Emerald3: Here is the next instalment! I hope you enjoy it!
ScullyasTrinity: I didn't find your review harsh at all. I appreciate any constructive criticism I get because it helps me improve, as long as people don't just come out and tell me that I suck and should stop writing, the reviews aren't harsh to me. BTW, it is a Rainbow Chips Ahoy cookie, because they are the best kind.
Protectress of Dalidon: Unfortunately, yes it must end, because the chorus of the song is nearly ending and I cannot end it mid-verse can I? So here is the next chapter, and I hope it makes up for it. You may also have a Rainbow Chips Ahoy cookie!
Disclaimer: It's all the Wachowski's. Also, you may notice that the fight scene between Morpheus and Trinity within this chapter mimics the fight scene from the Animatrix: The Last Flight of the Osirus (my personal favourite besides A Detetctive Story).
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Chapter 10: When You Screamed I'd Fight Away All of Your Fears
Morpheus had this cool smirk on his face as he leaned against the wall. Trinity walked out of the apartment, standing for a moment in the door as she allowed the previous ten minutes to sink in. She was not the One. She would fall in love with the One. But she was not the One.
Why can't I see which is better?
"What she said is for you alone." He stated, crossing his arms behind his back as he stepped forward and turned a little to face her. Trinity exhaled heavily and nodded softly, arms dangling at her side. She couldn't read Morpheus's emotions. She couldn't tell if he knew what the Oracle had said.
The sun was beating down outside as they stepped out. It was still rather cold, and by the growing buds on the trees she deducted that it was spring. Trinity hadn't realized it had been that long since she had been unplugged. The spring wind rushed to greet her in a sort of 'welcome back' nature. It played with her hair, making several stands fly from the gel they were glued to her scalp with.
Morpheus pulled out his cell phone, dialling the number for Tank. Trinity barely noticed. She was fascinated with how many times a day she saw the routine of the machines. The way the man in the window of the coffee shop would always drink his coffee. The way the people in the parks would always walk their dogs. It all looked so programmed now, and so finite.
Over the course of her time she had noticed her eyesight slowly fading green and becoming that of the code. Trinity would notice it every now and then, like a green raindrop in her vision.
"Trinity." Morpheus voice awoke her from the vigil. She turned, seeing him stand next to Wraith's car. She walked to the back door, sliding inside next to Switch and Winter, who both had their 'pissed off' looks on. Wraith must have said something, but Trinity slammed the door with extra force inside of slapping him on the back of the head.
"Where's the exit?" Wraith asked, looking particularly hard for Agents that day. Trinity looked out the window, not wanting to engage in conversation with Winter and Switch.
"Heart of the City." Wraith shook his head, laughing slightly. Trinity looked at him, but didn't receive any elaboration on his humour. She looked back out the window, watching as the bank passed by the car.
************************************************************************ Miranda slammed the door. Erica just lay on her floor, bleeding from her broken lip and wincing from her swelling eye. Their recent fistfight hadn't been pretty. Erica's lip and eye were hit, while Miranda would have a nasty bruise where her niece had driven her fist. She succumbed to the silence, loving the sounds coming from outside as she tried to forget the salty taste filling her mouth.
The front door slammed shut. A moment later, her door creaked open.
Quinn looked inside, the still form of her sister on the floor. Whatever Miranda had found or seen her do was pretty bad. Or it was just a bad day. They are all just bad days, she told herself, there's never a good day in this family.
Erica opened one eye and sat up, looking directly at her younger sister and tried to smile; tried to do something. But, just like usually, there was nothing to do. All she could do was lie there and pretend like everything was going to be okay.
Quinn moved into her sister's room and helped Erica into a sitting position.
"Fuck off Quinn." Erica said, getting a sharp glance. The normally calm and serene eyes flaring to life with malice and ice. Erica stopped, allowing her sister to get up and go to the washroom, bringing back a wet Kleenex. The icy water hit her lip and Erica flinched, moving back. Quinn's hand went on her shoulder and held her tightly.
