A/N: Just a brief note to thank you for your reviews on the previous chapter. I now feel inclined to write more sex scenes, thanks to your wonderful support, and I'll be sure to have more in later chapters. Your reviews are what make the daunting days spent at school seem worth it when I get home in the afternoons. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!
Not a very romantic chapter. Mostly charecter development, and establishing plot lines. But I hope you enjoy it anyway!
21
Neo awoke the next morning feeling strangely content and warm, despite the fact that the only thing covering him was the flimsy sheets of the bed. It was only when he cracked open one eye and let his bleary vision come to focus on Trinity's sleeping form beside him, that he remembered why.
From what he could tell, she was still sound asleep, with both eyes closed gently and a secret smile flickering on her lips. She was breathing steadily, sheets covering everything from the top of her breasts downwards, and her mess of raven, dark hair was bright in tone against the white pillows.
He smiled, lifting a hand and tracing it along her upturned cheekbone. She stirred, but did not wake, shifting in amongst the sheets slightly and subconsciously drawing herself closer to him. His smile broadened, and he bushed back a few strands of her hair, unable to believe that he'd only just made love to her.
Funny, she's always been such an early riser, and I...well...I haven't. I think this is actually the first time I've woken up before her. He smirked to himself. I wonder if it has something to do with last night.
After some time of lazing around in bed, Neo eventually scrambled to his feet as quietly as he could, lest he wake the obviously exhausted Trinity. He showered, changed into a long sleeved, tan shirt and earth brown pants, and left the room, closing the door behind him as silently as he could.
Without having any need to be anywhere important, or any reason to take a long and pointless walk around Zion (most likely to end up finding himself lost), he made his way to the edge of the corridor, and leaned over the balcony opposite the front door to his room, resting folded arms on the surface if the banister.
It was a pleasant place to stand, he decided, as he looked down over the many floors bellow him filled with bustling people swarming past each other to reach their destination. The cool, balmy breeze tickling his face by means of an invisible source helped to clear his head and make him think things through more clearly, and the sounds of the people drifting by could be easily blocked out when he closed his eyes and fell into his own reverie, allowing him to review the events of the previous night for the third time already that morning.
Up until last night, he hadn't even considered making love to Trinity as a possibility. He supposed that in a way, it was similar to the day he was unplugged from the Matrix. The day before it happened, he couldn't even have guessed what Morpheus would have told him only twenty four hours later. So how could he have made a choice to do something when he didn't even know what the choice was? Perhaps it was fate that guided him into the real world....to Trinity.
Trinity. Solider; fighter; and warrior. One of the most powerful and beautiful women in Zion had slept with him only last night. That knowledge within itself was barely describable, let alone the feeling that accompanied it.
In brief, he left like he was a God, standing there and overlooking the people whom he'd one day have to save from the wrath of the machines. Perhaps this was what Morpheus meant by being able to 'free his mind'. He felt so powerful...as though nothing was impossible....that he would be able to do anything ....and it was all because of her.
"Well, aren't we looking very pleased with ourselves this morning."
That feeling of invincibility was almost completely washed away, however, when his thoughts were broken by an obviously irritated tone. Vivianna was slowly making her way towards him, dressed plainly in her white medical gown with cascades of rich, dark hair swinging freely about her shoulders, and a wide grin spread across her pale face.
"Hi." He said with a grin equivalent to her own, turning his head to face her and unfolding his arms to stand up straight again, but continuing to grip the banister with both hands.
"We've you been?" She questioned, crossing both arms over her stomach and leaning beside him, gracing him with a look of both aggravation and annoyance evident against her tightly pursed lips.
"Sleeping." He shrugged innocently, changing his tone when Vivianna raised and lowered one eyebrow. "What?"
"You were meant to be at the hospital and hour and a half ago for more testing." She retorted. "Matron's furious. She sent me here to find you."
"Great." He said dryly, not at all looking forward to the prospect of more testing. "So...you want me to go with you now?"
He cast a quick look at the red steel door leading back to the sleeping Trinity, feeling apprehensive to leave without telling her where he was going. Figuring that she would realize that the hospital was the only place he would have gone without her, and also from seeing that he didn't have much choice in the matter from the expression on Vivianna's face, decided to go against his best instincts.
"Yeah, it'd be nice if you could get there sometime today." She moved away from the banister and started back down the corridor, beckoning him after her. "Hurry up."
(o)
"So when do I get the results of the tests back?" Neo asked, once again sitting on the edge of a medical table in the hospital and swinging his legs over the side idly.
