Part Three: Delusion
***
Neo woke up to the sound of talking.
He could no longer feel the embrace from Trinity that he had been able to feel in his dream.
Better get used to it, he told himself resolutely. This is the way things are now.
Neo felt something wet against his skin. He was appalled to find some tears still trickling down his face. He wiped them away as quickly as possible.
He walked over to the others. He wasn't planning to take charge. He had done that enough to last him a lifetime. It was someone else's turn now.
Morpheus turned to him. "We have to get moving."
"Where?"
Morpheus sighed, still exhausted. "I don't know, Neo. Let's just get moving."
A man spoke up. The same man that had angrily demanded an answer of Neo earlier.
"Do we start moving right or left?"
The déjà vu hit Neo hard.
Right path or left path.
Left door or right door.
Two choices.
Two. Not one, not three.
Three. Trinity.
"Let's go left," Neo said quietly, his voice almost breaking.
"Why?" the man asked.
"I think we were meant to all along."
***
It was the longest fucking walk ever.
Neo was absolutely certain that in the history of humans having legs, no other group of people had put them to this much use.
And he was in front, and completely lost.
He couldn't have told you how long they'd been moving.
They were going way the fuck left.
"Hey, I think I see something!"
Whoever said that was being much too enthusiastic for Neo's taste.
But he could see something too.
It looked like some bizarre sort of community.
Except for the fact that it seemed to be completely deserted.
"Come on." Neo didn't even realize he said that aloud.
They explored the strange buildings. Houses only-
You could barely call them that. They were beds in each room. And one table and some food.
The food supply looked as though it could only last for about a year, and Neo couldn't think of any other food sources that they could possibly haveEveryone was quick to settle down in one room or another. They needed their rest, after all.
So did he.
But he could not make himself rest.
He knew why they were here. He wondered how long it would take the others to catch on. He wondered if they would even care when they did.
He wondered.
He missed her. He would always miss her.
A small smile crept across his face. So this is how they had ended up. Dutiful resistance fighters, all of them. And now-
They were being used for breeding.
They weren't going to start Zion again by fighting some battle or solving some puzzle.
Some entity, some machine, some god even, whatever the hell was behind all this madness, simply wanted them to fuck to their hearts content and have enough babies to form a new generation.
Maybe they wouldn't even see their children.
Neo was almost glad Trinity wasn't here to see this. She had died fighting. She didn't deserve to be used as some cheap reproductive tool.
Neo smiled again at the thought that perhaps Trinity wouldn't have minded making love to him over and over again in some secluded little house in a far away community.
It almost sounded like their joint dream, to be together like that.
And yet.
And yet.
Before he even had the chance to think, 'Oh God, what have I done?' a knock came at the door of the little house he had been sitting in.
Once again, he seemed to have lost all concept of time.
He didn't answer the knock, and wondered if they would come in on their own.
They did.
"Hey," Brink said, leaning against the doorway.
"Hey," Neo answered, not even feigning interest.
"Everyone else has picked a room."
"What do you mean?"
"Some of them have started sleeping together."
Neo cocked an eyebrow at her. "This soon?" Somehow he found that hard to believe, even in situations like this.
"Well, not sex, but they've started to pair off."
A pause.
"That's what we're here for, isn't it?"
Brink took Neo's silence as a resounding yes.
She began to walk towards him. Neo instinctively stood up and drew back a little.This was starting to feel wrong.
The innocence he had seen earlier in Brink's eyes was gone now. Now she had the eyes of-
Oh God, yes she was reminding him of her.
Well, at least she wasn't demanding this as payment. But it was simply so she could feel.
Neo did not stop her when she kissed him. But he did not kiss back. Couldn't pretend that she was the one person that he had ever really enjoyed kissing.
Neo pushed Brink away. He was tired and cold and alone. But he was not so desperate to delude himself into thinking that this experience was going to be in any way special.
"Why?" he demanded of her.
"You don't love me." She said it matter-of-factly.
"No." He couldn't lie to her convincingly about that subject.
He had never been a good liar.
"I'll take what I can get."
She smiled at him then.
Nice smile.
Not spectacular.
When she kissed him again he kissed back.
It wasn't that he wanted her so desperately. He wasn't even sure if he wanted her at all. But if this was why they were here-
Fuck, he gave up. He surrendered. He was so goddamned tired.
So tired.
***
He woke up next to her. For one, blissful second he had thought maybe it was Trinity in bed next to him.
But then that second had passed.
It wasn't that it was terrible with Brink. It was, well, it was sex. Sex in the matrix had always been enjoyable, but it had never been amazing.
It was different with Trinity.
It was not different with Brink.
He touched her in all the places he had to and went through all the movements without adding anything extra. She seemed to enjoy it. But she was different than him.
To him it had felt like a betrayal.
The logical part of his mind told him that that was ridiculous. You can't betray a dead person. Trinity was dead, gone.
But somehow she wasn't to him.
Deep in his heart, and in his mind too, really he still loved her. Still loved Trinity.
And his heart was breaking.
He hadn't thought of her while he was with Brink. He loved her too much to think of her then.
Neo sat up in bed and buried his hands in his head. This time he let the thought come to him.
'Oh God, what have I done?'
***
To be continued.
A/N:
Again, thanks for reviews and time spent reading this piece.
The conclusion draws nearer.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this chapter may anger some readers. Flame me if you must. Of course, if you like the piece you're welcome to review it too. (
***
Neo woke up to the sound of talking.
