Everything has an end.

**Yasamuu** · 11/01/2007 11:06:10

For Trace.

I would like to begin, by saying that I am about to write a story that I never thought I would write. I'm going to bring an end to my own character, NightTrace. I'm going to go over a small bit of history, and then I will continue with the story. NightTrace, has been a member of the Mega City Department of Energy, from the first day he jacked in to the Matrix, to the last day he jacked in. He left the employment of that group going on two hours before his last mission, and after that, this story takes over. I am not deleting the character, but I have no plans to ever reactivate the account. If I am to ever come back to the Mega City, it will be as someone else all together, and I'll probably avoid ever letting it be known who I am, basing my decision off of the actions that led to my removal of our community. Thanks for the 2 1/2+ years.

It was raining that night, the sky not so much black from the storm clouds, but a pure empty void.
The rain was comforting though, its icy chill bringing some peace to his own inner turmoil.
He had gone against everything he had said for more then a year...that the Cypherites were the embodiment of the poor decisions of the Machines. That they did not deserve help, and if anything, they deserved to die.
Yet that night, he had gone with them, and he had helped kill.
Members of Zion, veterans of the "Old War" all, had their signals locked down, and were killed.
Because of who they were, or to be more specific, because of who they used to be.
They were on outdated list, and so they were killed.
Not because their current positions in Zion made them valuable targets, but just because it was possible.
Senseless violence, and he had helped.
His hands gripped the stone railing harder...then his hand bunched into a fist and his punched the stone as hard as he could.
The dull pain reminded him that he was still alive.
He had left his ship today, the Transom...he had been its first mate.
They docked, and he just walked into the depot, and went to one of the barges and jacked in from an empty table.
He didn't leave a note, and he didn't say a word to the men and women he had worked with for two years.
He knew, that today was going to be the end..and maybe the start of something new.
He didn't know who he was anymore...faces started to flash through his mind...the faces of loves long gone...Alice...Sallo...but he didn't even know if that was true, who was he, to be so arrogant as to say he knew what love was.
The words of friends drifted past his ears, and he remembered days that made him proud...the KoN and the Department, working together to strengthen the Truce, to bring down the General..so many great moments...Symmetric, Musutangu, Fenshire, Venetrix, all of them had joined the ranks of the Mega City Department of Energy, and each of them did so because they believed in making things better.
Things never got better.
Things always stayed the same... or got worse.
Then the Truce broke...and everything died. Hope...working together...the future.
Each side blamed the other, and honestly it was everyones fault, because no one was in it alone.
But when was the last time you heard someone admit that?
He had tried, tried to bring reason, but Zion expected him to seig heil, and step in line to their tune.
They wanted someone to tell them that they were right, and that the Mechs were the ones who had done everything wrong.
The mechs just wanted to blame it on Zion.
Neither side right, neither side wrong.
Both so far gone, that they would never come back to the way things needed to be.
He turned, and picked up the long case he had left leaning against the door. He set it down on the floor and unzipped it, inside was a long rifle. Though it was a tad archaic compared to some of the weapons that people liked to wield anymore, he had a love for older rifles. This one was a mint condition Moison Nagant, the wood smooth as silk, the metal polished to a fault.
He knew that in this place, how old a gun was didn't matter, the code that formed the rifle, was the same throughout.
He knew that it was ones skill over the manipulation of the code that led to the quality of the weapon.
And he knew, that everything he did was being seen.
After all, he had used one of the "public tables" to jack in.
Every request he made, was watched, and every move he made was recorded.
He had betrayed his friends, and he had betrayed his own ideals.
Once he had broken, there was no more hope.
He was dead inside.
And that was why he was there.
There would be no peace across the City he had grown to love.
No peace between Zion and the Machines.
No peace between man and machine.
No peace.
But he would have his peace.
He wouldn't jack in every day, hoping to make a small difference, and feel ashamed when nothing was accomplished.
Never again.
Not anymore.
He raised the rifle to his shoulder, his eye peering down the small scope.
Through the crosshairs he could see his target.
And the target looked up at him, with a face that could have been made from steel.
Behind him, the hammer of a pistol cocked.
Less then a second later, it fired.
The round caught him right above the back of his neck.
He was dead before his body even fell forward, tumbling over the roofs edge.
The target lifted two fingers to the side of his head, and acknowledged the report. Then went about his business.
NightTrace had peace at last.