"Hopefully by the end of today." Vivianna replied, failing to take her eyes of the needle she was preparing. She had learnt over the past two days she'd spent in Neo's company that he particularly disliked them. "For now, I need you to sit through a particularly painful injection."
"They're all painful to me." Neo frowned, muttering more to himself than to her before he lifted his head to address her properly. "What's this one for?"
"One of our blood specialists thinks this might be able to help give us a clearer reading of your blood type. I'll send it to him along with the another blood sample."
"A blood specialist?" Neo raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Gee, sounds like a fantastic job."
Vivianna chose to ignore him.
She approached the medical table, holding her syringe aloft and struggling to keep her expression steady when she saw the look imprinted onto her patient's face. "Just one little jab in the neck, then we can take some more x-rays, another blood sample and then you can go on your merry way."
Neo felt the skin on his neck prickle when she approached him, preparing to inject the drug into his bloodstream. He snapped his eyes shut, clenching his hands together, and was wondering what had happened to his sense of invincibility from earlier that morning, when she suddenly jerked the needle away.
"What's that on your neck?" She questioned in bewilderment. Neo hurriedly clamped his hand over the right side of his neck, rubbing his fingers across the mark in his skin. He had completely forgotten about the purple-blue blemish Trinity had left on his neck the previous night, and none – not even himself – had taken any notice of it until now. Feeling his cheeks redden with embarrassment, he decided to pretend that he'd suddenly become very interested in his bare feet dangling limply over the side of the table.
Luckily, he was not pressed to answer any further questions as the door to the room sprung open suddenly and the Matron filled the doorframe, her face seemingly even more withered and wrinkled than it had been before, most likely because of the huge, dark bags under both eyes, signifying that she hadn't managed to get much sleep.
"Nearly finished?" She asked impatiently, scowling and tossing back her long, silvery hair.
"Just one x-ray and two injections to go." Vivianna answered brightly, turning her attentions away from her patient for the time being.
"We need this room cleared as soon as possible." The Matron ordered, folding both arms across her chest. "Make sure that you get through it quickly."
"I'll do my best."
"You'll do better than your best if you want to work on my staff officially, young lady." The Matron continued prudently, furrowing her brows. "Be quick about it, then."
A stilled silence filled the room for the first time since Neo had arrived the moment the Matron exited briskly back through the door to the room. Because his mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts, he hardly noticed that Vivianna had struck the needle firmly into the 'unmarked' side of his neck, sending a clear and unknown liquid coursing through his veins. Nor did he take time to silently thank Vivianna for not bringing her attention back to the blemish on his neck, obviously realizing that this was not a topic he wished to discuss.
I think I can see why Trinity never got on so well with the Matron. But I can't see why Vivianna would want to be the Matron's apprentice. Vivianna seems to be pretty intelligent, and I don't know why she would want to take a job in the medical career.
"Something wrong?" Vivianna asked quietly, sliding the needle out of his vein and dabbing his skin with what Neo hoped was cotton.
"No, just thinking." Neo mumbled, lowering his hands from the right side of his neck, seeing no point in concealing the blemish any longer. "The Matron can be as tough as Trinity when she wants to be."
"Tell me about it." Vivianna said through a laugh as she cleared away the medical equipment. "I don't think that Matron has the ability to see life in a positive way. She only ever seems to notice my faults, and not what I'm good at."
"Then..." Neo began awkwardly, unsure of how to phrase his question without invading her privacy. "...then why did you apply for an apprenticeship here? Why do you want to be a nurse so badly?"
Vivianna's forehead creased into frown lines to convey that she was deep in thought. It wasn't until she reached the countertop and started to wash her hands that she came up with her reply.
"When I was first unplugged, I spent more than enough time coming in and out of Zion's hospitals. Not because I was unplugged at a considerably young age, but because I have a unique ability present in only one of ten humans in both the real world and the Matrix."
"What?" Neo asked, swiveling around to face her.
"I have a photographic memory." Vivianna continued, not taking her eyes from the soap she was threading through her hands. "I think that's why Niobe wanted to unplug me at such an early age. She thought that my abilities could be useful to the resistance. But after spending so much time in hospital under observation, I was exposed to plenty of people who had been injured poorly, and desperately needed medical treatment. I guess....I guess I really felt for those people. I wanted to do something worthwhile...something to help them. So I worked hard at the academy, and got a place as the Matron's apprenticeship. You see, Neo, the job might not be all that great, and it definitely isn't going to get any better with time. But that doesn't matter. The important thing is that I'm doing something to help other people, and that makes everything seem worthwhile."
