Author's Note: As you have all figured out, I post a set of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer quotes every other chapter. Due to a question as to which
episode they are from, I'll add the episode title as well. Also, I've
decided to darken the story in order to create a plotline. I'm generally a
comedic an humorous person, which has been reflected in this story, but my
best writing isn't when the story has a continuing comedy, especially for
The Matrix. I hope I'm not beheaded for what I do in this chapter.
Might as well respond (for the first time in my life) to reviews:
Sci-freak GrodySpork: As to whether Rogue has something to do with Trinity's fate, the idea I have in my head would say "no". Then again, I make it up as I go along.
Da Buffster: The first quote was Buffy to Giles in "Helpless." The second was Spike and Buffy in "The Gift." The third is Buffy to Dawn in "The Gift."
trinity 666: I was a Buffy an Spike shipper until the groundbreaking episode "Seeing Red." Now, I merely like both characters as they are, separate.
Onto the chapter...this took to damn long...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Neo what do you mean by that comment?" Morpheus inquired, seconding Lock's question.
"Well-" Neo's explanation was cut off as one of the guards burst in.
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've just obtained a transmission from the Poseidon. They received a message from inside the Matrix from the machines, asking to speak with Neo in 01." The man's face was flushed as he tried to regain his breath from an apparently long run.
"Thank you Thaddeus." Lock cast his glace upon Neo's unfocused eyes. "Neo, take the Zenith with his normal crew to 01. Report back to me every other hour, whether something has happened or not."
Neo nodded before exiting with Morpheus and Link. Walking down the hall, Neo grabbed Link's arm, stopping him.
"Go to Ghost's, get Trinity. Morpheus, can you start up the Zenith?" Neo turned towards where his captain was standing.
Morpheus nodded before remembering Neo couldn't see and replied quietly with a "yes."
~~*~~
"So he basically listens to only you and Neo?" Ghost asked, arching an eyebrow at the coiled sentinel, hovering in the corner.
"And never gives us a moments' peace. But that's beside the...Link! What's going on?" Trinity and Ghost turned at the sudden intrusion.
"Trinity, we're leaving on the Zenith. Meet Neo in your room." Link turned to leave, not bother to explain.
"Ghost-" Trinity turned back, standing up.
"No need to apologize. The war is merely on hold, not necessarily over. Take care." Ghost smiled softly as Trinity exited, Rogue on her heels, chattering quietly.
~~*~~
"Neo, why are we leaving? Link told me nothing. I would like to- Rogue, get the hell out of here. For once, wait outside." Trinity's anger flared up as the sentinel pushed in behind her, almost knocking her over.
The machine retreated outside quietly, a soft peep escaping as Trinity shut the door. Turning to Neo, watching him silently for a moment as he moved slowly towards the desk where their computer sat, Trinity sighed.
"Neo, talk to me."
"The Poseidon received a message from 01. They want to talk to me. Lock told me to take you, Link and Morpheus on the Zenith." Neo replied quickly, grabbing his back from the desk.
Trinity nodded and grabbed her own bag from beside the candle stand.
"Are you ready?"
"You didn't even unpack yet." Neo murmured, a sad smile gracing his face.
"I never do. Not really used to staying here long I guess." Trinity shrugged, walking the few steps to the door.
Opening it, Trinity saw Rogue hovering a few feet over the railing. Upon seeing her emerge, Rogue moved back another few feet, letting out a series of squeaks. Neo exited the room and shut the door before motioning with his hand for Rogue to follow them.
~~*~~
"All right Zion Control, we'll see you in under a day, hopefully." Link murmured into the mouthpiece before shutting off the comlink.
"How long until we reach 01?" Morpheus inquired, turning to where Neo was standing in the doorway of the cockpit.
"I'm not sure. It was more than half an hour from where you left us. I didn't have much understanding of space and time on the way." Neo shrugged. "Ask Trinity, she drove."
Morpheus turned further to see his second-in-command behind his chair.
"Less than 20 kilometers, but more than 45 minutes. Add the amount of time it took you to get to Zion from where we parted to that." Trinity glanced out into the sewers that made up the real world as she finished. "Morpheus, I saw the sky. I saw the sun and the blue sky. It's there. It's really there."
Morpheus' eyebrows rose slightly at the emotion in the woman's voice. No one that was alive now had ever seen the real world's sky.
"What was it like?" Link asked, his eyes never leaving the dark expanse of tunnels.
"Like nothing I have ever seen before in the real world. It was so beautiful." Trinity smiled at the memory.
"Well, why don't we get something to eat and make sure Rogue stays put, this will be over and hour wait." Morpheus stood, smiling softly. "When we approach the site where we left you two, I'll send Trinity up here to guide you the rest of the way."
"Yes sir." Link replied, nodding as the others exited.
