27
"Raven will begin his training this afternoon, once he has had time to recover from the shock of learning the truth." Morpheus explained some hours later when the crew had assembled in the core. "For now, I've decided to jack into the Matrix myself and arrange a meeting with the Oracle."
"The Oracle?" Neo asked confusedly, wondering if perhaps the same thoughts that had been going through Trinity's mind were shared by his captain.
Morpheus nodded. "In order to ask about that creature that attacked you when we were unplugging Raven two days ago. We need to know what it is, in case it proves to be any threat to us." He turned to face both Neo and Trinity directly, his eyes darting from one to the other. "Are you sure the creature told you nothing more then what you told me while working on Raven, Trinity?"
Trinity firmly shook her head, leaning against a consol screen with her arms folded across her chest. Morpheus nodded, and turned his attentions to Tank, who was twisting around in his chair at the consol to better be attentive to the conversation. As this happened, Neo caught Trinity's eye from Morpheus's opposite side, and they shared a smile before she turned away again.
"While I'm gone, I need at least one of you to be keeping an eye on Raven at all times in case he should wake up." Morpheus instructed. "Though I doubt this should happen until I'm back. Nevertheless, I don't want him to wake up alone."
"You don't want us to go with you?" Neo questioned, to which Morpheus shook his head with a smile.
"I'd rather go alone. Especially when you still need to recover from your injury." He paused, reading and understanding the downcast expression written in Neo's eyes. "Don't worry, the Oracle will contact you when it is time for you to know your purpose. Until then, there is no reason to trouble yourself with it."
"Right." Neo replied, forcing himself to smile. Not entirely convinced, Morpheus turned away from him and proceeded to his usual jack-in chair. Tank tapped in the appropriate hack and then approached his captain with a wide grin, before inserting the needle into the back of the other man's skull. Morpheus remained motionless, and uttered not a sound as his mind was launched into the virtual world.
"Well," Tank said brightly, returning to his seat and swiveling around to face the screens that displayed the code. "Morpheus is in the Matrix, Raven's sound asleep on the lower deck, and I'll be sitting here. So looks like you've pretty much got most of the ship to yourselves, huh?"
Trinity scowled, but remained silent, shooting Neo a menacing glance when he snorted with laughter, and then had to cough in order to hide it. Tank chuckled bemusedly, and held up a hand in parting as she started back down the corridor away from the core with Neo close behind her.
"You feeling sick or tired?" Trinity asked him quietly as they approached the door to the Mess Hall. She had noticed – upon awakening for the second time that day when Morpheus had summoned them to the core by means of the intercom – that Neo's face, though always pale, was seemingly whiter than usual, and there was a dull tinge to is usually vibrant coffee coloured eyes. But as she had been preoccupied since they had awoken, she had not yet found the time to question him about it.
"A little." He admitted. "I have a bit of a headache, and I wish Raven could have waited a little longer before he decided to wake up the whole ship this morning."
This was partly true, although he was glad that they had had the chance to spend some time together without carrying the burden of war, to discuss whatever they pleased. It had been relaxing to talk with someone like her, and he knew that he would rather have this than a few extra hours sleep while Morpheus explained the truth to Raven.
"It couldn't be helped." Trinity shrugged. "Different people recover and awake at different times, depending on their age, and how quickly they can heal. Because Raven is so young, it was easier for him to recover from being unplugged than it was for you, although I have to admit that you healed incredibly fast considering your age."
"My God, was that a compliment?" Neo joked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No, it was a statement." She retorted playfully, grinning as she wrenched open the door to the Mess Hall, and held it open so that he would be able to follow in behind her.
(o)
Neo approached the door to Raven's room, resenting the job Trinity had assigned him to. He had no idea what he should do or say should Raven be awake when he checked on him, and he had been enjoying the leisurely conversation he and Trinity had shared while he sat beside her in the Mess Hall and he ate his way through breakfast. The fact that he had been interrupted from this was irritable in itself, only adding to his dislike of the task.
Nevertheless, he tapped lightly upon the surface of the steel door, and then pulled it open with a soft creak, lest he wake the sleeper that lay beyond. Peering into the dimly lit room, he was able to see the outline of Raven's dark figure lying stiffly across the top of the bed, the blankets tucked in neatly bellow him and the nets behind his bed laden with supplies. An empty IV pouch still hung on the wall, the needle slack beside his body. He slept on his stomach, head buried into the pillows as he had done so when in the Matrix, yet now he hardly breathed, let alone snored as he had done before.
Smiling, Neo opened the door a fraction wider and stepped into the room, tiptoeing across the steel floor with the intentions of retrieving the IV pouch, that obviously had not been removed since Trinity had set it there the day before. As he grew closer to the bed, his eyes became set on Raven's seemingly lifeless face, and he was once again startled by the dramatic change in the boy's appearance, and had to wonder if the same thing had happened to him during his unplugging, and what Trinity had thought in regards to his near-to-bald scalp.
