I am so sorry it took me this long! **Begs everyone's forgiveness** But Ishmael told me about a Matrix message board in The Construct, and I got to reading... and it just kinda sucks you in, ya know? Some of them get all off-topic, and they're really funny. One thread got so off topic that people started discussing which character from Winnie the Pooh would fit best with each character from the Matrix. **giggles** But, anyhow, here's the next chapter.

Revised version of the chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Five

Destiny

***

Some would call her deep for it. Others would call her scatterbrained. But it didn't matter which term was the correct description. The fact was, Trinity could often be found lost amongst her own thoughts. She would mull over whatever was on her mind, trying to find the answers to her questions.

There were always questions. Always.

But wasn't that how it was? If there were no questions, no problems needing solutions, she would not be where she was today. It was the question that drove her. Where the path it led her down would lead, she wasn't quite sure. She tried to think back, to remember just how many times she had made inquiries into the truth. And to where she might be today, had she not asked.

"Hey, Trin," Switch greeted. Her voice jumped slightly as she sat next to her friend. It was a lunch break in mid-April, and everyone was out on the rooftop of the three-story school building, enjoying it.

"Hey," she replied, seemingly only half-aware of what she was saying. She wasn't enjoying the weather.

"Trinity." Her voice was stronger now, to break her friend out of the trance. After a moment, thoughtful, ice-blue eyes looked up to meet hers. "What is it? You said you wanted to talk to me."

She looked away, quiet for another minute or two. "I was over at David's house yesterday, on-line," she stated, slowly, carefully. "I found something on the Matrix. A new message board posting."

Switch's interest suddenly perked, and she straightened up. "Well?" she asked anxiously. "What was it? What did it say?"

She ran her fingers slowly through her jet-black hair, reciting the words from memory. "'The Resistance files are hidden within the database of the IRS.'"

There was a brief moment of silence. "IRS D-Base? Why would they be there, mixed in with tax records and everything?"

"I don't know. Maybe because no one would think to look there. But apparently, someone did. And it just might pay off."

"You're not actually thinking..." she stammered, knowing where this was going, "of hacking it, are you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? Trinity," she lowered her voice urgently, leaning in so that no one would overhear, "the IRS isn't some school mainframe, it's a government system. Besides the fact that you'll never get in, they'll catch you if you so much as try!"

"I know -"

"And they won't care that you're just sixteen, Trinity, they'll charge you as an adult for something like this! Do you have any idea how long you'd be in prison for that kind of thing?" Her voice was urgent, and serious, but it had yet to become hasty or irrational.

"I know, Switch -"

"And let's just bend all of known reality for about a second, and say that you somehow managed to get inside, and found those files. What if the Matrix is some big government thing that they don't want anyone to know about? What do you think they'd do if you did find out?"

"I don't know," she said at last, quietly.

"God, Trinity," Switch said quietly, trying to keep herself from yelling at her for so much as considering something so stupid. "Why the hell are you so obsessed with this? This isn't some virtual reality computer game, this is real, and it's dangerous."

Trinity looked away for a moment, composing herself. "I told you how that woman in the park knew so much about me, right?"

"Yes," came the slow, quiet reply.

She turned her face to look her straight in the eye. "Did I ever tell you what she said when I asked her how she knew?"

She shook her head slowly. That part had never been discussed, until now.

"She told me that I wouldn't understand. That I wouldn't believe her if she told me. But that I would in about a year." She paused for a moment, studying her friend's face. "It's been almost a year, Switch."

"So..." she said quietly, after a long silence. "So you think this is your... destiny or something?"

"I think that she knew that something like this would happen if I looked for Morpheus. I think she knew something that I didn't. And I think that I'm closer to an answer than ever."

Both were quiet for a long moment, Switch shaking her head in exasperation. "You are the single most suicidal person I have ever met." She looked up at Trinity with a small, sad smile. "Did you know that?"

"No."

"Well, you are," she sighed. "I swear, I would not put it past you to jump out the window of a skyscraper."

Trinity shook her head slowly, as small smirk on her face, until -

"Oh, no," she groaned. "Not again."

