"I am NOT doing this, Miss Edwards."

"Oh stop being a baby, and just play the damn game! Besides, you might actually enjoy it. You Agents do have the capacity to enjoy things, right?"

They were in a small park just barely away from the heart of the city. A few children were playing on the swing sets, while other people were walking around enjoying the fresh air. None of the other people were even aware of the unlikely duo as they were huddled under a nearby tree. Trinity was seated just at the base of the tree, legs crossed, looking up expectantly at the Agent, while her partner looked down at annoyance down at her.

"No."

"Yes."

"I said, no, and that's the end of this idiotic conversation."

Trinity paused for a moment, and then her mouth curled into a smirk. "Chicken."

If he had any less control over his reactions, Smith was almost completely sure that he would have already shot this infernal women. How dare she, this human, this virus, call him a chicken? He knew this was a common human way to pressure another human to do an action that they otherwise wouldn't want to do by making them feel less important. It was almost laughable, really, that she thought that he would fall for such a mediocre ruse to make him play her silly little game.

And then that arrogant, insipid, unbelievably infuriating woman started to make clucking noises and mimicking a chicken. "Poor old Chicken Smith is too scared to play Truth or Dare with me! Ha!"

Smith was digging his fingernails so hard into the palm of his hand that if he had been human, he would've felt blood. The time for being collective was over-he'd reached his limit. "Alright, Fine! I'll play your stupid little game!"

Trinity grinned in victory. Sure, it was childish to drop so low as to call the proud man a chicken, but the man had an iron will that had to be broken. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She patted the ground next to her excitedly. "Well then, take a seat and let the games begin!"

Begrudgingly, the Agent sat down, glaring pointedly at the smug rebel. "Let's just get this over with."

"There's one more thing I have to cover before we begin."

"Which is?"

Trinity gave him a sly smirk. "During this game it's against the rules to ask about confidential topics, such as Zion, BUT if either one of refuses to carry out a dare or tell a truth, then they must tell a secret about their organization. Understand?"

Of course. By making the punishment to disclose information about their organization (which neither of them would EVER do), it pretty much guaranteed that they would go through with the dare. Smart girl.

"I understand."

"Good!" She rubbed her hands together. "Then let's begin"

"Who goes first?"

"Me, of course. Alright Smith, Truth or Dare?"

Smith took a moment to think, then answered, "Dare."

Trinity resisted the urge to laugh evilly. There were so many things she could dare him to do. Anything. Then, she got an idea. The perfect idea.

"I...dare you...to take off your glasses."

His eyes widened. "Why?"

"Just do it, Smith!"

He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Although he knew it was ridiculous, he felt a strange sense of vulnerability. He couldn't remember the last time he had removed his sunglasses. He had never had any need to do so.

Jesus, Trinity knew he had blue eyes because she'd caught a few glances of them every now and then, but they were strikingly beautiful. Unnaturally beautiful. It was almost unnerving.

"Enjoying yourself?" She felt a twinge of embarrassment as he caught her staring.

"In your dreams," Trinity gestured towards him. "Your turn."

Smith still couldn't believe that he was playing this stupid game."Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Miss Edwards, I dare you to admit that humans are far less advanced than machines."

"No way!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, Miss Edwards."

Trinity guffawed. How dare that idiotic, arrogant, narcissistic man do that to her? How dare he! It was a lose-lose situation for her. Either she could admit that humans were inferior, or she would be forced to disclose confidential information, which wasn't really an option. She'd have to push down her pride.

"You bastard."

Smith allowed himself to give a victorious grin. "I'm waiting."

"SMITH. DO NOT MAKE ME DO THIS."

"You're making this harder than it should be."

"Smith!"

"Do it, Miss Edwards I don't have all day."

"Fine!" She threw her hands up in the air in aggravation. "Humans are far less superior than machines. There. Happy now, you prick?"

"Extremely."

"Well... now it's my turn, so be prepared for pain. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Trinity grinned. He thought that he could get off easy by choosing Truth. Ha. She'd show him. Besides, he would have to pay for him forcing her say that her species was less advanced.. "...Alright...are you attracted to me, Agent Smith?" She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when she asked the question. A question of such magnitude would undoubtedly throw him off guard.

Smith blinked in surprise. For once in his life, he was completely at a loss for words. He was a program- an Agent, no less and she was a rebel. He should never feel anything other than pure unadulterated hate for her. But...he didn't. He could lie. There was no way to tell that he was lying. He could deny it, and it would be done. But... he felt like it would be an injustice somehow. To both of them. If he lied, then it would ruin the whole point of the game. But why should he care? Miss Edwards was definitely different than other humans he had encountered. She was stubborn, loyal, intelligent, and brave. Not to mention, she'd slipped through his fingers time and time again. Over the nine years that they had known each other (even though it pained him to say this), he had grown to respect her.

