Tank had fulfilled his last order as an operator and had brought all surviving crew members back to this reality. But the pain in his body became unbearable now. "Morpheus", he whispered once more.
And like waking up from a dream, Neo and Trinity took a short scared look at each other and got up to hear the last words of their dying friend.
Their kiss had been interrupted so sudden and in such a terrible way that Neo and Trinity could not even realize what they had been doing.
Tank was leaving this world, surrounded by the last members of the crew he had been a part of. His last wish was telling his sister Zee how much he had loved her, and that he still believed in the mission he died for.
He found peace with no sorrow written on his face. But the ones he left behind felt even more destroyed by what Cypher had done to them. One out of them. A man they had trusted like anyone else. What kind of inner war must have driven Cypher? They did not know.
With a numb feeling, as if they were machines themselves, Neo and Trinity carried Tank's body to the place where his brother and the other ones were lying.
"We must get them off the ship", Morpheus said, under tears. "If I have to walk past them once more, I start to think of putting my own life to an end right now"
"They're worth a real testimony", Trinity explained. "But we have to get out of here before we end up like them ourselves."
Somehow, the Nebucchadnezzar had to repaired at least to the degree that they could send an emergency signal to Zion. Waiting for getting back to the city could take them days in extreme danger, as long as the ship did not work. Days, in which they had to keep up their mental health somehow.
It was clear to everyone that they could not bring their dead companions home. But Morpheus made a promise to himself that he would hold a speech for everyone of them when they were back in Zion.
Finally, their bodies were buried out in the cold dark of the old tunnel system, between metal and steel.
Neo, Trinity and Morpheus had been working for about 48 hours now, until they finally transmitted the signal. If the machines had recieved it themselves, now the Neb would be ready to fight again.
They had been able to repair the weapon system, but the drive was still off line. Another ship had to come and help them.
All that was left to do now, was waiting.
Morpheus insited on shifts for keeping the watch. And he also wanted to keep the first shift.
"Well, after all, I think the two of you have something to talk over.", he whispered to Neo.
Neo did not look like being in the mood for talking anything over.
But Morpheus knew Trinity better than Neo did, at that time.
He knew that she had been extremely critical towards men, regarding any other relationship but the kind of battleship-companions. Noone had been able to get close to her in another way than in friendship. And Morpheus was one of the rare priviledged individuals that could call themselves her friend.
He knew what it had cost her to do whatever she did, making Neo wake up again after Smith had shot him. So the tall, dark skinned man just gave the pale one a meaningful look and repeated: "Oh yes, you have."
Still doubting, Neo finally walked pass the corridors of the Neb to find Trinity's room. And to find out that the last 48 hours had made him more than just tired. Maybe this was a chance for him. If she was just as worn out as him, maybe it was easier to break the ice now.
He knocked at her door shiely, but she had left it open and briefly said: "Come in."
Neo still wasn't shure if this was okay, but he went in slowly and sat down beside her on the ground.
"That was a tough day", she started. "I still can't get their dead faces out of my head."
"It must be hard for you", Neo answered concerned. "You've known them much longer than I do, and even for me, it was a shock."
"I'm glad that we survived.", she admitted after a while.
"So am I. I'm not sure if Morpheus is, but if he has slept a bit, I hope he will return to his known strength."
"He will. But he needs time... Somehow... he was like a father to all of us. And he felt responsible for the whole crew... But you and I know, the greatest respect we can show to our dead friends is to keep on fighting the machines with no mercy..."
Trinity was looking down on the ground when she slowly said that, and her head had sunk. Sadness and anger, but also exitedness and hope were fighting within her. She decided to cling on the good feelings that still were there, before she would get absorbed by the bad ones. Her eyes were showing tears, pride and love at the same time, when she added:
"I wish I could have seen that bastard Cypher's face when I told him that I believe in you"
Neo remembered that she had been looking deeply into his eyes right then. Cypher had asked her something on the telephone, and she had just said "Yes". Soon after that, Tank had been back on line to manage them out of the Matrix.
How did she know that some kind of miracle was about to happen?
He still wasn't really sure about her feelings. He didn't really know what she had done to make him come back to life, as Morpheus reffered to. But he felt that there was more than something between him and Trinity. And he had felt her presence as he defeated agent Smith.
He had to thank her for reviviting him. And he had to apologize for kissing her without asking after being plugged off. But at that moment, this kiss had seemed to him all that he wanted to do.
Thomas Anderson had always been shy to women, like most of his collegues at the it-office. But Neo felt endlessly attracted to that wonan. Though he was nervous, he was sensitive enough to understand how difficult it was for Trinity to let anyone close to her. He thought that he might have overstressed her feelings. He remembered that there had always been something she wanted to tell him, that she never was able to bring out. Until this day. He had to know.
"How could you be so sure about that when you talked to him?", he finally asked her.