"Hold still." She said in a quiet and very un-commanding voice. Still, Erica sat still, feeling her brush the blood away. Quinn's fingers moved over her sister's eye, making Erica stare at her. Their eyes met for a moment, as Quinn finished with her task and left her sister's side for the bathroom again.
"Doesn't it get exhausting?" Erica asked. Her sister looked at her and stared her down for an explanation. "Being my mother?"
"I'm not your mother." Quinn stately simply, tossing the Kleenex out and washing off her hands. Erica shrunk, her shoulders going limp in exasperation. Quinn wasn't getting her drift.
"Why do you do…this?" She asked, unable to articulate what she really meant. Erica fidgeted, trying to stand. "Why do you waste your time?"
Quinn was at a loss for what to say. Either she was actually thinking about it, or she didn't have an answer for her sister. She turned off the running water and dried her hands. Erica gave a small moan and leaned against the wall. She'd given up for an answer. It wasn't worth her energy.
The taps were running again. Erica looked up in her sibling's direction as Quinn walked out of the bathroom. She handed her sister the glass of water in her hand and dried the water on her jeans. Erica just watched her, the whole situation almost foreign to her. She held the glass of water.
Quinn said nothing. She walked to the door.
"Miranda hid your stash in her room this time." Erica looked up at the mention of her drugs. "Under her bed. She's double bolted the door though." Quinn's figure left the doorway as she closed the world between she and her sister. It was still slightly ajar, just to let some air in.
Erica rushed over and clicked it shut, setting the water on the desk with her other discarded plates. Quinn hesitated, but continued without saying a word back down the stairs.
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Travelling through a phone line sounded impossible when described by the 'master of words' Wraith. Trinity had stared at him strangely up until the point where he had placed the phone on his ear and faded from sight, the receiver dropping. It landed a inch from the ground, suspended by only the cord. She hung the phone back up and waited for the ring, sceptical to the point where she placed it to her ear.
A cold sweep fell over her as every fibre felt as if it were numb. She was swept back to the Neb. A blink of her eyelids and she was looking up and into the harsh lights of the core. The metal plug slid from the back of her head, making her clench her teeth from the odd feeling. It was like picking a scab. First it felt like it was burning. And then it felt like blood flowing from an open wound as it was finally removed.
She blinked as was custom as Tank pulled the plug from behind her and allowed her to sit up. Trinity doubted Morpheus's words that she would grow used to the feeling of being plugged in and out of the Matrix, especially when being unplugged felt as horrible as it did.
She got up from the chair, breathing deeply as she rubbed the socket on her head for relief. Wraith came up from his seat, glancing over at her.
"Did the Oracle give you good news?" He asked. Trinity glanced at, breathing deeply. She didn't give him an answer. Instead, the only response Wraith received was the sound of her footsteps leaving.
"Nice." Switch commented, as Winter slapped him on the back of the head.
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There was some sort of calm in the air. Trinity strained her ears, listening for the song of the blade as it sang in her fingers. The cold grip she had on the hilt was useless had she not known what she was doing. However, 10 gruelling hours of combat training and stealth tactics made it deadly in her fingers.
She had discovered the Matrix only ten hours ago, receiving the same speech from Morpheus as he gave almost all the other crewmembers. It didn't weigh her down. If anything, she was relieved now, feeling twice as alive.
The blindfold across her eyes couldn't break her good mood. If anything, it pumped more adrenaline into her system and just made her happier. It was better then cocaine or heroin had ever done.
She stopped for a moment, listening, moving her foot just a tiny bit. The air whistled and she lifted the blade, Morpheus's strong force bringing his own upon her without mercy.
Trinity pushed her hand against the smooth side on the blade, pushing on his. Time to use some of the new shit, she decided, and kicked upwards.