As his mind was far too focused on the thoughts swimming round his head, he lost track of the direction of his footing and stumbled into the side of the bed. He gasped in shock the moment he jabbed his toe into the side of the steel base, emitting a loud, ringing pang that echoed about the walls of the room. He cursed under his breath, silently praising whomever had invented the sturdy boots he wore. However, the noise he had created had been too loud for Raven's liking, and the boy was awake in an instant, sitting up with a shout.
"You!" He cried when he came to realize what had woken him, pointing a finger accusingly in Neo's general direction.
"Oh." Neo replied meekly from his place beside the bed, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. "Hello."
Regaining his composure, Raven swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed a hand on either side of his body, watching Neo curiously, his dark eyes shining with distrust. Frankly, Neo couldn't blame him, as he doubted he would be able to trust himself if he had been in Raven's position.
"Where's Morpheus?" He asked darkly. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I do live here." Neo replied pointedly. "I'm meant to be watching over you while Morpheus has gone into the Matrix."
"Why the hell should he want to go in there?" Raven said angrily, fear entwined with each word. Neo could almost feel insecurity radiating off his very being, and wondered if others had been able to sense the same thing inside from him when he had first been unplugged.
"To speak with the Oracle." He answered as calmly as he could.
"Who the fuck is the Oracle?" Raven cried, forgetting to keep his voice low and sullen.
"Hey, relax a little would you?" Neo eased. "It's all going to be explained in time."
"Oh well excuse me for overreacting." Raven said sardonically. "But what do you expect. It's not everyday a legendary hacker strolls up to you and says 'Hey dude, guess what? Everything that's happened in your life so far is a bloody lie!'"
"Listen, I know how you feel, because I went through the same thing two months ago, and I'm still not over it." Neo said. "But it gets easier, trust me. You just have to be open minded if you're going to accept things. But the most important thing to remember is to stay in a positive frame of mind."
"I appreciate the fact that you're trying to help me, but the last thing I need right now is another lecture."
"Right." Neo muttered. "Um…sorry…you still want to know what the Oracle is?"
"Yeah, that'd be swell."
"The Oracle is a computer program designed by the Matrix, but who fights for us in the war. She's been helping us since the beginning, by telling us our true calling and destiny, and helping us to find our paths. She helped me to become the One." He paused to read the puzzled expression on Raven's face. "Erm…Morpheus told you what that is, right?"
"No," Raven shot back bitterly, his voice raising higher and higher with each word. "I think he was a bit too preoccupied explaining that the whole world is actually inexistent, and that while I thought I was living a normal teenage life, failing tests and reading porn magazines, my body was really floating around in a pod giving off energy to this race of assassinating robots that are now trying to kill me!"
"Okay, okay." Neo ushered, muttering aloud to himself. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."
"What is?"
"Explaining things." Neo said with a worn smile. "Now I know how hard it must be for Morpheus."
"Will you just tell me what the hell this 'One' thing is?" Raven scowled.
"Sorry." Neo sighed, leaning back against the bare wall opposite Raven's bed. The boy pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around him and staring intently at the older man, eyes filled with curiosity. "Listen, I'm not too good at this, but I'll give it my best, ok?"
Raven merely nodded in reply, and went on staring intently. Neo sighed again, bending his head and stroking his chin in concentration, trying to remember what Morpheus had told him when he'd first awoken in his room after recovering from the shock of knowing the truth.
"When the Matrix was first built, a man was born inside. This man had the power to alter the Matrix at will, and to change things to suit his needs. He was the first to free the minds of others like you, and to bring them into the real world. But when he died, that Oracle person made a prophecy, telling everyone that the One would soon return in the form of another. That other is me. I'm the One."
"So…so that's a help to us…why?"
"Well, as you probably already know, we've been at war with the machines for a century now. It was prophesied that when the One returned, he would destroy the Matrix, and end the war."
"How will destroying the Matrix end the war?" Raven asked ignorantly.
"Well think about it!" Neo replied, increasingly growing impatient with Raven's naivety. Now he finally understood why Tank and Trinity resented the task of introducing 'newbies' to the real world. "The Matrix is the power source for the machines. Once it's destroyed, they'll be no humans left for them to gain energy from. No energy and they die out. We win. Simple as that."
"How are you going to destroy the Matrix, dude?" Raven asked, perhaps with greater respect in his manner.
"I don't know yet. I'm waiting for the Oracle to tell me."
"Why don't you just go and talk to the Oracle yourself?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because I don't want to be having this conversation right now!" Neo retorted, immediately ashamed of the fact that he had risen his voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I was just getting annoyed."
"Well sorry for being so stupid, but I'm just trying to get my head around things right now, ok!?" Raven replied angrily.
