Thank you to:

leeloo-dalas-multipass84, thanks! I'm pleased you think it is that good. I hope I didn't take too long, but I'm sorry that I cant update sooner.

GreyElvenWarrior, sorry!!! Oh, and you are going to love this chapter! And I already have the chapter planned out where Niobe meets the MA. It might be a while before Morpheus does, though.

EmyLyii, oh, don't feel ashamed, she's partly the reason I cant update so frequently! And I'm glad you liked that chapter, it brought a smile to my face writing it!

Trialia, ok, sorry, sorry, sorry. But I'm afraid I'll have to do the same here too. Big long chapter here, another cliffy! Enjoy…

richard the pedantic, oh, thank you for forgiving me! I feel so ashamed! Thanks for your comments about my work, its very uplifting to hear/read people saying that! so thanks so much!

and thanks to my new reviewer, Killian Orlight, glad you liked the story so much! I've written another post-rev story, where Neo and Trinity are revived. Its called 'you only live thrice', if you want to take a look. And by the way, don't say your work is dull, I had a little read, and I certainly don't think its dull. But don't leave it, keep going with it.

Thanks folks! And here you go, enjoy!

*~*~*

Sapphire ran into the arms of her parents she had been separated from for three days. They stayed like that in a group hug for ages, none of them with any intention of letting go. Trinity smiled at her daughter, all grown up, and having just come from the real world. Neo was so happy he was almost in tears again.

They were interrupted, however, by Seraph, as he moved them towards the front door of the Oracle's apartment, taking out his own key and unlocking the door to the family's home. He hurriedly ushered them through the door, casting a few anxious glances backward at the doorway of the kitchen, where the Oracle could be seen to block Morpheus' view from them. Seraph then shut the door behind them, and they were cut off from the Oracle's apartment.

Sapphire gave a little glance around the spacious entrance hall of her home, with its grand staircase and balcony above, and sighed in happiness. She then walked with her parents down to one of the living rooms, all the while giving excited descriptions of what had happened.

"And then he challenged me Can you believe it? Morpheus challenged me! To fight him!"

Trinity had a surprised and amazed look in her face as she listened to her daughter. Neo was practically laughing with amazement, and said in a keen tone, "and who won?"

"I did! I stopped after a while, but I had given him quite a work out! Hey, you should have seen his face at the end when I told him what he said to you, you know, about 'you think that's air you're breathing'? It was so funny!"

Neo laughed very loudly again, and Trinity actually gave a true proper laugh as they moved to one the sofas in the room. Neo quietened down, and said jokingly to Sapphire, "So, what's it like to be bald? Don't worry, we all went through it. It'll grow to a decent length in no-time."

Sapphire looked at her father, and gave a little chuckle.

"Well, I, er… I'm not entirely bald."

"Really? How much hair do you have?" Trinity said, intrigued.

"Um, I'd say it's about… oh, waist length!" Sapphire said, smiling slyly.

Neo was speechless. Trinity was also equally as surprised.

"What? But, how?" She asked.

"I don't know! I've also got muscles too; they're actually pretty well developed. It was so weird. And I was in a clear pod, not red."

"Well, that's interesting. I'll have to find out about that." Neo said.

"It also didn't take me too long to recover, which I'm very glad about. Zee just had to do something with my plugs, and then it was just my eyes a bit sore for a while."

"Zee?"

"Yeah, I know! Link's there too. They really make a good couple. Plus Niobe and Morpheus are so cute together!"

"Niobe? Why is she there?" Trinity asked.

"Morpheus called her when they got me. I think they were using me as excuse to meet up again!"

"Hmm, yeah. Makes sense." Trinity said casually.

"So, tell us what's been going on in the real world since we, er, left." Neo said, curiosity getting the better of him. Trinity gave him a sharp look, but seemed equally as interested in the answer.

"I was only there three nights! How much do you think I could have found out?" Sapphire said incredulously. Neo looked down, unable to hide his disappointment. Trinity tried the best she could to conceal hers, but it was still blindingly obvious.

Sapphire smiled as she put her hand into her concealed pocket and withdrew a disk. She watched as Trinity raised her head and look at it sceptically, disbelieving, and then saw her eyes light up in realisation. The night before, when Sapphire had finished hacking, she had programmed the construct to load her up with a disk concealed in that pocket when she entered an empty construct - i.e., when they were going to go into the matrix. The disk contained all the information she had hacked and saved into the secrete folder. All of the information concerning every major or important event in Zion and the two ships from the time they had been gone.

