Again, long time since the last update…but I won't go into details about this chapter or the last one. Just remember one thing, every Buffy quote I choose, I choose for reason that specifically relates to events within the chapter (just in case you didn't figure it out).

"Everything that has a beginning has an end."

"Buffy... please... listen to me. You told me I had to be strong... and I've tried. But it's been so hard without you. I'm sorry. I promise I'll do better, I will! If you're with me. Stay with me... please. I need you to live." – Dawn in "Bargaining Part 2"

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"It's just... I know I can't... on some level... it's like my opinion isn't worth anything because I haven't been through... I didn't lose my mom, so I don't know."

"Well... I-I'm not the expert. I mean, I've only lost the one." – Willow and Tara in "Tough Love"

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"It is. You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her. You just gotta go through me."

"What?"

"You heard me. You wanna take Tara out of here against her will? You gotta come through me."

"And me!"

"Is this a joke? I'm not gonna be threatened by two little girls."

"You don't wanna mess with us."

"She's a hair-puller."

"And... you're not just dealing with, uh, two little girls."

"You're dealing with all of us."

"This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We... are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?"

"We're family." – Buffy and the Scoobies v. Mr. Maclay in "Family"

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Life for Neo should've been over after the war-ending battle with Agent Smith, but no, something somewhere didn't think it was his time. But it was! Trinity was dead, my reason for living gone. Why did I live? Neo's thoughts, a mangled mix of depression, pain and confusion, would plague his brain every day since he left. Now, with his return and acceptance into the group of people he called "family", the nightmarish thoughts had suddenly disappeared.

Sleep would only come to Neo in restless fragments. It may be because he was back in Zion, or possibly because he had been unable to get a sound night's sleep in ten years. Rubbing his eyes, Neo felt the old scars from the electrical burning he had endured so long ago. As he sat up, he could hear muffled sounds coming from the room next to his. Within seconds, he realized what was going on and smiled softly. Pulling on his boots and a second shirt, Neo exited his room. Walking towards the lifts, Neo couldn't help noticing how silent Zion was. What with so many people living on the surface, only the older soldiers- the ones who would never trust the machines' word, and would desire to stay in the most protected place- still resided within these caverns.

The ride up in the lift left Neo feeling disoriented, but he exited nonetheless. Turning to his right- and not truly knowing where he was going, Neo almost ran into Ghost. The each man looked the other over for a moment before Ghost spoke.

"Can't sleep?"

Neo allowed his mouth to twitch slightly before nodding, keeping silent.

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"Still can't sleep? You wanna talk?"

"They're just dreams."

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Ghost cocked his head to one side, a signal for Neo to walk with him. As they began walking, Ghost continued.

"I remember, a long time ago, when Trinity could not sleep. She would lie awake at night, restless, plagued by dreams of a white light surrounding a man. It was only later on that she would admit that she knew this dream was of the One, because later on, the dream became more real. When she finally began watching you in the Matrix, the dreams went away."

Neo looked over at Ghost, knowing how painful a subject of this type was for him.

"Dreams are funny things. It is believed by many that only through dreams, can one truly understand themselves, for the conscious state is filled with confusion and imperfection. That is why so many decide not to question the reality that is the Matrix. They feel that, that world is safer than this world, even if it is a dream world. Then there are those who understand the consequences of waking up from their dream, and are willing to wake up, even if it is a much more dangerous world. It is the simple fact that they are awake that drives them past fearing reality."

As Ghost trailed off, they turned a corner, only to see a long, dark hallway ahead of them. Continuing their walk, Neo spoke, watching the floor before turning his head to look at Ghost.

"I know all of this Ghost, I have heard it many times from many people. Make I ask, what is your point?"

Ghost stopped walking, and waited for Neo to stop and turn to face him before replying.

"Sometimes people take the chance of waking up without thinking about the consequences. Those consequences may be short term, or they may not appear for quite some time, years even. The point is, if that person does not consider that there will be problems and pain and sadness in the conscious state because of the imperfection that is reality, then when something occurs that does hurt them, they will fear the waking state."

Neo narrowed his eyes slightly, but could only sigh. It was funny, to think that a choice made relatively quickly so many years ago would actually affect how good of a parent he would be.

"Ghost-"

"Neo," Ghost softly cut Neo off, wanting to finish, "I do not blame you for your actions, because I do not know what I would have done if I were you. I cannot judge you for fearing a world without the closest people to you, but I am saddened that you would not try talking to the other people that cared for you before you left."

Neo cast his eyes off into the shadows, his eyes unfocused.

"You wouldn't have understood."

"Why not? Because Trinity was not my partner or because I am not the One?"

Neo whipped his head around quickly, his eyes wide with shock and anger.

"Do you really think that was the reason for my leaving? Everyone knew I had visited the Oracle right after Trinity's death, and yet no one had even thought to ask her what had transpired while I was there?" Neo let his shoulders sag, shaking his head. "I would never have left my kids, ever, with or without Trinity. I love them too much."

Ghost pursed his lips, taking this in slowly, not completely comprehending how important Neo's abandonment had been to the bigger picture that was mankind's future.

"Then why did you leave?"

"Because Paz had to grow up without me. It was integral to her power as the future One that would fully unify all of mankind. It was so hard, to hear from the Oracle that Trinity had to die, it really wasn't an accident or plain revenge, but she had to die. We were never supposed to survive past the end of the war, I should never have brought her back in the first place, but once an action is done, it cannot be undone, so a whole new rulebook must be made, and Paz was the key to it. If I stayed by her the whole time instead of just her brother, then she would have been weaker for it. Trinity once told me that she was shifted around as a child, never staying in one home too long. Her mother died when she was two, and her father was always working, so she almost never saw him. She grew up alone, and you can vouch for it, you knew her longer, she was one tough woman."

Ghost nodded, a hint of a smile gracing his face.

"Yes, she was tough form the moment she was freed. She lived in the lesser publicized areas of the city with her father, working at a local auto repair shop, and she knew how to handle herself fine even without the combat training programs."

"So you understand, just how much she is like Trinity. It was the only way she would survive. That doesn't mean I didn't regret leaving every day of my life, I did, but every time I began to set a course for Zion, I would remember that last meeting with the Oracle, and I would stop. I was told that I would have to wait for Paz to find me. When I first left, I could never think of her being anything other than just a child, but now, as a young woman, I understand how she would be able to find me."

Ghost nodded in agreement before rubbing his chin as if in thought.

"Isn't it odd that the people we would never expect to waste their time on us, are so willing to give up everything to find us?"

Neo smiled softly, thinking of those that did just that for him: Morpheus, Trinity, Switch, Apoc, Mouse, hell even Cypher- and now Paz.

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Sometimes there are moments where that dim ray of hope flickers, appearing to go out. It is then where you learn who you are, for only in the darkness, seemingly alone, can you consciously silence all thoughts, and find the hope within you. The minds in the Matrix will never know this, for fear of the problems they would face in the real world. They shudder and tremble, pulling away from the looking glass, too afraid to see the truth beyond it, for fear of being hurt. Those that do tumble down that rabbit hole into pink goo find the harsh world that is reality, and they face it, head on, whether they fear it or not. It is the notion of hope, which brings both happiness and sorrow with it, that makes the unplugged get up every day. Neo learned this a long time ago, and now, standing back in his room, not forty feet from either Emmanuel or Paz, he knew that, despite the sacrifices, sometimes, the choice that looks wrong, and you do not want to choose, is the one that will make it all right in the end.

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That is it; the end of the story…but wait, there's more! For I came into this fic w/ a Buffy song, and I'll be damned if I leave without one!