~~*~~
"Oh my God. This place is- I...holy shit." Link's eyes widened as Trinity guided the ship into the outskirts of 01.
"Neo, come on up here, you can see better than we can." Trinity called over the intercom.
Upon hearing Morpheus and Neo entering the cockpit, Link turned to Trinity.
"Uhhh, Trinity? He can't see."
"It's still as bright as it was last time. So much light." Neo broke in, allowing a small smile to grace his features before placing his hand on the back of Trinity's chair. "Over there. I can see the darker spot where the Logos crashed. Link, if you don't mind, I need to sit down."
"What? Why?" Link protested, his eyes flicking to all three crewmates.
"Just get out of the seat, Link." Trinity commanded, watching the Operator stand and allow Neo to sit.
Buckling his belt, Neo turned to Trinity. "Do you think they'll attack like last time?"
"No. They asked for us. Plus, we have peace." Trinity reasoned. "Over here?"
"Yeah. A little closer, and watch the rebars. We can't risk ruining another ship. Morpheus, why don't you contact Lock now? Then we'll be all set until we leave."
Morpheus leaned forward and picked up the headset. Tapping a few buttons, he furrowed his brow. Shaking his head he replaced the headset to its hook.
"This city must be interrupting all transmissions."
Morpheus and Link gripped the seats harder as Trinity lowered the ship to the ground with a rocking shudder.
"Let's go. Rogue!" Trinity called out, standing.
~~*~~
"Neo, there are, umm, what the hell are these things?" Link twisted around in a circle, watching a new type of machine, very small, much like a sentinel, jumping around him.
"Whatever they are, they're everywhere." Morpheus replied, his eyes flicking from the ground to the back of Trinity's head in front of him.
Neo stayed silent, Trinity and Rogue almost directly behind him, following his every step. As they came to the end of the pathway, Neo stopped, only a few feet from the edge. The others stopped further back, watching silently as a group of sentinels swarmed up, forming a face.
"You asked for me?"
"You have taken in one of our own that has been dismissed from our city. We have ostracized it, and you take it into your asylum! There are rules to peace and one of them is not to help out one of ours that should not be helped. It is considered treasonous to the peace." The group of sentinels spoke with a great thundering voice.
"Rules? You agree to have total peace with us, and yet you still try to give us rules to follow? I don't think so."
"It is written in your history, human. Humanity has it's own rules when two countries have a tentative peace. Are you going to tell me now that those are a lie?"
"This is a new life for humanity, you should understand that. We live differently from our predecessors. Have you learned anything from reading our history?"
"Silence! This machine was punished, and you went against its punishment of banishment. Machine 1020, come forward." The voice thundered, anger apparent in it's tone.
Rogue squeaked quietly before inching forward. Once he moved past Neo, an electrical charge shocked through him, causing him to let out a loud screech. Morpheus, Trinity and Link winced, covering their ears. Neo stood motionless, watching the light in silence.
"You broke your punishment of banishment by willingly going with these humans. You know the penalty for this."
Rogue emitted another screech high enough to cause even Neo to wince and stumble back a step. Neo's vision of light blurred as the light surrounding Rogue brightened until he was forced to turn away. Trinity looked up at Neo before she clamped her eyes shut at the bright light of electricity short- circuiting Rogue.
"Human. The One. There is a price to be paid for helping an exile." The voice thundered, allowing the crash of Rogue's lifeless metal shell to echo in the background from somewhere far below.
Neo turned and stood, facing the "face." Shaking his head, Neo took another step forward.
"We have peace. You have given the punishment where it was due. We did nothing wrong."
"You should not have taken it 1020 in." The thundering voice growled before another shock of electricity shot out, hitting Neo.
"Neo!!!!" Trinity screamed, only to feel Morpheus's strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back.
Neo let out a pained yell as he felt the electricity shoot through his veins, and ~my God~ out of his eyes. Suddenly, the pain ebbed, before ending completely.
"Go home human. We are done."
Neo dropped to his knees, a hand over his eyes, his breath labored. "No. We are not finished here." Neo stood, keeping his hand over his eyes. "Get this into your minds, and get it into them now. We are not at war, and you are not in control of us. Not here, not ever. I suggest that you refrain from threatening us and doling out punishment where YOU believe it is due. It is not. There is one world, and we live in it peacefully, not with a monarchy. Now, you live your way, and we'll live our way." Neo turned, feeling Trinity's arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him into her embrace.
A growl from the group of sentinels was heard, but nothing was said. Neo smiled softly before being led back to the Zenith.
~~*~~
"Neo, are you okay? How do you feel?" Morpheus asked once Link was flying the ship out of 01.
Neo was sitting on a table in the med lab, his head lowered. Raising it, he turned his head to Morpheus.
