I know, I know, by now you people are probably tired of me making excuses on behalf of the late chapters. Well, this one was late only because I am lazy, and my artistic muse has apparantly also gone on summer vacation...
The next chapter switches back to the Zion chapters, only because they need to catch up with the Neo/Trinity chapters.
Disclaimer: -sighs- Still not mine. If only...
The Matrix: Resurrection
Chapter 10: Strength
Things were not going as peachy and perfect for our fallen heroes. Trinity had lapsed into a mode of utter silence, a mood that Neo remembered from when he first arrived aboard the Nebuchadnezzar. Every few minutes, she would turn around to glare daggers in his direction, and there would be an involuntary twinge of pain in his groin at the remembrance of her earlier threats. At least Trinity was acknowledging his presence this time around.
"Neo, could you please stop making that infernal racket?", Trinity had asked rather impatiently one morning, about three months after the Morpheus rescue, as Neo drummed his fingers atop the mess hall table.
"Aww c'mon, Trin, I'm just bored. There haven't been any trips to the Matrix in days!"
"Would you rather be in the Matrix wreaking havoc and kicking Agent-ass?" she asked coolly, taking a sip from her mug of water.
"Yes", he replied smugly, "I would."
Trinity peered at him from atop her cup, her eyes going steely and grey; not a good sign.
"The Matrix is not a video game, Neo. We are fighting a war here, not playing a rousing game of 'Cops and Robbers'."
His voice began to rise as he replied, "I of all people should know that, Trinity. I'm out there risking my life everyday by fighting Agents. What do you do when you see an Agent, hmm? You prance away towards the nearest exit in your dominatrix Catwoman suit, constantly yelling Trinity-coined phrases, like 'Dodge this!', over your shoulder."
That had stung, and Neo knew it. Trinity's eyes were smoking, and she looked like a lioness sizing up her prey.
'How dare he comment on my abilities,' she thought. 'He has no right!'
"Maybe you do think you are just playing a game, Neo, but let me tell you something. People are dieing out there because of the machines. And once peoples' lives are involved, it is no longer a game. It is reality. But maybe, therein lays your problem. Maybe you can't tell the difference between what's real and what's not real, reality and a game, the cold hard truth and the Rabbit Hole. Maybe you are just too immature to understand."
Something inside Neo snapped.
"Well, maybe you are an icy bitch who only finds satisfaction in having no heart.", he roared.
Trinity let out a feral growl and hurled her water at Neo's head with deadly accuracy. She stormed from the mess hall and slammed the door behind her.
They hadn't spoken to each other for at least two weeks after that particular row, which put a strain on the rest of the crew as well. However, both of them soon couldn't stand being apart for very long. Neither was sure who apologized first, as all coherent thoughts for the couple disappeared for the entire evening. The next morning, as Trinity snuggled sleepily up to his bare chest, and his fingers traced delicious patterns against the skin of her hips, Neo vowed never to let them get that mad at each other ever again.
But, inadvertently, they had.
Neo was so lost in thought that it took the sticky wetness of a barrier crossing to snap him back into attention. Trinity was in front of him, surveying the landscape that fell before her.
They seemed to be near a coast, that was for certain, as the salty air wafted into her nose and chapped at her lips. All of the buildings were made of stone, and set into the surrounding hills, which made everything seem very crowded together. It reminded Trinity of the pictures she had seen of Greece when she was a young girl. Her stepmother had visited there, once, and had sent her a post-card. So maybe that's where they were. Greece.
She turned back to Neo, who was also glancing around. When he turned his head away from hers, Trinity fought strongly to repress the urge telling her to go push him to the ground.
'Relax, Trinity," she told herself. 'You're not really mad, you're just upset, that's all.'
Because both of them were otherwise occupied, neither noticed the tall man step lightly up between them. It took a rather loud "Ciao!" to knock them from their subconscious.
Trinity braced herself for an attack, but the man shook his hands and started babbling frantically.
"Non faccia quello! Ci non è ancora un motivo combatterlo. Per ora, vengo nella pace. Benvenuto alla mia sede."
Trinity looked ahead with cold eyes, while Neo cocked his head in confusion.
"Ah," he whispered. "My apologies. I forget that not everyone speaks Italian."
Okay, not Greece. Italy.
"I said, 'Do not do that! There is no reason to fight, at least not yet. For now, I come in peace. Welcome to my home.'"
The phrase 'for now, I come in peace' made Trinity extra cautious, but she nodded her head in greeting all the same. It gave her a chance to size him up. The man was tall, around 6 foot 5, and he had short-cropped black hair that reminded her of Neo's when it was first growing out. He had accentuated cheekbones, which made his brown eyes stand out against almost lighter brown skin. He was dressed in a white sarong, with a maroon sash draped over one shoulder, and matching sandals adorned his feet.
