AN: Sorry about the delay. I started my lab class this past week and things have been a bit crazy as I've tried to adjust my schedule yet. Thus far, I've been able to juggle this lab class, dance lessons, and Girl Scouts pretty well. The class, itself, is a lot of fun but it's also a lot of work. We're doing some pretty cool experiments while we learn how to use certain pieces of lab equipment. Actually, I'm excited because I got my first lab coat last Thursday. Now I look like an actual scientist instead of someone just doing things in the lab. It's pretty awesome! Anywho, sorry, again for the delay and I'll try not to slack off as much again. I really do want to get this story posted as it went through a period of really bad luck where nearly all of it was lost, save for a few parts, and it was only through sheer luck that I managed to get nearly all of it back. Though, a huge part had to be rewritten, including the part that is being posted now. Please, continue to read and review my little misadventure! I really do appreciate it!

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.

"Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?" ("Landslide" by Smashing Pumpkins)

"No way," Pixie breathed, not quite believing the site before her eyes, "This is not possible. My luck is not this good."

Yes, she was speaking to herself and that was probably not the smartest thing she could do. After all, talking to one's self had long since been established as a sign of insanity. Still Pixie could not believe the site before her eyes. It was definitely something she hadn't expected.

Of all the ships she had expected to see in the bay, the Nebuchadnezzar, the ships she had come in on, was the last one on the list. To get on one of the twelve original ships was the last thing she expected. She figured a certain amount of experience was required before getting a job on one of them. No fresh from the Academy newbie like her was going to get assigned. Such ships were too well recognized for some rookie to work on.

Rookies, by their very nature, made mistakes and those mistakes could reflect badly on the captain. The results of such mistakes might not be so damaging if the ship and its captain were not as well known.

At least, that's what Pixie assumed.

She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes with the back of one had as if trying to banish the site before her. Still the ship stood there like a giant, hulking, metal brute and its captain watched her with an amused expression on his dark skinned face.

"Are you alright, Pixie?" questioned Morpheus, the figure at the end of the ramp.

His voice, though a few years had passed, still sent a chill down Pixie's spine. It was that deep, questioning sort of voice that resonated with a tone that was a mix of knowing and questioning all at once. It always seemed like he knew more than he was letting on. Even now, to Pixie, this seemed true as he questioned her about her feelings.

"Just more than a little taken aback, sir," Pixie started, trying to salvage what was left of her dignity, "I never expected this. Me being fresh from the Academy and all. I thought I'd bee on another ship so I could get more…practical experience and training."

Pixie's medical training was thorough but not really complete. She knew a great deal of things but there were still certain subtle skills she lacked. One such skill was hands on training in emergency situations. When she questioned her instructors on why she'd be allowed a job even though her skills lacked, the answer was strangely simple. It was the place of the ship's captain to fill in whatever blanks she had. It was up to him or her to decide what sort of specific training they needed.

"Some would feel your lack of actual experience in the Matrix would create a disadvantage for the crew involved. I do not feel that way. What training you need, you need and I will supply for you. We could use another medic on the ship anyway," Morpheus informed Pixie, Cheshire Cat smile on his face.

Taking that as a good enough reason for being assigned the job she had been, Pixie just gave a small smile. There was a certain sort of comfort to be had from working on a ship she knew. She really couldn't have asked for a better assignment, even though there was no guarantee that the crew would be the same as last time. People left posts and, sadly, people died. Crews changed with time and with circumstance.

Like a shadow, since Morpheus was still quite a bit taller than she was, Pixie followed the captain onto the ship. The ship appeared to be very much the same from when she was last on board and, much to her surprise; she seemed to remember where they were going. Her feet followed a path that she was shocked she remembered.

A path that seemed to take the pair to the Core and not to the cabins. Pixie assumed she'd be assigned a place to sleep- A place to call home while on the ship- before anything else. Maybe she'd be given time to get her few things in her room together as the ship left or something to that effect.

Her musings were interrupted by Morpheus informing her, "Just put your pack down for now. There is something I would like to do first."