"Sorry." Neo repeated. "My fault. Won't happen again. Morpheus just thinks that it's better that we wait for the Oracle to contact us about it. I guess it's just not time for me to know…"
"But…do can do junk that other people can't or something, right? I mean, I know you all have these wicked abilities normal people don't have. I knew that when I first met you and your lady friend at that club. But as the One, you can probably do more than everyone else, right?"
"Yeah…um…I guess." Neo mumbled bashfully, still unused to receiving attention.
"Wicked cool, man!" Raven gawked, eyes wide with awe. "I can't wait to see what you can do."
"You're not the only one." Neo replied, suddenly remembering the Council that awaited his return in Zion.
"Will I be able to do junk like that soon too?" Raven asked hopefully, excitement now dancing in his deepest brown eyes.
"Oh yeah, sure." Neo replied absentmindedly. "Once we train you up, then it shouldn't be a problem."
"When to I start training?"
"When Morpheus gets back."
"When will that be?"
Neo shrugged. "Soon, I guess. He told us that you should be ready for training by the afternoon."
"What do I do until then?"
"Get as much rest as you can."
Raven scowled. "You expect me to be able to sleep when I have to think about all this?"
"You seemed to sleep perfectly well before." Neo shrugged. "And look on the bright side of things. At least you don't have to worry about your grades or your parents anymore."
"Hmm…now that's looking on the bright side of things." Raven beamed. "Man, I feel better already. You're right, huh? They're not really my parents after all anyway."
Neo opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when the door creaked open and both he and Raven turned to see Trinity in the doorframe with a perplexed expression on her face. Neo smiled the instant he saw her, and Trinity returned it curtly whilst brushing a strand of ebony hair behind her ear, which did not go without alerting Raven's attention.
"What's going on?" Trinity asked, looking between both occupants of the bedroom. "Neo, you've been here for almost twenty minutes."
"Raven woke up and I had to explain things to him." Neo said apologetically. "Sorry if I worried you."
"You didn't." Trinity replied sternly, though the smile on her face only strengthened. She turned away from him briefly, bringing her attentions to the boy who sat upon the bed. "You're alright?"
Raven nodded wordlessly, staring up at her, gawking, until she could ignore it no longer.
"What's your problem?" She shot darkly.
"You're one hot chick." Raven said in utmost awe. He opened his mouth again as if to add more, but was cut off when she shot him her most menacing look. By this stage, he knew better than to compliment her again.
Neo felt his entire being swell with anger when he heard Raven's words, only to have it released when he read the expression on Trinity's face in response. Later, he thought how odd it was that a fifteen year old had the ability to cause him to feel such a sensation of jealousy. Though at the time, all traces of this already past event were pushed from his mind when Trinity turned her back on Raven purposely and strode towards Neo instead, standing close to him so that they could share a whispered conversation.
"What should we do with him?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder briefly as she spoke to ensure that Raven was still seated on his bed. "We can't just leave him sitting here, and he obviously isn't going to want anymore rest."
"I don't know." Neo shrugged. "I guess we could keep talking to him, and tell him more about this world until Morpheus gets back."
"Does he look like the sort of kid who'd sit still for that amount of time?" Trinity reasoned, moving even closer to him to fill the already almost nonexistent gap.
"I guess you have a point." He replied, smiling down into her eyes just as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, I know. Why don't we show him more of the ship to take up some time? He's probably only seen this room, the core and the Med Bay so far, and I doubt he's even had a proper look at these rooms."
"Good idea." She complimented with a smirk. "Well do you want to show him, or will I?"
"I'll do it." Neo replied hurriedly, perhaps too fast. Both knew that the main reason for him wanting to do so was because of the comments Raven had made about Trinity before.
"Fine." She answered after a pause, secretly unable to deny that she was both flattered and appalled by his response to Raven's actions. Honestly, jealous of a fifteen year old? What next, will he start worrying that I'm getting too close to an Agent? Although I have to admit that I've done worse…I still can't believe I used to be worried about some stupid program!
"I'm going to relieve Tank in the core." She graced him with one final smile before she prepared her leave. "See you soon."
Neo watched her go, not taking his eyes from her until she'd past through the door, and then left his gaze there long after she had gone. It was times like these that he wished he were not so attracted to her…that she would not walk with that singular, unique flair that only she seemed to posses. He only managed to turn away when Raven interrupted his thoughts.
"What was that all about?" He asked slyly, in a tone almost identical to the one Tank used when he spoke of Neo's relationship with Trinity.
"What was all what about?" Neo replied shortly, honestly unsure of what Raven meant.
Raven gave him a queer look, and nodded in the direction of the open door. "That."
"Oh." Neo remarked, figuring Raven meant to speak about the past conversation. "Trin – I mean Trinity and I think I should show you some more of the ship, just to take up some time."
Rave shook his head in obvious dismay. "Man, and you thought I was being thick. I'm not talking about what you were saying, I'm talking about what you were doing."