The man looked towards the pair and began speaking in a thick Italian accent. "Oh, forgive my rudeness! I forgot to properly introduce myself. My name is Alessandro, but please call me by my hacker name, Prophet."
Neo nodded his head. "Pleasure."
"I'm sure." Prophet commented, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "As you have already gone through two tests, it is my job to test you on your next attribute. Strength. An important skill that every One needs, although some people lack it. Strength is not just about physical strength, but emotional as well."
Prophet looked Neo up and down. "You excel in both categories, but I can see that you have dealt with many emotional things in your past." He clucked slightly. "Only a few tests will tell if you have indeed the strength needed to proceed."
Neo sighed rather dramatically, causing a huffing noise to come from Trinity's direction. He shot her a look before turning back to Prophet, seeing her roll her eyes through the back of his head.
"What do I have to do?"
Prophet's eyes sparkled. "I have set up a, what do you call it?, oh yes, an obstacle course. You must pass each piece before moving onto the next, but it is timed, and I don't think you will like what will happen if you run out."
In normal circumstances, Neo would have looked at Trinity and asked her if she was ready to proceed, communicating only with their eyes, but these were not normal circumstances.
"Alright, let's begin."
Prophet nodded, snapped his fingers, and, for the second time that day, Trinity disappeared into thin air.
"What did you do to her?" Neo growled. He attempted to move, but found that his legs would not budge.
"Relax, man-child. Your lover is safe. I told you that you would not like what would happen if you fail. If you do not make it to the end in time, then she will be kept here forever."
Prophet didn't even flinch as Neo shouted curses and violently attempted to remove his bindings. "I daresay, I've been in the need of some company."
"La vostra madre è un cane!" Neo shouted in Italian, one of the few Italian phrases he remembered from High School, mainly because of its insulting nature.
Prophet shook his head, comically sad. "Do not draw my mother into this, Neo. She would be very displeased."
He floated up into the air, just high enough where Neo couldn't jump and reach his dangling feet.
"For your first task, you must move this boulder until it is resting upon that red mark over there." With a seemingly bored wave of his hand, Prophet materialized the said items.
"And I would hurry, if I were you." He remarked as he released Neo from his prison. "There is much at stake."
Neo's eyes were drawn to Prophet's, and as he followed his gaze he noticed Trinity trapped inside a large hourglass. The sand from the top was falling on her head, and, had the situation been even remotely comical, Neo would have remarked how it looked like dandruff.
"Il tempo sta sprecando, ragazzo piccolo." Prophet remarked. "You had better hurry."
Mumbling various curses in various languages, Neo sprinted off towards the boulder. Upon reaching it, he immediately turned to look at Trinity. The sand was halfway up her boot-heel. He began to push at the boulder, but paused every few seconds to view Trinity's fate. The sand was now up to the top of her boot-heel, now the bootlaces, now her ankle.
"Stop it!" Neo said to himself. "This is what Prophet, and the Architect, meant. I need to focus and not be blinded by my emotions."
With renewed passion, Neo began to push the rock with such determination that it did not take very much time at all. Glancing back at Trinity, he noticed the sand was at her calves, dangerously close to her knees. She watched him and silently pleaded him to move forward. With one last push and grunt, the boulder was at its marked destination.
"Well done," Prophet remarked. "Second task- Lift this boulder up and throw it to that red mark over there." He used his pointer finger to indicate the new target.
Neo sized up the boulder. He opened his mouth to reply 'That's impossible!', but closed it and decided to try it anyways.
Positioning himself behind the rock, he bent down and gripped the bottom edge with his fingers. Using his weight for balance, he hoisted the rock into the air and sent it flying as far as he could.
It was about 2 yards from the mark.
"Too bad," Prophet commented as though this was nothing more than afternoon amusement to him, "You'll need to try again."
The boulder disappeared from its new location and popped back into place in front of Neo's feet. 'I'm too weak,' he thought dejectedly to himself. As he bent down again to pick it up, bits of almost long-forgotten conversations began to float into his head.
Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?
What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are.
Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.
You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.
Neo stared at a crack in the boulder. 'I know I can pick up this godforsaken rock.' Taking another look at Trinity, he saw that the sand was almost to her hipbones. 'I don't think I can, I know I can.'
He hoisted the rock up into the air and threw it with all of his might. The boulder literally whistled as it flew, coming to a screeching halt as it careened into the ground with a heavy momentum.
Prophet surveyed the damage. "Well done. You are ready for task three."
"And what is that?" Neo asked, panting for breath.
