The Destination
By One Melancholy Wallflower
Disclaimer: I don't own Neo, Trinity or Morpheus. If I did, revolutions would be a hell of a lot different. Maybe.
Authors note: so this is my feel-better-after-revolutions story. There will be a companion piece, when I explain my made up religion. I also went through to fix all grammar mistakes.
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She was aware of walking. How long had it been since she slid into cold oblivion she didn't know. All she knew was the sensation of grass under her feet.
Trinity opens her eyes.
She is walking between thick trees, the light from the sun hitting her face. She shields her eyes with her hands trying to see where she was. Or, more importantly, why she is here. Before she can comprehend what is going on, a voice calls her.
'Trinity', sang the soft voice.
The trees thin to reveal a clearing. The grass is shorter here, with large rocks scatted around. In the center, a women in a gray suit sat looking at her.
'Come on, I don't have all eternity,' the woman smiles, 'well I do but that's beside the point.'
Trinity froze, "where am I?"
The woman in gray cocks her head, 'come closer and all will be reveled.' As she speaks, her lips don't move. Trinity can hear the woman's voice in her head.
"Where's Neo?"
'He'll be around soon. Come sit.'
Trinity picks her way around the rocks to the couch sized one the woman in gray sat on. As she climbs on, she notices she is still wearing the tattered sweater and threadbare pants.
"Are..." Trinity starts to ask but stops when she gets a good look at her companion.
She was light brown with short hair and brown freckles but that's not what gets to Trinity. The women in the gray suit had no pupils in her eyes, nor any whites. Her eyes are black with dots of light. As if her eyes are tiny galaxies. Starlight eyes.
She stares transfixed in her eyes for what seemed like hours. Then the woman blinks.
"Who are you?" Trinity whispers.
'Three guesses. And I an't no program.'
Trinity looks around. A breeze moves through the trees while the sunlight warms the clearing. It all feels real enough…
"I'm dead." She says softly.
'Ding, ding, ding, give the girl a cigar!' the woman claps her hands in delight.
"So you're…an angel?' she asks.
'Don't be so burdened by your false christen upbringing. Angel indeed,' the woman shakes her head.
"I'm not."
'Keep telling yourself that. If anyone got close to defining what I am, it was the Zion Priestesses of Water.'
Trinity sat back to think. Yes, her old friend Pi is a Priestess of Water, so is Zee. They are very much like pagans, worshiping all things natural. She had never got into it herself, but she did remember there ideas about death. It was a combination of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
"You're a guide…to wherever…this place is, then."
'Right, you're catching on quick.'
From the inner pocket of her suit jacket, the woman pulls out a Palm Pilot. Flipping the cover and removing the stylus, she works on it.
'So, all in all, how do you think you did this life?' She doesn't look up from what she is doing.
Trinity thinks of being unplugged, of running from agents, cold nights on the ship, warm nights in Zion, losing people, gaining people, killing, saving, needing, pushing, loving…Neo
"Wouldn't change it for the world." She answers.
'I say you lucked out. Finding true love is something people spend lifetimes looking for. And speck of the devil, here's your love now.'
Not that she needs to be told twice. For Neo is walking the same path Trinity had, blinking as he emerges in the sunlight.
"Where…," then he catches sight of Trinity. All questions evaporate at the sight of her. They run to each other, a changing feat involving crawling over the rocks in there way.
"I thought I never see you again," he whispers.
"I know," she replies before kissing him.
Nothing else matters accept the feel of lips against lips. They kiss to confirm that they are really who they are. Trinity lays her lips on the thin skin of his eyelids, feeling the unharmed flesh there.
'A-hem, could you two pause for a moment so I can tell you what is going on?
They brake apart to stare at the woman. Trinity feels Neo stiffen at the strange appearance of the women. So he can hear her voice too.
"Who are you?" Neo asks.
'It never ceases to amaze me that in light of all that happens to get here, you souls always ask the least important questions.'
She shakes her head. 'anyhoo, the sooner you two get over here, the sooner I can do my spiel and the sooner ya'll can resume your re acquiescence.'
The couple looks at each other. Trinity takes his hand in hers to lead him over. They sit on the rock that Trinity had vacated only moments ago.
The woman in gray blinks benignly at him. 'Took you long enough to arrive. You fought very well, by the way.'
Trinity gives Neo a questioning look, he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at the women gray.