"Whoa." Neo choked out after a brief pause, eyes wide with astonishment. He had never known a nineteen year old who could be so deep. "That's amazing, Vivianna. Not many people as young as you can see things that way."
"It's one of my many thousands of talents." She said with a shrug, turning back to face him with a wide smile. "So what about you? What do you plan to do from now on?"
Destroy the Matrix...end the war...save mankind. It was what he was meant to do, at least, although he didn't even know how he was supposed to do it. Besides, Vivianna hadn't been told that he was the One yet.
"I don't know." Neo said meekly "I guess I'll just keep serving Morpheus on the Neb."
"Being a solider is a worthwhile occupation as well." Vivianna concluded, bringing an end to the conversation. Neo observed her carefully, watching as her expression turned from stony to bright the instant an idea bounced into her head. "Hey, why don't we both go and get a bite to eat after you've finished your tests today? Don't tell me you're not feeling hungry after all this."
"I'm not hungry." Neo smiled as a false-sour expression graced the young girl's face. "Look, thanks for the offer, but I really need to go somewhere."
"Oh really?" She asked inquisitively. "Where?"
"Somewhere." Neo said with a shrug. He hadn't seen Trinity since he'd made love to her, and he was feeling rather desperate to do so. Vivianna, however, was shooting him strange glances and eyeing the blemish on his neck. He hurriedly lifted his hand back to cover it. "Sorry, I'm starting to sound pretty mysterious, aren't I?"
She beamed, holding the thumb and index finger on her left hand together to stress her point. "Just a tad."
"Sorry." He apologized again.
"Don't worry." Vivianna said lightly. "Your personal life is none of my business. Hell, the Matron won't even tell me why I need to run you through all these tests. No one tells the poor, innocent, untalented apprentice anything these days."
"Didn't you say that the doctors wanted another x-ray?" Neo said through a laugh.
"Not until we've taken another blood sample. Hopefully the injection has kicked in by now."
Neo shot her a dark look.
"Don't worry." Vivianna said mockfully. "After we send this off, we'll take an x-ray and then hopefully you'll only have to wait another couple of hours before you'll have your results and you'll be able to get going."
Neo scowled, but as he was desperate to see Trinity, stuck out his arm nevertheless.
(o)
The last thing Trinity expected to see when she returned to her room so late during the day was a slightly disgruntled – but also cheerful – Neo sitting calmly on one of the two chairs at the rickety table in the kitchenette, staring vaguely into space.
"Neo!" She gasped, almost falling backwards in surprise. "What....where were you?"
"I was at hospital." Neo stated, smiling shyly as he spoke. "Oh, and it's nice to see you too."
Trinity froze, momentarily forgetting that he was still completing his medical tests. Neo grinned, seeing the look of dread flicker past her eyes. Such beautiful eyes....eyes that had been swimming with both love and lust for him only the night before.
"What were you doing there?" Trinity asked urgently, adapting to her usual commanding tone, although Neo was certain he detected a hint of fear masked within her voice.
"Well," He began, keeping his eyes on his arms, which were bent at the elbows and resting on the table. "I was running through the last stages of my medical testing...talking to Vivianna..." He paused to lift his head and added sheepishly. "....thinking about you."
Trinity said nothing in reply, but flopped into the chair opposite him without poise. It was then that he noticed that she was wearing the same off mauve, midriff shirt and short, buff coloured skirt as yesterday - the attire that revealed the most of her skin.
"What did you do?" He finally asked, eyes sparkling as they poured into her own, causing her to smile.
Trinity shrugged. "Woke up late, went looking for you, gave up, went for a walk, ran into Tank and spent some time with him, then I came back here."
"Did..." He trailed away, struggling to gain his courage before he continued. "Did you think about me?"
Did she think about him? From the moment she'd woken up only to realize just how late it was, and marveled at the fact that she had the ability to sleep in for so long, until she'd found him sitting quietly at the table in the late afternoon, he had been the only thing she'd had on her mind. The fact that she'd only just made love to him, and then had awoken only to have to spend an entire day without his company had proven to make it very difficult for her not to think about him.
"What do you think?" She asked rhetorically, stretching out a hand to grasp one of his, which was still resting on the table, and turn his palm over so she could clasp his hand properly, not taking her eyes away from his. Neo smiled as his only response, guiding his thumb soothingly across her knuckles.
It was strange to think that she was no longer a virgin, and had given herself to him only the night before....and it was even stranger to wake the next morning and realize that, although she may have believed it to, time had not stopped for the rest of Zion, and that life had actually continued for them last night. She spent the morning lounging around in bed, before rising to shower. It was in this period of time that she recalled the events of the previous night and finally managed to convince herself that it was not just some crazy dream...it was real...it had all happened...she had given herself to him fully and completely. But frankly, she couldn't have cared less about it. Neo was the only man she would ever want to be with anyway.
