The Sum of Us
A Matrix Fanfiction
(formally known as the flight of horis)
By: Writes with Block
***
Author's Notes: The next time I update this story I am going to change the title from The Flight of Horis to The Sum of Us, as I have thought of a new plot for this. Just wanted everyone to know so that there wouldn't be any confusion. On with the show.
***
Chapter Two
Cyprus climbed up into the helm, a faintly annoyed expression on her face. Her bottom lip was stitched up and she'd changed out of her blood stained shirt. Trinity followed her, looking triumphant.
"Guess you needed med bay after all," Neo whispered to Cyprus as she stood at his side.
Cyprus choice to ignore him. "What happened?" she asked Morpheus, digging an elbow into Neo's ribs has he chuckled at her.
"A sentinel attack. We've been ordered to return to Zion."
As the crew rejoiced no one heard Cyprus mumble in a drawn voice.
"Great."
*****
Cyprus sat in Link's chair, her chin resting in one up raised palm, idly watching the green letters that spelled out the Matrix code roll down the screen. She knew how to read it but it was difficult for her to imagine the things that it said were there. Her archives were a gathering of information, a collection of the old world that had been lost. Most of the information came from people's reaccounting of their lives in the Matrix.
It was hard for Cyprus to believe that all the things in the Matrix had been real at some point in time. Humanity, or what remained of it, had certainly fallen along way. Where people had once been leaving in buildings that reached the sky, they were now living in the sewers much like the rats her father hated so much.
He'd told her allot about the things that were in the Matrix, understanding that it meant allot to her. She would never see what was inside the Matrix, never really know what had once been. Perhapse it was because she had not been in the Matrix, would never be inside, but Cyprus didn't understand what was so terribly bad about it.
It was as real as you allowed yourself to believe it was and that was the basic principal that allowed her father do to all the amazing things he could do while in the system. If you believed the Matrix was real then it made it real, at least in your mind and in the system that's all that really mattered. Nothing about that seemed wrong to Cyprus but her thoughts ran on the principal that everyone had the choice. And it kind of seemed like they did or no one would ever be able to be unplugged. Those who were unplugged didn't believe in the system and they were freed of it. It seemed logically and like a fairly good deal to her.
But then there were those people who simply couldn't get their minds to think that way. They couldn't get themselves to believe that everything they knew simply what's real. That had to be one heck of a mind trip. Those were the people the rebels were trying to save. Those people who were slaves to the system and had no idea that they were living nothing but a dream. And Cyprus agreed with them. She didn't like dreams very much.
She continued to stare at the screen, ignoring the portal computer, what her father called a 'lap top', that was sitting on her lap. She had come up here nearly two hours ago, assuring Link that she could watch the system while he got some much needed sleep, intent on working on the glitch in her archives. She had yet to do any work. At first she thought it was because she was distracted by the Matrix code but she knew the real reason was Zion.
She hated Zion.
"Hey kiddo," a soft voice greeted. "What are you doing up here?"
Jerked out of her musings, Cyprus looked up quickly and gave her father a soft nod before answering, "I couldn't sleep and thought I'd relieve Link until the next shift started."
Neo sat down with a sigh and stared out the front window. "Why can't you sleep?"
Cyprus shrugged. "I'm just restless."
"Because of Zion," Neo stated simply.
Cyprus scowled. Her father had an annoying habit of knowing stuff when she rather keep secrets. It was the most formible weapon in his arsenal of parenting skills. Luckily, as his daughter, she had inherited that trait and often turned it against him. Now though she couldn't and she didn't know what to say so she snorted softly.
"I know you hate going there but you've never said why."
'Because I'm your daughter,' she thought darkly but remained silent.
"Ever since you were little you've hated it."
"Mom still asleep?" Cyprus asked, changing the subject without tact.
"Yeah," Neo sighed. "I really wish you'd talk to me Cyprus."
"I do Dad. I tell you everything."
"You're not telling me what's wrong. You haven't been sleeping well lately and I hear you coughing at night."