**Vanil**

Wait, what?

~V

**MatrixRefugee**

. . . This is news to me....

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

Alec sat at a small table in a nondescript bar somewhere in Achan.

He swirled his drink for several seconds, then rose and lifted the glass. A few people stared across at him.

Speaking to "nobody in particular," he spoke clearly, and with no accent.

"To NightTrace! He very literally fought to the death for what he believed in. His attempts to better this world has earned him a place in the graves. May his god receive him with praise, or his devil cower at his return.

Make no mistake - we will carry on his fight."

**Garu**

"...today was going to be the end..."

"...round caught him..."

"...peace at last."

I stood there staring into the dark sky looming over our heads as Yas's words echoed in my mind. Pentangle was distraught. It took all I had to hold her upright. We were both his friend but she was once a comrade and it was eating at her hard. I watched the lightning lick the skyline and strike hard against the pillars in the Machine City. We had been grounded since the news came in and it didn't seem like we were lifting off any time soon.

"...dead..."

I struck the railing with my fist. With clenched teeth I tried blocking it out but I couldn't numb myself. I could already hear the predictable eulogies of how a great man had fallen from grace and how everyone would mourn him. I could see him staring at me with that stupid grin and I cursed him. I knew that's what he wanted. An a-s-s to the very end. It almost made me laugh.

"...why?!"

"...nothing ever accomplished..."

"...never again..."

I raised my head and glared at the sky. I couldn't hold back anymore. I let it all go for just a moment. It was all I needed.

"TRACE, YOU STUPID B-A-S-T-A-R-D!!"

**Illyria22**

SMILEY

Lyr

**Vanil**

Illyria22 wrote:

" />

Lyr

What she said.

~V

**Mave** · 11/01/2007 14:30:16

((For those of you who don't know, NT was Perma Banned from the forums for "Excessive Negativity." It was regarding a Mod's unprofessional attitude. I won't continue on since the walls have ears, but feel free to contact me on xfire for details.))

Mave's raises his eyebrows as he reads the latest intel reports from the Terra.

"Bring us up to broadcast depth." Mave said to his Operator as he prepared to jack in.

The Terra maneuvers up to broadcast depth.

"Where to Mave?" asks his Operator.

"Tabor North."

---------------

Mave stands near the ledge of the observation floor of the Tabor North building, glancing at the few.

"The Matrix won't be the same without you Trace. At least I got the chance to not only know you as an enemy, but as a friend. Though our alliances were different, we shared the same goal at one time. It was a pleasure working with you. And no matter what anyone says, you'll still be the biggest @sshole of these parts."

Mave pulls out a Cuban Cigar from his coat pocket, along with his Zippo lighter. He lights the Cigar, flicks closed his lighter, and puts it back in his pocket.

"This one's for you Trace. Rest in Peace old friend."

**odj**

You will be missed.

**Calavera**

odj wrote:

You will be missed.

Dude , thats awesome.

Defibrilator

Atop her hill, she stares off into nothingness. A dove just told her.

Her gloved hand reaches inside her jacket, and out comes the gun. Still staring at the horizon, her face blank as usual, she raises it above her head, pointing it at the cloudless blue sky. She fires, once. The sound reverberates across the countryside, and fades away. She smiles, ever so slightly.

"Safe journey, soldier. Valhalla awaits."

**Vanil** · 11/01/2007 17:07:12

He perches atop the gargoyle as if he himself were a part of the digital edifice, his black duster fluttering as might a pair of dark, draconic wings on a winter's eve against the cloudy night sky. In spite of the dusk, those Void shades that never leave his eyes perch likewise upon his pale, elegant brow, his irises hidden beneath their murky depths. So many have seen what they have seen, and yet so few have known what they have seen. It was to be this way, always, for Vanil was a caparicious Exile, and an even more caparicious human.

His slender, feminine frame is curled upon itself, his knees below his smooth chin as he watches the flow of the meaningfully meaningless Blues far below him, his head bowed in silent contemplation; maybe even, perhaps, meditation, if he is capable of such a thing. His glistening black gloves grip the lips and ears of the masonic creature below him like glittering claws. His knuckles are likely white, but, then, the rest of him is white, too.

And he thinks of NightTrace.