This only confused Neo even further, and he shot Raven a blank glance. "What was I doing?"
"You were flirting with her, you jackass!" Raven cried in frustration, massaging his head with his hands. "It's pretty damn obvious that you've got the hotts for her, anyone can see that."
Neo felt the colour flood into his face, and a burning sensation lingered upon his cheeks. He turned away so that Raven wouldn't notice, but unfortunately he moved a fraction too late.
"Ha! I knew it!" Raven beamed delightedly. "So…you guys are seeing each other or something? Or doesn't she even know yet?"
Neo remained silent, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other and instantly finding that he desired to be anywhere else other than where he was at that time. Deciding he would be unable to deter any further information from Neo, Raven left the conversation as it was and got quickly to his feet.
"You gonna show me this joint or what?" He demanded. Relieved to see that he no longer needed to address the matter of his relationship with Trinity, Neo led the way to the door of the room with Raven at his heels.
(o)
"At last! Company!" Tank beamed in delight when he felt a presence in the core, and swiveled around in his chair to face the woman that stood solemnly behind him, staring avidly at the neon, raindrop coding. "How's it going, Trinity?"
"That Raven is an incredibly irritating and dislikeable individual." Trinity replied sullenly, causing her companion to laugh. "This is the second time he's labeled me as being 'hot'."
"Well who could blame him?" Tank howled with laughter. "He's a hormone crazed teenager, what did you expect? Anyway, he wouldn't be the first, would he? What did Neo think about it?"
"He didn't say anything." Trinity said with a shrug, peering closer at the code in front of her, displaying Morpheus having what appeared to be an intense conversation with the Oracle. "What's been happening?"
"Not much. They've been talking for ages, it's actually been pretty boring." Tank leaned back in his seat, tilting the chair towards her and resting his arm on the back. "So you say Raven's awake?"
Trinity nodded. "Neo's giving him a tour of the ship to take up time until Morpheus returns."
"Well hopefully that won't be too much longer." Tank replied, speaking seriously for once as he sat up properly in his seat. "The sooner we can get back to Zion, the better. Do you know about the deadline for the Council yet, or hasn't Neo told you already?"
(o)
"…and this room…well, this room pretty much speaks for itself."
Raven peered over Neo's shoulder into the small bathroom that lay beyond, housing a washbasin and a toilet, eyes widening in sudden understanding.
"Uh…huh…"
"Over here is the shower block." Neo explained, gesturing to the shower cubicles opposite the bathrooms in the small corridor. "You may have seen that someone put plenty of supplies and things in the nets hanging above your bed. All your usual toiletries will be in there somewhere."
"So guys and girls use the same showers?" Raven questioned as he came to stand by Neo's side, only continuing once the other man had nodded. "So there would be nothing to stop me from 'accidentally' walking in on another woman on this ship having a shower?"
"Nothing accept the lock on the door." Neo replied, feeling his face grow hot when he realized that Trinity was the only female crewmember on board the Nebuchadnezzar.
"So is this where you and your lady friend get down with it?" He asked, speaking as if it were a perfectly normal affair. "'Cos I ain't ever taking a shower here if it is."
"Err…no." Neo mumbled, feeling his cheeks redden once again.
"Just checking." Raven chuckled, speaking in the irritating accent only he seemed to possess. "So how many chicks you got around here anyway?"
"Trinity is the only one."
"What!?" Raven cried in pure astoundment. "No chicks! God, no wonder you like Trinity. She's the only woman you've really ever seen!"
"Actually, she isn't. There was another female crewmember who used to work on this ship when I was only just unplugged, but she died fighting for the resistance along with four male crewmembers." Neo stated, meeting Raven's eyes directly. "And there are plenty of other women. In Zion."
"What's that?"
"It's the last human city, and the only place we have left where we can live in safety and not worry about the machines. You'll get to see it in time, don't worry." He smiled. "Any more questions?"
"Yeah, you haven't shown me anywhere I can listen to music yet."
"Sorry, Raven." Neo stammered, preparing himself for the expected reaction. "But there isn't any music available to listen to when we're on board the ship."
The reaction, in Neo's frame of mind, was predictable. Raven's jaw dropped automatically and he began to mouth wordlessly, emitting odd choking sounds in between startled breaths. His eyes literally bulged from within their sockets, glistening in the artificially lit corridor, and his leathery dark skin stretched out over his face in the strain made by his muscles to maintain his facial expression. Even the worn, cotton clothes we wore seemed to struggle to hold his very body in tact.
"Say what?" He gaped, voice higher than it usually sounded. "You're joshing me, right man?"
Neo shook his head shortly, causing Raven to erupt in a series of bewildered squeaks. He shook his head in denial, blinking as if it could erase what had just been said.
"Ok, so you expect me to live in some futuristic hovercraft where everything is made out of metal, where I have to wear these unstylish looking garbs, where there's no music, and the only hot chick around is taken!?"
