I stepped outside the shack and looked around. Around the corner of the shack was a man dressed in all black, a black trench coat, black pants, black shoes, even with black scuffs on them. "What do you want with us? We have done nothing wrong. All we want to do is help our people."

I heard a sound behind be stepping into the shack then stepping behind me in only a few steps. "It's okay Eva. He's our friend." To the man in black standing in front of me he said, "We have been waiting for you." We strolled out of Zion into what I guess was an invisible structure, up the stairs into what looked like a cargo bay, fully decked out with wires, tubing and other thingamajigs useful to running a flying ship. Through a short doorway, so short even I had to duck (I'm not that tall either), into what looked like a narrow hallway.

It wasn't until we made it to the control room that I dared to ask "Where the fuckin' hell are we? Perhaps I should ask why as well."

"Please use milder language, Eva. You worry me when you swear," Adam whispered in my ear. "Don't worry, everything will be okay."

"I don't care! I just left my family, all my friends, and the only home I've ever known to board a mysterious ship with a man I barely know, and you're telling me not to worry! I'll worry all I want, Mr. Smart Ass. You are no one to tell me not to worry. You can see a little of the future and hear things all other sane people can't. Well, I can't, which gives me plenty of reason to worry."

"Eva, you have a gift that even I can't fathom," Morpheus said. All the crew of the ship nodded along with him. "Let me introduce my crew, your family from now on. This is Neo, standing beside him is Trinity, the little one is Mousey, the girl to your left is Faith and the man standing beside her is Net. Tank you might already know. They are the crew of this ship, my ship, the Nebuchadnezza."

"Never knew anyone by the name of Tank in Zion," Adam murmured, almost to himself. "Zion's gone."

"Not precisely. We still have contact with the Zion Mainframe."

"Never heard of it," I thought out loud.

"Perhaps you didn't live in that portion of the settlement. That's really beside the point. Both of you were brought here to help all of us, especially Neo."

"What about Zion? What about my home?" I uttered, emphasizing the last two words.

"Perhaps Adam can fill you in on that. As for me, I don't know. Neo, take them to the fourth room."

We went past the first three bulkheads, without anything surpising occuring. Neo was silent. As we were entering the fourth, a girl jumped out behind a wall and yelled "Boo!".

Neo, obviously having experienced this before, said "Web, be nice!" To us, "This is my adopted daughter Web. Web, these are our friends."

"Well, they have names don't they?"

"Yes.."

Adam gestured to himself and said "My name's Pi." He nudged me and whispered, " Eva, they want to know your name."

I shook my head, side to side, confused.

"A made-up name."

Neo was waiting patiently, but Web was tapping her feet and twiddling her thumbs.

"I'm waiting..." Web demanded.

"Micro," I blurted out, "That's my name. Micro."

"Pi and Micro. Okay that works for me." Neo gestured towards the nearest doorway. "I hope you don't mind sleeping in the same room as each other."

"Not at all," I confirmed.

Neo left us quickly, jogging back to the control room, leaving Web to tell us about the ship. She was frank. "I just got here a few months ago, so I don't know much about this ship either. So sorry I acted so rude back there, I have no excuses. I know Pi and Micro aren't your real names. What are your real names, anyway? Mine is Diane. Neo and Trinity named me that. They also gave me my given name, Web."

Feeling much more comfortable with just Web there I confidently confirmed her suspicions. "My real name is Eva and his name is Adam. We're cousins."

She stuck out her pinkie finger and said "This is our secret. Pinkie swear?"

I stuck out mine and shook hers. "Pinkie swear."

"I'll keep it a secret," Adam proclaimed. "I think pinkie swear is stupid and childish."

"I disagree," Web pouted.

"Anyway, we'll go get some rest and see you in the control room in about six to eight hours. Bye," I remarked, flopping down on the beds that were attached to the wall and getting up again rubbing my back, moaning. "That was stupid of me."

"Yes, it was, Eva."

I slowly sat down on the bunk. "I'm not really that tired. Just hurting."

"Me too."

For fifteen minutes we both sat and stared at the wall across from each other.

Finally I asked him, "What is going to happen to Zion? Morpheus said you'd know."

"I can only guess what will happen to Zion in the far future. As for the near future, it will thrive. Our people will meet the other groups in Zion and they will teach each other all that they know. Our people will learn about the Mainframe and the others will learn the medical skills you taught the children."

"Why couldn't we be there to help them?" I wailed.

"That's just the way it is, Eva. Just the way it is."

Feeling lethargic we both laid down on the beds and instantly fell asleep. It must have been many hours later when Web came into the room shook each of us urgently, screaming "Wake up! Wake up!" into our ears. I jumped out of my bed, hit my head on the bulkhead, and fell down again. Web stopped screaming and helped pick me up. I shook Adam as hard as I could, screaming random nonsense words into his ear. After about forty-five seconds of me doing this, he lifted his head, his eyes fluttering open.

"It's about time you got up, you stupid sleepyhead! They need our help! this is not the time to sleep!" I yelled in his ear. He leaped upwards and scrambled out of bed. Unfortunately he wasn't wearing anything underneath the blankets. How could I have forgotten that minor detail. "Web, please turn around," I said in the calmest voice possible. I closed my eyes, picked up the blanket and wrapped it around his midsection. "Get dressed sleepyhead."

" From now on, please don't sleep naked," Web added.

Both Web and I left the room to allow him to dress and skipped down the corridor toward the control room, like giddy little girls. I stopped just short of the bulkhead, while Web slammed right into it.

"Shit, that hurt a lot," She groaned, obviously in pain.

We both calmly walked into the control room, followed shortly after by Adam.

"It's Virus," Neo said in a tone of voice that only made me shiver.