For a single human, he had been a consistent thorn in Vanil's side for a very long time in this Iteration. A bull-headed thing if ever there was one, the Machinist had, though the Blood Drinker hated to admit it, thwarted quite a few of his designs at every turn, and had nipped an equally great number of his place at their buds. But bull-heads like NightTrace had their place; they always would, Vanil knew, and now, it seemed that this was, surprisingly, enough. As much as the Merovingian executor hated to acknowledge it, NightTrace had been a worthy adversary, though the methods of the two operatives had differed so wildly and their aims so divergently.

His finger taps the gargoyle's skull beneath the soles of his balanced shoes. Once. Twice.

NightTrace. The most adamant and stubborn human Vanil had never known.

NightTrace. The one that did what he had to up until the very end.

~V

**Neoteny**

I don't know when the change came. If I saw it coming, if anyone ever sees any change really coming. But it came. And he was gone.

Neoteny's feet crashed down against the rooftop before he turned in an about face and stood at the edge of the building, looking down upon the busy streets below.

Constant motion, never ceasing. The people, they just move on, ignorant. They don't even know there's a war going on.

I don't know when it was that I last saw Trace in his right mind. A little after the dam collapsed, I guess.

He shrugged at the skies, as though communing with God, and not himself.

He always did what he thought was right. Was a soldier. True blue. A warrior for peace, if such a thing exists. And why not? Everything else is so contradictary, so just... why not?

"Why?" he asked, again, looking skyward. "Why?"

I wonder if he remembered. Remembered the way things were before the Truce. Before it all came crashing down. I wonder if he remembered who he was. He must have, somewhere. I miss those days... Fighting on the same side. Concerns over who might be trying to gain a slight strategic advantage. All so unimportant. All so peaceful in the scheme of things.

You've gotta wonder if the man's really dead. It's just something that's hard to believe. Though I guess I'd say he was dead a good while ago. What happens to a man of peace when peace is gone? The man of peace goes with it. Only the soldier remained. That's why things happened like they did.

But you know what they say about old soldiers... They never die.

He removed the camoflauge beret from his coat and placed it on the ledge, then dug his knife through it and kicked the knife, hard, embedding it into the stone of the ledge.

I'm sure he died in a way which he found satisfactory enough.

"You've found peace, Generalista. I'd say God have mercy on you, but you wouldn't want it, and God knows we could use a little ourselves."

Neoteny turned away from the small memorial and pulled the Glock out of his pocket, firing it three times in the air. He put the weapon back in its proper place and turned around only once more, to give the gesture a nod.

Right place, right way. We never stopped working on it, you know. We never will. Because if no one tries, it will never happen.

"*CENSORED* it all, you should've just listened to me when I told you. I told you it would be this way."

He grunted and shouted, "Why couldn't you have just listened you stubborn son of a *CENSORED*!?"

With a kick to the wall, he departed, as the beret was whipped up into the air out from under the knife which had been holding it in place. It shot through on a breeze which seemed to never end, and, as far as he knew, it never did.