Jacob Cromwell was a name that was well known, and feared, around their high school. He had been held back once or twice, and had only been promoted to junior last year. So he was, understandably, bigger than most everyone else was. Within the last few months, however, something had happened that had made him even worse than before. No one had yet figured out what it was exactly, but he was taking it out on every freshman that so much as looked at him wrong.

Today's unlucky victim: a small brunette girl with glasses, who had accidentally bumped into him, dropping the books she was carrying. Jacob, being the bully that he was, was making a huge scene out of it.

"This has got to be the tenth time this month," Switch said quietly, watching. "At least."

"I'm getting really sick of him."

The young girl was hurriedly trying to pick up her things and apologize, all the while being yelled at and berated for her clumsiness.

"Bright side," she said, glaring at him even though he couldn't see, "he's probably just as fed up with you as you are with him."

She was timidly trying to back away and leave, but was grabbed roughly by the arm. Seeing that things had suddenly gotten a lot more serious, Trinity was instantly on her feet, weaving her way around the mingling students. Her eyes remained fixed on the incident not far in front of her. The freshman was shrinking back in fear, unable to find a way out of the situation on her own.

"Hey," she said firmly, stepping between the two, "is there a problem?"

"Yeah," Jacob's growled, his anger now directed at Trinity. "You."

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head just slightly, looking at the girl with a hint of reassurance. "You okay?" she asked quietly. She received a small nod as the girl clutched her books tightly to her chest.

"Move, Harper!" he almost yelled. "I wasn't finished with her!"

"It was a simple mistake." The lethal edge to her voice was becoming more obvious. "I'm sure she'll watch where she's going from now on."

"Hard to watch where you're going when you can't walk, now MOVE."

"She apologized. I don't think there's any need to go into this further." She turned around, ushering the freshmen girl away.

"You're really starting to hit a nerve with me!"

"Likewise," she said over her shoulder.

She turned to leave, not letting the worry show on her face. He was always pissed every time she intercepted him, but this was different. Something had changed. Something in his face and voice that she could not place.

"You fail to realize on thing, Harper," he said in a low, angry voice. "I came prepared for you this time."

Prepared? What did that mean?

***

Switch watched the events unfold from the bench, one knee drawn up, drumming on the other with her fingers. Same as usual:

Jacob bullies freshmen, she and Trinity watch lividly, Trin goes over and brakes it up, Jacob has a hissy-fit for the rest of the day.

Why Trinity did some of the things she did was well beyond even her best friend. But, for some reason, she seemed to think that it was her personal mission to protect everyone. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. A dozen or so times before they had met, a few more times in middle school... and, not to be forgotten, it was just that fact that wanted to help so much that fueled her interest in the Matrix. And it was that which made her forever insistent that something was wrong.

Much like something was wrong right now. Something about Jacob was different, and it didn't take Trinity's skills to see it. He was always angry after she pulled a potential victim from his reach, but this was different. This time he was more... dangerous. As if -

"Oh, God," she whispered, freezing as she saw what he pulled out of his pocket.

***

"Him again?" Silver asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the side of the operator's chair.

"Yeah," Tank said, shaking his head. "I wish I could see his face. Must be pretty funny."

But Silver wasn't listening. Instead she was watching the cascading lines of green code, reading them quickly, and grinning slightly at how calm their prospect was being about it. "That girl's got some self-control," she noted admiringly. "Personally, I would have killed him after two or three dozen times."

She received no response.

"Tank?"

He had been still and quiet for a moment, but then reached out to the double keyboards, typing in commands. "What is that?" he whispered to himself as he focused in on the coding of the two people.

Silver scanned it carefully, looking for whatever it was that he had seen. "Tank, what...." Her eyes suddenly widened, spotting the small strand of code as it appeared on the screen. "Oh, shit."

***

Despite the sudden heaviness of the air, the sudden tension in her muscles at his words, Trinity kept her hand on the younger girl's back, gently pushing her forward. Her mind, however, was moving rapidly, trying to discern what he meant. I came prepared for you this time. Whatever he meant by it, it couldn't be good.

"Amelia!" came Switch's voice from across the rooftop, then a small metallic swish behind her - and everything clicked.

She spun around, barely sweeping her arm fast enough to deflect the knife that was aimed at her stomach. In the same motion, she grabbed his fist with her other hand, holding it still as she delivered a swift kick to his forearm. The pain it inflicted was enough to take away his control over his hand, making him drop the knife.

