Disclaimer: I don't own any recognisable characters from Matrix.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for taking time to read and review. Hopefully, this next chapter meets up with our expectations. :)

She regretted having said those two words.

I'm sorry.

She never really said what she had wanted to say, she did not know that her time was running shorter. Only when the words left her lips did she realize that it was too late and she felt the life ebbing from her as she stared into his eyes. She was not given the chance to say she had really wanted to say; I love you.

Now trapped in this nightmare, bound to a bed, helpless and in the mercy of a sentient program designed to kill without a second thought, she wondered, if she would ever see him again…

If she would ever feel his warm touch as he held her gently in his arms.

The Oracle had said that I would fall in love with The One…

But Persephone had stated that it would not last.

She thought back on those hours, the hours before her capture and the pain.

Reminiscing…

'Trinity! God, I love you too much to let you go! I can't!'

She heard those words, muffled, as if from a long way off. She struggled against the cold, thick fog vainly, trying to assure him that she would always be there.

Then she found she could breathe. She gasped as her empty lungs dragged in air and was instantly smothered with his lips.

'Neo…'

He shushed her then, saying that they had to go, to escape before more Agents came. She understood, although her heart desperately wanted to tell him how much he meant to her.

Neo's phone rang as they sprinted away into the darken alleys.

'Neo, Agents are hot on your tail, there's an exit near you. One block east, The Fann Motel, room 601.'

'Thanks Link.'

They hurried on and managed to reach the room without any further confrontation from their pursuers.

The phone was ringing shrilly, jarring the early morning's calm.

Neo picked it up and handed it to her, 'You go first.'

'Neo, no, I-'

But a look from him silenced her.

She took the receiver held out to her but as she was going to place it at her ear, the door was wrenched from its hinges and Smith stepped in, adjusted his lapels and dusted off debris from immaculate suit.

'Mr. Anderson,' he drawled and tipped his head to the side slightly. 'Going so soon?'

'Smith.' Neo returned with equal hatred as he stepped in front of Trinity.

In a fluid movement, Smith had a Desert Eagle in his hand. Trinity froze. Her calm demeanor shattered.

'Trinity,' Neo commanded over his shoulder, 'go.'

She wanted to obey. But a part of her refused to be ordered around. She remembered the time, a little more than six months ago, when Neo and Smith fought in the train station when she had escaped to safety. She had berated herself, saving herself first. But not again…

She loved him too much…

'I'll be right behind you,' she whispered and saw Neo's forehead creased with a frown.

Trinity slammed the phone to his ear before he could react and he was gone from the simulated world, leaving her with the Agent.

Smith stared at her, a snarl becoming on his lips.

As calmly as she could, Trinity replaced the receiver.

'That was rather foolish, human.'

The phone rang again. Trinity reached for the receiver but a gunshot rang and she stumbled, her left hand clutching at the pain flaring from her right shoulder.

'That shot was not meant to kill,' he stated calmly before he shot the ringing phone, destroying her means of exit.

She whipped out her gun with her left hand and emptied her clip at him.

He dodged all of it with inhuman speed, leaving the cheaply wallpapered wall behind him peppered with holes.

Tossing her gun aside, she turned in an attempt to jump out the window when she was tackled to the ground and her arms wrenched behind her back, jostling her injured arm.

She struggled in his vice grip, arching her back to throw him off.

'Get the fuck off, Agent Smith!' she yelled, before a damp cloth was placed over her mouth.

'I am no longer an Agent for the System, and I have Mr. Anderson to thank,' he whispered harshly, his warm breath tickling her neck.

It was true; she knew this for a fact, that Smith was no longer a part of the Matrix. But old habits die hard.

Trinity fought the darkness swamping her, her movements and struggles getting weaker and more lethargic.

She breathed raggedly through the drugged laced material, her eyelids drooping and finally closed.

TBC…

Response to reviewers:

(Trying a new way of responding to my lovely, lovely reviewers)

Smith cocked his head inquisitively to the side, and read the reviews.

'How profoundly interesting…' he muttered, after reading Shadow Peach's review. 'This human,' he gestured to the screen, 'has pointed out a grammatical mistake in the fic, she has very sharp eyes…'

Neo leaned over his shoulder and squinted, 'Yeah, amazing how the author missed it.'

The Agent smirked. 'Perhaps it would be the simple fact that she does not have a beta reader?'

Neo scowled. 'Well, she has one now. She recruited one of her friends to do it, a certain Ferum Oxide.'

Trinity shoved them both aside. 'Move over, I wanna read a few.'

