Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine.

Chapter 3

"Nysa?" Trinity searched frantically in every alcove, under every table and chair for her 4-year-old daughter. "Nysa, this is not funny. Come here right now!" The little girl had an affinity for hiding and wandering off. It wasn't that she enjoyed making her mother worry or that she thought it was funny when her father crawled around to look for her, she just sometimes liked to be alone. Whether it was under her parents' bed or buried beneath a pile of blankets, she embraced solitude wherever she could find it. It gave her time to think, mostly about what she would do when she was older; time to plan, how to get out of her afternoon nap or convince Zee she was big enough to hold the new baby; or time to simply be.

People who didn't know her very well may have thought she was a rebellious child, too independent for her own good. They heard someone calling her name and thought to themselves, off doing what she wants again, just like her obstinate mother. In reality though she was much more like her father, thinking and feeling too much, but never sure how to share it with others, preferring instead to keep it all to herself.

When she truly needed to be alone and felt there was no where safe to hide, no one place she wouldn't surely be found, she would leave her apartment and wander throughout Zion. This had been happening almost since she had learned how to walk, so though most people upon recognizing her would return her to her home and the waiting arms of her parents, no one thought it was terribly strange for a small child to walk the tunnels alone. Zion was, of course, a relatively safe place. It's not as though children were often abducted or caught in some sort of violent crossfire like so often occurred inside the Matrix. And most of its inhabitants knew each other, even if only through others. Nearly everyone knew Nysa as well, though few ever introduced themselves or even spoke to her, because she was the only child of the One. In Zion that was about as close to being royalty as one could get.

Though it seemed a safe place and mothers all over the city allowed their children to run free, Neo and Trinity knew that their daughter should not be out alone. In the time following the truce between man and machine, much speculation surrounded this couple. There were people who doubted their dedication to the cause, despite the fact that both of them still worked to free people from the Matrix, still entered in an attempt to show the unenlightened the myths that surrounded them, still risked being caught by rogue agents or attacked by disgruntled nonbelievers. There were also those who believed that they had returned simply to give birth to Nysa, to bring her into the world for some ultimate purpose. And if it was the machines that allowed, even enabled them to do so, perhaps her purpose was to somehow act on behalf of them, on behalf of the Matrix. Nysa's parents were well aware of the suspicions surrounding their little family and worried that she may be at risk as a result.

"Nysa!" After checking all her usual haunts and finding no trace of her daughter, Trinity was beginning to panic. This wasn't an unusual occurrence of course since the girl would wander off probably once a week or so, but she had been preoccupied with other things, working while she thought Nysa was sleeping, and had no idea how long she might have been missing.

"Trinity?" Niobe came up behind her in the hall outside her door.

"She's doing it again," she said angrily, though Niobe detected more concern than anything else in her voice. "Second time this week. I thought she was sleeping, but when I realized it was too quiet…she never naps for that long."

"It's okay, we'll find her. Maybe she went over to Zee's."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll go check."

"I'll stay here, look around this level."

As Trinity hurried off towards the elevator Niobe began her search. She marched along the corridor surveying all the places a small child might be able to hide, all the while one thought running through her mind, this is why I don't have children. It was true, too. She had Morpheus and he was more than enough to keep her busy. It wasn't that she didn't like kids; Olivia, Link and Zee's daughter was adorable and their new baby Lysander was the most peaceful and serene baby she had ever seen. He would just lie in her arms for hours when the friends all got together and not make a peep, just gaze up at her with such innocent love she sometimes thought her heart would burst. But then he would need to be changed, or Olivia would throw a tantrum, or Nysa would wander off again, and she would remember how lucky she was to have the love of other people's children so she wouldn't feel the need to have her own.

