Chapter 3: The city of Eden.
*~*~*~*
Zion's children gasped as they cast their first glance at Eden. Dreamer smiled as the two ships flew inside the gigantic cave.
"Welcome to our very own paradise."
*~*~*~*
Trinity was too shocked to speak. By the silence reigning inside the cockpit, so were Niobe and Morpheus. This was really a cave, Trinity could see the rock ceiling, but the ground was covered with grass and trees. A lake was in the centre of the cave, and in the centre of the lake was an island. On this island was something that looked like a stadium. The ship from Eden turned sharply on its right and Morpheus did the same. They were now in front of huge hangars, doors opened to welcome the two ships.
"Land over here, next to this purple ship."
Morpheus did as he was told. People were nearby, looking at this unknown ship with curiosity. Dreamer walked to the exit, closely followed by Trinity and Niobe. Once outside, Dreamer walked calmly to a tall man, with black hair and surprising bright blue eyes, standing a bit apart from the crowd.
"Here they are. This is Trinity and Niobe, from Zion." Turning to the older women, Dreamer smiled. "This is Zeus, the leader of Eden Council."
The women shook hands with the man, trying to find out if they could trust him by this simple gesture. Morpheus and the rest of the crew were walking toward them now. Morpheus took a step closer and studied silently Zeus. Then, he held out a hand.
"I'm Morpheus. We are the last of Zion. Why Eden didn't help our city when we needed?"
Zeus sighed. "I'm afraid our insulation is the answer to your question. It has been our mode of life since the foundation of this city. But please, follow me inside Eden, so we can talk."
Zeus smiled to Dreamer before bowing slightly his head to Zion's children, inviting them to walk with him. Trinity turned to Dreamer.
"What about Neo?"
The girl looked at Trinity for one or two seconds before running after Zeus.
"The One needs medical care. I ask the permission to take him to Angel."
Zeus smiled and nodded. Dreamer smiled back and went back to Trinity. Morpheus, who had listened to the exchange nodded to Trinity. The woman nodded back before going back inside the ship with Dreamer. Once in the infirmary, Trinity stopped and looked at Neo for some time. Dreamer stood there, not moving, feeling both Trinity and Neo love for each other. Slowly, the girl shook off the feelings and untied Neo from his 'bed'.
"We need someone to carry him."
"No, Trinity, we don't need anyone."
As Trinity was sending a questioning glance to her companion, Dreamer smiled and extended a hand toward Neo. The older woman gasped as the body of her beloved slowly raised in the air.
"What are you doing?"
"It's called telekinesis. Gift from the Matrix."
With that, Dreamer walked out of the infirmary, Neo floating after her. Trinity followed them outside. The hangar was quite empty, the crowd having followed Zeus and Zion's children to the city. Looking a bit around, Trinity could see hundreds of ships all around her. But none of them was as big as the one from Zion.
"So where are we going now?"
"Eden's hospital. It's in one of the secondary caves. So we'll take the tube."
"The tube?"
Dreamer only smiled at Trinity before leading her to a stair, going underground. A bit warily, Trinity followed Dreamer. They stopped by the rails, waiting for a train, Neo still floating next to them.
"How does it come that you have an underground system?"
"Eden was created at the very beginning of the Machines war. The Builders transported old trains down here and build an underground system to rely all the caves."
The train arrived at this moment, preventing Dreamer from telling more to her companion. In fact, it was more something like a small bus on rail. She jumped in the vehicle and settled Neo on a seat. Trinity sat next to him and Dreamer, after entering their destination in the computer, sat in front of them. There was nobody with them, so Trinity looked up at Dreamer and asked some more questions.
"What about the lake and the forests we saw when we arrived?"
"Eden is a system of four natural caves and four artificial ones. The natural caves were 'built' by an underground river. We use the hydro-power to light all the caves. The main cave, the one you've seen when we arrived, has always had a very fertile ground. So when the light was brought inside, grass began growing, The Builders decided to plant trees there, so they would purify the air, saving energy to do something else, like making move the trains."
"And what about the Sentinels? Have they never found you?"