"So… the war is over? Zion was saved?" he asks.
'Yupers. Peace between the machines and the humans. The machines harbor almost no hard feelings so the peace will hold. And I do believe that there is now a holiday in your hounor, Neo.'
"And you know this…how?"
'Some things just rise like warm air. We can gather such information here very easily. Even if rises isn't the proper word, human language is horribly inefficient.'
"When are you going to cut the bullshit and flat out tell us were we are?" Trinity states. The women chuckles.
'Very direct. So this,' she waves her arms around to the clearing they're in 'the Destination of Souls. When humans die, there souls rise through the realm of the physical to the realm of souls. I am a Guide for this place, which Trinity has already guessed.'
"So wait, this is like, heaven?" Neo asks.
'No, no. heaven is a place made up by religious figureheads. Plus, heaven is a reward for religious goodness. All souls come here regardless of what they did in there past life. '
Neo furrows his brow in thought. Trinity is trying to figure it all out. She shakes her head.
"The Priestesses of Water were right."
'Not totally. They did confuses something's and overcomplicate other but there ideas are in the right place.'
"Won't Pi be surprised," Trinity says to herself. She shakes her head then looks up at the Guide.
"So were dead and our souls have traveled to this place which is complete different than were we came from, right?" the woman in gray nods. "Then why does this place look like a forest?"
'It doesn't seem familiar to you? It should.'
Trinity and Neo shake there heads.
'This explanation is much easer to comprehend with all you matrix-born souls around. Your soul has a memory of who you use to be. Coming here doesn't change that at first. So your soul creates a peaceful place to reside in until the memory fades. Without a soul this place is just like a construct, blankness. The memory also extends to the fact that here you stand, unblemished unless you count the plugs. It's a metaphysical projection of your physical self.'
"So this place isn't real," Neo says.
'This isn't the matrix kid. reality is different here. Your soul makes it just as real so the realm you left. Though most souls are here alone. You're lucky that you both ended up together.'
"Of course we'd be together," Trinity says to the woman.
'I should have known. Most lovers don't find each other in this place, but then again this was a very surprising run for both of you.'
Neo is still thinking hard. One of arms is rapped around Trinity with the other just lying on his leg.
"What happens when our memories of our lives fade?" he says.
'Then its time to go back. Some don't go back for ages, some not at all. I can tell you you're already slated for reincarnation.' She reaches next to her to fiddle with her Palm. 'We're still working on you, Trinity. Seeing as you too together worked out so well, I don't see why you can't go back together next time.'
"I thought you were just a guide. Now you saying you decide who gets reincarnated and who doesn't? How much pull do you have?" Trinity arches her eyebrow.
'We can't do all, but we can…start you off right. Next time I'll try to get you two more than six months.'
"Wasn't enough time…" Neo whispers.
'Touché. You do get to be here for a few ages. Your return won't be at least for another hundred years at the least. Enjoy yourself, lie around in the sun, and make love, whatever makes the soul happy.'
"Sounds like a good idea," Trinity pulls Neo back so that they are lying on there backs on the stone.
"Anything we want, huh?" Neo calls out to the women in gray.
'Pretty much. You both deserve this; it's been a hard life. And self sacrifice with out some kind of reward is pretty crummy, don't ya think?'
They don't answer her. They are too busy enjoying the sunlight and the tender kissing.
'I'll just let myself out, then,' the women in the gray suit says quietly as she begins to walk away.
"Wait!"
The woman in gray turns around. Neo is sitting up while Trinity still lay prone next to him.
"What happed to Morpheus?"
The Guide smiles, 'he lived to see the end of the war and for Niobe to come back to him. He'll make counsel, have a beautiful family, and go down in history.'
Neo smiles a sad smile.
'Try not to think about what you could have had; think about what you do have. What has happened happened and couldn't have happed any other way.'
With this the woman is gone.
Trinity pushes up on her elbows, "so this is the hereafter."
"Yup."
She reaches over to clasp his hand, "I'm glad I'm here with you, Neo."
"Me too," he says.
She squeezes his palm, "forever?"
He squeezes back, "forever."
They lay back, Trinity resting her head on Neo's arm, and watch the clouds drift by.
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And somewhere, in a nondenominational pit of fire, there is a spot for which ever brother decided to kill Trinity. Big thanks to all who reviewed and enjoyed. it make's my day.