Breathe Into Me
by Wing'dCallisto
Disclaimer: The Matrix belongs to the Wachowski Siblings. Neo belongs to Trinity. I wish he belonged to me, but, alas, such is life. I did think up Trinity's new name, though. xD Yeah.
Author's Note: Again, thankyou for the reviews. 24... wow, I feel so loved! ^_^ Again, special thanks to my regular readers, and to my beta, Nain. This chapter is once again in Amy/Trinity's point of view. Sorry it's so short; it's really just a 'filler' chapter, because everything's going to happen in chapter six. Or at least, start to happen.
Summary: Trinity and Neo meet each other again, in the Matrix, but do not recognize each other...
--------------------------**
I felt incredibly calm, although the pain in my torso was almost unbearable. Like mercury, my life was slipping through my fingers and I was powerless to stop it. I could hear him crying, and I longed to wipe his tears away.
'Kiss me, once more. Kiss me.' I said, my voice almost a whisper. He leant over me, taking my face in his hands, and trembling, placed his lips on mine.
From far away, I heard him sobbing, calling my name. I longed to hold him in my arms, to let him breathe life into me once more, but the barrier between us was something that not even my soul could break through...
***
'Amy? Amy, wake up.' Someone was holding me.
Automatically, I awoke with Neo's name on my lips. Tom was peering down at me, his eyes full of something-- concern? I sat up straight, startling both him and myself.
'Neo.' I whispered, my gaze travelling around the room, almost in the hope that he would appear.
'Did you have another dream?' Tom asked. I sank back under the quilt, still shaking, the residue of tears drying on my face. He pulled me towards him and I buried my head in his chest, feeling vulnerable and weak.
'I'm sorry,' I whispered, taking a deep, shuddering gasp. 'You know I-I'm not usually like this.' I tilted my tearstained face towards his. 'God, Thomas, I don't know who the hell I am.'
'None of us do,' he said quietly, stroking my hair. 'We don't know until the day we die.'
'But I do die.' I said, leaning back into the pillows and gazing up at the ceiling. 'I die every single time.'
He didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Instead he leant over, kissed my forehead lightly and said, 'How about some coffee, then, Amy?'
***
We made our way down to the cafe where we'd first met and selected a booth, both ordering a cappucino. While we waited, we made small talk, once again avoiding the subject of our pasts. I'd been going out with him for almost a month and although he wouldn't talk to me about his life before we'd met, I felt like I knew everything about him. We were both comfortable in each other's presences.
I was so curious as to what he wouldn't tell me, but I didn't dare push him. I was too scared of losing him.
Our cappucinos arrived and I chose to carefully sip at the scaulding drink, not making eye contact with him. For a few moments we sat in silence, him reading the newspaper and I gazing absently out the window. It was the beginning of winter, and I could see snow lightly falling through the frosted window pane.
'Are you sure you're okay, Ame?' Thomas asked, and I focused my eyes on his face. He closed his newspaper and pushed his empty mug to the side. 'You seem a little distant this morning.'
'They're just dreams,' I insisted.
He looked doubtful, then glanced at his watch. 'I have to go, Amy. I'll call you when I get back from work.' He leant across the table and kissed me quickly on the lips before leaving the cafe, the small bell on the door ringing as he left. I watched him walk past the window, his jacket thrown over one shoulder, his eyes downcast, like he was looking for the correct path to take.
I extracted a few coins from my pocket and left them on the table for the waitress.
Outside, the morning was turning bitterly cold, and I turned up the collar on my jacket, my hands thrust into the pockets of my jeans, head bowed against the wind. I carefully avoided the pavement cracks as I made my way along the streets, with no destination in mind. Instead, I replayed the frames from my dream, over and over again, analysing, wondering, contemplating, hoping.
And then, I was falling, twisting in mid air, aiming my gun at the suit that had followed me. Around me, shards of glass well, slitting the skin on my face, cutting through the leather that I wore. I was going to die. I saw the bullet that was going to end my life. Smoothly, it seemed to slide through the air, piercing my body just below my heart.
Unexplainably, he caught me. His arms wrapped around me, cradling me as we flew through the streets, debris following us. I was sobbing, clinging to him, not wanting to have to let go. This was my curse. I was going to die for him. Neo...
'Neo, I had to.' I whimpered, once he'd set me down on the rooftop. I couldn't stand the look on his face-- a look of horror, of helplessness.
'I know.' He said quietly. 'The bullet is still inside,' he added, unnecessarily. He closed his eyes, an intent look on his face as he -- miraculously -- reached into my chest and pulled the bullet out. It was a crumpled, small object-- I was unable to believe that it had caused me so much pain.
I looked up at him, my lips stained with blood, my voice gradually weakening. 'I'm sorry,' I whispered as I slid in and out of conciousness, his face blurring before me as everything went dark.
Suddenly, I was back-- back in the real world-- and I was sitting against a wall in a back alley, arms wrapped around my knees and my whole body shaking. My head was tilted to one side and resting against a pile of old and rotting newspapers. I blinked several times, trying to get the world back into focus.
I got to my feet, brushing off the light smattering of snow that had settled on my shoulders. The world felt so surreal, and I made my way back to my apartment in a daze.
You only live once, you only die once.
But I'd died twice.
'Trinity. Trinity, I know you can hear me. I'm not letting go. I can't. I love you too damn much.' He had said.