"They went very close sometimes. But we have good protection system. First off, all the caves are sound-proof, so they can't 'hear' us when we're inside. We have our own 'sentinels', 10 miles all around the city. There is only two ways for something as big as a Sentinel to come inside Eden: the way we came in and another route, at the other end of the main cave. That's why all our ships are so smalls, so we can use all the smaller routes, built throughout all the cave system. When a Sentinel comes to close to our safety, we sent four of five ships to drive it away."
"It's suicide."
"Yes, sometimes one or two ships don't come back, but the city is still safe and, to our knowledge, the Matrix doesn't know where Eden is. We're not even sure that they know that there is another human city."
The bus-train finally stopped and the two women walked out, Neo transported telekinetically after them. Trinity looked around her. They were still underground. The corridor in front of them was brightly lightened. It stopped some meters farther, in front of seemingly very heavy steel doors. Dreamer stepped closer to the doors, looking upward. Trinity saw a camera hanging above the doors.
"I've got a wounded from Zion here. We need Angel. Quickly!"
Less than two seconds later, the doors were opening. Trinity followed Dreamer inside what really looked like the Matrix. Shocked the woman stopped walking, glancing around her. Trinity was in a hospital, like were the hospitals before the Machines war: white floors and walls, even brighter than the corridor behind, with nurses and doctors walking quickly down the corridors. A stretcher was brought and Dreamer carefully put Neo on it. A rather small man, with dark hair and eyes and a smile on his face, began pushing the stretcher down a corridor. Dreamer smiled to Trinity and followed the doctor. Trinity took the hint and followed as well. Finally, they reached a room, where Trinity was surprised to see all what necessary to go inside the Matrix.
"So, Dreamer, you finally found Zion's children." The man began examining Neo while talking.
"Well, Angel, I think it is more accurate to say that Trinity found me."
"You met the great Trinity? You lucky! I wish I could."
Dreamer burst into fit of laughter. Puzzled, Angel turned to his friend, and then to the other woman, before realizing who this other woman was.
"Sorry. I've been working the whole night."
Trinity smiled slightly.
"No problem. Dreamer said you could do something for Neo."
The doctor turned his attention back to the man lying in front of him. Dreamer took a deep breath to calm herself down before sitting on a chair.
"He used his powers to defeat some Sentinels in the real world. The kinetic charge must have been a bit too powerful for him to handle. Phoenix left me a file about that, saying it could happen. He said that the patient has to be healed from inside."
"So, this is some kind of coma. The Matrix wouldn't do any good. We have to try with a simulation."
"What are you talking about?" Trinity asked, stepping closer to Neo.
"In Eden, we're used to go inside the Matrix to treat ourselves. Of course, it works only for disease, not when surgical intervention is needed. Once inside, we take 'medicine' to heal. Of course, this is not real, but our mind thinks it is. The false medicine triggers a very real reaction in our brain, which then releases what is needed to fight the disease."
"But Neo isn't suffering from a disease."
"True, but it can work for some other things as well when we use a simulation. Neo's mind is trapped inside his body but very well aware of what happened. He's awake but unable to open his eyes or move. In the simulation, this is translated by a labyrinth. Neo, once inside the simulation, will have to find his way out. You can help him by calling him, so he will have a clue where he has to go, but no one can walk this path with him."
Trinity looked at the doctor in front of her. She had understood the whole thing but she was still afraid of loosing Neo. Dreamer took Trinity's hand I her own.
"This is when Phoenix's protocol enters in the game. It is only a theory, because neither Phoenix, nor I have ever had the occasion to do that, but Phoenix thought that those with some control over the Matrix would have less difficulty than others to escape the labyrinth because of their abilities. Neo has more than only some control, he can manipulate the Matrix and see through the code at all times. This, I think, means that he will see through the code of the simulation, and so he will know exactly what he has to do."
Angel sat in front of his computer screen and turned it on. Dreamer was looking closely at Trinity, waiting to know if the woman was willing to give it a try.
"What if he can't find the exit of your labyrinth?"
"The simulation is programmed to stop as soon as the patient stopped moving for more than five minutes." Angel turned round and looked at Trinity. "We've never lost anyone with this program. And ninety per cent of the patients succeed after two tries. The other ten per cent succeed after four or five tries."
Trinity took only one second to think about it.
"Let's do it."
