the One to reach the Architect and choose the Source. Using this, it can be deduced that the beginning of the Peace is at 2950.

Prologue

Year 2933

The cold darkness of the night enveloped her.

All around her she could hear the sounds of the city, the ongoing constant nightclubs, traffic zooming along the long and winding streets, people babbling as they passed by the entrance to the alley that she lay in.

Freezing cold, she rocked back and forth against the wet brick wall behind her, wet from countless ice cold droplets of rain, numerous people urinating on it, and hundreds of globs of spit enhancing a certain sticky quality. She heard the thin cloth on her back make a peeling sound each time she rocked away.

Her knees were held up to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around her knees, so tight it looked as though she was attempting to prevent her legs from escaping.

Dozens of tiny bugs furrowed about in the dumpster beside her, searching for dead, rotting, decaying food. Rats scurried out from under the dumpster liberally, stopping occasionally to give her a brief but intense glimpse, as if asking her what she was doing in their world. Then they would hurry off into the darkness that seemed to soak and consume the alley all around her.

Shivering uncontrollably, she tried to hold her legs just a little bit closer, soak in any sort of warmth that might come her way. But to no avail. Tonight was freezing, and there was no way she was going to find warmth in the dreary alley.

She felt like crying, but figured she had done enough of that today. She had lost count of how many times she had cried in the past hour alone. It seemed the tears that ran down her cheeks on a regular basis had carved a winding path that guided tears that would undoubtedly later come.

A perpetual cycle, never-ending, never changing, the same night after night.

Many months ago the situation had changed. She had been minding her own business one night, rocking back and forth against this same wall, when a man, clothed in such a dark color she could not distinguish anything special about him, had sneaked into the alley and raped her. She had tried numerous times to blot out this memory, but it kept on coming back, a splinter in her mind,slowly tormenting her. That, and she had a constant reminder, which she had been carrying around with her for nine months, almost to the day.

The baby swam around inside her, a small bubble of life that seemed strangely out of place in this desolate, dim, deathly silent world. Though she could hear the sounds of life outside the alley, they were strangely dimmed, as if life held no place or purpose in the alley.

The baby was due any day now. What would she do? Probably leave it at the step of the orphanage. It had been what she had been planning to do all along. But now, as she approached the birth, she felt a certain reluctance giving it up. It was as much a part of her as her arm, or her leg, or her mind. She could scarcely bear the thought of giving it up to some orphanage where it would probably be forsaken and unloved for the rest of its life.

She didn’t want to think about that. All she wanted to do was fall asleep, like she always did, rocking back and forth, a steady rhythm, against this filthy, grime-stained wall. That was all.

A step. A shadow.

She looked up at the entrance to the alley. No one was there. People blinked in and out of sight as they passed by, occasionally glancing inside, but not being able to see anything for the impenetrable darkness.

She forced herself to calm down. It was her imagination. That was all. Humming quietly, she started to rock back and forth.

One single solitary drop splashed down silently beside her, landing on the concrete. It trickled off toward her but faded out of existence before it reached her skirt. She swallowed hard, and began to tremble.

Something was there. Directly above her. She knew not how, but she knew that she needed to get away. Shaking nearly uncontrollably with fear,she could feel terror begin to take its icy grip on her mind, she stopped her walking, trying to nonchalantly place her hand on the concrete. She was in no shape to run, but she would any way, to get away from this thing. To save her last little ray of hope and happiness,her baby.

Another drop, splashing down just a few millimeters to the left of the original one. She heard the creek of some metal structure above her.

Taking a deep breath, she jolted up to her feet and dashed off into the alley, towards the other end, which minutes before hadn’t seemed that far away. Now it seemed to drag on forever. Each step she took seemed to put her farther away. She couldn’t get there. The thing would catch her.

A clank. A bang.

A smack across her face from an invisible punch.

Her head reeled from pain as the knuckles jabbed into her cheekbone, knocking several teeth loose and driving some up into the gums. She tasted the metallic flavor of blood as it gushed from the wounds, filling her mouth and trickling out the sides, splashing onto the pavement in a torrent of life liquid.