"I've been cold lately."
"You only get that cough when you're stressed out."
Once again Cyprus found herself silently wishing she were more like her mother. She hated the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve like her father. It made her too easy to read; made it too hard to keep secret the things she didn't want to talk about. She wanted her hatred for Zion to be a secret, she wanted her sleeplessness to be a secret, and above all else she wanted her stress to be secret.
"Talk to me Cy," Neo said urgently, turning to her and taking her hand in his gently.
Cyprus sighed, lowering her eyes. "I just don't like Zion," she said finally. "Its too crowded. And its hot. It makes it hard for me to breath."
Neo's eyes were sorrowful, a clear sign that he didn't believe her, and he sat back in his chair with a sigh of regret.
A lump formed in Cyprus' throat and her stomach churned hotly. She tried to ignore it, tried to wait until it would go away, but she knew better than that. Whether he meant to or not Neo really knew how to play the guilt card.
"I don't like the way people treat me in Zion," she said quickly. "Some of them treat me like I don't have a single thought in my head and others expect me to have all the answers. I don't know what to tell them when I don't. They think I'm you and I hate that."
Neo was still, processing what she had just told him, and then nodded softly. "I don't have the answers either Cy," he said softly. "I have no idea what is going to happen but I try my best to give people the kind of faith that I have. People want to hear that the Matrix is going to be destroyed, that the people inside are going to be saved, and that the war will end."
"I don't have the answers the way you do Dad. I don't have that kind of faith."
"I know you don't. How can you when you've never fought before?" He smiled at her and ruffled her hair gently. "But you have faith in me don't you?"
"Of course," she answered, pushing his hand away from her hair. She hated when he did that and he knew it. "In you and Mom and Morpheus."
"Then keep believing in us and you'll find your answer," he said simply. "Off to bed with you. You need some sleep or you'll get sick."
Cyprus jumped down from the chair, gathering her computer. "Night Dad."
"I love you baby."
"Love you too Dad," Cyprus answered and jumped down the ladder. Once she was out of ear shot she groaned softly, putting one hand to her stomach. The burning sensation had only gotten worse as she kept talking. She wasn't telling him the whole truth, the real reason why she couldn't sleep. Trying to push those thoughts away, Cyprus entered her room and collapsed on her bunk. It was going to be another very long night.
*****
"Don't pick at that," Trinity scolded, pushing Cyprus' fingers away from her busted lip. "You'll tear out the stitches."
Cyprus rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue, making Neo chuckle quietly.
They were all gathered at the bottom of the ship, waiting for it to land in Zion. Cyprus had dismantled a large portion of her computer system so she could install it in her room and she was now sitting on the frame of a large monitor.
The ship swayed softly and there was a gentle bump as the ship settled on the ground. The hatch opened and everyone hurried out, glad to be home again. Cyprus rolled them, subdued, and hoping that no one would stop them.
Her wish was quickly squashed however as several of the council members approached her father. Cyprus sighed to herself. Her mother was allowed to sit in council meetings but, while no one ever denied her access, Cyprus' presence was not welcome.
She gave her mom a quick wave and hurried off in the direction of her room to set up her computer. Another thing she hated about being in Zion was that her parents had less time to spend with her. Their presence was always requested somewhere. So she trudged off to her room alone, her heart heavy.
******
I hadn't really planned on updating again so soon but I got such nice reviews that I felt like I should. Thank you to Bren, Elizabeth Riddle, and Just another Matrix fanatic. You guys really gave me quite the ego boost. I really thought this story was rather mediocre and not one of the best things I've done recently but it looks like I was wrong. Thanks allot you guys. Your opinions really mean allot to me.
I'm going to try and update once every week. That will give me plenty of time to write a really in depth chapter. This one is short and I wrote it in about an hour but all I wanted out of this one was some interaction between Neo and Cyprus and a bit of foreshadowing.