With a smile, Dreamer stood up and put her chair a bit nearer Neo. Trinity sat down and watched Angel as he was preparing Neo for entering this simulation.
"Trinity? I have to go. As soon as Neo is up, or if you're getting tired, Angel will beep me and I'll come back to show you your place. Okay?"
The woman smiled a bit and nodded. Dreamer smiled back, before walking outside the room. Silently, Dreamer made her way back to the main cave via the bus-train. Once there, she went to her quarter, to sleep a bit more.
*~*~*~*
Niobe was pacing in front of the door of her quarter. Morpheus, sitting on a chair, was watching her.
"Calm down. They just need to decide what they exactly want to do with us."
"Well, I'd like to be part of this discussion."
"If we were in Zion and it was Eden that had been destroyed, you know that it would be the same."
Niobe sighed heavily and sat next to Morpheus.
"I'm not used to wait for decision to be made. I want to have my revenge against the Matrix. They killed everyone. They took no prisoners. Women, children, Zion was eradicated."
Morpheus was about to answer when the door opened. Hera and Wolverine stepped inside.
"Sorry about the long waiting. The Council would like to talk to you, and answer you questions, if you have any."
"Very well." Morpheus answered.
He stood up and walked out of the room, closely followed by Niobe. Since their arrival here, both of them had opted for acting as if they were in the Matrix, not showing their surprise to anything they had seen until now. They had walked outside the hangar, where they had taken a 'flying' car to visit the whole cave system. Finally, they had been showed their quarters.
Now, they were back in a car and were flying toward the main cave. They flew straight to the island, in the middle of the lake, and landed next to the stadium. At this moment, Morpheus realized that this was no stadium but probably the place where the Council was gathering. Finally, after letting some guards checked them for weapons, Morpheus and Niobe were allowed inside the Council room. Silence fell upon everyone when they walked in. Hera showed them their places, just in front of five people, with Zeus among them. Niobe looked slightly behind her to see numerous people sitting there.
"Please, sit down." Zeus said kindly.
Morpheus and Niobe did as they were asked and waited for someone to speak. Zeus stood up and cleared his throat.
"Eden's children, this is both a historical and very sad moment. These two people, as you already probably know, arrived from Zion. No, Zion wasn't a myth, after all. Sadly, this city was destroyed by the Sentinels, and only a handful survived. Among them are Morpheus and Niobe.
"Now, I'd like to say that both of you, as well as all of Zion's children, are very welcome to stay in Eden as long as you wish so."
Applauses were heard and Morpheus and Niobe turned round to face the crowd, who was clapping loudly in their hands. Morpheus was the first to turn back to the Council.
"Zion's children accept your proposal with gratitude and wish to know what they can do in return."
"Well, this is what the Council doesn't know, yet. You could simply resume your previous activities, under Eden flag. Or decide to change. This is your choice. You are free to do as you please. However, I suspect that you have some questions. As our answers could greatly affect what you will want to do for Eden, I think you should ask them now."
"Where was Eden when Zion was attacked?"
Niobe had spoken before Morpheus could stop her. But no one in the Council room seemed to mind. Zeus sighed before answering.
"Since the Foundation, Eden has stayed within her cave system. The only times we went inside the Matrix were to use the Machines' hospitals. Even if our city was founded by the first One and blessed by the fourth coming to end his life here, we had decided to stay away from the war. It is certainly selfish, but that's how we have survived until now. Our very few soldiers, the Phoenix's heirs, were bound both by Phoenix's protocol and our laws. When they first heard about the new One being found, they could do nothing more than trying to explain to us why we should contact you and Zion. But, we decided against it. The Phoenix's protocol, as far as we understand it, teaches the Phoenix's heirs to watch over the One. But we wouldn't let them and our braves were forced to watch Zion's destruction. I don't think their help could have saved your city but it could perhaps have saved some lives. For that, I ask for your forgiveness."
"So how does Hera found us?" asked Morpheus.
"After these events, Hera and the other Phoenix's heirs decided to act, following their protocol even if it made them outlaws in Eden. Using their skills and their training they tried to find you within the Matrix. When the Council learnt that the One was wounded, we decided to authorize their actions and let them use all our installations."
"Who or what is this Phoenix?"
