Disclaimer: I lay no claim to any of the characters other than Tess – the rest belong to the Wachowski brothers, god bless 'em.
A/N: My first Matrix fan fiction. Please be kind. R/R PLEASE!!!
Takes place during Reloaded, on the day when the ships all return to Zion. Tess is Soren's lover and she's contemplating her past and their future together. It's actually quite sad if you know what happens to Soren later. Morpheus and Trinity are secondary characters and Neo has a brief cameo. Actually, his crotch has a brief cameo. (Don't worry, its not as sordid as it sounds!)
Chapter One
As soon as word got out that the Nebuchadnezzar was returning to Zion, the city seemed to be transformed by some electric wave of hopeful excitement. Even early this morning, when the city lights first began to glow, you could hear the buzzing - eager footsteps and voices echoing through the corridors anticipating the arrival of the young man who is said to save us.
Some had their doubts, however, that Morpheus had actually found the One. To many, Morpheus was something of a Messiah, but the more skeptical of us thought he was a false prophet. The most skeptical thought he was nothing short of insane.
I had my own feelings about Morpheus that weren't as black or white. He was, after all, the one who saved me. Seven years ago, when I was twenty-one, Morpheus unplugged me from the Matrix and brought me aboard his ship, the Nebuchadnezzar.
My reason for being unplugged was unique. I wasn't a hacker, and I'd never even heard of the Matrix. I was just Tess – part-time biology student working on my PhD dissertation, who worked nights in the hematology lab for extra cash. I wasn't unplugged because I was searching for something. I was freed because of something I saw when I wasn't necessarily looking for anything.
One night I was walking home after an especially late shift working in the lab. It still very dark and I wasn't in the most pleasant part of town. I shouldn't have been walking alone, but I'd had a fight with my boss – in fact I quit that evening – and I was so pissed that I didn't think anyone would have dared approach me. I was eager to get home, so I decided to cut through an alley to save some time.
It was then that I saw three men who looked nearly identical all dressed in crisp black suits. They looked like secret service agents from an alternate universe. I heard gunshots and saw what I would have then thought absolutely impossible. These "agents" were dodging every bullet fired at them, moving in ways that seemed to defy all rules of physics and physiology.
I couldn't see exactly where the gunshots were coming from – somewhere in the other end of the alley. I quickly searched for somewhere to hide but the best I could do was duck into a phone booth. Just as I had crouched down to relative safety, the phone began to ring and a blur of black swept into the booth nearly trampling me. The blur obviously wasn't expecting company. I looked up into the darkness and could barely make out the figure of a woman dressed head to toe in black leather.
"Stay here for five minutes, then run home. We'll be back for you as soon as we can," the beautiful stranger assured me.
I tried to adjust my eyes to get a better look at her, but as she picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, she evaporated into a ball of electric green light and I was alone in the booth. Despite what I had just seen, I still had enough wits about me to take her advice. I remained in my crouch until I was sure the "men in black" had left. Then I ran home as fast as my legs would take me.
Later at home, after I had finally almost convinced myself that what I had seen earlier in that alley was the result of too much work and too little sleep, I was finally able to drift off. I was quickly aroused from my brief unconsciousness by a familiar sound. The phone was ringing. When I sleepily reached over to pick it up, a female voice – the same voice from the phone booth – spoke before I could say "hello".
"You're not safe. Meet us in front of your building in ten minutes," she curtly instructed.
I was completely terrified at this point but I guess I figured I had nothing to lose, because I dressed and headed downstairs to wait by the curb for this mysterious woman and my ride into the unknown.
Just as I made it to the curb, a faded black Lincoln Continental rounded the corner. The late-model car pulled up in front of me and the front-passenger window rolled down to reveal a striking black man, bald, wearing tiny round sunglasses despite the late hour.
"Get in," he said, "if you want to know the truth."
His voice was both authoritative, yet soothing. My wide-eyed fascination must have held a glimmer of hesitation (or terror, more likely) because the rear door opened to reveal another passenger. It was the beautiful woman from the phone booth, holding the door open for me.
"Don't be afraid," she said with the same gentle confidence of her partner. "My name is Trinity."
I slid in beside her and nothing was ever the same again.