Trinity's heart went wild. So he didn't know.
When his life had been in danger, she clearly had been sure about what to do.
But now, she would have to tell him that she was in love with him once more.
It seemed obvious that he couldn't have heard her voice when he was in the Matrix.
But since he had waken up, she was not only thinking that her feelings had reached him. She also hoped that he would understand what had happened.
"Why did he kiss me then? Is he just playing with me?", she thought. But her reason told her that he maybe was ashamed about what he had done. Obviously, he had not completely understood what she had done to save him. Instead, his kind nature made him think that he might have affected her, by kissing without asking. Since they had been interrupted by the terrible event of Tank's sudden death, they had had no opportunity to talk it over.
She tried to breathe slowly to calm her heart down. The oracle had only told her, that she would fall in love with the One. But the old lady never mentioned a word about his feelings.
For a moment, Trinity was not sure anymore, if he was just another idiot in her life or at least someone as shy and insecure about love as she was. But she had to risk it. She bit on her lip to play it cool and began:
"Neo... Do you remember that I said I had to tell you something? Right before Tank got me out of that telefone cell after Cypher's attack? And that I was afraid to do so?"
Neo looked at her seriously and just replied: "Yes, I remember that, Trinity."
"Well, there is something that makes me know that you're the One."
"How can you, Trin? Honestly, I still don't know if I am. I don't want people to see something in me that I cannot fulfill."
"Neo, trust me... You have to be the One...", she tried to explain slowly, and calm, while looking into his eyes with hers wide open. She still was afraid. But she was getting close to that feeling inside her again. That feeling, that was stronger than all the strategies of self-protection she had ever learned in her life. That feeling, which made her trust this man whatever he did, and that made her see his bright nature beyond his doubting behaviour. Now, she was ready to tell him once more.
"Neo, the Oracle... She told me, that I would fall in love with a man..." Neos heart nearly stopped. This could mean the best, or even the worst.
"And... that that man, the man I love... would be the One."
Neo could not say a word. But Trinity was not holding herself back any longer:
"I knew it when I first saw you. I felt it when I looked into your eyes, as Cypher asked me. I was too afraid to tell you right then. And I still am. I'm sorry."
"I understand", he said after a while, trying to be very kind, though his heart was beating fast and his thoughts were making a hot mess out of his brain, "Telling someone that you like him or her is a difficult thing. I was never good at that."
She believed it without asking for more.
"But now", he went on, "I'm having the advantage of being the One, you see."
He smiled a bit, and tried to relax the situation.
But Trinity only realized that she had forgotten how vulnerable she could feel in this very moment. She could not bear the tension any longer. Neo was looking deeply into her eyes, and she felt calmed. "Trin", he said trustworthy, "I've never felt something like that for any other person in my life before." He was lying his hand on her shoulder very carefully.
"Neither have I", she replied, still afraid of the consequences.
But when they finally ended up kissing, she remembered something she also had forgotten of for a long time: How a truly happy moment could feel like.
When his lips melted into hers, it felt like it should have always been that way.
As he started to kiss her all over, she felt like losing all control in his arms.
She was surprised that this did not feel bad at all.
Normally, Trinity hated to lose self-control and was known for acting cool and reasonable in even the most difficult situations. But when she was with Neo, she could do nothing more, but trust.
She had already realized this, when holding on to him at the elevator shaft, trying to free Morpheus. Now, this trust was becoming the biggest part of her strength. It had come immediately. And it was like medicine for her soul.
From this moment on, she knew that if she really wanted to support Neo, she could not listen to her doubts about herself or their relationship any longer. All that she would give him from now on was freely chosen and based on that honest trust into her love. She did not ever doubt, neither herself, nor him. Her faith gave her the self-confidence she needed. She had never lost it when giving herself to him.
This kind of love would give Neo the strength to fallow his own path, and it made him almost addicted to that woman. What he trusted in, was her believe in him. Nothing more and nothing less.
She looked into his eyes and he looked into hers. They both intuitively felt what would be going on between them in the future. And sharing this one heavenly moment, they did not complain, as they heard a knocking at the door and their captain screamed: "Shift change!"
Trinity knew it was her turn now, and was about to walk out the door when she whispered to Neo: "We'll have to tell him. It's his ship and we are his crew members!"
Neo nodded agreeing.
When Trinity faced Morpheus, preparing to explain that her and Neo had started something a captain might not be glad about, Morpheus looked at his daughter-like friend and whispered in her ear: "It's okay. I already knew... He needs you."
From that moment on, noone working with them ever critizised their relationship.
Neo went to join Trinity's shift, and togehther they made a two hour-watch, fulfilling their duties with discipline. After that, they were both given two hours of spleep they urgently needed.
Morpheus' second shift was about to end now, when he recieved a signal from the Logos that had come to help them repair their drive.