"I'm okay, a little sore, but something's different I'm healed." Neo replied.
"What do you mean?" Trinity asked, her face a mask of worry.
"I can see."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, don't kill me for Rogue. I needed to do something drastic. I hope you guys will understand.
Might as well respond (for the first time in my life) to reviews:
Sci-freak GrodySpork: As to whether Rogue has something to do with Trinity's fate, the idea I have in my head would say "no". Then again, I make it up as I go along.
Da Buffster: The first quote was Buffy to Giles in "Helpless." The second was Spike and Buffy in "The Gift." The third is Buffy to Dawn in "The Gift."
trinity 666: I was a Buffy an Spike shipper until the groundbreaking episode "Seeing Red." Now, I merely like both characters as they are, separate.
Onto the chapter...this took to damn long...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Neo what do you mean by that comment?" Morpheus inquired, seconding Lock's question.
"Well-" Neo's explanation was cut off as one of the guards burst in.
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've just obtained a transmission from the Poseidon. They received a message from inside the Matrix from the machines, asking to speak with Neo in 01." The man's face was flushed as he tried to regain his breath from an apparently long run.
"Thank you Thaddeus." Lock cast his glace upon Neo's unfocused eyes. "Neo, take the Zenith with his normal crew to 01. Report back to me every other hour, whether something has happened or not."
Neo nodded before exiting with Morpheus and Link. Walking down the hall, Neo grabbed Link's arm, stopping him.
"Go to Ghost's, get Trinity. Morpheus, can you start up the Zenith?" Neo turned towards where his captain was standing.
Morpheus nodded before remembering Neo couldn't see and replied quietly with a "yes."
~~*~~
"So he basically listens to only you and Neo?" Ghost asked, arching an eyebrow at the coiled sentinel, hovering in the corner.
"And never gives us a moments' peace. But that's beside the...Link! What's going on?" Trinity and Ghost turned at the sudden intrusion.
"Trinity, we're leaving on the Zenith. Meet Neo in your room." Link turned to leave, not bother to explain.
"Ghost-" Trinity turned back, standing up.
"No need to apologize. The war is merely on hold, not necessarily over. Take care." Ghost smiled softly as Trinity exited, Rogue on her heels, chattering quietly.
~~*~~
"Neo, why are we leaving? Link told me nothing. I would like to- Rogue, get the hell out of here. For once, wait outside." Trinity's anger flared up as the sentinel pushed in behind her, almost knocking her over.
The machine retreated outside quietly, a soft peep escaping as Trinity shut the door. Turning to Neo, watching him silently for a moment as he moved slowly towards the desk where their computer sat, Trinity sighed.
"Neo, talk to me."
"The Poseidon received a message from 01. They want to talk to me. Lock told me to take you, Link and Morpheus on the Zenith." Neo replied quickly, grabbing his back from the desk.
Trinity nodded and grabbed her own bag from beside the candle stand.
"Are you ready?"
"You didn't even unpack yet." Neo murmured, a sad smile gracing his face.
"I never do. Not really used to staying here long I guess." Trinity shrugged, walking the few steps to the door.
Opening it, Trinity saw Rogue hovering a few feet over the railing. Upon seeing her emerge, Rogue moved back another few feet, letting out a series of squeaks. Neo exited the room and shut the door before motioning with his hand for Rogue to follow them.
~~*~~
"All right Zion Control, we'll see you in under a day, hopefully." Link murmured into the mouthpiece before shutting off the comlink.
"How long until we reach 01?" Morpheus inquired, turning to where Neo was standing in the doorway of the cockpit.
"I'm not sure. It was more than half an hour from where you left us. I didn't have much understanding of space and time on the way." Neo shrugged. "Ask Trinity, she drove."
Morpheus turned further to see his second-in-command behind his chair.
"Less than 20 kilometers, but more than 45 minutes. Add the amount of time it took you to get to Zion from where we parted to that." Trinity glanced out into the sewers that made up the real world as she finished. "Morpheus, I saw the sky. I saw the sun and the blue sky. It's there. It's really there."
Morpheus' eyebrows rose slightly at the emotion in the woman's voice. No one that was alive now had ever seen the real world's sky.
"What was it like?" Link asked, his eyes never leaving the dark expanse of tunnels.
"Like nothing I have ever seen before in the real world. It was so beautiful." Trinity smiled at the memory.
"Well, why don't we get something to eat and make sure Rogue stays put, this will be over and hour wait." Morpheus stood, smiling softly. "When we approach the site where we left you two, I'll send Trinity up here to guide you the rest of the way."
"Yes sir." Link replied, nodding as the others exited.
~~*~~
"Oh my God. This place is- I...holy shit." Link's eyes widened as Trinity guided the ship into the outskirts of 01.
"Neo, come on up here, you can see better than we can." Trinity called over the intercom.
