On the Neb
The crew stared at Neo in shock. Trinity stifled a sob.
"He, can't just, just.. Not now!" Trinity threw her arms across Neo's still chest and started to shake him, she couldn't stand to lose him now. She remembered when he had been shot by Smith and how she had felt, thinking that she had lost the chance to ever tell him how she really felt about him, and now that she knew that he loved her too, she couldn't stand too see him die again, not when he wouldn't come back.
"Please Neo, I love you"
Suddenly the heart monitor started up again, Neo inhaled deeply, and blinked.
Trinity looked up wide-eyes from his chest, and with no regard for her tough-girl reputation for once, gave a shout of "NEO!" she enveloped him in a hug.
The whole of the crew looked relived, even Morpheus who prided himself on his composure.
"For a second, I thought we had lost you." He said smiling down at Neo
Neo grinned back up at him, smugly "Yeah, without The One, you guys are pretty much screwed" He returned Trinity's hug, still smiling some what oddly.
The Source
Neo blinked a few times and slowly opened his eyes; all he could see was black, unpenetratable darkness. He frowned, where was he? It certainly wasn't the real world, so he assumed it was part of the Matrix, it seemed similar to the loading program Morpheus had shown him when he was first unplugged, except that it was black instead of white.
Neo stood up and stretched, how had he gotten here? One moment he was with Morpheus and the Keymaker, then something strange had happened. Suddenly it hit him. Smith.
He still remembered the icy liquid encompassing his body, the feeling of his last breath catching in his thought, and resonance from the last dull thud of his heart. Surely he should be dead? He felt for his pulse, it was still there, but then this was just his residual self-image, it wasn't real. But if he was still in the Matrix, and was alive, what about his body?
Neo paused. If Smith had copied himself into his matrix image, and he was here, still alive, then Smith must have awoken in the real world, in his body, with Trinity, Morpheus, Link and the Keymaker not knowing his was still in the Matrix. Neo frantically searched around the empty darkness for some kind of exit, he had to find a way out, he had to warn them. They would realise it wasn't really him wouldn't they?
On the Neb - Trinity and Neo's cabin
Trinity and 'Neo' were sat on the cot, Trinity was resting her head on 'Neo's' chest.
"I almost thought I lost you today Neo, I just don't know what I would do if you left me" she said, slightly embarrassed
It was true, Trinity feared for him every time he entered the Matrix. He may be the One, but he took a lot more risks than any of the other rebels, and usually most of the Agents went to fight him before anyone else. She never told Neo how much she worried, he was already under enough pressure.
'Neo' stroked her hair softly, "Shh, I won't be leaving any time soon" he said smiling, and kissed her.
Trinity smiled and kissed back lovingly.
The Source
Neo paced back a forth. One of two things must have happened. Either Agent Smith had managed to wake up in his body and the crew had realised what had happened, subdued Smith and were trying to find him, or they hadn't realised that the 'Neo' on the ship was actually Agent Smith and had carried on as normal.
The crew must have realised that it wasn't him on the ship. Trinity and Morpheus couldn't have not noticed the difference between him and a cold, emotionless computer program would they? Neo stopped pacing. Lately, with the fate of Zion and every human in the Matrix resting on his shoulders, coupled with his increasing fear of Trinity getting hurt each time they entered the Matrix, he had found himself becoming increasingly stoic. He hardly expressed his fears to anyone any more. Everyone was too busy putting their faith in the fact that because he was The One, he couldn't possibly fail. He hardly even confided in Trinity.
Neo sat down and rested his head on his knees. What was he going to do now? He couldn't stay stuck here forever; he had to do something, anything. He stood up and screamed "LET ME OUT!!" It echoed into the silent darkness.
He didn't notice a man in a suit, sunglasses and well polished leather shoes walking up behind him.
