AN: First off, I'd like to apologize for my not updating. Truth be told, the "Real World" was a big factor in why I haven't updated this story in so long. I've been studying for the exam that, if I pass, will earn me my Master's Degree. I had twenty-one scientific journals to know like the back of my hand. I've been studying for this exam since late April/Early May. The one very bad thing about studying for this exam was the fact that I developed severe exam induced writer's block. I haven't been able to write just about anything since really getting into studying for this test. Thankfully, I've taken the test…now I just have to wait for the grades to come in during the fall! Anyway, I hope all of you that are out there reading this forgive me for taking such an extended break from updating. I promise to try not to repeat that little feat anytime soon. After all, I'm technically on summer vacation now!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I made up and their Real World alter egos. I don't own The Matrix, The Animatrix, or any of that cool stuff. I'm broke and in graduate school studying biology. All I own are my Pointe shoes.
"Take a look around you; nothing's what it seemsWe're living in the broken home of hopes and dreams,Let me be the first to shake a helping hand." (from "Have a Nice Day" by Bon Jovi)
Raising one of her smallish hands, Pixie knocked sharply on the door that led into Morpheus's cabin. The young woman- though most argued that she looked more like a girl than a woman but that was a different story for another time- was slightly more than confused about the reason why she was knocking on the door. All she knew was that she was supposed to come to her captain's cabin at a certain time.
Why she was being asked was still a mystery to her. She was just told to be there by Trinity the night before as she left her late night shift in the Core. Not one to buck orders or question her captain's sometimes insane sounding requests, Pixie made sure to be at the door at the ordered time.
Among the other things that struck her as being odd at the moment, Pixie knew that her fellow rookies weren't invited to this meeting. Hawk and Mouse were in the Core, both watching for sentinel activity in the area. Pixie wasn't sure she felt safe with Hawk watching out for them- Hawk, she was afraid, would spend his time talking to Mouse and miss something vital- but that was the set up at the moment. They were off watching while she was attending a strange and clandestine meeting.
The heavy door that blocked the cabin from the rest of the hallway opened just a silver and an eye peered out to see who wanted entrance. Upon seeing Pixie standing there nervously fiddling with the hem of her sweater, the door opened a bit wider to allow her entrance.
Morpheus's room was slightly larger than the others on the ship, benefitting someone of his standing on the ship, but shared the same astute characteristics. There was a large bed against one wall and something akin to a bookcase on the other. The shelves were crowded with not just actual books- the paper kind that were rather rare. Pixie had a few of them back home. – but curious little items that Pixie wanted to have a closer look at. The young woman restrained herself, though, but it took a physical effort.
Even with the slightly larger space, though, the room was crowded. It seemed as if the rest of the Nebuchadnezzar's crew, other than her fellow rookies, had been called in for this meeting. As eyes fell on her as she entered, Pixie's eyes found themselves drawn to the floor and her hands continued to nervously fiddle with the hem of her sweater.
There was no room to breathe much less to sit, given the number of people in the room. Cypher was holding court on Morpheus's bed, alternately inviting the female crew members to sit with him and warding off the inevitable swats that came his way. Cypher, to Pixie anyway, reminded the young woman of what Hawk was destined to become in a few years. That just served to increase her wariness of the bald but mustached man.
"Wanna sit, kitten?" he called, patting a spot in on the bed and leering at Pixie.
"I'd rather not, thanks," Pixie, nervously, retorted, trying to stand closer to the door than she was already.
"Plenty of room here, Pix," Cypher commented, leaning, casually, against the wall the bed was against.
Shaking her head, both to show Cypher she meant "no" and at his comment in general, Pixie slipped away from the door and wedged herself in one of the far corners of the room. There she rested in a catcher's crouch, balanced on the balls of her feet with her elbows on her knees, holding her head up.
Morpheus, standing near the wall farthest from where Pixie was crouched, caught the entrance of his smallish medic-in-training. With everyone gathered in one place, away from their usual duties, the dark skinned captain called for the attention of the gathered group. Bodies moved to lean against walls or, shooing Cypher off of the bed, sit on the bed. All eyes, though, were on Morpheus as his deep voice echoed off of the metallic walls of his room.
"You all have been asked here to take part in, what I believe, will act that will bring this conflict to a close," he began.
"You're not talking about the One again, Morpheus are you? There is no One," Cypher snapped, sighing and rubbing his moustache in a nervous sort of way.
Beliefs aside, the rest of the gathered crew turned to stare at Cypher. They were solider, assigned to follow orders as most "good" soldiers did. Whether they believed in the One or not did not matter right now. Morpheus allowed them their beliefs and everything but that was neither here nor there at the moment.
All that mattered, at the moment, was that they did as their Captain ordered. Pixie found that Morpheus never really ordered anyone. It seemed, to her, that he more made suggestions that were followed because he was worthy of that kind of respect.