Flying back against the wall,her head collided with hard brick,her vision became blurred,see was seeing stars, she then slumped to the ground, nearly unconscious, struggling to hold onto what precious life she had. She could still feel blood coming from her mouth.

She heard the person that had attacked her mutter something, and then his foot came smashing down out of nowhere, ramming itself into her face. She blacked out instantly and fell all the way to the ground, her head coming to rest inside a puddle of scummy water in which several bugs were swimming. They began to crawl onto her face, invading her ears and nose, poking their little antenna and spiky bug legs inside her. One began to claw at its mouth.

The person who had attacked her did not seem to notice. He pulled something out his pocket, a syringe, and with one swift movement had plunged it into the woman’s neck. He pumped a purplish-red substance into her, almost a whole ounce worth. It flowed into her veins and began to do its work.

The man stood up and put the syringe back into his pocket. Then he removed his hat and bowed to the lady. “My work here iz done. Good day, mon cheri.”

*****

I hope you guys liked it! More will be posted on Friday or Saturday!

I.

Zion, 2950

"Neo...wherever you are...thank you," Niobe said.

After Kid finished running around, saying that the War was over (which no one really knew was true; they just wanted to believe in it anyway, and Kid found it the best birthday present of all), most of the 200,000 survivors of the War hosted a big party in the Temple and amongst the wreckage. Then they proceeded to start finishing up everything.

Soon, Morpheus was standing in the Temple pulpit. There were people in the Temple; however, most were cleaning things up.

Suddenly, there was silence, followed by screams.

A large Sentinel-like thing that was shaped like a pickup truck hovered in. "Morfyss?" it asked. "Ar yoo Morfyuss? Warr is Morfyuss?"

Morpheus chuckled at the thing's primitive speech synthesis algorithms. With all of the things the Machines can do, this is the best speech they can send us. Grand, he thought.

Eventually, it floated over towards Morpheus. "Morfyuss?" it asked.

"Yes, I am Morpheus."

"Mor-phe-us," it said, bowing, and taking great effort to at least get his name right.

"Good," Morpheus responded. "But what will I call you?"

This gave him a chance to examine the thing closer. It was the size and rough shape of a pickup truck. In the back was a pod. Morpheus couldn't really see much from where he was standing in relation to this Machine, but it appeared to be a fifteen-year-old girl in the pod.

"My name is--" and it gave out a series of vowels, consonants, whistles, beeps, and pops. "Call me what you will."

Morpheus replied, "What I could hear at the beginning sounded like 'Bob.' I think that will suffice."

"Bob," Bob repeated. "I am Bob."

"Well," said Morpheus, "let's get down to business. Why are you here?"

"To bring news, and to dithcuss peaz."

"News?" Morpheus asked, his curiosity piqued. "Please, go on."

"The ones you call Neo and Trin-i-ty," it said, "have ended our War. Peaz now."

"But what of them?"

It gave what Morpheus took to be a look of sadness. "They are non-func-tion-al now."

"Oh," Morpheus said, his spirits suddenly downcast. "But what of the Peace?"

"The Peace," Bob said, getting it right this time. "What are your terms?"

Morpheus said, "Follow me." Bob complied, and he went over to where the Zion Council was seated.

"Councilors, this is Bob."

"You are Coun-cil-ors."

"Yes," Councilor Ted responded. "We are here to make decisions for the well-being of Zion."

"Discuss Peace, now."

"Very well." Turning to Locke, who was also present, he asked, "How long do you think it will take us, at present, to come back to where we were four days ago?"

"At present," Locke said, "A decade, at least. Constructing those ships takes a long time. The only survivor is the Consulate, and at least we have that."

"We help you," Bob said suddenly. "Perhaps only take...365 of your...cycles?"

"A year with help from our former enemies," Councilor Wilma said.

"Let's not," interjected Locke. "I don't trust them."