As she had wondered the streets of Zion in search of the man who had been on her mind all morning, she had almost expected someone to cast her a dirty look, to accuse her of making love to Neo. But of course, none of them knew what went on between the two of them last night, and none could see any apparent difference within her whatsoever – not even Tank, when she eventually ran into him...
"Oh," She said suddenly, breaking the period of comfortable silence between them. "Tank asked me to watch over Effa and Sef."
"Cas and Dozer's children?" Neo asked, to which Trinity nodded.
"Tank wants to take Cas out tonight...to give her a break. Link and Zee are going with them, so he asked me if I could watch over them when I ran into him today." She paused, hearing the stifled snort of laughter caught in the back of Neo's throat. "What is it?"
"Sorry." Neo apologized. "I just...I don't know. It's like trying to imagine you slaving over a hot stove. The image of you looking after children just doesn't seem to fit into reality either."
"Neither does the image of you playing in a band." She remarked, causing Neo's face to fall. However, she took it to mean something else. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, I didn't plan to spend the night looking after a bunch of kids, but...the family deserves a break."
"No, I don't mind." Neo replied. "Just don't expect me to be a big help. I'm kind of tired...and I'm not too good with kids."
"And you think I am?" Trinity raised an eyebrow in question.
Neo bent and shook his head, smiling to himself at the mental imagine in his mind of her wearing a frilly white apron and trying to keep a pair of children under control. "I guess not."
There was yet another silent pause, in which Neo was given the chance to think through all that had happened involving his testing thus far.
"Trin," Neo finally stated, lifting his head so he could again look her directly in the eye. "I think...I need to go and find Morpheus later. I have something I need to talk to him about."
"What?"
"The results I got back from my tests today." He said with a shrug, brushing it off as if it was of little importance to him, mostly as an attempt to make the news come easier to her.
"You got the results back?" Trinity cried, feeling her heart clench in her chest as she rose out of her chair angrily. "God, Neo, you should have told me earlier....w-what did they say?"
"Not much." Neo admitted. "The doctors thoroughly scanned the blood samples, x-rays and scans they'd made me suffer through only to tell me something I already knew."
"What?"
Neo smiled softly. "That I'm a one hundred percent, pure pod-born male in his late twenties who had incredibly good health for someone who had only been unplugged for a month."
"What about being the One?" She questioned. "There wasn't anything different about you that set you apart from other humans?"
"I'm still human, Trin." Neo defended, feeling her fingers tense against his hand on the table. "I'm only different in the Matrix, where I can use the power of the One. Here, I'm just Neo. At least I think that's the way it works, I'm not sure."
"So you're saying that all those tests were for nothing?" Trinity assumed bitterly.
Neo nodded softly, much to her annoyance. She tugged her hand away from his and stood so sharply that the chair behind her toppled to the ground. Her infuriation was both a result of the fact that they were yet to prove to the Council that he was the One, and of the fact that he'd been wasting his time suffering through pointless tests and observations when he could have been with her.
Neo struggled to hold in a laugh, having not expected this reaction from her when he broke the news to her. He watched as she stormed towards him with the intentions of passing him, but was stopped when he stuck out and arm and wrapped it round her waist out of pure instinct, and the impending desire he carried with him to hold her. He stood just as she turned to face him, and drew her closer to him, holding her in a tight embrace.
"I need to talk to Morpheus about getting another hearing with the Council." Neo explained, whispering his words into her ear as he held her against him tightly. "I think everyone would just be wasting their time on taking me through the physical tests. If my theory about being the One is right, then my body here will have inherited none of the powers my Matrix body has adapted to."
"You'll need to prove it to them, Neo." She whispered back, her voice muffled by his neck as she pressed her face into it. "Not everyone is going to be able to believe you as easily as I did."
"I know. We'll find a way, though. Don't worry." He held her tighter, running his hands soothingly up and down her back. He still could hardly believe that he'd made love to her only the night before...had been able to touch her...to feel her against him....Trinity....the Trinity....his Trinity.
"How are you feeling?" He asked her after a while, loosening his hold on her so she could move back enough to look him directly in the eye.
"I'm fine." She lied. In truth, some parts of her were sore, but it was a small price to pay for the memories she held with her. Memories of him. The way his eyes would glow when he made love to her...the way he felt...the way he touched her...the way he groaned when he entered her....the way he would whisper her name when he was inside of her....the depth and sincerity in his voice when he told her he loved her, just before he fell asleep. It was these memories, she realized, that would enable her to remember that everything they went through was worth it when they were back on the Nebuchadnezzar.