Morpheus moved, his sword whistling off somewhere. She took advantage of his distraction and went on the offence, swinging her blade over where she could hear his feet shuffling. He ducked up her first swing, bringing his leg around on the ground. Trinity jumped over it and flipped backwards as his blade whistled across her front from naval to nose. She threw the blade backwards through the air, springing off her feet and flipping back. Crouched low, Trinity caught the weapon by the hilt, keeping the blade down. She lifted it up, blocking off a nearly missed attack by Morpheus.
"Good." He said, moving back. She heard his voice move away from her. Trinity also felt the vibrations in the floor as his sword hit the ground. "Now take off the blindfold."
She followed orders, discarding the smooth silk fabric to her side. The Construct was a Japanese Dojo, with authentic weapons surrounding the top rim. Long banners hung from between the pillars on the walls. Trinity also noticed her outfit was a loose kimono, and nothing like the rags on the Neb. Morpheus was dressed the same, in white instead of black. Trinity dropped the sword.
"Now hit me." He said. She lowered her eyebrows. "If you can."
"Is this supposed to be difficult?" Trinity asked. Morpheus's classic smirk travelled over his face and he took on the defensive pose this time, wanting to test her. Trinity copied, on the offence with her pose, watching as his hand beckoned for her to move forward.
Everything was faster this time without the blindfolds. Trinity raced forward, stopping only once to swing her leg up and move it around to Morpheus's head. She had intended to knock the smirk away, but his bent arm swatted her leg to the side and nearly hit her in the back. She lowered, rolling away and turning rapidly. Morpheus came after her and she jumped, swing her leg up and aimed for his chin with the ball of her foot. She narrowly missed and landed on her feet, but Morpheus's blow to the stomach caught her completely off guard, and she was sent backwards again.
The pillar shattered as she fell through it, and Trinity had just moments before she stuck the soft, wooden walls of the dojo. She groaned, placing a hand on the ground to stop her head from hitting the floor.
"Good." Morpheus said, walking to her, arms folded behind his back. "You're more free then the others. You're able to let loose of the rule much easier then they are. But that's not your weakness."
Trinity tilted her head to nod, back on her feet and punched straight for him, adrenaline making her feel much stronger then she assumed she was. Morpheus dodged the fist, twisting his body to get out of the way of her other. He was now on the run, Trinity able to become much faster.
They were in the centre of the dojo, throwing their best moves at each other. Trinity was gaining speed with every attack. She blocked a punch to her head and jumped into the air, legs bent in a crouching position and arms to her sides to help her gain height.
It was like stopping time for a moment, focusing on her point of attack and seeing her point of impact. She kicked out so quickly it was a blur in her eyes.
Morpheus was thrown back. Her foot had hit him in his upper chest, and when he left the ground he was forced straight into the wall. Trinity landed, breathing heavily and sweating. She leaned over, checking briefly that he got back up. The captain did so, and actually smiled.
Trinity had no idea how he could be so happy at a time like this. He got back to his feet, looking visibly worn and looked up.
"Tank." He commanded. The Operator was jolted awake from staring at the screens. Switch, Winter, Wraith, and a weary looking Cypher were hovering at the screen. Tank grinned, listening to the order from his headset.
"What's got you all happy?" Winter asked as he typed in the commands.
"Jump time." He said. The crew had to laugh.
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Erica blinked, looking around her room, confused. Her wrists burned under the bandages. She cursed herself for not changing them every few hours like the doctor's had ordered, and instead, fallen asleep on her bed. She had just flicked on the bathroom light when she found that they had been changed, and everything to change them again was arranged on the bathroom sink.
Erica flicked off the light, sighing deeply her herself as she relaxed against the doorframe. The hallway was quiet now, blue moonlight coming in through the windows and making her eyes hurt from adjusting. Her mother's room was silent. She lifted herself up and glanced out the window, finding the car gone from the driveway. She lowered herself back down, deciding to go watch some TV.
The glow of the screen cast itself over the wall at the bottom of the stairs, diminishing the thoughts of her having any privacy. Friday nights weren't usually like that. Her mother and Tom always went out, but Quinn usually stayed in her room like a hermit. Erica got the TV and main floor to herself in case she wanted to have friends over.
