Trinity was uncharacteristically silent when she returned to the Sekhmet. She and Cat weren't close; Trinity well knew that she could be abrasive, and Cat hadn't exactly been forthcoming either. Still, it was a little rich to drop her straight into the arms of the most dangerous being in the digital world. It wasn't that she didn't trust Neo. It was just hard to understand some of the things he did, especially these days. She thought he'd been uncommunicative before, but that was nothing. He'd been withdrawn almost to the point of surliness since he had come to. She would have been hurt if it weren't for the near-desperate look in his eyes as he watched her.

"She's in," she murmured, lacing her arms around her love. He looked preoccupied as usual these days. Trinity sighed. "I wish you could explain this to me."

"So do I." Neo was reluctant to admit that he had sent a crew member into a dangerous situation based on a feeling, even if it was backed by a pronouncement from the Oracle.

"Does this have something to do with the Oracle?" That much was true, at least. Neo nodded. The tension in Trinity's face eased a little. "All right." She tightened her arms. "If you wanna talk..."

"I know where to find you." His hand crept up to cover hers. "You should get some rest."

"Are you going to join me?"

"In a bit. I think I'll blow off some steam in the practice program first." She slipped away, running her fingers through his hair before retreating.

Neo felt guilty for lying to her. Well, it hadn't precisely been a lie. He was going to plug in, and it would relax him a little, with any luck. He'd discovered how to repeat Morpheus' little trick with the TV. He could load up anything he'd experienced on the screen and watch it as an outsider. It provided useful perspective, even if he hadn't quite perfected his mental editing yet.

Neo closed his eyes as Link loaded him up. When he opened them, he was in the familiar lank space of the Construct with the ratty old TV in front of him. He blinked and it switched on. A little early, that. Oh, well. Close enough.

***

"This came for you while you were... asleep."

The brusque-looking woman, who Trinity had said cared for him during whatever it was that had gone wrong, passed him the disk. It looked like the one the Oracle had sent the last time around, but after his chat with the Architect, Neo was reluctant to answer her summons.

For one thing, Morpheus just wasn't the same anymore. Her prophecies had consumed his life, and there was precious little left for him when they turned up false. What there was went up in smoke with the Neb. Neo doubted that Morpheus would ever set foot on a ship again, even if Lock somehow found it in himself to grant him one. For now, the man just sat around the ship, looking like an extraneous piece of equipment.

Trinity managed better, but Neo knew that she had been badly shaken. After all, she'd been with the Neb almost as long as its captain had, and that had just been one shock in a series. After all, it can't be too calming to end up dead, then lose your home, only to find that your lover has slipped into some sort of catatonia. Sometimes, when she looked at him, he could see flickers of possessiveness that had never been there before. When they were together, she was always touching him unobtrusively. Neo was sure that she was reassuring herself that he was still there, whole, not going anywhere.

And he... Well, there was no time to think about how he felt. Zion was going to fall unless he did something about it, and soon. His battle with the squids had convinced him that something had fundamentally changed. His powers shouldn't last in the real world. Unless... he was carrying a bit of the Matrix with him somehow.

At first he had discounted Smith's assertion of a connection. It could have been just another threat in the Agent's arsenal. Still, it hadn't sounded like a threat... and even Smith's most hate-filled comments tended to have literal basis; perhaps fabrication had been left out of his programming.

Smith had good as said that he had taken some of Neo's essence in the bargain. It was pretty clear that it hadn't been his powers of Matrix manipulation, either; after all, a Smith with even a bit of the superhuman strength and speed associated with the One would have put up a better fight. Forty of then could surely have handed him a ringing defeat.

That must mean... Smith could operate in the real world as though it were his natural environment in the same limited fashion that Neo could carry his powers. And the damage that Smith could wreak unplugged...

That settled it. If the Oracle was anything like her old self, she would surely know of his conversation with the Architect. It might be useful to confront her, even if all she did was try to justify herself. And if she were able to shed some light on the Smith situation... He would definitely have to see this strange ship's captain about a hack.

Neo stood up, wincing as his head throbbed. It was probably from his injuries, but he preferred to believe that it was because had finally started thinking for himself instead of blindly following Morpheus and the Oracle.

***

"Sit down, kiddo." This time Neo did it without comment. Perhaps if the Architect had not been able to fully predict him, the Oracle didn't know everything about him, either. He felt much less intimidated than he had on his earlier visits. After all, she was just a tool to steer him into the correct behaviors.