Ignoring it momentarily, he swung a punch at her with his left hand. But she moved faster, blocking it with the side of her arm.

The anger on his face became more visible as he realized that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally thought. He sent another chaotic punch at her, this time aiming for her face, but she caught it in her hands. He pulled his arm back, preparing for another hit. Trinity seized the opening, delivering a sharp uppercut to his jaw, and punch in the stomach.

He reeled backward slightly, anger turning to pure, unchecked rage. He came at her again.

Fine, she thought. If he wasn't going to back down when he had the chance, if he wouldn't quit while he was already miles behind.... She would make him regret it.

She twisted down and out of the way as he swung at her again. Having hit nothing but air, he nearly lost his balance, and stumbled as he tried to regain it.

The perfect opportunity. Trinity jumped straight up in the air, spinning as she went. Just as she came around to face him, she executed a perfect - and rather painful - side kick, directly to his face.

She landed with an unnatural and cat-like grace, waiting a moment before standing again. Jacob, on the other hand, had fallen flat on his back, moaning in pain. He didn't seem to realize that there was blood coming from his nose.

Trinity glared at him superiorly, angrily. "And you fail to realize that I know Kung Fu," she said in a low, quiet voice. Although, with how deathly silent it had become, everyone had heard it.

"Miss Harper!" Her head snapped up at the infuriated voice that called to her.

Principal.

***

"Okay," Phoenix said with a low whistle, standing up straighter. "She's good. She is really good."

"She so kicked his ass." Silver laughed slightly in amazement.

"Can't wait to see her once she's gotten a little training," Apoc mused.

However, whereas the rest of her crew wore smiles of awe, Niobe's face carried a sullen, grim frown. She and Morpheus stood at the back of the small group, and he did not miss the look.

"Do you believe me now?" he whispered, low enough so that only she would hear.

She would have liked to throw some witty rebuke at him, but knew that it wouldn't be situation-appropriate. It was more a matter of if she wanted to believe him. Part of her wanted to believe in the One. Like she had told him so many times before, she wanted there to be someone to end the war. Someone with such a mind that they could manipulate whatever they wanted within the Matrix. She wanted to believe that everything would be okay in the end.

But then her rational side would kick in. The side that got her out of every battle alive, the side that made her a great leader... the side that always seemed to win. It nagged at her mind, telling her not to get her hopes up. Telling her that the higher your hopes, the farther you fell when you were proved wrong. Furthermore, it constantly reminded her that she didn't believe that one single person could possibly stop the machines and destroy the prison they had created for humanity. After all, hadn't the first One only been able to free a few people, only start things off on the right foot? What was to make anything different this time around?

As much as she didn't want it to be, Niobe's rational side always seemed to be more compelling. Even now. Yet somehow, despite that -

"I'm beginning to."

"I don't believe it," Tank said, a grin growing wider and wider on his face as he examined the coding. "She gave him a fractured arm -"

***

"- and a broken nose!" He was pacing the floor of his office angrily, ignoring every word that came out of Trinity's mouth.

"As I've told you before, Principal Hollander," she said, fighting very hard to maintain herself, "I was acting in self-defense. He came at me with a knife, what else -"

"You don't seem to realize, Miss Harper, that this establishment, unlike those you may have previously attended -" it was all Trinity could do to keep from losing it when he made such a remark, quite obviously pertaining to her 'social class' "- prides itself on being safe. I have been principal at this school for twelve years, and in that time, there have been less than a dozen fights, and none of them were particularly serious. Until today."

He stopped his pacing, and turned to look down at her as if she were something he might scrape off the bottom of his shoe. "I had always thought the best of you, Miss Harper. That's why I offered you a scholarship to attend this school, because I trusted that you would be a good addition to the student body."

"You offered me a scholarship," she growled, dangerously close to her breaking point, "because every other person here has an IQ equal to that of a five-year-old!"

"But apparently, that trust was misplaced. I had thought you were above attacking someone simply because they were a bit angry with you."

"I did not start that fight," Trinity said, standing up in anger. "I only did what I did because he had a knife, and he was going to use it! Ask Kelly Miller, she'll tell you!"