She allowed her eyes to travel over the smooth surface of his face, taking in each feature until they reached the right side of his neck, where she noticed a purple-blue blemish evident against his skin. Recalling a moment from the previous night, she felt her cheeks redden as she ran her fingers over the delicate skin.
"Did I do that?" She asked forwardly, circling the outline of the blemish. She felt as if her entire face was on fire with pure embarrassment, although Neo didn't seem to notice nor care.
"Yeah." He grinned playfully. "But it doesn't matter. I don't think anyone noticed."
(o)
"You know, that Vivianna girl is pretty self-assured." Neo commented later that night as he sat at the table in the kitchenette, watching both Effa and Sef bounce upon their bed gleefully. "She's only nineteen, but already knows who she is as a person, and what she plans to do with the rest of her life."
"You have to be like that in Zion." Trinity explained, becoming increasingly irritated by the fact that she couldn't take the cuffs of her sleeves in her hands, as she so liked to do. "Once you turn eighteen, that's it. You have to know by then what you plan to do with yourself or you'll end up being someone like Dwayne. You need to have decided on a career path at least a year before you're due to leave the academy."
"I still hadn't even decided on what I wanted to do with myself by the time I was unplugged. Although I suppose it's been decided for me now." He shivered, reminding himself of the thoughts he'd had only that morning about destiny. "Trin, do you believe in fate?"
Trinity took a moment to decide what her answer would be before she spoke. "I believe we chose our own fate. That our destiny has been decided, but we can make choices to alter it if we want to." She lifted her head to look at him inquisitively. "Why do you ask?"
"Just thinking." Neo said, raising and lowering one shoulder while smiling at the woman opposite him. "Do you think we should...you know...make them go to bed or something?"
Trinity shook her head firmly, casting a sideways glance at the two children. "They can stay up as long as they don't piss me off."
"I suppose they won't be staying up much longer, then." Neo said with a laugh, before his expression became stern once more, mostly because he was afraid of invading her privacy. "Can I ask you something?"
Trinity was slightly taken aback by his sudden change of tone, but did her best not to convey it. When he speaks in that kind of voice, it always means that he wants to talk business.
He waited until she'd nodded briefly from across the table before he continued. "What is it between you and the Matron?"
Trinity let out a breath of laughter, having not expected him to make such a comment. "I guess it's just...a personality clash. We've never been too friendly, you see."
"Well, she isn't the easiest person to get close to." Neo pondered. "I can't see why anyone would want to be her apprentice, even if it is for the right reasons."
He'd been thinking about this for some time, in amongst other things. Although he knew that she was intent on her medical career, Vivianna was the sort of person he thought was possible of achieving anything, and of being able to transfer to any career, when she'd finally grown tired of the Matron's stern orders. But there was one certain career track he had in mind for her.
"I think...I think Vivianna would make a good addition to our crew." Neo was finally able to stammer. He didn't want Trinity to think that he was making the suggestion for the 'wrong' reasons, and therefore had been reluctant to tell her what was on his mind until now. "She's smart, and determined, and she gets things done efficiently without complaining. In a way, she kind of reminds me of you, although no where near in comparison."
Trinity shot him a queer look, at first wondering why he would be so bothered about one teenage girl before she reminded herself that Neo was the One, and therefore automatically took it upon himself to solve even the minor problems that inflicted the human race, as pointless as they may seem. Even though he'd told her earlier that he believed his abilities could not stretch beyond the Matrix, she still thought that the One was still a part of Neo in the real world, which was why she always was able to get the impression that he cared about people more than himself each time she spoke to him. It seemed that although he may have changed over the course of his life, this was the one quality that had always remained with him, and always would.
I suppose that his responsibility is partly my responsibility too. If he believes that Vivianna would be happier serving on board our ship, then I suppose that it's true. Although he is right when he says that there isn't another human being who has ever been so sure about their life and what they want to do with it. I don't see why Vivianna would want to change career paths now. But Neo has a knack for sensing the inner turmoil in other people. I know that from my own personal experience with him.
"Well, there are plenty of open crew positions, now." Trinity said thoughtfully. "You could recommend her to Morpheus when you go to see him about the tests tomorrow."
"Right." Neo said with a smile. Trinity was about to open her mouth to continue when she felt the presence of two sets of eyes on them and turned to see both children now staring at Neo with profound confusion.
"What?" Neo asked, catching the look on their eyes.