"Third task- Fight me. Hand to hand combat. Beginning...now"
Prophet didn't even give Neo a chance to argue before he lunged in to strike. Apparently, he had been trained in Eastern martial arts styles, so Neo felt right at home. Neo sidestepped a punch and bent down in an attempt to kick Prophet's feet from under him, but the taller man used height to his advantage and flipped over Neo's back, kicking him and sending him skidding a few feet away. He heard a sickening crunch near his right foot.
As Neo stood up to wipe a trail of blood from his mouth, he looked in Trinity's direction. The sand was up to her breasts.
This was not good.
Neo emitted a battle cry and lunged towards Prophet again, moving his arms in circles for a distraction. When Prophet became focused on his hands, Neo hooked a foot aroundhis left ankle, effectively getting the result he wanted earlier. While he was down, Neo took the opportunity to land a few good punches before he was thrown off.
Prophet had a bloody nose, and his left eye was swollen shut, but his right eye blazed with such a strong determination that Neo thought to shield his eyes.
Prophet made the sound of a defeated man trying to make his last stand as he ran towards Neo, arms outstretched and ready to attack. It only took one falter in his step, and Neo took advantage of that to knock him backwards. The older man moaned in pain on the ground.
"Task three...is completed" he muttered and effectively blacked out.
"Trinity", Neo whispered. Turning to look at the hourglass, he saw that the sand was creeping up the base of her neck.
Running as fast as he could with a swelling right ankle, Neo reached the hourglass in record speed. The sand was up to her chin now. Although he couldn't be sure, he swore he heard a faint "Hurry" before her air passages were cut off.
Using only his fists, Neo began beating on the hourglass as if his life depended on it.
And it did. He knew that he couldn't survive without Trinity. Finally making a crack in the glass, Neo punched the spot again and it shattered, spraying his arm with glass fragments. There were a few cuts on his arm, and a particularly deep one on his wrist that oozed dark crimson, but he ignored the pain.
Trinity's body slowly cascaded down the mountain of sand, and he gripped her in his arms as tiny white particles pooled around them.
"I'm sorry for being mad at you Neo," she whispered quietly. "I'm sorry..."
Trinity' head lolled to one side. After checking the pulse point in her neck, and finding that she was only unconscious, he walked back over to Prophet, Trinity curled up in his arms. The man was now sitting up and healing his eye. Upon hearing the footsteps, he turned to face the pair.
"Well done. You two can pass through here safely. Off you go." he said, with a curt tone.
"Wait," Neo stated when Prophet went back to mending his cuts. "Heal her."
"I am too busy healing myself." He replied nonchalantly.
Balancing his weight on his bad foot, Neo struck out with his good one to kick a sore looking bruise on the man's thigh. Prophet yelped.
"Alright, alright!"
The air around them hummed as Prophet seemed to be working his magic. Neo's foot felt slightly better, so he knew something was happening, whether it be for better or for worse.
Trinity's eyes blinked open violently and she wriggled out of Neo's grasp to stand on the floor beside him. This action hurt him deeply, until she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight.
"No matter how tough things get between us, Neo, I'm never letting go."
Prophet surveyed the lovers from the ground.
"You two are permitted to leave. Be wary, young travelers, the road ahead is a dangerous one. Lasci nella pace. Ricordisi delle lezioni che avete imparato."
Taking that as a sign to leave, the two nodded a dismissal and started off. Neo was limping slightly, and he relied on Trinity's shoulder for balance.
"Trinity...I'm sorry for not telling you sooner about the Architect. I thought it would be best if you didn't know."
"Well, you thought wrong." She replied sharply. Softening her tone, she added. "I shouldn't have reacted so harshly. You did what you thought was best."
Neo leaned in to kiss her lightly, applying only enough pressure so that her fingertips tingled with warmth.
"Let's get going" he whispered against her mouth, not even bothering to pull his face away, "Who knows what lies behind us."
"Or ahead of us." She murmured quietly as Neo braced himself against her shoulder again. Somehow, she knew that things were not going to get easier before they got harder. They never did.
A gigantic Morpheus-style hug to all of my readers/reviewers who've put up with me since chapter 1.
And I'm sorry if I butchered the Italian. I just ran it through Babelfish both ways, so I know it's not completely accurate. I would love if someone could give me a correct translation. :D
Here is a rough translation of the text.
-"Non faccia quello! Ci non è ancora un motivo combatterlo. Per ora, vengo nella pace. Benvenuto alla mia sede." Do not do that! There is no reason to fight, at least not yet. For now, I come in peace. Welcome to my home.
- "La vostra madre è un cane!" Your mother is a dog!
- "Il tempo sta sprecando, ragazzo piccolo" You're wasting time, little boy.
- "Lasci nella pace. Ricordisi delle lezioni che avete imparato." Leave in peace. Remember the lessons that you have learned.