And to Julie, here's another chapter. Earlier than I thought it would be. Now stop yelling at me. *hides under the desk*
A Matrix Fanfiction
(formally known as the flight of horis)
By: Writes with Block
***
Author's Notes: The next time I update this story I am going to change the title from The Flight of Horis to The Sum of Us, as I have thought of a new plot for this. Just wanted everyone to know so that there wouldn't be any confusion. On with the show.
***
Chapter Two
Cyprus climbed up into the helm, a faintly annoyed expression on her face. Her bottom lip was stitched up and she'd changed out of her blood stained shirt. Trinity followed her, looking triumphant.
"Guess you needed med bay after all," Neo whispered to Cyprus as she stood at his side.
Cyprus choice to ignore him. "What happened?" she asked Morpheus, digging an elbow into Neo's ribs has he chuckled at her.
"A sentinel attack. We've been ordered to return to Zion."
As the crew rejoiced no one heard Cyprus mumble in a drawn voice.
"Great."
*****
Cyprus sat in Link's chair, her chin resting in one up raised palm, idly watching the green letters that spelled out the Matrix code roll down the screen. She knew how to read it but it was difficult for her to imagine the things that it said were there. Her archives were a gathering of information, a collection of the old world that had been lost. Most of the information came from people's reaccounting of their lives in the Matrix.
It was hard for Cyprus to believe that all the things in the Matrix had been real at some point in time. Humanity, or what remained of it, had certainly fallen along way. Where people had once been leaving in buildings that reached the sky, they were now living in the sewers much like the rats her father hated so much.
He'd told her allot about the things that were in the Matrix, understanding that it meant allot to her. She would never see what was inside the Matrix, never really know what had once been. Perhapse it was because she had not been in the Matrix, would never be inside, but Cyprus didn't understand what was so terribly bad about it.
It was as real as you allowed yourself to believe it was and that was the basic principal that allowed her father do to all the amazing things he could do while in the system. If you believed the Matrix was real then it made it real, at least in your mind and in the system that's all that really mattered. Nothing about that seemed wrong to Cyprus but her thoughts ran on the principal that everyone had the choice. And it kind of seemed like they did or no one would ever be able to be unplugged. Those who were unplugged didn't believe in the system and they were freed of it. It seemed logically and like a fairly good deal to her.
But then there were those people who simply couldn't get their minds to think that way. They couldn't get themselves to believe that everything they knew simply what's real. That had to be one heck of a mind trip. Those were the people the rebels were trying to save. Those people who were slaves to the system and had no idea that they were living nothing but a dream. And Cyprus agreed with them. She didn't like dreams very much.
She continued to stare at the screen, ignoring the portal computer, what her father called a 'lap top', that was sitting on her lap. She had come up here nearly two hours ago, assuring Link that she could watch the system while he got some much needed sleep, intent on working on the glitch in her archives. She had yet to do any work. At first she thought it was because she was distracted by the Matrix code but she knew the real reason was Zion.
She hated Zion.
"Hey kiddo," a soft voice greeted. "What are you doing up here?"
Jerked out of her musings, Cyprus looked up quickly and gave her father a soft nod before answering, "I couldn't sleep and thought I'd relieve Link until the next shift started."
Neo sat down with a sigh and stared out the front window. "Why can't you sleep?"
Cyprus shrugged. "I'm just restless."
"Because of Zion," Neo stated simply.
Cyprus scowled. Her father had an annoying habit of knowing stuff when she rather keep secrets. It was the most formible weapon in his arsenal of parenting skills. Luckily, as his daughter, she had inherited that trait and often turned it against him. Now though she couldn't and she didn't know what to say so she snorted softly.
"I know you hate going there but you've never said why."
'Because I'm your daughter,' she thought darkly but remained silent.
"Ever since you were little you've hated it."
"Mom still asleep?" Cyprus asked, changing the subject without tact.
"Yeah," Neo sighed. "I really wish you'd talk to me Cyprus."
"I do Dad. I tell you everything."
"You're not telling me what's wrong. You haven't been sleeping well lately and I hear you coughing at night."
