Snake saw nothing but darkness. Every few seconds a flash of light appeared in front of his eyes, synchronous to the painful throbbing of his head⦠He groaned and slowly got to his feet. He opened his eyes. His sight was blurred by the moisture in his eyes. He rubbed them and blinked a few times. His head was still throbbing painfully; his back hurt with every single movement, no matter how insignificant. All of the sudden he felt a gust of windâ¦
Snake appeared to be acting out of a kind of warriorâs instinct when he lunched his fist forwards⦠a fraction of a fraction of a secondâs fraction later, his fist hit what his eyes briefly recognized as Hwoarangâs face. At the exact moment of impact, he felt a blow to his stomach like someone had swung a sledgehammer at it. But for some reason it didnât hurt⦠it felt like someone simply touched him. He then got to his senses and looked at what was going on. He saw Hwoarang lying against the wall at the other end of the alley, blood streaming from his mouth and nose. Snake saw the scene clear as if he was standing next to his opponent. He blinked and suddenly the entire world changedâ¦
The bricks on the walls changed color⦠they faded from the light brownish color to dark green⦠the texture changed; the shape faded to darkness as suddenly a line became visible on the walls⦠a line of code⦠mysterious green symbols ran across the walls; Snake could see layers upon layers of code⦠he could see through the barriers around him, revealing more lines of code⦠everything around him was covered in the green symbols. Snake recognized the pattern; it was the code of the Matrix itselfâ¦
It was impossible⦠he had achieved what thus far only the One had achieved. He could see beyond the fabricated reality of the Matrix and see what it really was⦠it was just a program. But how could this be? Only Neo was able to achieve this... Snake looked at Hwoarang. A shape recognizable as a human body covered in code lay on the other side of the code infested alley. The shape slowly started to move.
Hwoarang didnât understand what was going on. Just a minute ago he had Snake on the ropes⦠now the tables were turned all of the sudden as he had painfully met with a wall just after seeing Snakeâs fist fly towards his face. He slowly, painfully got to his feet, groaning softly. He lunched over and breathed heavily. He saw Snake, standing at the other end of the alley, looking at Hwoarang with an expression of curiousity on his face.
âHow did he do that?â, Hwoarang thought to himself. âHe is fast, but itâs impossible that heâs THAT fast⦠only Neo could be as fast as that! But⦠that would mean⦠no⦠itâs impossible! In a moment of desperation, he must have somehow been able to free his mind to such an extent that it made him equal to Neo⦠no! It canât be!â Hwoarangâs thoughts seemed to move at light speed. âIâve heard about this happening before⦠someone getting into a sticky situation and in a moment of hopelessness, they awoke to a level of speed and strength that they had never seen before⦠but the effects were only temporary⦠Iâll have to wait it out⦠no; with all that speed heâd pummel me an inch from death long before the effects would wear offâ¦â Hwoarang despaired. He was facing an opponent like none heâd ever fought before⦠not even equal to an Agent.
Snake was still observing the situation from the other end of the alley. Suddenly he instinctively started running, as if he were controlled by a higher consciousness⦠Hwoarang watched with dread what was going on before him. He put up his fists and prepared for Snakeâs attack. Snake got closer⦠the footsteps echoed through the entire alley. Snake extended his fist backwards⦠Hwoarang swallowed nervously. Snake swung⦠the fist moved through the air⦠Hwoarang moved his arms in position to block⦠the fist got closer⦠Hwoarangâs arms were still moving⦠the fist was only inches away from his face⦠Hwoarang kept moving his arms upwards⦠the fist was about to strikeâ¦
Suddenly a sound similar to two speeding trains slamming into each other could be heard for miles. A shockwave of distortion, bending the Matrix, spread from the battlefield outwards, slowly fading out⦠A woman, just finishing up on her grocery shopping, noticed the shockwave coming closer. Suddenly her body went numb⦠she dropped her bag and felt a strange sensation spreading through her body⦠a man dressed in a black suit wearing sunglasses was standing at the exact spot where the woman stood a second ago. It was an Agent. He saw the shockwave fading out, pressed his finger against his earpiece, and shortly after, slowly started moving towards the sourceâ¦
On the battlefield, the two fighters were frozen on the spot. Hwoarang had his arms crossed before his face; pressed against them was Snakeâs fist. The two fighters stood motionless for a few seconds, then suddenly they both fell backwards. They immediately got up again and shared a quick glance, then quickly started exchanging hits. Both fighters blocked every single incoming attack, no matter how fast or how powerful. For some mysterious reason, they had become evenly matched.
The two fighters kept hitting and striking. The pace started increasing⦠they were slowly getting tired. Then suddenly a strange sensation went through Snake⦠he blinked his eyes and, to his amazement, he saw the world as he did just minutes ago⦠the code had vanished, the endless stream of green, glowing symbols⦠he saw Hwoarang furiously pounding his fists at him, and he felt the blows⦠he yelped with every hit and suddenly Hwoarang swung a fist at his stomach⦠Snake tried to block it, but Hwoarang was too fast. The impact caused him to fall over backwards. His hands went towards his stomach and he quickly exhaled, spitting a drop of blood from his mouth.
Hwoarang witnessed all this⦠he didnât know what was going on⦠he had floored his opponent⦠then suddenly he felt nauseous⦠he blinked his eyes and his sight returned to the normal way he was used to⦠he then realized what had happened⦠he had briefly passed into a higher level of strength and speed, and it had now worn off⦠Snake was on his knees in front of him, still shaking in pain, holding his stomach. Snake felt the pain slowly fade out, and looked up⦠Hwoarang was still dazed by what had happened⦠this was his chance. Snake quickly jumped up to his feet and kicked Hwoarang in the side, slamming him into the wall. Hwoarang got to his senses and got up. He attacked Snake⦠his punch was blocked. Snake punched back⦠Hwoarang blocked it. The two went on dodging, blocking and punching for what seemed an eternity⦠when all of the sudden they saw another person entering the alleyâ¦
It was a man, dressed in a black suit. He wore a tie, and expensive looking sunglasses. His face expressed no apparent emotion. The two fighters looked at the man in dread⦠it was an Agent⦠their distortion had attracted his attention. Snake and Hwoarang looked at the Agent, then looked at each other and simultaneously screamed âRUN!â. They turned around and headed towards the other end of the alley as fast as they could. The Agent followed them with his trademark speedâ¦
Snake reached inside his coat while still running, quickly grabbed his phone, opened the cover and dialled the operatorâs number. Spyke replied at the other end and directed Snake to the nearest exit. Snake yelled the directions to Hwoarang. Suddenly gunshots could be heard; the Agent had pulled out his Desert Eagle and opened fire on the two. Snake ran with all his might after Hwoarang, but he was exhausted⦠the battle had drained all his strength.
Minutes later, Snake opened his eyes. He looked into the face of Spyke, his operator. âWhat⦠happened?â, Snake said. He groaned as he felt his bruised body fire pain through his nerves. âIt was a close call, Sir.â, Spyke said. âThe Agent was closing in on you both⦠you were so exhausted I feared you wouldnât make it. You were on the brink of passing out⦠But all of the sudden Neo appeared out of nowhere, doing like Superman and grabbed the both of you and took you straight to the hardline.â Yeah⦠the guyâs like a guardian angel, Sirâ¦â Spyke looked at Snakeâs wounds âYou better get some medical attention, and some restâ¦â Snake sat in the chair, thinking about what happened⦠maybe someday he could face Hwoarang againâ¦