The Oracle eyed him. "You've changed. Finally sitting like you're comfortable with yourself." Still, Neo remained silent. The old woman sighed. "I understand that you're a little bit angry with me. Would you have believed me if I told you? I did what I could. You made that choice, kiddo, and if I hadn't led you to the Keymaker you would never have had the chance to do it."

"You knew that the Prophecy was wrong all along, and let us all go on believing it."

"What makes you think it was wrong?"

"Zion hasn't been saved, has it?"

"Have you been to the source?" Neo was silent at that one. The old woman sighed. "Is there any sense offering you candy?"

"Don't you already know the answer to that?" The bright red wrapper crinkled as she pressed it into Neo's palm.

"We've been over this before. You have some new questions or you wouldn't have bothered to show up."

"Smith."

"Good. You have enough sense to put the important things first."

Neo blinked at her. The woman really could read minds; he'd been dying to ask her about her role in all of this, but decided the question concerning the dangerous ex-Agent was more pressing. "He says we have a connection."

"And you have come to believe him, for some reason."

"Yes, I have. I think that's the reason I can feel the machines when I'm unplugged."

"And you fear that, if your power can be dissociated from the Matrix, so can his?" Another nod. "You've come a long way. Almost too far."

"What do you mean?"

"You've got almost as much Sight as I have now. It makes lookin' at you hazy." She squinted at him. "I can't tell you much this time around. You're gonna run into someone who will help you, and you will understand how after you meet. It won't be easy for you to accept." She stared for a moment more. "Sorry, kiddo. That's all I've got."

"All right." Neo stood and offered his hand to the old woman, then pulled her up as well. "I suspect we'll just have a chat the next time we meet."

"You might be surprised, kiddo. In fact, I'm pretty sure you will be."

"See you." He stood, still uncertain of the etiquette.

"I do hope so." The Oracle smiled warmly and gave him a quick hug before walking away.

***

Neo sighed and turned the TV off. So much for that bright idea. The Oracle had been just as vague as he remembered.

Still, it had been enough to make him listen to the nagging feeling he got whenever he saw Cat. Their encounters had seldom been friendly. Usually she'd just glared at him, plainly resentful of something. It was kind of refreshing, actually. It was unnerving to have offerings shoved in his face wherever he went. Cat's obvious dislike was welcome, real, by comparison.

That nagged at him, too. Somehow or other the strange girl's antipathy for him seemed to be the key to the whole situation. One night it came to him. Smith had dealt directly with traitors in the past, to good effect. He was sure that he could smell an obvious fake, but maybe Cat's antipathy for her shipmates could convince him that she was the genuine article.

The nagging had stopped then. It just... felt right. The Oracle had said he would know, and furthermore that it wouldn't be an attractive prospect. Whatever he thought about Cat, he certainly didn't want to send her to her death.

The resentment that had radiated from her when Trinity had pulled off a rescue had decided him. Smith's hatred for him bordered on obsession. He'd likely grasp at anything he was offered, particularly something that had worked for him in the past. Cat made a plausible traitor. And no matter how much she disliked him, Neo was sure that she wouldn't actually sell her shipmates to the Agent. For one thing, no crew would either join her ship or take her on if her entire crew kicked the bucket a second time. For another, Cat was basically a decent human being. He didn't blame her; he wouldn't have taken kindly to strangers taking command of the Neb while he was passed over.

His last, guilty, thought was that Cat wasn't good for much else, either. If his experience had taught him on e thing, it was that things happened for a reason. It was unlikely that Cat just stumbled across his path, and her performance in the past couple of weeks confirmed that she wasn't destined to help him in the Matrix itself. It was no wonder that she had been her last crew's Operator, unusual as it was for someone equipped to plug into the Matrix. With Link around, her skills in that area were extraneous also.

This was it. It had to be. The Oracle had told him he'd have to go with his gut on this one, and he believed her in spite of himself.

Now, if only Cat came through it unhurt... It was going to be a long two weeks.

It was senseless to sit here and brood, especially with Trinity waiting. He closed his eyes, Link's signal to sever the connection.

"You feeling any better?"

Neo tried to smile. He'd gotten attached to the Operator, although no one could replace Tank in his mind. "Not really." He ran tired fingers through his still-stubby hair. "I think I'm going to get some rest."

"Things have got to look up tomorrow. After all, it will be good to be back in Zion."

"Yeah."

***

A/N: I'd like to apologize For some reason, Neo seemed to require a lot of ellipses and fanfiction.net puts them up as periods, making a lot of sentences appear as fragments, and several more with random periods in the middle. I'm awfully sorry to anyone who ran into this yesterday.