"What's on your neck?" Asked Sef, eyes wide with curiosity. His sister giggled beside him as Neo once again was forced to place a hand over the right side of his neck, rubbing it over the infected skin.
"You were right, my patience didn't last long." Trinity said irritably, casting Neo a sideways glance. "Looks like it's time for bed."
(o)
Trinity led the way out of the elevator the following morning after returning both Effa and Sef home. Neo stumbled along beside her, paying more attention to the loose thread on his powder blue, cotton shirt than the new level they'd only just emerged on.
Not a word past between them until Trinity paused just outside a door that did not differ from any of the others and knocked savagely on it several times. Neo took to her side just as the door was jerked open by a darkly, 'Zion dressed' Morpheus.
"Is this about the tests?" He asked immediately, as if he'd been expecting them to arrive any minute.
"How do you know?" Neo questioned.
"Word has already reached the Council and all others who are involved with the situation." He stood back, giving them access to the room. "Come inside, where we can't be overheard."
Morpheus's room hardly differed to Trinity's, with the exception of the layout and greater size. The table positioned directly in the center of the room was able to seat more than Trinity's, giving the impression that Morpheus was a more frequent entertainer than she was. Once the door had been closed securely and all three were seated at the table, Trinity began the conversation.
"So what does the Council make of all this?"
"I'm not sure, and so far they haven't asked for another hearing." Morpheus explained. "I am guessing that they're waiting to see what the results of the physical tests are, though I believe that they won't be anything out of the ordinary either."
"Morpheus, I don't think that my real body has any relation to my 'Residual Self Image'." Neo interrupted, wanting to ensure that he had the chance to say what he needed to. "Which means that, like it is with anyone else, my abilities as the One within the Matrix will have no effect on my physical and mental condition here."
"What he's trying to say is that the tests are pointless." Trinity said bluntly. "He's been wasting his time, because they can't determine anything."
"I know, I agree with you." Morpheus continued. "I knew right from the beginning that these tests would be meaningless, but unfortunately I have no power over the Council and their decisions. Besides, I still had hope that you were yet to prove me wrong, Neo."
"So what now?" Neo asked pitifully, hoping that someone might be able to tell him what he needed to do. "I can't prove that I'm the One unless I can jack into the Matrix. But I can't jack into the Matrix unless I leave Zion, which I'm forbidden to do until I've proven that I'm the One."
"I've already sorted it out, Neo." Morpheus said comfortingly. "When I found out what the results of your tests were, I went straight down to the dock to where the ship was being repaired. I was able to retrieve a few of the recorded files from your training sessions before you became the One, demonstrating some of the potential you showed to us even then. I gave these files to Councilor Hamann with the promise of more to come if we were allowed to leave Zion as early as this afternoon. I figured that if we could record some of the things you do in the Matrix and then send them back to Zion, that perhaps the Council will see enough reason to believe in you."
"So I guess it's really just a waiting game now." Trinity said. "You think that those files will be enough?"
"I'm almost certain." Morpheus said firmly. "Neo's progress during his training sessions moved much further along than any other person I've encountered before, which is partly why I decided to take you to see the Oracle earlier than others. I doubt that the Council will be able to disagree with me."
"Thank you, Morpheus." Neo said gratefully, glad that he was not the one forced to sort the situation out. Already he was tired of being pressured by others to make things happen, and he'd only had to deal with it for a month. He could hardly imagine what it would be like to suffer from such severe pressure throughout his entire life.
"I'll send a message to you when the Council has made their decision." Morpheus smiled kindly. "Until then, your time is your own."
Trinity nodded and stood to leave, though Neo remained seated. He had silently been planning the conversation he wanted to address to Morpheus, and somehow knew that it would only be uncomfortable for him to have her in the room at the time.
"I'll catch up with you later." He said quietly. Trinity raised a fine eyebrow, but nodded once more and left the room briskly, knowing full well what he intended to speak about.
"Morpheus, I need to talk to you about filling the other crew positions." Neo stated once Trinity had left. "I know this girl, you see. Her name's Vivianna, and she's nineteen. You might know her because she's the apprentice to the Matron. I know she's young, but that didn't stop you from keeping Trinity on board when you unplugged her. Vivianna's smart, strong and determined. I think she could do so much more than-"
"Neo." Morpheus interrupted harshly, putting an end to Neo's ramblings. "Vivianna chose to take the career path of a nurse, and I'm sure she sees no reason not to want to continue with that occupation. Also, I do not intend to fill the other crew positions just yet. I'm sure you'll understand that I believe that things will be easier if we keep the crew smaller for now, for reasons of your protection from the publicity of Zion. Even so, you told me that this Vivianna is nineteen, one year younger than the minimum age for applying for a position on a ship."