Of all those born in the recent years of peace, and there were many as an end to arms nearly always heralds a baby boom, Nysa was the one she related to most. This was probably because, despite being only 4-years-old, nearly 5, she was more mature and thoughtful that half of the crew of the Logos. Most called her precocious, but Niobe saw it as something different. She saw that the girl carried a heavy burden, being the first child of the new world, and the only child of the One, and she readily identified with her plight. Niobe knew all too well how the weight of responsibility could slowly crush a person while also ensuring they grow stronger by the day. Being in charge of a ship during wartime, being the one everyone looked to for guidance, for orders, for a way out when trapped in a hopeless situation, was never fun. It was empowering, emboldening, enlightening, but never fun. Morpheus didn't seem to have the same outlook, the same fear or concern over doing the wrong thing, possibly hurting those whose lives he was charged with. He had too much faith to feel overburdened. Only Nysa seemed to understand, though they never really discussed it, never discussed much in fact besides how much older she would have to be before she could work on the Logos. Still they were kindred spirits, and though she hated having to take out the time to search all over Zion for the girl, she above all others was able to understand her reasons for seeking solitude.

Because she understood Nysa's desire so well, her attempts to find the girl were often half-hearted at best. She never called out for her, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts should she be near enough to hear. Instead she simply looked, peered around corners, ventured into nooks and crannies barely large enough even for the small child to hide. On the rare occasion that she did stumble across her, since usually she was never found but either returned to her doorstep by an insistent citizen or found her way back on her own after hours of worry, Niobe never spoke first, but waited for Nysa to acknowledge her presence on her own. And Nysa always appreciated it. No stern lecture, no dragging her kicking and screaming, just a quiet reminder that she had been missed and had best get back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Niobe said, plucked from her thoughts by the near collision. She looked up at the man she had just run into.

"Niobe."

"Neo," she acknowledged surprised and somewhat flustered.

"You looking for something?"

"What? No." The last thing she wanted was to alarm Neo. While Trinity was the fiercely overprotective mother, never truly coddling her child but always keeping her close, making sure she could see or hear her at all times, Neo was the one who truly fretted over her. She was the most precious thing in his world, and anyone who saw the two together knew that. When she was an infant he would linger over her cradle as she slept, just to be sure she didn't go anywhere, as though if he went into the next room for even a moment, she might just disappear. He would be rendered physically incapable of any social interaction if someone other himself or Trinity was holding Nysa, being able to do nothing but watch the person cradling her, readying himself should she suddenly be dropped.

As she grew older and developed more of a personality all her own, he observed her closely, studied every aspect of her being, in part it seemed simply out of awe that she should be capable of existing at all let alone becoming her own person. Then at times it appeared as though he was doing this so that he would be able to know right away if something was wrong, notice precisely when a change took place or a mood shifted. Morpheus had expressed confusion at this on several different occasions to Niobe, saying that Neo was so intuitive already it didn't make any sense for him to feel the need to study her so closely. Niobe readily agreed until one day when she noticed a certain look in his eye, the same look he got when he expected something to happen, knew it would, whether due to a dream or just one of his feelings. It was then that she realized Neo's vigilance was not due to his being a fussy father, but to his being a seer of things to come. He was waiting for something to happen.

"You sure? You look like you're looking for something?" He paused, waiting for her to admit what he already knew. "Or someone?"

Of course he knew, he knew everything, sensed it. "I'm sure she's here somewhere. She never goes far."

"Right," he mumbled sarcastically. For all his typical worry, Neo seemed quite calm. It made sense of course. Niobe imagined that if Nysa had been in any danger just then he probably would have known, would have sensed it somehow. It was mostly the quiet times, when all others were calm and relaxed, that he would be overcome with anxiety, worrying not about immediate peril but something else, something more insidious, something that was still to come, something he may not be able to stop. "Where's Trinity?"

"She went to check at Zee's."

"Keep looking," he said, more with a sense of pleading in his voice than any sort of authority. While Neo knew that no one in their 'family' really minded helping out in times like these, and that all of them loved his little girl as though she were their own, he still hated imposing and putting friends in this position, especially since it seemed to happed so often.