Pixie did as she was told, putting her pack down next to two other battered satchels. She guessed that the two other satchels- from the look of them- belonged to other new crew members. Pixie figured it was probably a good thing because that meant she wasn't the only rookie on the craft. Perhaps they could work together- despite the fact they all had different specialties- and prevent embarrassing mistakes for the rest of crew.

Rolling her shoulders and trying to shrug some feeling back into them, Pixie noted that there were a few individuals in the suspended chairs that spanned across the middle of the room. Her memories of being in one of those chairs were not good ones and they ended with her getting violently ill and cracking her head on the wall.

Pixie knew she'd probably have to have a seat in one of those chairs sooner rather than later. It came with the job, after all. Still, knowing that didn't stop the nervous butterflies- or more nervous butterflies, Pixie wasn't sure- from taking flight in her stomach nor did it prevent her heart from pounding like a small bird beating its wings against the bars of its cage. In this case it was her heart against her ribs but she figured the analogy worked either way.

"Tank," Morpheus stated, his deep voice resonating in the metallic confines of the Core, "our final new arrival is here. Is everything else set up for the practice?"

Tank, turning away from the bevy of screens that ringed the Operator's Console, looked at Pixie for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure out just who she was. Only a handful of years had passed and Pixie figured there was very little that had changed about her. Her hair had gotten longer and she'd grown up some but she still resembled the same bald headed, wide eyed Pixie she'd once been.

"Pixie?" he asked, turning her name into a question, "Is that you?"

Pixie nodded, sheepish smile on her red tinged face. Her eyes were down; looking at her much scuffed and cleaned boots instead of making eye contact with the Operator.

Tank gave a low whistle and commented, "I almost didn't recognize you with all that hair, Pixie. You hardly had any when you left."

"I grew it back out to the length it use to be in the Matrix," Pixie mumbled, still feeling distinctly embarrassed for some reason.

Her reaction seemed to amuse Tank as he turned back to the screens calling, "Everything's ready, sir. All you have to do is jack Pixie in and we're all ready to start. The rest of them are inside already."

"Thank you Tank," Morpheus stated, beckoning for Pixie to follow him.

The odd looking pair- Odd only because Morpheus was quite tall and Pixie wasn't very tall- stopped at the chair hanging closest to the Operator's console. She still didn't know who hung in the other chairs nor did she have a clue what was going on. Asking seemed a bit rude to her so she waited for an explanation to come, if one was to come at all.

"For the moment, I am going to set this screen up for you but I can assure you that you will learn how to do this yourself in short order," Morpheus explained punching things into the screen that hung next to the chair.

Pixie, for her part, was already following Morpheus' swift, practiced movements with wide brandy brown eyes. His hands moved swiftly and she was having trouble keeping up with everything he did. She guessed this was the result of just repeating the motion many, many times. Still, she caught a few of the things he put into the console. Those few motions she caught she filed away in her memory.

"Of course sir," Pixie stated, taking a seat in said chair and waiting for what she knew was going to come next.

She just hoped that things would turn out better this time than the last. Pixie took a deep breath and let it out, trying to center and settle herself down. She didn't want to look as nervous as she felt.

"There is no need to be nervous, Pixie," Morpheus informed the young female, "this is just a simple little exercise in team work. Think of it as a variation of the Matrix game capture the flag. You are going to be met inside the program by two other individuals. They will explain the finer points of this exercise to you."

Pixie gave a nod or as much of a nod as she could as she was lying down on her back. She'd scooted herself a bit higher into the chair so the back of her head rested near the open portion of the chair.

Her hair hung on either side of the chair, allowing for easy access to the jack in the back of her head. Finding it through the heavy curtain that was her hair would have been next to impossible anyway. It was just easier for everyone this way.

"Are you ready?" Morpheus wanted to know, noting Pixie's pale face seemed just a bit paler than normal.

"As ready as I'll ever be, sir," she answered, before her ears popped and the world went dark.