"Trinity told me that twenty was the minimum age for unplugging a person, and not for applying to work on board a ship." Neo argued.
"The same rule applies for both." Morpheus reasoned. "So far, I have only ever made three acceptations to that rule, and they are exceptions I do not plan to make again for the sake of the reasons I've stated above. The first exception to the rules was you, considering you are well above the age of unplugging. The second was Mouse, who was only a year bellow the age for applying for a job on the ship. But at the time, his programming skills were required so greatly that I was forced to lie about his age to the Council. The third exception was Trinity, whom, as you undoubtedly know, is a very powerful individual.
"That's true." Neo said with a smirk, remembering the time he fought Trinity in the dojo before he became the One.
"May I ask why you seem so intent on having Vivianna on board our ship?" Morpheus continued curiously.
"I don't know." Neo said with a shrug. "I guess I just think that she'd be able to help us...like she should be doing something more with her life. Like I said, she's got skill."
"Undoubtedly." Morpheus agreed. "But she's already found her own path. I suggest that you stop worrying about others for the time being and try to focus on yourself. I know that as the One, you must feel inclined to want to help the rest of your species to achieve greater things. But you have enough to worry about as it is, without focusing on the needs of others. Let Vivianna make her own decisions."
(o)
"I didn't know we could record things off the Matrix." Neo thought aloud to himself, repeating the steps of Morpheus's plan in his mind to better understand them.
"It's just like downloading things off a computer and then transferring them onto a disk, Neo. It is possible." Trinity explained, turning to face him as she spoke. "Although obviously, the images will appear encoded."
Neo faced her, but tried and failed not to stare at the soft white, kimono-like gown she wore which clung to her body tightly. They were now walking aimlessly around the ground floors of Zion, having grown restless of waiting for Morpheus's promised message to arrive for them in their room.
"What do you think I'll have to do...when we get back on the Neb, I mean." Neo questioned.
"I don't know." She answered truthfully. "Maybe Morpheus will take you to see the Oracle again. She'll be able to tell us what we can do from here."
"Doesn't the prophecy say anything about what I'm meant to do next?"
Trinity paused, twisting to face him completely. She hated to answer his question, because she knew that the answer was not one he wanted to hear, and at that moment, she would have liked nothing better than to lie to him.
Who says I can't lie to him?
"Do you want me to lie to you?" She asked, her expression stern. She waited until Neo nodded timidly before she spoke again, a smile gradually spreading across her lips. "Yes, the Oracle is a very informative person who never has the nerve to pry into other people's business, and always keeps your grim, unwanted future to herself unless you want to hear it, and then she'll tell you straight away without speaking cryptically at all so you can understand everything she says. The prophecy tells us everything your meant to do from now on, so your whole future has been decided for you, and you won't have to do any serious, deep thinking at all. The Oracle does not have the ability to turn your world around completely, and by the end of the war, everyone you know and care about will be alive, healthy and well....living happily ever after."
Neo let out a breath of laughter as they continued walking. How can she do that? How can she take a grim situation, manage to tell me the truth, and still keep me feeling in a good mood?
His thoughts were broken when he heard the sound of Trinity's name, and turned to see Dwayne waving frantically to them through the bustling crowd. Sighing with frustration, Trinity took Neo's wrist and tugged him after her.
"What now?" She asked him rudely. "And if you have a message for me, please get straight to the point."
"Oh, I like a woman with character." Dwayne growled.
Trinity said nothing, but was gracing him with the full extent of her iceberg-that-sunk-the-titanic look.
"Fine, fine, I'll give you your message." Dwayne sighed, wiping the sweat off his bushy, tawny brow. "Your precious little captain says that you and lover-boy need to be at the dock as soon as you can, ready to leave. Sadly for me, the Council says that it's time for you to go."
"They've agreed to let us leave?" Neo exclaimed, not daring to believe it himself.
"On the condition that you deliver at least a shred of proof by the date they've arranged with your captain." Dwayne added with a shrug. "Whatever that means."
"Well thank you for being straightforward for once." Trinity sighed in aggravation, secretly basking in the joy that accompanied the sensation of finally being able to leave the comforts of Zion after so long. Neo could tell from the expression on her face that she could hardly wait to get back on the ship, and privately he agreed with her.
"I guess I'll see you soon, beautiful." Dwayne smirked, quirking an eyebrow seductively. "I'll be waiting for you."
Trinity ignored him, and strode through the oncoming crowd towards the elevator. An already enraged Neo turned to follow, but was stopped when Dwayne called out loudly, attracting the attention of several bystanders.