"All of the past eighteen years worth of history files. Saved right here." She said, waving the disk once, before handing it to her mother. Sapphire saw her and Neo exchanged an amazed glance. Sapphire continued, feeling kind of smug at playing her parents. "Three nights is more than enough time for me to hack into anything!"

~*~

"I'm guessing this is about Sapphire, right?" Link said as he saw Niobe when he entered the room with his wife. They both moved in and took a seat opposite the captain on the far end of the table.

Niobe gave a slight nod of her head, and said a very direct "Yes."

"So, what is it? I mean, we all pretty much noticed that she's different from the usual freed person."

"Slightly more than different!" Zee interjected, giving Link an incredulous look.

"What do you think?" Niobe asked the medical officer.

"I think she's nothing short of remarkable." Zee replied, her tone completely serious.

"The way she fought…" Zee continued, remembering the complexity of the girl's moves.

"Yes. The way she fought. Exactly." Niobe said.

"Are you serious that that was Trinity's style you say she had?" Link questioned.

"Positive. For one thing, Ghost recognised the style. He used to spar with Trinity on a regular basis, which is why he commented on one of Sapphire's moves. And not to mention we were all on one ship for a long time in the past. We trained together. She had a very characteristic style."

"Well, from what I've seen in the past, I have to agree with that. She was exceptional." Zee commented.

"Let me get this straight. You say that our little miss Trinity could only have been good at fighting from her genes, but cant have inherited the style of fighting, cus it can only be taught, right?" Link said, looking at Zee for confirmation. She nodded as the third person spoke.

"That's right, and it's exactly why I wanted to talk with you here." Niobe said, getting straight to business.

"I've noticed more than a few things about Sapphire that I find unusual or practically impossible. And I know that you two have noticed similar things, you being the ship's medic, and you being the ships operator, -" Niobe explained.

"I may be the operator, but I haven't really seen more of her then anybody else. She hasn't even had any programs downloaded yet." interrupted Link.

"Yes, that may be true, but I still think you may have noticed something. And besides, I didn't think that I could invite Zee to this little conversation without you coming too." Niobe reasoned, face easing into a small smile for a few seconds.

"Hmm, fair point." Link agreed.

"Zee, what did you notice when you unplugged Sapphire?" Niobe directed, very much taking charge of the proceedings.

"Well, as you know Sapphire was in a completely pod, that was brought onboard the ship when we unplugged her. I tested the contents, and I was correct in believing that it was only acting as a fluid for her to be suspended in, it didn't have the usual characteristics associated with the removal or collection of thermal or electrical energy which the normal pods are filled with. Basically this allowed her to develop hair and small muscles, as the energy which would usually be dedicated to growing them wasn't diverted by the machines. Also, only the plugs related to keeping her alive were ever inserted into her. In layman's terms, they had connected this one girl up to the matrix, with the intention of never collecting any energy from her ever."

"Why?" asked Link, pretending that he had understood all of what she had said. His mind was in codes and cyber space, not in the finer details of human biology.

"Because of her parents." Niobe said suddenly, the answer just coming to her out of nowhere.

"Exactly. I don't know if they agreed to it intentionally, or if the machines did it themselves, but it does make sense. Including the fact that when I asked Sapphire her exact age, any guesses as to what she said?" asked Zee, looking straight at Niobe.

"Just under seventeen years and three months?"

"Spot on. I don't have any ideas as to why the machines would do a thing like that, but they did, with an obvious intention from the beginning never to use her as an energy source." The room went quiet again, all thinking more possible answers.

"Wait a minute. Do you remember what Sapphire said to Morpheus in the Construct? Have you got a copy of the events?" Zee asked Niobe, suddenly thinking. Niobe brought a small pocketbook computer out, pressed a few buttons before passing it to Zee. She scrolled down pages of code, trying to find whatever she had obviously picked up. She then looked up quickly and said, "Have you still got a copy of Neo's first sparring session in the construct?"

Niobe looked a little confused for a moment, but she took the pocketbook of Zee and found the file that hadn't been opened for years. Zee looked down that one for a few seconds, highlighting some things, before turning the small computer round to face Niobe. She frowned at its contents, but then gave way into complete and utter surprise and almost disbelief. Link looked more than slightly upset that he didn't understand female telepathy, so Zee passed the pocketbook towards him. The screen was split so it showed the two sets of codes, side by side. On both, two phrases were highlighted.