Thu Feb 15 18:22:15 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Various industrial materials. Raw material, generators, that sort of thing.
Thu Feb 15 18:22:34 2007 [Area] NightTrace: About 150 tons in all....it isnt in Zion anymore.
Thu Feb 15 18:22:35 2007 [Area] Neoteny: The hell... Where'd you hear about this?
Thu Feb 15 18:22:41 2007 [Area] NightTrace: ....Places.
Thu Feb 15 18:22:55 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Places I wasnt even supposed to be.
Thu Feb 15 18:23:17 2007 [Area] NightTrace: The fact of the matter is....your in a posistion to know if a change is coming, but I have my suspicions, and I dont like them.
Thu Feb 15 18:23:44 2007 [Area] Neoteny: I... do not like the sound of that.
Thu Feb 15 18:23:49 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Fact of the matter is.....Zion is a bit worried now...over population.....a known renewed Sentinal force.
Thu Feb 15 18:24:09 2007 [Area] NightTrace: They start building a second city......try and keep it a total secret.
Thu Feb 15 18:24:30 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Fact of the matter is though.....I dont know the Zion Council welll enough to judge, but their the only ones who could authroize such a thing.
Thu Feb 15 18:24:32 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Naturally.
Thu Feb 15 18:24:43 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Then you add in the known line between free and pod born...
Thu Feb 15 18:25:03 2007 [Area] NightTrace: I dont want to see the people I know...pod borns like you get the shaft from the Zion Council.
Thu Feb 15 18:25:09 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Authorize. But something could also be done without authorization, I suppose. And with 150 tons of materials missing without any record...
Thu Feb 15 18:25:39 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Yeah. Its a bit to big to not notice....after all, someone outside of Zion has.
Thu Feb 15 18:26:16 2007 [Area] Neoteny: I do not think that the council is in a position to cast out podborns. At least not officially.
Thu Feb 15 18:26:42 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Yeah, but they also were not in a posistion to take care of EPN because they were afraid to take action against anyone who claimed to love Neo.
Thu Feb 15 18:27:12 2007 [Area] Neoteny: They need us for missions within the Matrix, anyhow. And if they were to take such an action, I'm certain something could be arranged.
Thu Feb 15 18:27:17 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Politics are not a dead beast, even in this day and age Neoteny. And the fact of the matter is, free borns are soon going to outnumber podborns.
Thu Feb 15 18:27:28 2007 [Area] Neoteny: That's true. The council isn't much for getting things done.
Thu Feb 15 18:27:44 2007 [Area] NightTrace: The problem Im worried about isnt about them just casting you aside.
Thu Feb 15 18:27:51 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Im worried about them using you as shields.
Thu Feb 15 18:28:17 2007 [Area] NightTrace: They build this second place, away from Zion, and they have it as an Ace in the hole
Thu Feb 15 18:28:26 2007 [Area] Neoteny: I don't... I don't think anything like that would come to play. Or at least, I hope not.
Thu Feb 15 18:28:34 2007 [Area] Neoteny: ...
Thu Feb 15 18:28:40 2007 [Area] NightTrace: If....complictions were to arise in the truce...the Machines come back...
Thu Feb 15 18:29:00 2007 [Area] NightTrace: And the free borns are taken to the new place, to at least get a better chance of survival for a while.
Thu Feb 15 18:29:17 2007 [Area] NightTrace: NightTrace sets his hands on the railing and peers over the edge, rain beads forming and fallling from his hat.
Thu Feb 15 18:30:05 2007 [Area] Neoteny: It would be rather foolish... They would have no one to work in the Matrix. But that doesn't make it altogether an impossible thing to do.
Thu Feb 15 18:30:18 2007 [Area] Neoteny: There's tension, but I've never seen it to such a point...
Thu Feb 15 18:30:32 2007 [Area] Neoteny: ...Maybe I just haven't been visiting Zion enough.
Thu Feb 15 18:30:33 2007 [Area] NightTrace: I've looked at the numbers, its just a possability I've come across.
Thu Feb 15 18:30:57 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Best case scenario...their just building a second city to deal with the over population.
Thu Feb 15 18:31:21 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Worst case is a drawing of new "racial" lines. And assisted Genocide.
Thu Feb 15 18:31:45 2007 [Area] Neoteny: ...I hope so. But the stealth measures taken to build this city seem... unnecessary, if that's all it is.
Thu Feb 15 18:31:56 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Yeah....I thought the same thing.
Thu Feb 15 18:32:57 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Hmm...
Thu Feb 15 18:33:05 2007 [Area] NightTrace: If nothing else...keep your eyes open and ears to the ground. I figured out of the people I know in the sim, your best placed to learn something
Thu Feb 15 18:34:10 2007 [Area] Neoteny: I guess there's really nothing else that can be done to stop this - a city's a city. But if they start refusing to admit unpluggeds, it could mean trouble. We'll just have to see where this goes. And of course, I will watch, listen, and take action.
Thu Feb 15 18:34:25 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Hopefully there will be no need for action in this case, however...
Thu Feb 15 18:34:59 2007 [System] Neoteny sighs.
Thu Feb 15 18:35:00 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Agreed.
Thu Feb 15 18:35:20 2007 [Area] Neoteny: It's not like we don't already have enough to handle, but some feel the need to complicate things further...
Thu Feb 15 18:36:18 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Heh, always.
Thu Feb 15 18:36:32 2007 [Area] NightTrace: If its not one thing, its *blinking* another Neoteny, thats the way of the world.
Thu Feb 15 18:36:53 2007 [Area] Neoteny: This, this is where politicians are needed, this is where they should be doing their job. But they're not...
Thu Feb 15 18:37:55 2007 [Area] Neoteny: It always is... But it's the times when things are already tough, and people can't pull through for one another, that's when things are truly the worst.
Thu Feb 15 18:38:11 2007 [Area] Neoteny: It makes the days of the war look desirable.
Thu Feb 15 18:38:59 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Heh, at least the General would agree with you about that.
Thu Feb 15 18:40:11 2007 [Area] Neoteny: No... I don't think even he would, now. He seems hellbent on destroying the Matrix now - claiming that it's just a source of deception... He's got nothing to gain, I think his time is just up, and he wants to go out with a bang.
Thu Feb 15 18:40:32 2007 [Area] Neoteny: The lack of purpose has gotten to him... I've still got a purpose - hell, more of one, if this is as it seems.
Thu Feb 15 18:43:19 2007 [Area] Neoteny: But I'll admit, this isn't doing much for my faith in the Council. Nothing they ever do really does...
Thu Feb 15 18:46:27 2007 [Area] NightTrace: The council has started to believe themselves like the rulers of the old human societies. They are worrying too much about their images, and to little about the actual matters of importance
Thu Feb 15 18:48:34 2007 [Area] Neoteny: ...I'll be watching them.
Thu Feb 15 18:48:50 2007 [Area] Neoteny: We will see where this leads.
Thu Feb 15 18:50:05 2007 [Area] Neoteny: I appreciate the information, though, and of course, I'll keep you informed if anything develops, though you seem to be more in the know than I am at the moment.
Thu Feb 15 19:01:05 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Of course....thats all I had to say I suppose
Thu Feb 15 19:02:53 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Alright then, well, again, thanks for keeping me updated, I'll make sure to keep both eyes on this.
Thu Feb 15 19:03:44 2007 [Area] NightTrace: Of course.
Thu Feb 15 19:04:33 2007 [System] You target [NightTrace] the level 50 SMG Specialist.
Thu Feb 15 19:04:33 2007 [System] [NightTrace] is friendly.
Thu Feb 15 19:04:37 2007 [System] You salute at NightTrace.
Thu Feb 15 19:04:40 2007 [Area] Neoteny: Catch you later.