"Hey lover-boy, what's that thing on your neck?"
Neo automatically clamped a hand over the right side of his neck to cover the blemish and – feeling his cheeks redden dramatically – went in pursuit of the woman who gave it to him.
(o)
"God, you both take a long time to change and pack." Tank commented when Trinity and Neo met him and Morpheus outside the newly repaired Nebuchadnezzar at the dock. "Unless, you were both doing other things."
"Shut up, Tank." Trinity scathed, following a bemused Morpheus up the ramp that led to the core and dumping her bags on the floor.
"Have you noticed that she's starting to sound a lot like Apoc?" Tank said cheerily as Neo adjusted the strap of one of his bags against his shoulder, causing the rough material of his seemingly cotton over-shirt to scratch against his skin. He was yet to become familiar with the attire he was forced to wear on board the ship again, after spending three days in nothing but bare feet and thin, flimsy material.
He had to admit that it did feel good to ascend the ramp to the ship. After being parted with it and it's lifestyle for scarcely three days, it felt as if he was, ironically, stepping into an entirely different world. Indeed, the routine of Zion was very different to life on board the Neb.
As he and Tank neared the top of the ramp, he felt the presence of eyes lingering on his back, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle insanely. Turning sharply to see what had caused him to react in this way, he almost let out a cry of shock when he met with a pair of huge, penetrating green eyes that were uncontrollably bulging larger than the eyes of ordinary humans.
"Hey, who's your friend?" Asked Tank, turning to see what had caught the other man's attention. "She's pretty cute...........in her own; weird way."
Lorena stood in the center of the suspending metallic path that led to the dock which the Nebuchadnezzar was resting at, still dressed in the earth brown dress she'd worn when Neo'd met her in the Zionist club the previous night. She was standing perfectly still, not even daring to blink, so much in fact that the people who wanted to pass had to swerve around her to carefully avoid a collision. If it hadn't been for the soft breeze blowing through the long coils of butter blonde hair that spilled down her back to her waist, or the way her flat stomach would curve inwards uncontrollably – the effect that had attracted the attention of the surrounding men – he would have thought she was nothing more than a statue.
"Who is she?" He whispered to Tank, hoping that he may have some clue as to who her true identity was.
"Beats me." Tank said with a shrug. "I thought she knew you and Trinity, because she followed both of you all the way over here."
"She followed us?" Neo gawked. If she's been able to move so silently like that, then she could have been trailing around after me the entire time I've been in Zion.
"Come on," Tank summoned, clamping Neo firmly on the shoulder. "We gotta go."
Neo nodded and, casting one final look at Lorena, followed Tank up the ramp and allowed it to close behind him to form a wall on the ship.
"Chuck your stuff here." Tank ordered, tossing his two bags beside Trinity's and Morpheus's. "We both need to get to the cockpit, and stay there until the ship's left Zion. You can come back for it later."
Neo did as he was told, and let Tank lead him to the ladder that ascended to the cockpit, only half listening to the other man's ramblings. His mind was far too preoccupied with other things.
"When there was a full crew here, I used to make sure I was the last person to get on board the ship when we were leaving Zion. That way, I could spend more time with my family, and I wouldn't have to worry about working in the cockpit. Only the first four people on board the ship need to be in the cockpit when the ship takes off, and the rest have to assemble in the core. I hated working in the cockpit, because everything is way too boring and serious, and all you have to do is stand around while Morpheus and Trinity get the ship off the ground. But now that there's only four of us I guess it does- hey, is something wrong, Neo?"
"Huh?" Neo said, breaking from his silent revere. "Oh...sorry. Just thinking."
"And I thought I had issues." Tank grinned as they reached the base of the ladder. "Hey, what's that on your neck?"
"Nothing." Neo stumbled hurriedly, taking hold of one of the rudders and hoisting himself upwards towards the cockpit. Tank followed, chuckling to himself as he climbed.
Neo knew that he shouldn't have been thinking about Lorena. Morpheus had only told him a few hours ago that he needed to be more focused on himself than others for now, and shouldn't take the personal issues of Zionists upon himself, no matter how much they begged them to help him when they discovered he was the One. But even so, he could tell that something was definitely wrong with Lorena...like she needed his help. He'd always been unnerved by the problems of others in the Matrix, and felt an urge to solve them.
Obviously, nothing had changed.
(o)
Does anyone know, for refference in later chapters, if Charra- that random who fought with Zee in the war in Matrix Revolutions, was pod-born or Zion-born? Please answer me in you reviews.