"Yeah." Neo grinned. "Pretty much."
Raven gasped, smacking his hand against his bald forehead in dismay. The hand froze, and felt along is bald scalp in search of hair that was no longer there. "No dreadlocks!? Shit…I think I need to go lie down…"
He began to dawdle down the corridor, massaging his temple and muttering to himself, leaving Neo to snigger to himself as he watched him leave.
"I think you'd like Zion a whole lot better." He called after his companion. "Don't worry, it's very different once you get there."
"Yeah…sure…whatever you say." Raven replied vaguely, drifting dreamily down the corridor.
Neo laughed even harder, unable to deny the overwhelming sense of gladness that had overcome him. For once, he was not the one inexperienced. He was the one people came to when they had a question that needed to be answered. He felt wise within his new status, and decided that although he already disliked the task of showing newbies their new environment, it certainly did have its own benefits. He began to follow Raven to the end of the corridor, when he heard Morpheus's voice cackle over the intercom.
"Neo, bring Raven down to the core as soon as possible. It's time for him to begin his training; and I have a message for you from the Oracle."
The last statement was added carelessly, and is though it was of little importance. However, Neo knew that this one sentence may be a link to the key source of unlocking his destiny. Perhaps the Oracle was ready to tell him what he was meant to do as the One to end the war. Maybe now he would finally be shown the way. Without a moment to waste, he grasped hold of Raven's idol hand and sprinted to the core, dragging the startled teenager behind him.
"You got here quick." Tank commented when he saw Neo arrive. Neo momentarily chose to ignore him, his mind already too preoccupied with other thoughts.
"What's the message?" He asked breathlessly, turning to Morpheus straight away and loosening his hold on Raven's hand so that he could slip away. "What did the Oracle say?"
"Only that she understood what you must be going through, and she was sorry she couldn't help it. She's promised that the time for you to know your path will come soon, and when it does, she'll send you a sign. It will happen when you least expect it, and it will occur when an unexpected event takes place. When this happens, you are to go straight to find her, and she will tell you everything. Until that happens, she only says for you to forget about your true calling, and to enjoy life while it lasts." Morpheus sighed when he saw the downcast expression in Neo's eyes. "I'm sorry, Neo, I really am. I know that it's not easy for you."
"I wish she would have told me more…" He mumbled, keeping his eyes on the floor with disappointment and rage. He was angry with both the Oracle for not telling him his true calling, and with himself for allowing himself to believe that the answer to all his problems would come so simply.
"She will tell you more." Morpheus comforted. "When you're ready. For now, I suggest you follow her advice."
Neo nodded disappointedly, and moved to stand beside Trinity. She cast him a sympathetic glance, unable to help feeling angry and disappointed herself, as much as she'd rather not know what the future held for them. She hated seeing him this way, waiting for answers that would not come until he was ready. Ready for what, she did not know, and nor did he. So how could he prepare himself? At once, her heart filled with bitter dislike and distaste towards the Oracle, despite the fact that it was the Oracle who had helped her to fall in love in the first place. While both Morpheus and Tank had turned their attention to Raven, she stretched out her hand and found his, entwining their fingers together and clasping it tightly. She found then that his fingers were hot and clammy, and soothingly began to graze her thumb across his knuckles. He cast her a sideways smile, deciding that now was not the best time to inform her that Raven was watching.
"Tank, I'm going to leave Raven with you. I want you to run him through as many operation programs as you possibly can, and some more advanced skills if there's time." Morpheus ordered, then turned to his two other crewmembers. "The two of you need to speak with me in the Mess Hall immediately. There's many things we need to discuss."
(o)
"So who is she, Morpheus?" Neo asked once all had been seated in the Mess Hall, with the captain opposite his crew. "Did the Oracle know?"
"Of course the Oracle knew, Neo." Morpheus said with a smirk. "I would have thought you knew enough about her by now to not need to ask that question. It turns out that, apparently this new enemy of ours is no more than an Agent."
"An Agent?" Trinity asked curiously, coaxing her head to the side in question.
Morpheus nodded. "One who calls itself Senesis. Once Smith had been destroyed, the Matrix's equation needed to balance itself out." He paused upon receiving several blank looks in response to his comment. "The Matrix is a system built on rules, and like everything that is in this nature, there needs to be an equal balance between what is right and wrong. We call that balance the equation. In order to maintain that equation, there needs to be a right to every wrong, or a yang to every yin. When Smith was destroyed, the system was able to realize that the equation was unbalanced, and in order to balance itself out once more, it needed to create a new program to take Smith's place. One that was stronger than the it's predecessor."
"So this is a female, more powerful version of Smith that happens to look, and act and sound exactly like Trinity?" Neo questioned, gripping the mug of water in front of him tightly with both hands.
"Not actually a female Agent." Morpheus said cryptically. "This particular Agent can be both male and female. In fact, Senesis could be anything at all."