"It's not a matter of whether you trust them," Councilor West said. "It's if Zion trusts them."

They took a vote, and with the exception of Locke, it was unanimous.

There would be one year of rebuilding, with Machine help, and then the humans would start freeing minds from the Matrix again.

------------------------------CONTINUED---------------------------------

-Snoopy

Very nice, Snoopy. A great chapter from a great writer. I look forward to your next section.

Nice one snoopy,another excellant piece of writing.

Enjoy.
II.

Morpheus purposefully strode through the massive shipyard, with Link at his side, surveying all of the newly-built ships. Sentinels sped about in the air above him, putting together more ships.

"Looks like the ships will be ready on schedule, sir," Link commented as he gazed wonderously at the Sentinels., marveling at their efficiency. They moved like clockwork, working day and night, tirelessly.

"Commander Locke will be pleased," Morpheus mused.

They reached the end of the platform and Morpheus turned to look at the last ship. It was gargantuan, and it was the most intricate and powerful ship in the fleet, chosen to be the flagship.

The Nebuchadnezzar 2.

"It's amazing!" Link marveled, his eyes alight with awe.

Morpheus, however, was lost in memories of the past. So many memories of good friends lost: Neo, Trinity, Tank...

So many deaths, but now Peace. Somehow Morpheus doubted this Peace would hold up for long. "Not with Locke stirring up trouble like he was, anyway," Morpheus sighed to himself.

Suddenly Morpheus and Link turned to Kid running towards them as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Whoa, kiddo! You want to watch your step," Link warned as Kid came to an abrupt halt. "It's a long way down."

"S...sorry Link, I'm just heard that...er...Captain Morpheus was recruiting and...I want to join up, sir," Kid said tentatively as he saluted Morpheus and stood to attention.

Morpheus had to force himself not to burst into laughter.

"I see no reason why not, but I must first ask: Are you prepared to trust me, no matter what?" Morpheus asked in all seriousness.

Kid looked Morpheus straight in the eye for a moment as if searching for some sign.

"Yes, sir!" Kid replied back evenly, still looking Morpheus dead in the eye.

Morpheus allowed a faint smile to play upon his lips.
"Very well. Link will show you about the ship, but I have some pressing business to attend to. I'll speak to you later," Morpheus said as he turned and walked off towards the exit, leaving Link to explain the ship's design to an already confused Kid.

"One thing's for sure," Link said to Kid as he watched Morpheus march away. "Things are going to get very interesting..."

----

Stop the presses! The rumors are true- RA is capable of writing in actual English, with good spelling and capitalization and spacing!!! Keep up the good work, guys.

III.

Kid held onto his seat as tightly as he could as he sat in one of the many seats in the main deck on the Neb 2. He had only been on a ship a couple of times, and was kind of afraid. Next to him was the beautiful 17-year-old girl Aki. She had had her birthday just a couple of days before, and since his birthday was only in a couple of days, they were very close in age. Aki noticed Kid looking at her and smiled. She had a very cute smile and two pale blue eyes, which mached her golden blonde hair perfectly. Kid kind of had a crush on her.

"Are you okay? You look kind of ill," Aki said as she gave him her lovely smile.

"I'm all right. I just don't really like flying," Kid explained.

"I love it," Aki said, staring into nothing. "I mean, it's a bit scary but it's so adventurous and I've been a fan of adventure all my life." Kid looked at her beatiful eyes.

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say that anyone who has been unplugged from the Matrix is a fan, since we were all hackers. I take it you're excited about our first mission."

"Hell yeah!" Aki said exitedly. "It's going to be so cool freeing minds just like people did for me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Kid. And he really was excited about everything. Like having his first crush, making new friends aboard the ship, missions...it was all going to be so cool. As these thoughts ran through his mind, he could hear his two new captains, Niobe and Morpheus, arguing about which way was the fastest to The Dump with Sparks and Link trying to get their opinion in with no succes.