"Phoenix was the fourth One born within the Matrix." Hera said, stepping forward. "He came here after choosing the builders of the new Zion."
Morpheus frowned slightly at this very short answer. Hera gave him a very meaningful glance, so Morpheus turned back toward the Council, wondering what the Phoenix's heirs were hiding from Eden. He composed himself before speaking, looking straight at Zeus.
"Zion was a city of fighters. All the survivors are fighters. Although I will not speak for the others, I think we will all choose to keep fighting the Machines. This is my choice."
"This is my choice too." Niobe said.
"And ours as well."
Morpheus didn't break the eye contact with Zeus, but a smile appeared on his face as he heard this voice. Niobe, however, turned her head to look at Neo. By his side was a smiling Trinity. Dreamer walked inside the Council room, leading Neo and Trinity to their friends. Then she turned toward the Council.
"Let me introduce Trinity and Neo."
Cheers broke throughout the room and those from Zion turned toward the crowd, wondering how they knew that Neo was the One. When some silence was restored in the room, Zeus smiled a bit.
"As I told you, our only soldiers are the Phoenix's heirs. So, if they accept you within their ranks, you're welcome to keep doing what you're doing best."
"It is with great honors that we accept Zion's children in the ranks of the Phoenix's heir."
Morpheus turned toward Hera as the crowd cheered even loudly. By her side, Wolverine was smiling. Hera walked toward the group.
"Dreamer, you take them to our place. Make it quick. Wolverine, you go back to their assigned quarters and asked the others if they want to join. Neo, glad to finally meet you."
With that, Hera walked to the Council table. Wolverine shrugged, smiling.
"Don't mind her. She's always like that. I'll see you a bit later."
The blonde man smiled to the group before running out of the room, to do what he had been told. Dreamer was about to follow him when Morpheus stopped her.
"What is exactly the Phoenix's protocol?"
Dreamer looked around and shook her head.
"Can't tell you that here. Follow me. Once in our home, I'll tell you everything you want to know about it."
*~*~*~*
A/N
Here another chapter for my readers. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please review to tell me if what you think about this story, or if you find grammar or spelling mistakes (I'm French and looking for improving my English.)
*~*~*~*
Zion's children gasped as they cast their first glance at Eden. Dreamer smiled as the two ships flew inside the gigantic cave.
"Welcome to our very own paradise."
*~*~*~*
Trinity was too shocked to speak. By the silence reigning inside the cockpit, so were Niobe and Morpheus. This was really a cave, Trinity could see the rock ceiling, but the ground was covered with grass and trees. A lake was in the centre of the cave, and in the centre of the lake was an island. On this island was something that looked like a stadium. The ship from Eden turned sharply on its right and Morpheus did the same. They were now in front of huge hangars, doors opened to welcome the two ships.
"Land over here, next to this purple ship."
Morpheus did as he was told. People were nearby, looking at this unknown ship with curiosity. Dreamer walked to the exit, closely followed by Trinity and Niobe. Once outside, Dreamer walked calmly to a tall man, with black hair and surprising bright blue eyes, standing a bit apart from the crowd.
"Here they are. This is Trinity and Niobe, from Zion." Turning to the older women, Dreamer smiled. "This is Zeus, the leader of Eden Council."
The women shook hands with the man, trying to find out if they could trust him by this simple gesture. Morpheus and the rest of the crew were walking toward them now. Morpheus took a step closer and studied silently Zeus. Then, he held out a hand.
"I'm Morpheus. We are the last of Zion. Why Eden didn't help our city when we needed?"
Zeus sighed. "I'm afraid our insulation is the answer to your question. It has been our mode of life since the foundation of this city. But please, follow me inside Eden, so we can talk."
Zeus smiled to Dreamer before bowing slightly his head to Zion's children, inviting them to walk with him. Trinity turned to Dreamer.
"What about Neo?"
The girl looked at Trinity for one or two seconds before running after Zeus.
"The One needs medical care. I ask the permission to take him to Angel."
Zeus smiled and nodded. Dreamer smiled back and went back to Trinity. Morpheus, who had listened to the exchange nodded to Trinity. The woman nodded back before going back inside the ship with Dreamer. Once in the infirmary, Trinity stopped and looked at Neo for some time. Dreamer stood there, not moving, feeling both Trinity and Neo love for each other. Slowly, the girl shook off the feelings and untied Neo from his 'bed'.