"Your friend," said the vice principal as she closed the door to the office, "has been escorted back to class. The office staff was getting a bit tired of her very rude insistences that you did nothing wrong."

"It's two against one, and you're going to believe Cromwell?"

"Jacob," said Principal Hollander, loosing his patience with her, "is very lucky that you didn't give him a concussion."

"I did not -"

"That's quite enough, Miss Harper. You are in enough trouble as it is, but seeing as how I have an injured student to deal with, you will have to wait. So until I can deal with you, you're going back to class."

"For the thousandth time -"

"That's quite enough! Now, are you going to go to class on your own, or will you have to be escorted there like your friend?"

Fuming, Trinity snatched her backpack up from the floor, and stormed out of the office.

***

Trinity spun the combination on her locker, so enraged that she could barely concentrate on the numbers. Why wouldn't they believe her? There were a hundred people who had seen what had happened. They all hated Jacob Cromwell so much that they would undoubtedly be on her side. And surely they had found the knife that had almost ended up in her stomach. So why would they think that he was the victim?

She moved mechanically, not focusing on the books she was putting in her backpack. She froze when her eyes landed on her motorcycle helmet. She was still for over a minute, weighing her two options as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Really, what harm would it do? If she stayed, she would probably be expelled, and she could only guess what would happen when her father found out. But if she left.... She had been told that she would understand in a year, and this was just the opportunity she needed.

Without a second though, she grabbed the helmet and slammed her locker shut. She headed straight to the double-doors that lead out of the building.

***

Switch stared at the clock, tapping her fingers slightly on the desk. The vice principal had told her that Trinity would be sent back to class in a few minutes, and the bell was going to ring any second. What was taking so long?

***

She emptied the contents of her backpack onto her desk, making sure everything was out. It was then left open on her bed.

Trinity opened her closet doors, grabbing the first four or five shirts she saw. She tossed them into a messy pile on her bed, then turned back to pick out a few pairs of blue jeans.

***

Switch leaned around the corner, carefully scanning the office for any sign of her friend. She found none. She hadn't been in class, and she wasn't in the office.

She let out a long breath as she leaned against the wall. Trinity, you better not be where I think you are.

On each floor, there was a small alcove beside the main staircase of the school. In it was a single payphone. The one on the ground floor was being used by a scrawny little freshmen boy. Normally, Switch would have gone to another one, but she didn't have the time now.

"He'll call you back," she said into the receiver. She put the phone back on the hook, feeling around in her pocket for a quarter.

"Hey!" he yelled. He had a squeaky voice. "I was talking!"

"Well, you can call them back later." She pulled two quarters from her pocket. "Here," she said sarcastically, handing him one, "I'll even be nice and give you the money for it."

She put the other quarter into the phone and began dialing the number. She noticed that the younger boy was still there. "Goodbye."

"All right, all right."

She punched in the last three digits, pacing as it began to ring.

***

Trinity flicked on the bathroom light, digging through the medicine cabinet for her things. Just as she had pulled out her toothbrush and floss, the phone rang. Quickly depositing her things on the bed beside her clothes, she made it back out to the hallway just in time to answer the phone on the last ring.

"Hello?"

"Trinity, why the hell are you at home?" she asked, palpable anger in her voice.

"I'm fine, Switch, and you?"

"Trinity. It's not like you to do this."

She sighed heavily. "I'm not staying here anymore, Switch. I'm just not."

***

She stopped short at those words, staring off into space incredulously. "You're running away?"

"Yes, to be blunt about it," Trinity said calmly. "I'm running away. I don't see any reason to stay here anymore, so I'm leaving."

"The hell you are!" she nearly yelled, immediately switching from her usual, calm demeanor to her serious one."

"I am. And you might want to stick with that attitude for a while. Someone'll have to keep Jacob Cromwell away from the freshmen, seeing as how he's not about to be expelled. Feel free to beat him into a bloody pulp if he sets a toe out of line."

"No, no, I won't," she said, rambling now. She did that when she was really angry. "I would only have to take care of Cromwell if you weren't around, but we both know I won't have to, because you aren't going anywhere!"