The Dump was the place where all freed minds were picked up. Normally ships had to be careful and not congregate around the area, due to the machines, but since peace had been achieved, the twenty plus ships in the Zion fleet were now able to go to and from the Dump as they pleased. The Neb 2 was the first ship to go there. They would be "testing the waters" so to speak.

"Your birthday's coming up, isn't it?"

Kid and Aki both turned around to the final crew member, Ghost, in the gunner's seat.

"Your 17th. You're getting older, Kid."

Kid replied with an awkward nod.

"Why do you sit there?" Aki asked curiously. "We're at peace with the Machines."

"It's not them I'm worried about." Ghost looked at them coldly. "There's something else out there."

Suddenly, they heard the yell of Niobe saying that they were there.

Ooooooo...something's out there. Interesting...
(Singsong voice) Kid's got a girlfriend, Kid's got a girlfriend! Ha ha ha. Good stuff, TNg, good stuff.

-Snoopy

Very nice, TNg. Hm, who's up next? Oh wait, that would be me! Heehee. I'll get started then!

IV.

Kid looked at Aki excitedly. "Did you hear that? We're here!"

Aki just smiled. "Yes, Kid, very perceptive of you."

Kid didn't notice her teasing tone and instead unstrapped himself from his seat and headed for the chairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

Morpheus, Niobe, Sparks, and Link were already there, with Morpheus and Niobe strapped into chairs and Sparks and Link sitting at the operator's station, looking over the screens to make sure everything was going good before they sent the group into the Matrix.

Ghost came up behind Kid and put his hand on his shoulder. "Happy birthday, Kid," he said, giving him that ghost of a smile for which he had earned his nickname that had, eventually, become his chosen name.

"Thanks, Ghost," Kid said, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly Ghost's tone turned serious. "Do you remember all your training, Kid?"

Kid nodded. Like all people wanting to join a crew since the Peace had begun, he had gone through two weeks on intensive construct fighting training, as well as "FYM" techniques, as they were known around Zion. Then it had been up to him to present himself to a captain to be accepted into their crew. He had known he wanted to be on the Neb 2 all along, he had just been worried that Morpheus wouldn't accept him. He had, however, so he was happy.

"Kid," Link called. Kid ran over to him. Giving him a clap on the back, Link smiled and said, "Let's get you strapped in, Kid."

Within ten minutes he was fully strapped into the old derelict barber's chair, with the plug inserted into his head.

Now he was in an endless white room, clothed in simple black slacks, a black coat, and a blue shirt underneath with no tie. Aki stood next to him, in tight red leather pants and an equally tight blue tank top. She winked at him and Kid blushed, looking away at the rest of the group.

Ghost was clothed in his traditional Agent-like garb, while Niobe had her long red coat and reddish/yellow pants and undershirt. Morpheus was dressed in his normal clothing as well.

Then random pieces of scenery dropped into place all around them: the window of a building here, the wheel of a car there, the lid of a trashcan over there. Soon the entire scene was complete, though, and they stood in the alley between two very tall buildings.

Kid breathed in the scent of the Matrix. He hadn't been here since he had killed himself to get out. It felt kind of good to be home, and another weird sensation, one he couldn't exactly place.

"Okay, gang," Morpheus said, his natural leading ability taking charge. "The deal with the Machines was that we need to find the minds that need freeing on our own. After all, the Machines really have no reason to make it easy for us, besides not allowing Agents to come after us."

There was a soft chuckle around the group. Morpheus continued, "We're going to split up into two groups: Ghost, Aki, and Kid, you're in one. Me and Niobe are in the other."

They all nodded and headed on their respective ways.

*****

The apartment was relatively small. Nice and simple, just the way she liked it. She had never really liked complex things. Which was ironic, because she was one of the most complex programs the Matrix had.

The Oracle sat in the couch in the living room, the faint light overhead casting the eternal Matrix green glow onto the rest of the room. She took a long pull on her cigarette and sighed in satisfaction, looking over at the entrance to the room.

Someone stood there. A man.

"Hello," the Oracle said, quite calmly. She rubbed out her cigarette in the ash tray, letting the smoke dissipate out into the room. Sitting back on the couch, she sighed. "I've been expecting you."