"We need someone to carry him."
"No, Trinity, we don't need anyone."
As Trinity was sending a questioning glance to her companion, Dreamer smiled and extended a hand toward Neo. The older woman gasped as the body of her beloved slowly raised in the air.
"What are you doing?"
"It's called telekinesis. Gift from the Matrix."
With that, Dreamer walked out of the infirmary, Neo floating after her. Trinity followed them outside. The hangar was quite empty, the crowd having followed Zeus and Zion's children to the city. Looking a bit around, Trinity could see hundreds of ships all around her. But none of them was as big as the one from Zion.
"So where are we going now?"
"Eden's hospital. It's in one of the secondary caves. So we'll take the tube."
"The tube?"
Dreamer only smiled at Trinity before leading her to a stair, going underground. A bit warily, Trinity followed Dreamer. They stopped by the rails, waiting for a train, Neo still floating next to them.
"How does it come that you have an underground system?"
"Eden was created at the very beginning of the Machines war. The Builders transported old trains down here and build an underground system to rely all the caves."
The train arrived at this moment, preventing Dreamer from telling more to her companion. In fact, it was more something like a small bus on rail. She jumped in the vehicle and settled Neo on a seat. Trinity sat next to him and Dreamer, after entering their destination in the computer, sat in front of them. There was nobody with them, so Trinity looked up at Dreamer and asked some more questions.
"What about the lake and the forests we saw when we arrived?"
"Eden is a system of four natural caves and four artificial ones. The natural caves were 'built' by an underground river. We use the hydro-power to light all the caves. The main cave, the one you've seen when we arrived, has always had a very fertile ground. So when the light was brought inside, grass began growing, The Builders decided to plant trees there, so they would purify the air, saving energy to do something else, like making move the trains."
"And what about the Sentinels? Have they never found you?"
"They went very close sometimes. But we have good protection system. First off, all the caves are sound-proof, so they can't 'hear' us when we're inside. We have our own 'sentinels', 10 miles all around the city. There is only two ways for something as big as a Sentinel to come inside Eden: the way we came in and another route, at the other end of the main cave. That's why all our ships are so smalls, so we can use all the smaller routes, built throughout all the cave system. When a Sentinel comes to close to our safety, we sent four of five ships to drive it away."
"It's suicide."
"Yes, sometimes one or two ships don't come back, but the city is still safe and, to our knowledge, the Matrix doesn't know where Eden is. We're not even sure that they know that there is another human city."
The bus-train finally stopped and the two women walked out, Neo transported telekinetically after them. Trinity looked around her. They were still underground. The corridor in front of them was brightly lightened. It stopped some meters farther, in front of seemingly very heavy steel doors. Dreamer stepped closer to the doors, looking upward. Trinity saw a camera hanging above the doors.
"I've got a wounded from Zion here. We need Angel. Quickly!"
Less than two seconds later, the doors were opening. Trinity followed Dreamer inside what really looked like the Matrix. Shocked the woman stopped walking, glancing around her. Trinity was in a hospital, like were the hospitals before the Machines war: white floors and walls, even brighter than the corridor behind, with nurses and doctors walking quickly down the corridors. A stretcher was brought and Dreamer carefully put Neo on it. A rather small man, with dark hair and eyes and a smile on his face, began pushing the stretcher down a corridor. Dreamer smiled to Trinity and followed the doctor. Trinity took the hint and followed as well. Finally, they reached a room, where Trinity was surprised to see all what necessary to go inside the Matrix.
"So, Dreamer, you finally found Zion's children." The man began examining Neo while talking.
"Well, Angel, I think it is more accurate to say that Trinity found me."
"You met the great Trinity? You lucky! I wish I could."
Dreamer burst into fit of laughter. Puzzled, Angel turned to his friend, and then to the other woman, before realizing who this other woman was.
"Sorry. I've been working the whole night."
Trinity smiled slightly.
"No problem. Dreamer said you could do something for Neo."
The doctor turned his attention back to the man lying in front of him. Dreamer took a deep breath to calm herself down before sitting on a chair.