***

Trinity let out her breath slowly, calming herself. It was just like Switch. Always kept an eye out for people she cared for. And she always stepped in when they were about to do something stupid. Of course, it was normally only Trinity who did something she deemed as stupid. Like now.

"There's no reason for me to stay here anymore," she repeated. "I might as well try to find someplace where I can do something useful."

"Do you remember what I said about you being suicidal?" Switch wasn't listening. "Add stupid to that."

"I just think that if I leave now, I might be able find some answers -"

"Oh, not this crap again!"

***

Switch paced around the floor, going as far as the short phone cable would let her. Why did Trinity have to be so stubborn? Couldn't she just be normal and figure her life out when she was in her twenties, like everyone else?

"She told me that I would -"

"- understand in a year? Yeah, I know that, Trinity, you've told me a thousand times! I cannot believe that you're actually doing something this stupid based off of something said to you by some old woman - who, if I might ad, you only knew for all of five minutes!"

"Switch -"

"I am this close to coming down there, Trinity."

"Go ahead," she said exasperatedly. "Come down here and tie me to a chair until I come to my senses."

"You think I'm kidding," she mumbled angrily.

"All right. You can come if you want, but I'll be gone by the time you get here."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Trinity...."

***

"Look, Switch," she said. Her voice was more serious now, but at the same time more calm. "I know..." she sighed, struggling to find the right words. "I know that you don't understand how I feel about this. And I don't think I can explain it, but... I just know that this is what I have to do. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is."

***

She leaned against the wall, quietly thinking for a long moment. "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

She could almost feel Trinity shake her head over the phone. "No," she said kindly, sympathetically.

"Will you at least let me know where you are once you get there?"

"Sure. If I can."

Switch sighed heavily. "Okay. And Trin?"

"Hmm?"

"Be careful," she said, smiling slightly. "I don't want to be watching the news and hear about how they found some unidentified sixteen-year-old girl's body."

"All right," she agreed, with one of her quiet, rare laughs. "Bye, Switch."

"Bye." She hung up the phone slowly, wondering what Trinity had just gotten herself into.

***

Trinity herself was wondering the same thing. She went back to her room and began folding the clothes, then putting them in her backpack.

Maybe this was what they meant when they said "The first day of the rest of your life."

She zipped her bag closed. Putting on her vinyl gloves, she looked around, searching for anything she may have forgotten. But she already had everything she would need.

So this was really it. She was really doing this. It hit her out of the blue what she was about to do. The path she was about to take. Maybe this was all part of her purpose. The thing that life created you for, making you in such a way that you would want, more than anything, to fulfill it. Were that the case, then her purpose was to help people. She wasn't sure how she was to do it yet, but maybe you weren't supposed to until the time came.

Trinity paused for a moment, remembering her the thoughts that had occupied her mind only short hours before. Yes, it was the question that drove her. It was the questions that shaped her destiny. For destiny was the sum of every choice you had ever made. Destiny was the future that you created for yourself, the path you created through life. It was a path that was ever-changing, but most often staying relatively the same, holding true to your purpose.

Perhaps what the woman in the park had said so long ago was true. She had told Trinity that, in a year's time, she might understand everything. Learn the answers to all the questions she had never been able to resolve. It had been, roughly, a year's time. Maybe Switch was right in her joking; maybe that woman was an Oracle. She didn't know. She knew only that she had known Trinity's questions. She had been a guide, showing her where she might find answers. Perhaps the woman had guided her, knowing that she wanted to right whatever was wrong with the world, to a path that would allow her to do that just that. Maybe, just maybe, she could make a difference in the world, as she had always known she was meant to do.

For all she knew, Trinity could very well be taking the first steps on the path she would walk for the rest of her life.

***

And so it begins.

And one little note: If Trinity's life seems to be anything but normal in this fic, there's two reasons for it. One: Trinity herself is anything but normal, so do you really think her life is going to be normal, even before she starts living on a cold dark ship in the middle of abandoned sewers? Two: When I write, not only do I go out on a limb, but once I'm there, I grow a whole new tree and set up camp over there. :)

**Looks at clock** wow. Only 10:30. It's normally after two when I update.... **sighs** I have to acclimate myself to normal sleeping patterns before school starts.

R+R!! :)