The man seemed taken aback, but then he quickly regained his composure. He spoke something.

"No one can see beyond a choice they don't understand," the Oracle said. "And I mean no one. However, I see beyond your choice. I understand."

With a growl the figure whipped out a gun and fired three shots, point blank, right into the Oracle's skull. The bullets shot through one side of her head and out the other, tearing through brain and skulls, leaving a bloody stain on the wall behind her.

The shots of the gun were silent, as if muted by the very presence of the Oracle.

And then the Oracle slumped over onto the couch, her eyes still open in that knowing stare, her mouth curved into that mysterious smile of hers. She lay sideways on the couch, her arms curved oddly beneath her, drool and blood intermingling on the couch in a pool of death.

The man then walked over to her, instinctively closing her eyes by passing a hand over them. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a long samurai sword.

A quick slice and he had obtained what he needed to show his boss. He stealthily stole out of the room, leaving the Oracle's body on the couch just as it was, with the samurai sword lying on the table in front of her, reflecting the bloody stump of her neck that poured blood onto the couch like a river.

The Oracle was dead.

*****

Hope you guys liked it!!

Wow. What a tour de force. Save for these words, I'm speechless.

-Snoopy

yeah! pretty damn good novus..hmm,how about not writing so good next time?you're making me look bad,joking,keep up the good work.

Well I do believe our buddy Snoopy is up next! The floor is yours Snoopy, and after that, you can do the bathrooms.

Just as long as I get those Scrubbin' Bubbles flushable brushes for the toilets, Novus. Where are we having the party, Comet City? Oh, well, chapter five.

----

V.

Seraph and Sati walked down the street, carrying several bags with a "K-Mart" marking on them.

Inside the bags were various ingredients for making cookies.

The snowless winter day was deceptive in its looks. It was slightly cold. Sati and Seraph were wearing their usual clothing.

"That was an interesting meeting," Sati remarked as they walked down the road.

"Perhaps so," responded Seraph, adjusting his signature spectacles. "But I was thinking of something else during that meeting."

"What? What else was there?"

"You have much to learn," Seraph said. "While at that meeting, there was a change in the code of the Matrix. A change such as I haven't seen since the last One was alive."

"That?"

"Yes. I worry." He turned to peer into an alley adjacent to the Oracle's apartment building. Three teenagers were passed out next to a Dumpster, riding a cocaine high, their breaths coming out in white clouds. He paused. "I wonder...perhaps...is it possible? I should think not. But maybe..."

"What?"

Suddenly, his face turned serious. "The Oracle."

Sati said, "I sense it too."

Still carrying the cooking supplies, they picked up the pace, running to the building. The elevator, already covered with graffiti, had a large sign on it that read "Out of order."

"Open that door!" Seraph said to a middle-aged woman in a red dress. Not knowing what to do, Seraph pushed the door open. Sati bolted through it, with Seraph immediately following.

Running up the stairwell, they had to pause for a smoking fat woman with a bad temper. They continued up until they reached the 29th floor, the Oracle's floor. They opened the door, running full speed into the hallway, tripping over a smoking teenager, and nearly toppling over a woman wearing a white dress. They bolted into room 314, breaking the door down.

They dropped the K-Mart bags.

The Oracle lay dead, three bullet holes in the wall and floor clearly visible. Her body, sans head, draped over the couch. Blood was everywhere. Some of it was still dripping, dripping like red Matrix code. The spiderwebbed window was open, and the slightly cold winter air was coming in, as if setting the background for the whole scene. Adding to the feeling was the old-style wallpaper and decorations. The TV was on, Apocalypse Now Redux playing on the screen. Old jazz music was playing from the antique radio. The scent of freshly-baked cookies was in the air.

They ventured into the kitchen. A plate of cookies, arranged in neat concentric circles (as was the Oracle's fashion), was on the table. One spot was vacant; whoever had killed the Oracle apparently had stopped to eat the missing cookie.

