Chapter XI

He was like a bedraggled stray dog, helplessly abandoned on the side of the road. He had been soaking wet when he climbed hesitantly into the car and sat beside her. His big brown eyes were wide with disbelief and curiosity. He had immediately shied at the first sign of anything challenging, but she was able to coax him back into at least a reserved trust. They walked up the many flights of checkerboard stairs, a transitional time that neither of them would soon forget.

Switch and Apoc had gone ahead to prepare the reentry equipment. That left just Trinity with Neo to make the long walk to forever changing all of their lives. "I know you have been searching for him for a long time."

"Yeah, I don't know if I ever really expected to find him though." The look in his eyes showed utter and innocent amazement that made Trinity almost smile.

"Well you did find him, and he found you. This is no coincidence." She had never felt surer of that.

He looked at her curiously before changing the subject away from him. "The agents said he was considered the most dangerous man alive, why?"

"Because he is a threat to them and their very existence, which is based on control." Why does he always seem to avoid what I was sure he knew? Fear. She should know that better than anyone.

There was a lapse in the conversation as they approached the doors that would seal his fate. When they paused in front of the large wooden double doors Trinity saw Neo cringe inwardly as though bracing himself.

"This is it." He turned to face her as she spoke words of counsel to him, "Let me give you one piece of advice: be honest. He knows more than you can imagine." Their eyes met for one precious moment before she hauled open the heavy door to allow him an entrance.

Morpheus had dismissed her with a kind look as he turned to meet Neo, but she could not conceive of staying completely out of earshot from their dialogue. She assisted Switch, Apoc, and Cypher in the preparation of the equipment, but slipped away as soon as that was finished.

Staying in the plentiful shadows cast by the few lights in the gloomy room, Trinity watched as Morpheus held out his hands, palms toward the damp and cracked ceiling. Neo was inclining forward in the creaking leather chair, in an obviously defensive and uncomfortable position. He listened intently as the larger man explained his options regarding the pills held in either hand.

She held her breath as he reached for the pill in Morpheus's right hand… c'mon… then hesitated… c'mon… then cautiously placed the pill on his tongue… oh please?… picked up the glass of water… swallowed. Her mouth could not help but imitate Morpheus's Cheshire grin.

Knowing that they did not have much time now, she hurried back inside the room where the other crewmembers were. "Get ready, he's coming." Everyone else looked just as excited as she was at that news.

"Uhoh, Dorothy better get in the cellar 'cause the twister's a comin'!" Even Cypher's cocky comment couldn't dampen Trinity's delight. When she merely brushed past him without even a warning glare, he let out in a raspy high pitched voice, "But Auntie Em, where's Toto?" He laughed heartily at his own terrible Judy Garland impersonation, but quickly quieted when Morpheus walked in with Neo right on his heels.

"Apoc, are we on line?" Morpheus hardly waited for Apoc's response before continuing to explain to the scared looking man at his side what all of it was about. Trinity helped seat him while Morpheus did a double check of the machinery.

Trinity reached out with a circular vital-signal monitoring hookup and he instinctively drew back from her touch. This surprised her, but she proceeded to attach the others to him while she allowed a trace of a smile for him. He soon quieted, but never fully relaxed.

"You did all this?" He asked her in an incredulous whisper.

"Mmhmm." The smile still refused to leave. Had they not been in such a time crunch, especially with this mind, she would've gladly lingered near him as long as she could. Unfortunately, other pertinent things required her attention in order to reinsert his mind into his physical body.

She watched him discover the mirror with wonder in his wide chocolate irises while Morpheus never ceased to challenge his mind to the limits of disbelief and beyond. He had no idea what was happening when the cool metallic gel replicated, encasing his skin. She desperately desired to offer him some comfort – the condolence she wished someone would've extended to her when she had gone through her own unplugging. Knowing it was really best to do nothing, she resigned to checking her emotions in her head until a later time.

When Neo's mind and RSI had vanished from the Matrix, Morpheus's lips drew into a grin of elation. "We finally found him… The One." He said the words as if trying them out for effect. She had not seen him so truly and blatantly happy in quite some time. The responsibility of his position combined with the stress of a rebel's life weighed heavy on him. He deserved a change of pace. And a reason to believe. They all did.