"What do you mean?" Said Trinity.
"The system knew that it could not simply create another Smith. It needed to create something much stronger, and much more powerful so that it would be able to defeat Neo. Thus, the equation could balance itself out again. So this Agent has been given new abilities that no Agent has had before. Not only is Senesis stronger and faster than Smith, but also has the ability to shape shift."
"Shape shift?" Neo blinked, unsure if he had heard correctly. A shape shifter was the sort of creature that belonged in a child's fantasy story, but certainly not in reality…or even in the Matrix.
"It can take on any form it wishes to take at will, which means that it must have been impersonating Trinity when it fought you, Neo. It was part of its plan to lure you into its trap, by convincing you to trust it until it was too late." Morpheus explained. "It does this by taking a sample of another fragment of coding, and altering its own to match it exactly. It then takes on the characteristics of that person to perfection, and sometimes it even takes on some of the personal abilities that person has. Which means it would be terrible for us if it was able to transform itself into Neo."
"So how to we defeat something that's strong, fast and can change shape and ability at will?" Neo asked, more to himself than to others as he stared down at the table, lost in thought.
"I honestly don't know." Morpheus said truthfully. "What I do know is that Neo is our only hope of stopping Senesis, and I don't suggest that either of you go looking for it. Let it come to us."
It was odd, Trinity pondered, that Morpheus should refer to Senesis as in 'it'. But she supposed that something that could change its appearance at will did not have an original gender, unless it took on an original form. Obviously, Morpheus did not know if it could or not, or he would have said so much earlier in the conversation.
"One of us must be sure to find a moment to tell Tank all I have told you. But make sure to do it when Raven isn't around to eavesdrop. The matters of this ship have nothing to do with him."
"Why not?" Neo questioned, remembering with regret that he had told Raven of his being the One. "Raven's a part of this ship, isn't he?"
"Raven is underage, Neo." Trinity reminded him quietly. "He'll be sent to the academy as soon as we return to Zion. He'll only stay with us until we've finished training him, and after that it's highly unlikely that he should ever come to work on our ship again."
"Why? Have you told him anything?" Morpheus asked anxiously.
"Only that I am the One." Neo stuttered, keeping his eyes on the table to avoid their gaze. He could feel them staring at him in shock, and felt his face grow hot.
"It's best to consult me before you tell anyone from now on." Morpheus ordered sternly, after taking time to recover from this. "At least until the Council tells the rest of Zion about it. Be sure to tell him to not say a word about it again."
"I'm sorry." Neo mumbled, just as he felt a hand reach out and grasp his below the table, and warm fingers stroke his palm. He followed the arm connected to it, eventually finding himself looking into a pair of ice blue eyes, belonging to the woman beside him.
"It's not your fault." She reassured him. "You couldn't have known."
"Anyway, it doesn't matter now. What's done is done." Morpheus added. "Now, I'm going to have to ask one of you to take the entire night shift in the core, while the rest of us are training Raven by day. I don't know how long it will take, but I'm guessing it will be about two weeks. I don't usually ask this of anyone, but considering the size of our crew…"
"I'll do the night shift." Neo volunteered, just as Morpheus's words triggered the memory of a conversation almost forgotten. "Morpheus, Tank told me that the deadline for the Council is in three days. Well, two days now…"
"I can see where you're heading with this Neo, and you needn't worry, I've already sorted it out." Said Morpheus. "There is a ship that will pass by here soon on their way home to Zion, and I am planning to send the file with them. Of course, it will still be a few days late, but it's better than being late by two weeks."
"Which ship is it?" Asked Trinity.
"The Hammer."
"Roland's ship." Trinity concluded, to which Morpheus nodded.
"We'll cross paths sometime in the early hours of the morning. If you're going to take the night shifts, Neo, then it will be up to you to wake everyone when this happens tonight."
(o)
Neo sat himself in front of the code, yawning as he watched a family picnic at a beach somewhere later that night. Parents spread out their beach towels and chairs, while their children ran excitedly across the purest white sand, dabbling their feet in the shimmering blue waters of the ocean as it lapped up upon the shore. Seagulls flew gaily across the blaze of the sun, soaring into the distance over the water and allowing the cool, summers breeze to carry them. They were screeching, he guessed, and he supposed the children were laughing and playing with one another without a care in the world. Their parents sat together in the sand, lost in what appeared to be a deep and meaningful conversation. He had an impending desire to hear what they had to say, and to be able to listen to the sounds of the waves if he had been there with them…
A hand shot out of the darkness and took hold of his shoulder, causing him to jump in his chair. Whirling around to face the newcomer, he met with Raven's obviously amused face, and frowned whilst the boy howled with laughter.
"Man I love doing that to people." He sighed heavily, leaving his hand on Neo's shoulder and peering over him to read the code. "Hey, what's all that green stuff?"