"I've been cold lately."
"You only get that cough when you're stressed out."
Once again Cyprus found herself silently wishing she were more like her mother. She hated the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve like her father. It made her too easy to read; made it too hard to keep secret the things she didn't want to talk about. She wanted her hatred for Zion to be a secret, she wanted her sleeplessness to be a secret, and above all else she wanted her stress to be secret.
"Talk to me Cy," Neo said urgently, turning to her and taking her hand in his gently.
Cyprus sighed, lowering her eyes. "I just don't like Zion," she said finally. "Its too crowded. And its hot. It makes it hard for me to breath."
Neo's eyes were sorrowful, a clear sign that he didn't believe her, and he sat back in his chair with a sigh of regret.
A lump formed in Cyprus' throat and her stomach churned hotly. She tried to ignore it, tried to wait until it would go away, but she knew better than that. Whether he meant to or not Neo really knew how to play the guilt card.
"I don't like the way people treat me in Zion," she said quickly. "Some of them treat me like I don't have a single thought in my head and others expect me to have all the answers. I don't know what to tell them when I don't. They think I'm you and I hate that."
Neo was still, processing what she had just told him, and then nodded softly. "I don't have the answers either Cy," he said softly. "I have no idea what is going to happen but I try my best to give people the kind of faith that I have. People want to hear that the Matrix is going to be destroyed, that the people inside are going to be saved, and that the war will end."
"I don't have the answers the way you do Dad. I don't have that kind of faith."
"I know you don't. How can you when you've never fought before?" He smiled at her and ruffled her hair gently. "But you have faith in me don't you?"
"Of course," she answered, pushing his hand away from her hair. She hated when he did that and he knew it. "In you and Mom and Morpheus."
"Then keep believing in us and you'll find your answer," he said simply. "Off to bed with you. You need some sleep or you'll get sick."
Cyprus jumped down from the chair, gathering her computer. "Night Dad."
"I love you baby."
"Love you too Dad," Cyprus answered and jumped down the ladder. Once she was out of ear shot she groaned softly, putting one hand to her stomach. The burning sensation had only gotten worse as she kept talking. She wasn't telling him the whole truth, the real reason why she couldn't sleep. Trying to push those thoughts away, Cyprus entered her room and collapsed on her bunk. It was going to be another very long night.
*****
"Don't pick at that," Trinity scolded, pushing Cyprus' fingers away from her busted lip. "You'll tear out the stitches."
Cyprus rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue, making Neo chuckle quietly.
They were all gathered at the bottom of the ship, waiting for it to land in Zion. Cyprus had dismantled a large portion of her computer system so she could install it in her room and she was now sitting on the frame of a large monitor.
The ship swayed softly and there was a gentle bump as the ship settled on the ground. The hatch opened and everyone hurried out, glad to be home again. Cyprus rolled them, subdued, and hoping that no one would stop them.
Her wish was quickly squashed however as several of the council members approached her father. Cyprus sighed to herself. Her mother was allowed to sit in council meetings but, while no one ever denied her access, Cyprus' presence was not welcome.
She gave her mom a quick wave and hurried off in the direction of her room to set up her computer. Another thing she hated about being in Zion was that her parents had less time to spend with her. Their presence was always requested somewhere. So she trudged off to her room alone, her heart heavy.
******
I hadn't really planned on updating again so soon but I got such nice reviews that I felt like I should. Thank you to Bren, Elizabeth Riddle, and Just another Matrix fanatic. You guys really gave me quite the ego boost. I really thought this story was rather mediocre and not one of the best things I've done recently but it looks like I was wrong. Thanks allot you guys. Your opinions really mean allot to me.
I'm going to try and update once every week. That will give me plenty of time to write a really in depth chapter. This one is short and I wrote it in about an hour but all I wanted out of this one was some interaction between Neo and Cyprus and a bit of foreshadowing.
And to Julie, here's another chapter. Earlier than I thought it would be. Now stop yelling at me. *hides under the desk*