Seemingly ignoring Cypher's little remark, Morpheus continued, "I have never asked you to believe as I believe, to follow behind me like so many sheep. I have allowed all of you to find and follow your own paths. What I am asking you to do now is to, along with your other duties on this ship; keep a close watch on this man. He grows closer to the truth everyday and needs our protection."
Pixie's ears perked up as she heard what they were being asked to do. The whole idea of the One, a man who could end the war, was highly debated in Zion. Some believed that he did exist and his arrival would herald the end of all things. Others felt he did not exist; he was a story created to help comfort a race under siege. There wasn't exactly a war between the two opposing parties. Not a physical war anyway. It was more like a philosophical war of ideas between the two groups.
Rain and Torrent, along with Una, Aisling, and Adoh, were believers but they had not forced Pixie to feel as they felt. Pixie listened to them, listened to their argument but gave the same attention to those arguing against the idea of the existence of the One. She figured it was only fair for her to pay attention to both sides of the story.
Though she'd heard both sides of the story, Pixie wasn't exactly sure what she believed. The idea of one man, a singular individual who was able to end the war against the machines was definitely a nice idea. After all, it was the sort of idea that brought hope to a people that were living underground and under threat from malicious mechanistic monstrosities that called the earth's surface home.
Still, one man to end a war seemed almost insane. The idea was just mind boggling, something one couldn't get their mind around no matter how one approached it. It really almost sounded insane when one thought about it.
Pixie wasn't really sure whether or not she believed in the idea of the One. She figured that, when the time came- if she was around when the time came- she'd make her decision. She wanted to see the One when the time came and see what he could do. After all, no one really said what sorts of things the One was supposed to be able to do…other than end the war, of course.
From her spot on the floor, Pixie mentally mused, "It's weird that Hawk and Mouse aren't in on this. It doesn't seem fair that I'm in here. Maybe there was a mistake."
The young woman stood up from her catcher's crouch, stumbling a bit as her legs felt full of pins and needles from sitting in the same crouched position for so long. It wasn't that the position was uncomfortable for her, it was just that her legs had fallen asleep in the position she'd been resting in.
As quietly as she possible could, Pixie inched her way towards the door. Though she knew it was very silly of her to just assume that her being asked to join the rest of the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar in this meeting was a mistake, the young woman tried to make an escape. Maybe she'd join her fellow rookies in the Core to keep watch or, even better, head off to the medical bay and look over some of the notes Dozer had on his small computer. Having things downloaded into her head was one thing but she still enjoyed looking over notes and then making her own.
Pixie would have been entirely successful in her escape if not for the fact the door, at that very moment, decided to let out an unearthly squeak. Her face colored red as the eyes of the gathered group turned to her and the slightly opened door she was holding in her hands.
"Where are you going?" Morpheus asked, looking at the obviously nervous young woman in a curious way.
He might have been mad at Pixie for trying to leave but he knew she had her own reasons for leaving. It had little to do with the fact she wasn't following orders. There was some other reason Pixie had. At least, that's what Morpheus figured.
"I think I'm in the wrong place, sir," Pixie replied, her hands back at the hem of her sweater, "I don't think I was meant to hear any of this."
Knowing that her excuse sounded rather lame, Pixie added, "What I mean is that, you didn't ask Hawk and Mouse to be present and they've been here as long as I have. I just figure that I shouldn't be hearing this if they're not here either."
"You are most certainly in the right place. I asked you to be present, to take an active role in these proceedings because you are a medic-in-training. You will need to be familiar with this man since you will be aiding in his rebuilding," Morpheus informed Pixie.
Pixie nodded her head, understanding that she was being asked to take part in something potentially important, and closed the door. She returned to her crouched pose back in the corner, bringing her attention back to the meeting at hand.
"However dishonest it may seem, we must keep this information away from both Hawk and Mouse," Morpheus stated, his tone showing just how important he felt that topic to be.
"Why?" Pixie piped up, curious as to know why they had been left out while she had been chosen.
"Mouse is excitable, to say the least. The less he knows the less damage he can do. I was hoping he would still be working on the new Agent Training Program but he seems to have completed that assignment.I would love to include him but there is simply no way. Hawk cannot be allowed to take part in this until he gets that enormous chip of his shoulder. I do not think he would appreciate watching over someone he feels is less than he is, in his own opinion," Morpheus replied.
Pixie, who kept her ears open for her name and when she would be keeping her brandy brown eyes on Neo, was inclined to agree with Morpheus where Hawk was concerned. He didn't like doing anything for anyone he felt was below him. Watching someone who, potentially, could end the war wasn't something for Hawk to do. Still, Morpheus had as asked Cypher to help and he didn't look pleased either.
With something like a mental shrug, Pixie rearranged the schedule she had running through her head to include her new assignment. Sure, it would mean she'd be a bit busier but, then, that had never been a concern for her. Busy was better than having nothing to do and, anyway, things seemed to be getting interesting now.