He could no longer feel the embrace from Trinity that he had been able to feel in his dream.
Better get used to it, he told himself resolutely. This is the way things are now.
Neo felt something wet against his skin. He was appalled to find some tears still trickling down his face. He wiped them away as quickly as possible.
He walked over to the others. He wasn't planning to take charge. He had done that enough to last him a lifetime. It was someone else's turn now.
Morpheus turned to him. "We have to get moving."
"Where?"
Morpheus sighed, still exhausted. "I don't know, Neo. Let's just get moving."
A man spoke up. The same man that had angrily demanded an answer of Neo earlier.
"Do we start moving right or left?"
The déjà vu hit Neo hard.
Right path or left path.
Left door or right door.
Two choices.
Two. Not one, not three.
Three. Trinity.
"Let's go left," Neo said quietly, his voice almost breaking.
"Why?" the man asked.
"I think we were meant to all along."
***
It was the longest fucking walk ever.
Neo was absolutely certain that in the history of humans having legs, no other group of people had put them to this much use.
And he was in front, and completely lost.
He couldn't have told you how long they'd been moving.
They were going way the fuck left.
"Hey, I think I see something!"
Whoever said that was being much too enthusiastic for Neo's taste.
But he could see something too.
It looked like some bizarre sort of community.
Except for the fact that it seemed to be completely deserted.
"Come on." Neo didn't even realize he said that aloud.
They explored the strange buildings. Houses only-
You could barely call them that. They were beds in each room. And one table and some food.
The food supply looked as though it could only last for about a year, and Neo couldn't think of any other food sources that they could possibly haveEveryone was quick to settle down in one room or another. They needed their rest, after all.
So did he.
But he could not make himself rest.
He knew why they were here. He wondered how long it would take the others to catch on. He wondered if they would even care when they did.
He wondered.
He missed her. He would always miss her.
A small smile crept across his face. So this is how they had ended up. Dutiful resistance fighters, all of them. And now-
They were being used for breeding.
They weren't going to start Zion again by fighting some battle or solving some puzzle.
Some entity, some machine, some god even, whatever the hell was behind all this madness, simply wanted them to fuck to their hearts content and have enough babies to form a new generation.
Maybe they wouldn't even see their children.
Neo was almost glad Trinity wasn't here to see this. She had died fighting. She didn't deserve to be used as some cheap reproductive tool.
Neo smiled again at the thought that perhaps Trinity wouldn't have minded making love to him over and over again in some secluded little house in a far away community.
It almost sounded like their joint dream, to be together like that.
And yet.
And yet.
Before he even had the chance to think, 'Oh God, what have I done?' a knock came at the door of the little house he had been sitting in.
Once again, he seemed to have lost all concept of time.
He didn't answer the knock, and wondered if they would come in on their own.
They did.
"Hey," Brink said, leaning against the doorway.
"Hey," Neo answered, not even feigning interest.
"Everyone else has picked a room."
"What do you mean?"
"Some of them have started sleeping together."
Neo cocked an eyebrow at her. "This soon?" Somehow he found that hard to believe, even in situations like this.
"Well, not sex, but they've started to pair off."
A pause.
"That's what we're here for, isn't it?"
Brink took Neo's silence as a resounding yes.
She began to walk towards him. Neo instinctively stood up and drew back a little.This was starting to feel wrong.
The innocence he had seen earlier in Brink's eyes was gone now. Now she had the eyes of-
Oh God, yes she was reminding him of her.
Well, at least she wasn't demanding this as payment. But it was simply so she could feel.
Neo did not stop her when she kissed him. But he did not kiss back. Couldn't pretend that she was the one person that he had ever really enjoyed kissing.
Neo pushed Brink away. He was tired and cold and alone. But he was not so desperate to delude himself into thinking that this experience was going to be in any way special.
"Why?" he demanded of her.
"You don't love me." She said it matter-of-factly.
"No." He couldn't lie to her convincingly about that subject.
He had never been a good liar.
"I'll take what I can get."
She smiled at him then.
Nice smile.
Not spectacular.
When she kissed him again he kissed back.
It wasn't that he wanted her so desperately. He wasn't even sure if he wanted her at all. But if this was why they were here-
Fuck, he gave up. He surrendered. He was so goddamned tired.
So tired.
***
He woke up next to her. For one, blissful second he had thought maybe it was Trinity in bed next to him.
But then that second had passed.
It wasn't that it was terrible with Brink. It was, well, it was sex. Sex in the matrix had always been enjoyable, but it had never been amazing.
It was different with Trinity.
It was not different with Brink.
He touched her in all the places he had to and went through all the movements without adding anything extra. She seemed to enjoy it. But she was different than him.
To him it had felt like a betrayal.
The logical part of his mind told him that that was ridiculous. You can't betray a dead person. Trinity was dead, gone.
But somehow she wasn't to him.
Deep in his heart, and in his mind too, really he still loved her. Still loved Trinity.
And his heart was breaking.
He hadn't thought of her while he was with Brink. He loved her too much to think of her then.
Neo sat up in bed and buried his hands in his head. This time he let the thought come to him.
'Oh God, what have I done?'
***
To be continued.
A/N:
Again, thanks for reviews and time spent reading this piece.
The conclusion draws nearer.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this chapter may anger some readers. Flame me if you must. Of course, if you like the piece you're welcome to review it too. (
