A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I'm in the last few weeks of rehearsals for my show, and I'm really sick. Hope you guys are still reading. Space Between should be updated this afternoon too, so look for that.

CHAPTER 5: Duty

Neo was already awake when the knock came, though it was the middle of the night. He hardly slept anymore, was still haunted by nightmares, though he wanted nothing more than to slip into the dark oblivion of sleep, it would not come. At first he thought he'd imagined the sound, that the pounding on the door was really the pounding in his head, but then it grew louder.

"Neo? Trinity!" The voice was Link's, and filled with desperation.

Neo sat bolt upright, pulling himself away from Trinity who was still asleep, exhausted by the day's events. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and attempted to make it to the door without waking her, but he somehow got off track and bumped into a chair, knocking it over with a crash. His left knee instantly sang with needles of pain.

"Neo?" It was Trinity's voice, filled with concern. "Neo, are you all right?"

"Yeah," he managed, gingerly feeling his knee. Bruised, he decided, no worse. "Door, Trin."

The light went on, but it made little difference. Things had gotten somewhat clearer, he decided, though it was still little more than nondescript shapes. He felt Trinity brush past him, and heard the door creak open a moment later.

"What is it, Link? What's wrong?"

Neo picked the chair and found his cane by the side of the bed before making his way over to Trinity.

"It's Morpheus," he heard Link say.

"Oh, jesus…is it bad?"

"Like the others…it's like…it's like he's jacked in and can't get out. The Council's called an emergency meeting."

"When?" asked Neo.

"Now."

It was only a short walk through the dark tunnels of the city to the Council chamber. Neo had been there so many times at this point that he had nearly memorized the way, but it was still hard to navigate the uneven floors. His heart sped up as they neared the door; coming here never meant good news.

Trinity grabbed his arm and led him up the stepped risers that lined one wall of the council chamber. Neo managed to stumble up several rows before settling beside her. She slid in closer than was truly necessary, but he wasn't about to complain.

"It has now been nearly three weeks since the discovery of this…virus…in Patient Zero. Since then, there have been nearly one hundred instances in both pod-borns and native Zionites." Councilor Hamann sounded flustered. "And now Morpheus, one of our very best, has fallen ill as well. Because of the apparent virility of this new threat, and our inability to treat it, the Council requests that a ship be sent to the machine city to see if they are behind the cause of this."

There was a pause as the Council members discussed something in further detail. Neo leaned forward, attempting to hear, but the acoustics of the room were bad and they were simply too far away for him to make any kind of sense out of it.

"Ordinarily," Councilor Hamann resumed, "I would send Captain Morpheus, since he is our most experienced captain. However, due to his recent illness, that will not be possible. And in the aftermath of the war…the Council thought it would be wise to create an entirely new ship and crew. Trinity."

Neo felt her tense beside him, then stand up. He shuddered at the Councilor's words and crossed his arms over his chest.

"The Council asks that you accept a promotion, and become captain of an entirely new ship, the Athena. Your mission is to make contact with the machines in their city. It is up to you to choose a crew for your ship if you accept."

Neo bit his lip and clenched his fists still crossed under his arms. A wave of dread swept over him, like a ton of lead. Images from his nightmares swam in the depths of his mind.

No, no, can't go back there…not again…not when…

"All right."

The words hit him like a ton of bricks, shattering the calm he'd been working to build up over the past few weeks.

"I'm ready, Trin."

Trinity sighed and looked up from the pile of clothes she was attempting to fit into a very small duffel bag. He was standing by the bed, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, his cane in his other hand. She forced herself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Neo, you're not going."

He looked like he'd just been slapped. He slowly lowered the duffel bag to the floor and sank down onto the bed.

"Trinity…"

"You're not. I can't let you. Not after…everything."

Neo stood up and came over to her, walking with surprising ease. He took her by the shoulders and fixed her with those dark eyes. She shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny.

"Trinity, I can't let you go back there alone. It's too hard…not knowing…I couldn't take…losing you again." His voice still had that weak, broken sound to it.

"Neo, you're not going to lose me. There's nothing dangerous about this mission. But I'm not…I can't let you go." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized how unconvincing they sounded.

He sighed and went back over to the bed, sitting down hard and crossing his arms over his chest. He was irritated. Trinity followed him over and attempted to put a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away roughly.

"So I'm not good enough for this mission but you are? Look, Trin, I know the majority of this city thinks I'm useless, but you…"

"Neo, that's not what this is about and you know it," she snapped, the words coming more harshly than she'd intended. "This is my duty, you know that. I have to accept this mission. It's why I'm here."

"Is it?" he asked softly. "Or do you just want to get away from Zion? Away from your new life…pretend you're still someone."

"Neo!" The words were like a punch in the stomach.

"What, Trinity? You think this is easy for me, letting you go off like this?"

"Neo, you're not letting me do anything. It's my choice. I don't belong to you, you know."

She regretted it the instant the words were out of her mouth, but she was too angry to apologize. An awkward silence fell, then, neither one of them wanting to worsen the damage.

"I see you die," he whispered at last, his voice barely audible.

"What?"

"Every time I close my eyes, every time I fall asleep, I see…" he trailed off, voice breaking noticeably.

"Oh, jesus, Neo." Trinity sat down beside him on the bed, his words turning her legs to rubber.

He turned suddenly and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"I can't do this, Trin. I can't…say goodbye."

She sighed again, then kissed him gently.

"God damn it, Neo…come with me…who am I kidding."

He offered her a weak smile, then stood up, shouldering his duffel bag again.

"All right then, let's go see this new ship…captain."

Review please, cuz I'm sick and it'll make me feel better!