"The Matrix code." He explained effortlessly, not tearing his eyes from the screen. "It shows you anything you want to see within the Matrix from the real world. Only problem is it always remains encoded."
"So I'm looking at the place where I used to live, huh?" He said interestedly, keeping his face so close to the screens that they almost brushed against his oversized nose. "Whoa, how to you read this?"
"You have to learn." Neo said tiredly. "Usually it takes forever, and it will be a while before you can completely understand it. But you will soon. Trust me."
"How long did it take you?"
"One day."
"No shit! Who taught you?"
"I did."
"Say what?"
Neo frowned, wishing that Raven didn't have to continually use the same, irritating, expression. "I taught me." He replied through clenched teeth.
"You must be a pretty good teacher, then." He paused, backing away from the screen. Neo could feel him breathing down his neck. "Hey, can you teach me?"
"Maybe not now." Neo answered, struggling to maintain a friendly smile.
"Aw, why not?" He pouted.
"I'm not a very good teacher."
"C'mon, you must be if you could teach yourself."
"I was a special case." He reasoned. "You…"
"I'm a fast learner. I'll pick it up." He buffed out his chest proudly, smirking to himself as he did so. "I taught myself how to lip read, after all."
"Lip read?" Neo questioned, now suddenly finding himself interested in the conversation. If he could lip read, then he may be able to understand conversations between people when watching the Matrix code. He smiled, now finally understanding what talents Raven possessed that Morpheus had thought necessary to the resistance.
"Yeah, I started to teach myself when I was about eight." He grinned in self satisfaction. "You see, the was this girl living in the apartment block opposite me at the time, and she was the ultimate babe. Her bedroom window faced onto mine, and I used to watch her silhouette on the curtains of her window while she got changed. But you see, she had this really nasty looking boyfriend, and whenever he came over and they would go up to her room and talk, I could always see their lips moving, but never understand what they were saying. So I started to pay attention to people when they talked to me, and took note of their lip formations and stuff. By the time I was twelve, I could lip read. Unfortunately by then, the girl had moved out and bought her own apartment." He shrugged his shoulders meekly. "Meh, she was too old for me anyway."
"Fascinating." Neo said sarcastically after a pause. "Hey listen, do you think you could teach me to lip read?"
Raven shrugged. "It'll cost ya."
"What if I taught you to read the code, and you taught me how to lip read? If you're not too tired after training, you can meet me here every night and we can practice. Sound good?"
"Man you got yourself a deal!" Raven punched the air in triumph, then held out his hand, which Neo took and shook reluctantly.
"So when do we start?" Raven beamed. "Right now?"
As if to answer his question, one of the monitors nearby flashed on, reading the signal of an approaching ship. Neo stared at for a moment as if in a trance, wondering why a ship should be approaching them before he remembered Morpheus's words and snapped himself from his daze. Snatching the intercom in hand, he held the mouthpiece to his lips and called into it timidly.
"Um…the ship's here, so…err…I guess you should all get up now."
He set it down again, and within minutes Morpheus, Trinity and Tank had arrived in the core, half dressed and dreary with sleep. Neo stepped aside, allowing Morpheus to take his place and seize the communicator in hand.
"This is Captain Morpheus of the Nebuchadnezzar. Roland, do you copy?"
"Read you loud and clear, Morpheus." The dry voice of an elderly male cackled in reply, his voice issuing from the communicator held in Morpheus's hand. "Shall we set the ships near the gorge over there?"
"Alright. I'll meet you there." Morpheus finished, setting the communicator aside. He stood from the seat, offering it to Tank who took his place instantly. "Tank, prepare the file so we can hand it over as soon as possible. Trinity, take Neo and Raven and equip them both with rifles. Be sure to bring one for Tank and I, and then meet me in the cockpit."
Trinity nodded, taking the cuff of the sleeve of Neo's grey over-shirt in her hand and pulled her after him down a corridor and to a door he must have past countless times before, but never thought to open. She trust it open now, to reveal a sort of closet that was home to several advanced looking rifles, and a series of other weapons. She handed a rifle to each, as well as a sash that held spare bullets. Raven received his weapons delightedly, a devious smile spreading across his face, while Neo shot her a doubtful look.
"You probably won't have to use it, don't worry." She said with a soft smile. "It's only a precaution in case sentinels should attack while we're out in the open."
"We're going to leave the ship?" He asked worriedly.
"How else do you expect to transfer the file to them?" She asked rhetorically, fitting herself with a sash and rifle, then holding it out before him. "Just so you know, you use this to power it up, and this to trigger it, ok?"
Neo nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He knew she was right in saying that it was only a precaution, and the odds of a sentinel attack were slim. But even so, he couldn't help but worry when an advanced weapon of destruction now lay in his arms. Raven, on the other hand, was leaping about with excitement, and aiming the rifle at randomly chosen objects all the way to the cockpit, where Morpheus awaited them, already seated at the controls.