She didn't think Quinn had any friends.
She moved past the open door, going down the back way to the kitchen. The scratch of Quinn's pencil alerted so many memories of her late night habits in the kitchen, watching her sister personify death in the leather bound sketchbook she owned. Erica moved to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water from the small amounts of food lying out of place on the shelf. Her mother never did the grocery shopping. She left two twenties on the counter every second day for her daughters, expecting them to do it themselves. Erica was forced to eat the small amount of food her mother bought. Her twenty went immediately to the nasty little habit hidden under her mattress.
She sat up on the counter, drinking back the water to fill her stomach. She was never hungry for solid food. Water could sustain her for a long time, whether she drank a lot of not.
Quinn said nothing as she walked by her sister, moving to the knife drawer. Erica watched her, seeing her sister's skin illuminated in blue and the blade send shivers down her spine. The serrated edge beckoned her with a song, humming as Quinn carefully pulled it to her side.
"What does it feel like?" She asked curiously in her small, childish voice. Erica looked at her, glancing at the knife.
"Feels like shit. Seventeen stitches in either wrist." Quinn looked at the ground.
"What did it feel like when you did it?" She asked, watching her sister. Her eyes were like ice from the moonlight in the windows. Erica's eyes were hidden by her shadow.
It took a moment for Erica to respond.
"It felt like falling." She spoke quietly. "And never hitting the ground." Quinn looked at the ground, clutching the hilt of the knife in her hands. Erica envisioned her sister letting out all her repressed anger and simply attacking her, slashing at her with the steak knife as she had imagined her doing so to her mother with the razorblades. She was daring her sister to do it, trying to feel the pain of the stab wounds. In her mind, Quinn shook her head with a small smirk on her face and walked away, slashing at her own skin to make up for the lack of blood shed. She dismissed the thoughts as her sister walked away, knife at her side.
Falling, and never hitting the ground, she thought, placing the bottle at her lips once more. Morbidly poetic, Erica, but it sounds like a line out of some movie.
She hopped off the counter and walked back down the hall, checking into the TV room. Quinn's head was bent over her sketchbook, moving over the shaded form of Tom and her mother's corpses, each drawn impaled on a steak knife. Erica turned back up the stairs.
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Trinity looked over the edge of the building, looking at Morpheus on the other side of the street. He had made it looked so easy, simply jumping off the edge and floating over to the other side. She sighed deeply, moving back on the roof and looking at him, so far away.
"I'm betting a weeks worth of dishwashing that she makes it." Wraith said, watching the screen. Winter shook her head.
"That's a fools bet." Switch commented. Cypher laughed.
"No one ever makes the first jump." He said during his small laughter. Tank punched in multiple angles for them to look at, converting the whole station into a live broadcast station of the program. Wraith tilted his head.
"Yeah, but nobody's ever been able to hit Morpheus either." He said, making Cypher silence.
"You're on." He replied, shaking hands with Wraith.
"Men." Winter said under her breath, watching.
Trinity took a deep breath, closing her eyes. The wind penetrated her light sweater and pants she had been uploaded into. They weren't half as comfortable as the kimonos, but she could care less at this point.
In an instant, she opened her eyes and took off in a run. She looked at the ledge, shutting her eyes as she stepped onto it and jumped.
For a moment she had thought perhaps she had done it. The wind passed by her, but slowed down a second later. Trinity's eyes opened as she looked down over the empty street, and then started to fall.
Wraith groaned as Cypher laughed again.
"No one ever makes the first jump." He patted Wraith on the shoulder. "Have fun." Winter giggling, shaking her head of blonde hair. Switch just rolled her eyes, moving back into the ship. The two stayed to the screen, watching Trinity free fall down 24 stories.
The pavement was so close, and she could taste it. She had a strange feeling of déjà vu, watching the rushing landscape rush up to greet her.
Impact.
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Two more chapters. Yes, it is sad, but I've got another Matrix story already being thought up and I hope to have it posted the second I finish this one.