Survivors
By Ender
"I came to tell you how it's going to begin."
Trinity watched as Neo hung up the
phone. They were heading towards Zion
for major repairs on the Nebechanezzer, but Neo had wanted to make one last
visit to the Matrix before they got there.
The screens on the battered Neb gave off an eerie glow as they revealed
Neo in his usual black trench coat and sunglasses in the fake reality of the
Matrix. Trinity was filled with awe as
he flew from telephone booth into the clear blue sky with ease. Even after Neo was discovered to be the One,
a part of Trinity still couldn't believe his power.
Neo got to a hard-line and picked up the
phone, bringing him back to the Real World.
Trinity pulled out the plug in his head, then helped him out of his
chair. He was still weak from the
injuries he had received from his lethal encounter with the agents a week
earlier. She helped him to take a few
steps without falling, then relayed him his orders, although she would've liked
him to stay with her for a few minutes.
"Tank wanted to see you down in the engine
room," Trinity said as Neo pulled her closer to him.
"Can it wait," he asked playfully in her
ear, not letting go.
"Get going." Trinity gave him a little shove towards the engine room as she
grinned at him.
"Oh fine," Neo gave a little sigh and
started to shuffle his feet as he started away from her. Trinity watched him as he started to walk
normally away, still grinning at his act. She was about to go back to her work
when she heard a crash followed by a long string of muttered curses from Neo's
direction. Trinity had to stop herself
from laughing uncontrollably. In the
Matrix, Neo was an all-powerful force that was to be feared, but in the Real
World he was an everyday, clumsy guy who tripped over the many wires on the
floor of the ship. Trinity couldn't
believe her luck.
Immediately after the fateful kiss that
Trinity couldn't forget, she had helped the drained Neo limp to the med.
room. She treated his numerous injuries
in silence, amazed at the lack of bullet holes that should have been scattered
throughout his chest. He had to rest
for the next few days, regaining his strength.
Trinity, Morpheus, and Tank visited him, each taking a watch to make
sure that Neo and the Neb were holding up.
The memory of Neo trying to eat the usual gruel for the first time after
the incident made Trinity want to laugh even harder.
After Trinity regained some of her
composure, she went to talk to Morpheus about their visit to Zion. Many things needed to be done before they
got there, and Morpheus wanted to brief her on some of them.
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Neo stood next to Tank as he stared at the
huge engine that took up most of the space in he room. He was amazed at its sheer size and power to
run the whole hovercraft.
"I thought I could give you a quick lesson
on some things, so it'll be easier for you to help out later on," Tank said,
eyes still on the engine. He moved
closer to it and pointed out a small section.
"This is the main power grid where the
hover pads are powered and this is where...
Ten minutes later, Neo still had no idea
what Tank was talking about.
"You got that," Tank asked with a
questioning look.
"Uhh...," Neo muttered as he started to
look at the ground.
"You've never used a complex machine other
than a computer in you life, have you," Tank said, a small smile creeping onto
his face.
"Does a toaster count?"
Tank just grimaced and shook his head.
"I can't wait to see you with a welder."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morpheus sat on the pilot deck of the Neb
with Trinity as he flew the ship from the crowded control panel.
"I've set a course towards Zion that
bypasses most of the heavy Squiddie concentration," he told her. "It's a miracle the Neb is even flying, and
we need repairs badly. We should arrive
in around a week."
"What about Neo," Trinity asked, speaking
the thought that had been on the whole crew's minds.
"No one will know hat Neo is the One,
except for some of the highest officials in Zion. We can't risk anything happening to him," Morpheus said with a
grave face.
After breathing an internal sigh, Trinity
felt relieved at his words. She knew
that there would be more traitors in the resistance, more like Cypher. Without meaning to, Trinity looked back at
the four covered bodies that were laid out on the floor on the main deck. The fifth was set apart from the others,
hidden under a table.
"We'll also take... the bodies to be
buried in Zion." Morpheus turned away,
looking at the panel. He changed the
subject quickly.
"Speaking
of Neo, let's go see how he's doing."
Trinity nodded and set the ship on
autopilot. They started to look for
their shipmates, but found nothing in the engine room. Suddenly, they heard a voice that sounded
suspiciously like Tank scream 'Holy shit!' and a loud screech of metal on
metal. They ran to the room where it
came from as fast as they could. They
found Tank backed up against a wall as Neo held onto a smoldering welder. In between them was a twisted and mangled
piece of metal. Neo looked sheepishly
in their direction.
"Not bad," Tank managed to choke out," but
I think you should stick to training in the Matrix for now."
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Official
Disclaimer: All of the characters and
Matrix references in this fan fic belong to the Wachowski brothers and the
people that made the movie The Matrix.
I'm not making any money from this and the characters are being used
without permission.