For some reason, as if the Oracle herself came out of deletion in some etherial way, Sati thought:

Cookies need love like everything does.

----

Well, it's r-a's turn!

-Snoopy

Well i hope this isn't ignored like alot of my other posts seem to be these days.
Enjoy.
__________________________________________
VI.


"I only want to speak with him," Morpheus tried to explain to the rather large bouncer of the club.

"The Merovingian doesn't want to be disturbed; leave at once," the guard replied matter-of-factly.

Niobe looked as if she was going to attack the guard, but a sharp look from Morpheus stopped her.

"Very well," Morpheus concluded as he turned to walk off back towards the car. "Niobe,we're going to see her."

Niobe merely nodded in response.
_____________

"So my friend, you see my predicament, yes?" The Merovingian asked the tall man standing in front of him from the comfort of his leather recliner.

The man ran a hand through his long black hair that drapped gracefully over his shoulders; his eyes were like balls of fire, gleaming at the Merovigian intently. He was clothed in a jet black suit.

"Yes, I understand, so I take it you want me to make sure there are no. . . .hostilities?" the man asked. He spoke with a thick English accent.

"Yes, Shade, I trust you will be able to handle this task," the Merovingian replied coolly, almost mockingly.

"It shall be done," Shade said finally as he turned on his heel and walked off.
_________________________

Morpheus got into the elevator with Niobe standing by his side.

Morpheus seemed to stiffen up suddenly.

"Morpheus, it's okay to miss him you know,you were good friends, it's only natural you . ., " Niobe didn't get to finish her sentence as Morpheus cut her off.

"I don't want to discuss it," Morpheus said simply, although his voice seemed shaky.

The elevator doors slid open, and Morpheus and Niobe walked down the hall and soon arrived at the Oracle's door. They saw Seraph standing there solemnly, his head hung low.

"Seraph, what's wrong?" Niobe asked, concerned.

Seraph looked up at her, his eyes grim.

"She is dead . . I failed to protect her," he stated simply, though his voice was wracked with grief and disappointment......disappointment in himself.

"No. . . .can't be. . . she can't be dead. . .," Morpheus gasped, his eyes wide in shock. Niobe took his hand as Morpheus swayed in place.
________________

"Ghost, how much longer do we have to wait here? I'm bored," Aki groaned.

"Just a little while longer; Morpheus and Niobe will be back soon," Ghost said good naturedly.

"What about Kid? Where'd he go?" Aki inquired curiously.

Despite his high amount of paitence, Ghost was beginning to tire of the endless stream of complaining and questioning. What did he expect, though? This kid was a rookie, not really battle-trained at all except in the, quite frankly, crappy Zion simulations. Kid had been gone for almost an hour. Ghost had sent him on a preliminary errand, an errand to keep an eye for an hour and a half on a potential freed mind. Then he was to come back to Ghost with a full report. Though Kid was also barely battle-trained, he had, after all, experienced the Zion siege, and come out, miraculously, alive. Therefore, Ghost trusted him. Apparently Aki wasn't so sure.

"Come, I have a cure for your boredom," Ghost motioned to the door of the warehouse next to them. "Let's go hunting."

*****

Ooooh...the mysterious Shade. Curious: Did you get the name "Shade" from the deadly nightshade family of plants? In any case, good post, r-a.

-Snoopy

Very wonderful, RA. Nicely done.

By the way, is it okay with all the authors if I create a blog for this story so people can read it uninterrupted?

Whoops. Sorry 'bout the double posts. Okay I've got the blog up. Here y'all go.

The Matrix Continuations (http://www.matrixcontinuations.blogspot.com)

If you all want changes made go ahead and let me know. Hope you like it.

I see things are going well.

Keep it up, you should put a link to your blog in all your signatures to market your peice wherever you post.

Linking to it's area on MM is a little confusing compared to going directly to the, but make sure you have links from the blog to MM as well, take a look at mine for example.

Cheers :D

Whose turn is it for the next part? It's been since October, now...