I curled up in my bed once more, fully clothed, although I didn't feel tired. My mind was so clear that it almost hurt. He hadn't let go and, frankly, I didn't intend to let go either. Not until I knew who I was.
by Wing'dCallisto
Disclaimer: The Matrix belongs to the Wachowski Siblings. Neo belongs to Trinity. I wish he belonged to me, but, alas, such is life. I did think up Trinity's new name, though. xD Yeah.
Author's Note: Again, thankyou for the reviews. 24... wow, I feel so loved! ^_^ Again, special thanks to my regular readers, and to my beta, Nain. This chapter is once again in Amy/Trinity's point of view. Sorry it's so short; it's really just a 'filler' chapter, because everything's going to happen in chapter six. Or at least, start to happen.
Summary: Trinity and Neo meet each other again, in the Matrix, but do not recognize each other...
--------------------------**
I felt incredibly calm, although the pain in my torso was almost unbearable. Like mercury, my life was slipping through my fingers and I was powerless to stop it. I could hear him crying, and I longed to wipe his tears away.
'Kiss me, once more. Kiss me.' I said, my voice almost a whisper. He leant over me, taking my face in his hands, and trembling, placed his lips on mine.
From far away, I heard him sobbing, calling my name. I longed to hold him in my arms, to let him breathe life into me once more, but the barrier between us was something that not even my soul could break through...
***
'Amy? Amy, wake up.' Someone was holding me.
Automatically, I awoke with Neo's name on my lips. Tom was peering down at me, his eyes full of something-- concern? I sat up straight, startling both him and myself.
'Neo.' I whispered, my gaze travelling around the room, almost in the hope that he would appear.
'Did you have another dream?' Tom asked. I sank back under the quilt, still shaking, the residue of tears drying on my face. He pulled me towards him and I buried my head in his chest, feeling vulnerable and weak.
'I'm sorry,' I whispered, taking a deep, shuddering gasp. 'You know I-I'm not usually like this.' I tilted my tearstained face towards his. 'God, Thomas, I don't know who the hell I am.'
'None of us do,' he said quietly, stroking my hair. 'We don't know until the day we die.'
'But I do die.' I said, leaning back into the pillows and gazing up at the ceiling. 'I die every single time.'
He didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Instead he leant over, kissed my forehead lightly and said, 'How about some coffee, then, Amy?'
***
We made our way down to the cafe where we'd first met and selected a booth, both ordering a cappucino. While we waited, we made small talk, once again avoiding the subject of our pasts. I'd been going out with him for almost a month and although he wouldn't talk to me about his life before we'd met, I felt like I knew everything about him. We were both comfortable in each other's presences.
I was so curious as to what he wouldn't tell me, but I didn't dare push him. I was too scared of losing him.
Our cappucinos arrived and I chose to carefully sip at the scaulding drink, not making eye contact with him. For a few moments we sat in silence, him reading the newspaper and I gazing absently out the window. It was the beginning of winter, and I could see snow lightly falling through the frosted window pane.
'Are you sure you're okay, Ame?' Thomas asked, and I focused my eyes on his face. He closed his newspaper and pushed his empty mug to the side. 'You seem a little distant this morning.'
'They're just dreams,' I insisted.
He looked doubtful, then glanced at his watch. 'I have to go, Amy. I'll call you when I get back from work.' He leant across the table and kissed me quickly on the lips before leaving the cafe, the small bell on the door ringing as he left. I watched him walk past the window, his jacket thrown over one shoulder, his eyes downcast, like he was looking for the correct path to take.
I extracted a few coins from my pocket and left them on the table for the waitress.
Outside, the morning was turning bitterly cold, and I turned up the collar on my jacket, my hands thrust into the pockets of my jeans, head bowed against the wind. I carefully avoided the pavement cracks as I made my way along the streets, with no destination in mind. Instead, I replayed the frames from my dream, over and over again, analysing, wondering, contemplating, hoping.
And then, I was falling, twisting in mid air, aiming my gun at the suit that had followed me. Around me, shards of glass well, slitting the skin on my face, cutting through the leather that I wore. I was going to die. I saw the bullet that was going to end my life. Smoothly, it seemed to slide through the air, piercing my body just below my heart.
Unexplainably, he caught me. His arms wrapped around me, cradling me as we flew through the streets, debris following us. I was sobbing, clinging to him, not wanting to have to let go. This was my curse. I was going to die for him. Neo...
'Neo, I had to.' I whimpered, once he'd set me down on the rooftop. I couldn't stand the look on his face-- a look of horror, of helplessness.
'I know.' He said quietly. 'The bullet is still inside,' he added, unnecessarily. He closed his eyes, an intent look on his face as he -- miraculously -- reached into my chest and pulled the bullet out. It was a crumpled, small object-- I was unable to believe that it had caused me so much pain.
I looked up at him, my lips stained with blood, my voice gradually weakening. 'I'm sorry,' I whispered as I slid in and out of conciousness, his face blurring before me as everything went dark.
Suddenly, I was back-- back in the real world-- and I was sitting against a wall in a back alley, arms wrapped around my knees and my whole body shaking. My head was tilted to one side and resting against a pile of old and rotting newspapers. I blinked several times, trying to get the world back into focus.
I got to my feet, brushing off the light smattering of snow that had settled on my shoulders. The world felt so surreal, and I made my way back to my apartment in a daze.
You only live once, you only die once.
But I'd died twice.
'Trinity. Trinity, I know you can hear me. I'm not letting go. I can't. I love you too damn much.' He had said.
I curled up in my bed once more, fully clothed, although I didn't feel tired. My mind was so clear that it almost hurt. He hadn't let go and, frankly, I didn't intend to let go either. Not until I knew who I was.