He walked to the elevator intent on going down to the level just below and calming Trinity whom he knew was likely a wreck. Nysa's little jaunts always got to her. She took it personally, as though the girl did it just to get on her nerves and make her sweat a little. Neo, more often than not, was amused by this propensity. Not that he thought she should wander around alone, she was after all so small, so young, so capable of getting herself into trouble. But her motives amused him. He knew she was sincere when she said she just needed to be alone or clear her mind, and the maturity of those statements and the sentiments themselves always made him smile. She was, of course, his baby, and always would be, but the fact that she was also a real little person never failed to amaze him.

Just as he was about to push the button the elevator door opened and revealed Councilor Hamann who was holding the hand of a little dark haired girl. "Lose something?" he asked, exiting the elevator with Nysa in tow.

Neo frowned down at his daughter, more out of parental necessity than real disappointment.

"Hi daddy," she said brightly, not at all phased by his attempt to appear stern.

"Hi daddy?" he said sweeping her into his arms. "That's all you have to say?"

"I love you daddy," she countered, nuzzling her head just under his chin. Had he truly been angry to begin with he may have been able to withstand this onslaught of preciousness, but since he hadn't been, she managed to melt his heart.

"Found her walking the engineering level," the Councilor said nonchalantly.

"The engineering level?" So much for sweet precociousness, he may not have been angry before but now Neo began to silently fume. She was told to stay away from there, it was too dangerous. There were too many things she wanted to get a closer look at, too many machines she just wanted to touch. Nysa had been fascinated with machines since she was a baby. In fact the only thing she had a greater interest in was computers. Thankfully Zion's control room was always kept locked.

"I like it there," she said sweetly, "I like the sounds."

Neo peeled his daughter off of him and leaned back so that he looked her in the eyes. "You know you're not allowed down there."

"But I like it," she said sadly, averting her father's gaze.

"But you could have been hurt."

"Aw, she seemed all right," interrupted the Councilor. "Not that I don't understand your reservations. You're awfully young to be wandering down there alone."

"But I wasn't. You were there."

At that the Councilor let out a slight chuckle and turned back to Neo. "You have a very intelligent little girl there Neo. I think she knew more about what machines did what than I've ever been able to figure out. Very bright."

"Thank you sir."

"Really. You must be very proud."

"I am. Sometimes," he said, glaring sidelong at his daughter.

"Mr. Councilor Hamann said I could see the computers," Nysa interjected. "He said he'd take me. And I'd be good and not touch nothing."

"Anything," Neo corrected.

"Can I go?"

Before he could say anything, the elevator doors opened once more and a flustered Trinity appeared. Flustered, that is when she exited the elevator, irate once she saw her young daughter. Nysa, seeing the familiar rage in her mother's eyes, instinctively clung tighter to Neo.

"Where have you been!" she questioned the child, not giving her time to respond before following up with, "I have been looking for you everywhere! Niobe has been looking for you. Link has been looking for you…"

"She was on the engineering level," Neo interrupted, and watched as Trinity's face hardened even further.

"You were where?" she asked her daughter slowly, sternly.

"With Councilor Hamann," Neo answered.

Until then, Trinity hadn't even noticed the older man standing there. She immediately went from angry to apologetic. "I am so sorry Councilor. She knows better than to wander off," she said glaring at Nysa, "but she does it anyway."

"It wasn't a problem at all. I enjoyed the company. In fact I was just going to ask you if you would allow me to give Nysa a tour of the Zion's control room tomorrow."

"Oh," she responded, a bit startled by the request. "I don't know. Nysa may be busy being punished."

"Mommy!" she squealed in horror.

"Perhaps some other time then?"

"Noooo!" the little girl cried.

"Yes," Trinity answered, "some other time." And with that she scooped the crying child out of her father's arms and marched her home where her punishment awaited her.