"He used his powers to defeat some Sentinels in the real world. The kinetic charge must have been a bit too powerful for him to handle. Phoenix left me a file about that, saying it could happen. He said that the patient has to be healed from inside."
"So, this is some kind of coma. The Matrix wouldn't do any good. We have to try with a simulation."
"What are you talking about?" Trinity asked, stepping closer to Neo.
"In Eden, we're used to go inside the Matrix to treat ourselves. Of course, it works only for disease, not when surgical intervention is needed. Once inside, we take 'medicine' to heal. Of course, this is not real, but our mind thinks it is. The false medicine triggers a very real reaction in our brain, which then releases what is needed to fight the disease."
"But Neo isn't suffering from a disease."
"True, but it can work for some other things as well when we use a simulation. Neo's mind is trapped inside his body but very well aware of what happened. He's awake but unable to open his eyes or move. In the simulation, this is translated by a labyrinth. Neo, once inside the simulation, will have to find his way out. You can help him by calling him, so he will have a clue where he has to go, but no one can walk this path with him."
Trinity looked at the doctor in front of her. She had understood the whole thing but she was still afraid of loosing Neo. Dreamer took Trinity's hand I her own.
"This is when Phoenix's protocol enters in the game. It is only a theory, because neither Phoenix, nor I have ever had the occasion to do that, but Phoenix thought that those with some control over the Matrix would have less difficulty than others to escape the labyrinth because of their abilities. Neo has more than only some control, he can manipulate the Matrix and see through the code at all times. This, I think, means that he will see through the code of the simulation, and so he will know exactly what he has to do."
Angel sat in front of his computer screen and turned it on. Dreamer was looking closely at Trinity, waiting to know if the woman was willing to give it a try.
"What if he can't find the exit of your labyrinth?"
"The simulation is programmed to stop as soon as the patient stopped moving for more than five minutes." Angel turned round and looked at Trinity. "We've never lost anyone with this program. And ninety per cent of the patients succeed after two tries. The other ten per cent succeed after four or five tries."
Trinity took only one second to think about it.
"Let's do it."
With a smile, Dreamer stood up and put her chair a bit nearer Neo. Trinity sat down and watched Angel as he was preparing Neo for entering this simulation.
"Trinity? I have to go. As soon as Neo is up, or if you're getting tired, Angel will beep me and I'll come back to show you your place. Okay?"
The woman smiled a bit and nodded. Dreamer smiled back, before walking outside the room. Silently, Dreamer made her way back to the main cave via the bus-train. Once there, she went to her quarter, to sleep a bit more.
*~*~*~*
Niobe was pacing in front of the door of her quarter. Morpheus, sitting on a chair, was watching her.
"Calm down. They just need to decide what they exactly want to do with us."
"Well, I'd like to be part of this discussion."
"If we were in Zion and it was Eden that had been destroyed, you know that it would be the same."
Niobe sighed heavily and sat next to Morpheus.
"I'm not used to wait for decision to be made. I want to have my revenge against the Matrix. They killed everyone. They took no prisoners. Women, children, Zion was eradicated."
Morpheus was about to answer when the door opened. Hera and Wolverine stepped inside.
"Sorry about the long waiting. The Council would like to talk to you, and answer you questions, if you have any."
"Very well." Morpheus answered.
He stood up and walked out of the room, closely followed by Niobe. Since their arrival here, both of them had opted for acting as if they were in the Matrix, not showing their surprise to anything they had seen until now. They had walked outside the hangar, where they had taken a 'flying' car to visit the whole cave system. Finally, they had been showed their quarters.
Now, they were back in a car and were flying toward the main cave. They flew straight to the island, in the middle of the lake, and landed next to the stadium. At this moment, Morpheus realized that this was no stadium but probably the place where the Council was gathering. Finally, after letting some guards checked them for weapons, Morpheus and Niobe were allowed inside the Council room. Silence fell upon everyone when they walked in. Hera showed them their places, just in front of five people, with Zeus among them. Niobe looked slightly behind her to see numerous people sitting there.
"Please, sit down." Zeus said kindly.
Morpheus and Niobe did as they were asked and waited for someone to speak. Zeus stood up and cleared his throat.
