Alright, so this is my first fanfic. I welcome you to critique it so please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Matrix.

She was fully submerged under the water, her night black hair splayed out around her face. Bubbles were slowly creeping out of her nose toward the still surface. Her eyes closed, holding her breath for what never seemed like long enough. All she could hear was the low humming of the pipes around the tub, reverberating off her body as if she were now a part of the room.

Three loud bangs sounded in her ears and the water in the tub shook lightly. Her mother was up. She slowly sat up in the tub, reluctantly leaving her tomb of peaceful silence.

She could hear her mother's voice just outside the door, "Lux, sweetheart, you've been in there for over an hour. Are you alright? I'm going to go make breakfast, and you better eat some this morning!"

"Alright mom, I'll be right out!" she answered.

She heard her mother's footsteps slowly padding away towards the kitchen. Reluctance filled her, as she pulled the plug and the noise of escaping water filled the room. She turned and slowly pulled herself out. She felt a wave of fatigue crash over her body, sucking away her breath for a second. When she stood her head swayed a little. She was dizzy, whether from standing up too quickly or not eating lately she wasn't sure.

Lux picked up her worn pajamas and pulled them on. Her mother would surely point out her absurdity, putting on dirty clothes after having a bath. Lux did this often, much to her mother's displeasure. She didn't care. She hardly saw the point in putting on clean clothes when the days of ever feeling clean and refreshed were long gone. She always felt so tired, no matter how much sleep she got.

Lux walked quickly past the slightly fogged mirror, completely avoiding her reflection. She didn't need to see it, not today. She froze when she reached the door, hand in mid-air, staring intently at the knob in front of her. She listened to where her mother was at the moment. If she was lucky she could make it to her room without being noticed, her daily goal. Her mother would sit her down, force breakfast down her throat, and make her talk about why she was feeling so off lately. The last thing Lux wanted to do was face her mother's stern forbidding eyes. She wasn't feeling too good, and the idea of food made her stomach turn.

She heard a few light noises of pans clanging and knew her mother was cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Feeling satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom, steam escaping along with her. She crept down the hallway and turned go to into her room. Their home was small, but the way it was laid out, a long hallway separated the kitchen at the front from her room near the back. Just before Lux got to her room however, a figure stepped out in front of her, quickly, startling her. "Dad… hi, you scared me a bit."

"Sorry, your mother wanted me to let you know she expects you to eat some breakfast this morning. You're losing weight which isn't a good thing. You were too skinny to begin with." Her father pinched her sides lightly, and she batted his hands away.

"Stop it!" she cried firmly. But when she looked up to see her father's concerned face, her stern resolve faded and she smiled. "I'm fine Dad, don't worry. I'll be right out."

"Good," he replied, smiling back at her. "Oh, you might want to put on clean clothes too, you know how you mother doesn't like it when you wear your pajamas after a shower."

Lux scoffed behind her shoulder as she walked into her room. Her father chuckled softly, and walked back down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Lux closed the door behind her, and looked around her room. It was small with a twin sized bed in the corner and a makeshift dresser against the wall. A few articles of clothing were strewn on the floor, and she sorted through then to find something suitable to wear. She had to work later at the restaurant, so she figured she may as well put on her work clothes, tight fit black pants and a silky black shirt. She actually didn't mind the uniform. They were required to wear the standard pants, but the shirts were free choice as long as they were black. The shirt had been a birthday gift from her parents, and it was her favorite by far. She dressed quickly and looked in the mirror, smoothing down her outfit. Her hair was still damp. It was dead straight and quite long, coming down to about her middle back. She brushed it up into a high ponytail, and put on a bit of light foundation. She heard her mother yell from the kitchen, "Lux, if you're not out here in thirty seconds to eat, you'll be awfully sorry!"

Lux laughed to herself. Her mother tried to sound intimidating, but was actually far too indulgent when it came to Lux. Never the less, she headed for the kitchen, feeling a little hungrier than she had earlier.

When she reached the kitchen she sat down at the table, opposite her father, who was intently reading an article in the Zion newspaper. Trinity was getting out some plates from the cupboard. Eggs were frying on the stove, the smell wafting throughout the kitchen. Lux looked up at her father as her mother put a plate of eggs in front of each of them, "what's the news today Dad?"

Neo looked up first at Lux, then at Trinity as she was sitting down with her own plate of eggs in front of her. He paused for a few seconds before looking down again, and said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "not much really… a few more people were rescued from the Matrix, only a couple million more to go." Neo put down the paper and sighed as he started to eat his eggs. Trinity smiled at her husband, then turned to Lux and asked, "are you alright sweetheart, you look so tired these days?"

"Thanks," replied Lux, "a polite way of letting me know I look like crap."

Neo laughed without looking up from his eggs, and Trinity continued, "you know that's not what I meant, you always look so beautiful. I'm just concrned about you. What time do you work today?"

Lux poked around at her eggs and spooned some into her mouth. "Don't worry so much Mom. I work at three, but I'm going to visit Ana before I go." Ana was Niobe and Morpheus' daughter. She was sixteen, just like Lux. The two had been best friends since they were born just three months apart. Niobe, Morpheus, and Ana lived on the opposite side of the apartment building.

"What do you two have planned?" Trinity asked, finishing her eggs and laying her fork down on the plate.

Lux was already finished, getting up and putting her plate next to the sink. "Nothing really, maybe walk up to the landing dock to see if Mode is back yet."

Mode was Link and Zee's son. He was a crew member on a ship that was sent out to help rescue people still trapped in the matrix. After the war ended, everyone rejoiced, thinking that the human race was finally free. Rescuing people had proved to be harder than was originally thought however. A select few were immediately unplugged, but died soon afterwards as the process was too new and they didn't take well to it. Now more delicate steps were taken to help people cope with the real world.

Lux was hoping her mother wouldn't give her one of her concerned looks like she usually did when she mentioned Mode. He was quite the young man now, just a few years older than Lux and Ana. Trinity often asked how things were between her and Ana. She thought that both girls were hung up on Mode since the three were almost inseparable. Lux lamented that her affections for the boy were purely platonic, and that Ana could have him if she wanted. It was the truth. Mode was sweet and a lot of fun to hang around with, but it was clear to her that he and Ana were made for each other. They both got these dreamy looks in their eyes whenever their hands ever brushed by accident. Lux would just roll her eyes and focus on something else. There were no hard feelings though, she was happy for them. Lux suddenly snapped back to reality and shook her head lightly. Luckily her mother wasn't paying attention, and she swiftly turned around and walked up to the table.

Lux kissed her father's cheek, "bye Dad."

"Bye sweetheart, have a good day at work," he replied.

"I'll try," retorted Lux laughing. She leaned down to kiss her mother too, "thanks for breakfast mom."

"Thanks for eating it this time," her mom replied, before Lux stepped through the front door and closed it behind her.