'Oh, look! There's a review from Tria! She said she likes it!' Then Trinity frowned. 'I am suffering and in the hands of a sadistic sentient program and she likes it????'

Smith chuckled quietly before he was silenced from a glare from the rebels. He held up his hands in mock surrender.

There's also a review from UniqueS…' Neo raised an eyebrow at the review.

'She is bowing at the mightiness of the authorette?'

'I bet the authorette's ego has inflated…'

Suddenly, Trinity laughed and jabbed a finger at the screen, 'Smith! SammyAngel called you creepy!'

Smith said nothing but fumed silently.

Judging that it was not the best time to poke further at his pride, Neo read aloud the next review. 'There's a review from Beguile!' he cried excitedly and the two crowded around him. 'she is the one who lend the authorette the idea!'

Trinity gaped at the review and her eyes narrowed dangerously into slits, 'I am not a happy camper? Of course I'm not a happy camper! Smith is nuts!'

'I beg to differ! I am perfectly sane, besides,' he said straightening his tie and grinning smugly, 'she says she loves me!'

'She is right about the part about me going to try and kill you…'

'But there's no telling if you will succeed,' Smith countered.

There was a silence when the two glared at each other before Neo cleared his throat uncertainly and continued reading the reviews.

'Selina Enriques said that this story is a lot like The Allegory of the Cave, that is true, since this is modeled after it. But it does differ slightly from Beguile's work.'

Smith nodded, tearing away from his glaring competition.

'Let me read one now.'

Neo stepped dutifully away.

Smith's forehead creased as he read the review from Ferum Oxide. 'This… virus… has a remarkable outlook at the Matrix,' he commented to no one in particular.

Trinity read over his shoulder and snorted in an un-lady like way. 'Better off in the Matrix? I think not! The Matrix is a world of lies! We are better off-'

Her rambling were cut off however, by a bark of laughter from Smith. 'Trinity, you should read this review!'

She read it in silence. The female clad in the tight latex suit growled and pulled out two guns and started to stomp out the door before Neo caught her and pulled her back.

'Hey, hey, hey! What's wrong?' he asked, attempting to pull her into an embrace.

She struggled out of his arms and pointed at the screen, 'alocin!!!! She has the audacity to portray me as his,' she jabbed her finger erratically in Smith's direction, 'pet!!' She screeched loudly and stamped her feet in frustration.

Neo tried awkwardly to pacify her and gently pried the guns from her tightly clench hands.

'Honey, she's an innocent little girl, you don't want to shoot her, do you?'

'YES, I DO!!'

Smith uncharacteristically rolled his eyes and said, 'Knock it off! There's more reviews!' without waiting for a reply, he announced what SummersDay24 thought about the fic.

'It seems that she is a romantic,' he commented.

'Why do you say that?' demanded Trinity, her curiosity getting the better of her anger.

'She stated that the line "Is Neo a lie?" almost brought tears to her eyes.'

Neo and Trinity shared a knowing smiled. Smith badly wanted to shoot himself, his standard Agent Dessert Eagle already in his hand, the barrel pressed at his temple, but his attention wavered when he read the next review and his grey eyes widened in both disgust and shock.

'I am not human! It is… indecent to think so!'

'Excuse me?' Trinity sashayed to his side, dragging Neo along, and read the review from Sonatte, and raised an eyebrow at it.

'Ookay…'

Neo ignored them both and read another, 'Matrixation02 says he wished he could see you feed Trin simulated soup…'

Neo blinked, 'That's a very odd… request…' he shrugged mentally and read the next review.

'IsinhA says that it was great and would like to be informed of the next uploading.'

'I'll tell her,' offered Smith and opened an e-mail module and typed an e-mail to the reviewer.

Reading the next review, Smith's features contorted into a smile and said, in a proud tone, that he had a fan.

'LaurenK says that she's my fan!'

Neo merely snorted and read the review from Yami Maleci.

'It seems that we have inspired Yami Maleci to write another fic!'

'Ah, inspiration…' said Smith.

'That's good,' murmured Trinity distractedly, as she read the last review.

'It would seem that IsinhA and IsiNhAaAa are the same people, judging by the email address given.'

Neo read it and sighed, 'Oh, dear, we have an addict!'

Smith stood abruptly, startling the two, 'We have no more reviews, our task is complete.'

Neo shook his head and smiled at the Agent, 'Someday, Smith, I'm going to have to teach you to act human.'

Smith's lips curled into a snarl, 'That would not be necessary.'

They left the room in silence.