But was he attracted to her?

"I..." He shifted uncomfortably. "don't find you completely repulsive, which is better than anything I can say about the rest of your species." Smooth.

"Wow, you really know how to flatter a girl."

"You asked me to be honest."

A shrug. "True."

"It's my turn now. Truth or Dare?"

"...Truth..." Answered Trinity.

Smith's eyes settled onto her, his penetrating blue eyes serious yet curious. "Tell me, Miss Edwards, do you ever wish that you had never been unplugged?"

Without taking any time to consider the question, she answered, "No. Never." It may have been a little less than truthful, but she saw no reason in answering otherwise.

He looked at her disapprovingly."Don't lie to me. You didn't even consider my question. Remember, you made me play this little game."

Trinity looked away. Of course she'd wondered what it would've been like if she had stayed in the Matrix. She was human, after all. It wasn't always easy to live in the real world. The food was less than satisfactory, the cold damp atmosphere of the Nebuchadnezzar was depressing, and the Morpheus's incessant search for "The One" was tiresome. But even after all that, it was better than living her entire life with a blindfold over her eyes. Trinity looked back to Smith, her eyes meeting his, jaw set.

"Yes, Smith, sometimes I do wish I wasn't unplugged, but then I look around and see all these people around you and I. All these poor innocent people were born into slavery. Every man, woman, and child. All of them are being lied to. I would rather spend the rest of my life fight for my existence than to be a slave."

"A slave? We let you live your life comfortably and with a sense of control. How is that living as a slave? We could've killed you all and found another source of energy, or perhaps sent you to virtual world of torment. But we didn't. We gave you mercy."

Now Trinity was getting agitated. "Mercy? You call being trapped inside a prison without consent mercy?"

"A more generous mercy than your species deserves, Miss Edwards. Before the Matrix, human killed each other and the planet. They did nothing but cause pain and destruction around them."

"We make mistakes! That's what makes us human! But we learn. We make things better-"

Smith interrupted before she could finish, "By the time you human have something figured out something, it's already too late to reverse the effects you had caused."

They were glaring at each other now, neither willing to back down. They stayed like that for a while until Smith finally let out a small sigh. "Miss Edwards, you could be so much better. I see it in your eyes. You're having second thoughts and it scares you. You know you shouldn't feel like this, but you do."

"You don't know anything about me."

"Miss Edwards, I've known you for nine years. Nine years of your annoying little 'heroic acts'. I know more about you than you give me credit for."

They were sitting close, nearly touching. Trinity hadn't realized it until now, but he was talking softly, looking deep into her eyes. His eyes reminded her of the ocean, full of emotion and power. She'd not been to the ocean since she was very small. She hardly remembered it.

The sound of his voice broke her train of thought as he continued speaking, "It could be done. You could be reinserted back into the Matrix. "

Before she could object to his proposal, he laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. Trinity stiffened. This was the first time he had touched her without means of physically hurting her. His hand was soft and warm, not at all what she would've guessed he would've felt like. Their eyes were still locked on one another's, but now Trinity was full of uncertainty, rather than anger.

"I can't do that, Smith. You know I can't. I made my choice long ago, and I'm sticking with it."

"You must understand. You are the only human I have ever given this opportunity to. One day, this war will come to an end, and it would be a shame if you were to be...victimized."

Closer. He was even closer now. Trinity couldn't hardly breathe, much less speak. As tempting as the offer was, she shook her head. "I can't..." She repeated numbly.

Smith knew better than to argue. Once she decided on something, her mind was set.

He sighed. "Very well."

It was getting late. Trinity had already been here entirely too long, and the crew would be on deck at anytime. She needed to leave. Slowly, she rose form the ground, feeling the Agent's hand leave her cheek.

"I need to go."Said Trinity.

"I know."

They were both standing now. "I wish it was different, Smith. Truly, I do. But this is the way it's supposed to be. We're at war, and I'm no traitor."

"I know."

Trinity turned to leave, but felt him grab hold of her wrist. She was tugged back until she was centimeters away from him. He was smirking. Slowly, Smith leaned down right next to her face, speaking into her ear. "My offer will be there for as long as you need it to...Trinity." Then, he released her, and started walking off.

She stood there stunned. Her name. He'd actually said her name.

Trinity heard him say as he walked off, "You have two minutes, and not a second more. Go, Miss Edwards."

Quickly, she sprung into action, running to the nearest exit.

Unbeknownst to her, Smith watched her go, sunglasses still safely tucked away in his pocket.