"Eden's children, this is both a historical and very sad moment. These two people, as you already probably know, arrived from Zion. No, Zion wasn't a myth, after all. Sadly, this city was destroyed by the Sentinels, and only a handful survived. Among them are Morpheus and Niobe.
"Now, I'd like to say that both of you, as well as all of Zion's children, are very welcome to stay in Eden as long as you wish so."
Applauses were heard and Morpheus and Niobe turned round to face the crowd, who was clapping loudly in their hands. Morpheus was the first to turn back to the Council.
"Zion's children accept your proposal with gratitude and wish to know what they can do in return."
"Well, this is what the Council doesn't know, yet. You could simply resume your previous activities, under Eden flag. Or decide to change. This is your choice. You are free to do as you please. However, I suspect that you have some questions. As our answers could greatly affect what you will want to do for Eden, I think you should ask them now."
"Where was Eden when Zion was attacked?"
Niobe had spoken before Morpheus could stop her. But no one in the Council room seemed to mind. Zeus sighed before answering.
"Since the Foundation, Eden has stayed within her cave system. The only times we went inside the Matrix were to use the Machines' hospitals. Even if our city was founded by the first One and blessed by the fourth coming to end his life here, we had decided to stay away from the war. It is certainly selfish, but that's how we have survived until now. Our very few soldiers, the Phoenix's heirs, were bound both by Phoenix's protocol and our laws. When they first heard about the new One being found, they could do nothing more than trying to explain to us why we should contact you and Zion. But, we decided against it. The Phoenix's protocol, as far as we understand it, teaches the Phoenix's heirs to watch over the One. But we wouldn't let them and our braves were forced to watch Zion's destruction. I don't think their help could have saved your city but it could perhaps have saved some lives. For that, I ask for your forgiveness."
"So how does Hera found us?" asked Morpheus.
"After these events, Hera and the other Phoenix's heirs decided to act, following their protocol even if it made them outlaws in Eden. Using their skills and their training they tried to find you within the Matrix. When the Council learnt that the One was wounded, we decided to authorize their actions and let them use all our installations."
"Who or what is this Phoenix?"
"Phoenix was the fourth One born within the Matrix." Hera said, stepping forward. "He came here after choosing the builders of the new Zion."
Morpheus frowned slightly at this very short answer. Hera gave him a very meaningful glance, so Morpheus turned back toward the Council, wondering what the Phoenix's heirs were hiding from Eden. He composed himself before speaking, looking straight at Zeus.
"Zion was a city of fighters. All the survivors are fighters. Although I will not speak for the others, I think we will all choose to keep fighting the Machines. This is my choice."
"This is my choice too." Niobe said.
"And ours as well."
Morpheus didn't break the eye contact with Zeus, but a smile appeared on his face as he heard this voice. Niobe, however, turned her head to look at Neo. By his side was a smiling Trinity. Dreamer walked inside the Council room, leading Neo and Trinity to their friends. Then she turned toward the Council.
"Let me introduce Trinity and Neo."
Cheers broke throughout the room and those from Zion turned toward the crowd, wondering how they knew that Neo was the One. When some silence was restored in the room, Zeus smiled a bit.
"As I told you, our only soldiers are the Phoenix's heirs. So, if they accept you within their ranks, you're welcome to keep doing what you're doing best."
"It is with great honors that we accept Zion's children in the ranks of the Phoenix's heir."
Morpheus turned toward Hera as the crowd cheered even loudly. By her side, Wolverine was smiling. Hera walked toward the group.
"Dreamer, you take them to our place. Make it quick. Wolverine, you go back to their assigned quarters and asked the others if they want to join. Neo, glad to finally meet you."
With that, Hera walked to the Council table. Wolverine shrugged, smiling.
"Don't mind her. She's always like that. I'll see you a bit later."
The blonde man smiled to the group before running out of the room, to do what he had been told. Dreamer was about to follow him when Morpheus stopped her.
"What is exactly the Phoenix's protocol?"
Dreamer looked around and shook her head.
"Can't tell you that here. Follow me. Once in our home, I'll tell you everything you want to know about it."
*~*~*~*
A/N
Here another chapter for my readers. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please review to tell me if what you think about this story, or if you find grammar or spelling mistakes (I'm French and looking for improving my English.)