Upon hearing Morpheus and Neo entering the cockpit, Link turned to Trinity.
"Uhhh, Trinity? He can't see."
"It's still as bright as it was last time. So much light." Neo broke in, allowing a small smile to grace his features before placing his hand on the back of Trinity's chair. "Over there. I can see the darker spot where the Logos crashed. Link, if you don't mind, I need to sit down."
"What? Why?" Link protested, his eyes flicking to all three crewmates.
"Just get out of the seat, Link." Trinity commanded, watching the Operator stand and allow Neo to sit.
Buckling his belt, Neo turned to Trinity. "Do you think they'll attack like last time?"
"No. They asked for us. Plus, we have peace." Trinity reasoned. "Over here?"
"Yeah. A little closer, and watch the rebars. We can't risk ruining another ship. Morpheus, why don't you contact Lock now? Then we'll be all set until we leave."
Morpheus leaned forward and picked up the headset. Tapping a few buttons, he furrowed his brow. Shaking his head he replaced the headset to its hook.
"This city must be interrupting all transmissions."
Morpheus and Link gripped the seats harder as Trinity lowered the ship to the ground with a rocking shudder.
"Let's go. Rogue!" Trinity called out, standing.
~~*~~
"Neo, there are, umm, what the hell are these things?" Link twisted around in a circle, watching a new type of machine, very small, much like a sentinel, jumping around him.
"Whatever they are, they're everywhere." Morpheus replied, his eyes flicking from the ground to the back of Trinity's head in front of him.
Neo stayed silent, Trinity and Rogue almost directly behind him, following his every step. As they came to the end of the pathway, Neo stopped, only a few feet from the edge. The others stopped further back, watching silently as a group of sentinels swarmed up, forming a face.
"You asked for me?"
"You have taken in one of our own that has been dismissed from our city. We have ostracized it, and you take it into your asylum! There are rules to peace and one of them is not to help out one of ours that should not be helped. It is considered treasonous to the peace." The group of sentinels spoke with a great thundering voice.
"Rules? You agree to have total peace with us, and yet you still try to give us rules to follow? I don't think so."
"It is written in your history, human. Humanity has it's own rules when two countries have a tentative peace. Are you going to tell me now that those are a lie?"
"This is a new life for humanity, you should understand that. We live differently from our predecessors. Have you learned anything from reading our history?"
"Silence! This machine was punished, and you went against its punishment of banishment. Machine 1020, come forward." The voice thundered, anger apparent in it's tone.
Rogue squeaked quietly before inching forward. Once he moved past Neo, an electrical charge shocked through him, causing him to let out a loud screech. Morpheus, Trinity and Link winced, covering their ears. Neo stood motionless, watching the light in silence.
"You broke your punishment of banishment by willingly going with these humans. You know the penalty for this."
Rogue emitted another screech high enough to cause even Neo to wince and stumble back a step. Neo's vision of light blurred as the light surrounding Rogue brightened until he was forced to turn away. Trinity looked up at Neo before she clamped her eyes shut at the bright light of electricity short- circuiting Rogue.
"Human. The One. There is a price to be paid for helping an exile." The voice thundered, allowing the crash of Rogue's lifeless metal shell to echo in the background from somewhere far below.
Neo turned and stood, facing the "face." Shaking his head, Neo took another step forward.
"We have peace. You have given the punishment where it was due. We did nothing wrong."
"You should not have taken it 1020 in." The thundering voice growled before another shock of electricity shot out, hitting Neo.
"Neo!!!!" Trinity screamed, only to feel Morpheus's strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back.
Neo let out a pained yell as he felt the electricity shoot through his veins, and ~my God~ out of his eyes. Suddenly, the pain ebbed, before ending completely.
"Go home human. We are done."
Neo dropped to his knees, a hand over his eyes, his breath labored. "No. We are not finished here." Neo stood, keeping his hand over his eyes. "Get this into your minds, and get it into them now. We are not at war, and you are not in control of us. Not here, not ever. I suggest that you refrain from threatening us and doling out punishment where YOU believe it is due. It is not. There is one world, and we live in it peacefully, not with a monarchy. Now, you live your way, and we'll live our way." Neo turned, feeling Trinity's arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him into her embrace.
A growl from the group of sentinels was heard, but nothing was said. Neo smiled softly before being led back to the Zenith.
~~*~~
"Neo, are you okay? How do you feel?" Morpheus asked once Link was flying the ship out of 01.
Neo was sitting on a table in the med lab, his head lowered. Raising it, he turned his head to Morpheus.
"I'm okay, a little sore, but something's different I'm healed." Neo replied.
"What do you mean?" Trinity asked, her face a mask of worry.
"I can see."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, don't kill me for Rogue. I needed to do something drastic. I hope you guys will understand.