" 'If you tell me to 'hit you if I can', you are sadly mistaken' and, 'You think that's air your breathing now?' That is what Sapphire said last night, right? And this, this is with Neo? 'Understand? Then hit me, if you can'. 'You think that's air your breathing now?'." Link looked at the codes for a little bit, then stared at his wife.

"Are you saying that Sapphire knew what was said to her father, about a year before she was even born?" Link questioned.

"I'm not saying anything. It's right here. Morpheus may have used the 'air' example only a few times, but he only ever asked Neo to 'hit him' on his first time. And she got it practically word perfect. She knows things that she can't possibly know. She knows some things that only Neo would care to remember."

Niobe and Link sat completely speechless. They had also reached the came conclusion, but it seemed so unlikely and unusual. Niobe finally found her mouth again, and told the others of the previous night's occurrences with Sapphire.

"Last night, I found Sapphire at your operators terminal. She was hacking into the ship's files. I watched her- she was in the most secure section, but she was only hacking what you'd call the 'history' files. Renovation in Zion, which ships were repaired, how many new ones made, details from the Neb' and my ship, for some reason."

"Just wait a minute! You say she was hacking into my computer, and you just stood by and watched?" Link cried, outraged. Niobe looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"There was really nothing I could do." Niobe argued. When Link made a point to oppose, she cut him off before starting. "What was I suppose to do? Tell her off? Ban her from entering the Matrix, of going near the computers? Confine her to her room? The whole ship is linked to the computer, Link! She could access it from anywhere. And I'm not her superior, Morpheus is. Do you think that I would tell him that the kid of his prised Neo and Trinity was hacking into the securest files? That the child the Matrix Angels so desperately needed to be kept safe and looked after was betraying his trust. Did you want me to make her friendless and distrusted, after what they said in the message?" Niobe practically yelled at Link, who was now ashamed.

Niobe calmly counted to ten to contain her emotions before addressing the other two people again. "She told me that in the Matrix, she actually lives with the Matrix Angels. They are hackers, too. I imagine that's where she learnt it, as apparently her cyber activities are never secret from them. She said that before they send a message to a ship to unplug somebody, they hack them, to make sure there is room, and that they can cope. Have you ever noticed any evidence of being hacked before receiving a message?" Niobe asked. Link shook his head.

"Neither have I. But according to our little girl, they always hack several ships before hand to check if they can handle it. That's how they always know. Their girl is so experienced, I haven't seen a technique so impressive since Trinity hacked the IRS database." Niobe paused. "Do you two keep up with the news in the Matrix?"

"No, why should we? Nothing is related to us, and half of what is said doesn't make sense."

"Fair point. About a week ago, an article was published in one of the major news papers," Niobe said, concentrating on the pocketbook, "This article." She finished, and turned the computer round to show them the 'Trinity Hacks' article Morpheus had spotted days earlier.

"It says they don't know the identity of the hacker, but 'his' method of crossing the defences was unlike any previous attempt, but almost identical to the original person to succeed- Trinity, which is why they believed she was responsible. We all know that it's impossible, and she wouldn't have wanted to anyway, but what if it was Sapphire, trying to test her skills? She told me she doesn't like to advertise her activities, one of the reasons she's never been heard of before."

"'Hacking the IRS database in an almost identical manor to its first successful hacker'?" Link questioned, reading from the article. Niobe sighed and leaned back in her chair, defeated. Link however leaned forward to contribute, attracting the captain's attention again.

"You said the girl hacked like Trinity, and has definitely got her mother's fighting style, and that those things can only be taught. What if it wasn't intentional that she adopted Trinity's style? What if she was just taught how to fight by the best person she knew, and she retained most of the style of that person. What if she was taught to hack by one of the most notorious hackers of them all? I mean, she's living with the Matrix Angels you say, what if they are her real parents?"

There was complete silence as this statement struck home. No one knew what to say, or even to argue with the absurd suggestion. Nobody could deny the logic behind it. All eyes to stare at the plaque of remembrance on the wall. 'In Memory Of Trinity And Neo. Our Saviours And Good Friends. May You Remain Together, Wherever You Are. You May Not Be With Us Anymore, But You Will Remain In Our Hearts, Always.'

Maybe they've been with us all along…

*~*~*

Okay, that's all for now folks! Next chapter should be up sometime, but it night be a while. It might continue on from this chapter, it might not, depends whether I take that part out or not, but you are going to like it!