"I've taken her off auto-pilot." He informed Trinity as she took the seat beside him. "We're aiming to land near that gorge south-west of our current location. We'll need four starboard, 60 degrees, twenty percent…"
Attempting to understand the conversation shared between Morpheus and Trinity was like trying to understand another language, but for once Neo decided not to ask questions, and mentally took note of things to ask later. He may have piloted the ship before, but it seemed he obviously needed much more practice. He watched in silence, listening to the sounds of Raven's shallow breathing beside him and the shuddering of the ship as it slowly came to land beside the small gorge beside another, larger hovercraft already waiting for them, its crew assembled before its open entrance.
"Looks like we're late." Trinity muttered, as she brought the ship to a slow and graceful landing beside the Hammer.
"Is the file ready, Tank?" Morpheus questioned over the intercom.
"Sure is." Tank replied cheerily. "Meet you all at the entrance."
Trinity got from her seat, removing her seatbelt and stepping past both Raven and Neo, leading the way to the ladder.
(o)
"Long time no see, Morpheus." Roland greeted warmly, stepping away from his crew to shake the other captain's hand. He was much older than Morpheus, Neo observed, and his pale, ghostly face was wrinkled and worn with age and exhaustion, as was the hand he used to shake hands with each individual crewmember.
"Yes, this certainly is an unexpected meeting." Morpheus replied coolly, giving the impression that his relationship with the man before him was a neutral one. "Allow me to introduce my two newest crewmembers, Neo and Raven."
"Good to meet you both." Roland said, his tone as hard as iron. He may have been old, but he certainly wasn't soft. His face was sharp, his eyes cruel, black slits and he seemed almost incapable of smiling. Not even the balding white flicks of hair sprouting atop his head were unviolent.
"Have you any new crewmembers?" Morpheus asked in an attempt to make pleasant conversation.
"No, still the same as always." He gestured to the people assembled behind him, then drew his attention back to both Neo and Raven. "Sorry, rude of me not to introduce you. I'd like you to meet my crew. This is AK, Colt, Mauser and Maggie."
Each person nodded as their name was mentioned, and Neo responded with a polite smile, though hardly took the time to take note of each person's face. He found himself overcome with a sudden sense of exhaustion, and would have liked nothing better than to return to bed and have the entire event over.
"We'll be taking the file then, I suppose?" He questioned, beady eyes scanning the crew suspiciously. Tank stepped forward, pressing a small, compact disk into Roland's outstretched hand. His fingers closed around it, and he drew his hand back to his side.
"Don't mean to sound rude, but do you think you could tell me what the disk is for?"
Morpheus shrugged, acting as though this was of little importance, though both Neo and Trinity felt their hearts begin to thump relentlessly in their chests. "It's something the Council wanted us to try, to see if we could create some new techniques using recording, just for the amusement of it. They wanted it back as soon as possible, so be sure to deliver it to them as soon as you arrive."
"I'll make sure to do that." He frowned, obviously unconvinced. But he did not press the matter any further, and handed held out the disk to Maggie, who stepped forward to accept it, casting a quick smile in Trinity's direction, which she returned.
"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other sometime in the near future." Roland concluded. "Until then, the best to all of you."
"And to you too, Roland." Morpheus replied blandly. Roland shook hands again with each crewmember, and then he and his crew departed, their ship trembling and humming before the engines sprung to life, and it soared away into the distance.
"So what did you think of Roland?" Trinity whispered to Neo quietly as they proceeded to return to the cockpit to restart the ship.
"He was ok, I suppose." He shrugged. "I really couldn't tell much about him, except that he was old, and that he was tired."
"Roland's always been very quiet and secluded, and doesn't let anyone get close to him at all. It's really hard to tell what's going on in his mind, and I think the only emotion I've ever seen him express is anger, which he shows very frequently. He's the sort of person who gets upset by the smallest things."
Neo could see where she was coming from, as he usually found that he had a gift for sensing things within people, and knowing about their deepest feelings and desires just by looking them in the eye. It was something he had been able to do since he was a child, and had not encountered anyone who he had not been able to see inside completely until today.
Once the ship was in auto-pilot, and sailing off in no apparent direction, Morpheus gave the new orders for his crew.
"You should all get as much sleep as you can, because we have a busy day ahead of us. Neo, I need you to keep working the night shift in the core."
He refused to make any initial complaints for the sake of upholding his job, and therefore being able to take part in something worthwhile, but grumbled about his exhaustion to Trinity all the way back to the core.
(o)
A/N: I'm not entirely sure about the names for Roland's crew, and I had to rely on a transcript I found on the internet to find them out, and my source could be unreliable. So don't kill me if any of the names are mixed up.
People have been reviewing and telling me that something is wrong with chapters 20 and 24. I've tried to fix it, and I hope they're working properlly now
Thanks for reading, please review!