Chapter One: [Oracle]
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Neo?" Link asked. "We should return to Zion."
"Link," Neo said, "the Keymaker was important. He's dead now. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Without Morpheus's guidance…"
His voice failed him. He cleared his throat and went on.
"I don't know where we're going next. But I know there's one person who will. And that is the Oracle. So I'm going in to see her."
"Alright," Link said, beginning to type. "I'm loading you up."
Neo opened his eyes again inside the Matrix. He opened his cell phone.
"We're in."
He hung up and left the building, opening the door of the car parked outside. Trinity climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key, the engine roaring to life.
"Let's go," said Trinity, pressing down on the accelerator. The car leapt out into the street, and Trinity turned left and continued towards the Oracle's apartment.
They arrived at their destination five minutes later. Neo got out and walked inside, hitting the button to summon the elevator. Trinity joined him. They stood in silence as the elevator opened. They stepped in and it closed behind them, quickly rising towards the Oracle's floor.
The elevator beeped and they stepped out, walking towards the apartment. Neo reached for the knob and grabbed it, surprised when it didn't open before he touched it. He mentally shrugged and turned the knob.
The scene inside was a massacre. The Oracle's apartment was in shambles, furniture broken and thrown about everywhere. Neo heard voices from the kitchen and rushed forward, coming through the doorway.
He saw the Oracle seated at a table, waiting patiently. The two albino Twins from the Chateau stood over her, one holding a syringe in his left hand.
"The Merovingian warned you what would happen if you helped them," one of them said. They both turned as Neo entered the kitchen.
"You!" shouted the second one. The first moved forward, swinging a fist. Neo ducked under the attack and punched straight out, hitting the Twin in the stomach. He flew backwards and hit the wall, grunting. The second leapt into the air and kicked. Neo blocked the attack with a hand.
Trinity entered the kitchen, drawing a gun. She fired twice at One, who phased to avoid the bullets and jumped forward, returning to normal. He tackled her and they both went down.
Neo kicked high, Beta bending down and sideways to avoid the attack. Neo let his momentum carry, landing on the attacking foot as he brought the second one around. It smacked into the Twin with a thump and sent him flying.
Trinity slammed a fist into Alpha's cheek, the program tumbling off her. She rose to her feet in one graceful movement and rose into the air, arms outstretched, as the Twin rose. As he finished standing, her foot shot out and hit him in the neck, below the chin, and lifted up. His head snapped backwards and he fell to the floor.
Neo landed on both feet and ran after the Twin. Beta kicked off the wall and leapt at Neo, crashing into him at a high speed. Beta rose to his feet and flipped out his switchblade.
Trinity landed next to Alpha. The Exile suddenly shot his hand out, his switchblade going into Trinity's stomach. She cried in pain.
Neo ducked under a horizontal slash and jumped back as Beta brought the blade straight down. Neo grabbed the Exile's wrist and twisted, the blade dropping from his fingers. Holding his wrist, Neo punched Beta in the chest. Neo's fist passed the flesh and contacted Beta' code, leaving a huge hole in the Exile. The Twin fell to the ground, dead. Neo grabbed the Exile's dagger
Trinity gasped as her hands grabbed Alpha's wrist. She pushed the blade out and collapsed onto Alpha's chest. The Exile raised his blade high above, preparing to bring it down.
A knife came whistling through the air and struck Alpha in the hand. He hissed and turned to see Neo's fist descending downwards.
Neo laid Trinity out on the couch. She was shivering, so he covered her with a thin blanket. His hands moved to cover the area where she had been stabbed, and he closed his eyes, concentrating. He heard Trinity gasp.
He opened his eyes to see the wound gone, the flesh around the area pink and tender. He smiled as the Oracle came in.
"Thank you," she said. "I must confess, that didn't go exactly as I had thought it would. I fully expected you to reach the Source, until that Sam refused to give his sister the doll. Fate is a funny thing."
"Indeed it is," said Neo. "Why where those men here?"
"They came to delete me."
"Why?"
"The Merovingian warned me that if I chose to help you it would cost me. Now since the real test of any choice is to make it again, knowing what it will cost, I guess I feel pretty good about this one."
"What happens now?"
"There are things that you need to know, Neo, things that you would have found out if you had reached the Source, which you never will know. After I say these things, you'll probably be too angry at me to speak, and you'll just leave. So I beg of you to remember what I said the day we met."
And he listened as she began to explain about the previous Ones.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked.
"You weren't ready," she replied.
"Who decided I wasn't ready?"
She pointed to the sign that hung over her doorway, the one that read "know thyself" in Latin.
"I did," Neo said.
"Exactly."
"What can I do now?" Neo asked. "Can Zion still be saved?"
"There are so many choices between here and there," the Oracle said, her voice growing heavier. "So many possibilities. Yes, Zion can be saved, but it will cost much."
"What must I do to save my city?"
"You know, Neo. You know where you must go. Though how you get there is anyone's guess."
As the elevator doors closed behind them, Neo turned to face Trinity, removing his glasses.
"Trinity…" he began. "I need to say something."
She looked at him, an invitation to continue.
"When I first flew over that stretch of highway, looking for survivors, I couldn't see anyone, or anything, besides wreckage and devastation. I thought you were dead. When I came out of there, back to the ship, and found you alive…Words can't describe how I felt.
"Back there in the room, when the Twin stabbed you, I felt it again. Like I might lose you. And Trinity, I couldn't bear that. Everything I thought I thought I had known has just been ripped away from me, and I'm glad you're here with me. The past few hours, Trinity…they've made me realize…"
His voice fell lower, until he was whispering.
"Just how much I love you."
He brought his lips into contact with Trinity's beginning the kiss. The elevator door reached the ground floor and beeped loudly, startling them both. With a slight grin, Neo replaced his glasses and stepped out.