Trikraft

Trikraft sat at his console, headset in hand. He looked at the screen through his fingers, his forehead in his palm. Stark realization crossed his face, all the problems and hatred and lies of the world brought into contrast. Tidus stood in the corner with his arms crossed and his head tilted down, a look of sadness on his face. Trikraft licked his lips and began to speak.

"Our time is at an end, Tidus. Our time is at an end. Long ago I made a man a promise, and I can't keep that promise. I'm sorry Tidus, but it is over," Trikraft's lip quivered slightly as he put his head in his hands. Tidus walked over to the console and put his hand on Trikraft's rapidly rising and falling shoulders. He knelt down and looked Trikraft in his eyes and spoke with an air of forgiveness.

"It's O.K TK, my dad would have been proud of everything you did. You held the line better than any, and realized things. There are things out of our control, and this is one of them. We were all good soldiers, and good soldiers never die," Tidus stood up and walked to the bulkhead. He stopped and put his hand on the bulkhead over his head, "Where are we going to go? I mean, we can't go back, neither you to the Matrix or myself to Zion. There is nothing left for us," Tidus turned and looked back at the console, where Trikraft had straightened back up in the chair. He turned in the chair and looked at Tidus before speaking.

"Set a course for the Washington Crater, make sure we stop at an outpost to get supplies before we hit the Boundaries. Send out a message to all ships in our fleet. Tell them that the Trunkline is going underground," Trikraft stood up and walked to Tidus, "We're going to go somewhere we'll be needed, somewhere we can help. And maybe we can come back some day. Until then, I hope our work, our legacy, will live on." Tidus nodded and turned, walking through the bulkhead to the Core Room. Trikraft walked to the bulkhead and reached for the power switch on the left wall. He chuckled as he put his hand on the switch, "Everything that has a beginning, has an end. However, there is always a new beginning," he flipped the switch and the drives powered down, the Matrix code on the screens jostled and halted, the screens powered down to dim, and darkness filled the room.

**Fen**

*Art by Trilateral