It was always dark nowadays, always night time. This was just as well because most of the time everyone needed some sleep, though they rarely got it. The war had taken a lot out of everyone, captains, crew, civilians; but the rebuilding of the grand city of Zion, was if possible even more taxing on its people. The prospect of peace used to be considered a dream unreachable by all. Since they now had it, they almost didn't know what to do with it. The peace was a good thing, there was doubt about that in anyone's mind, but it was just hard to deal with the loss of so many people, and rebuild an entire city at the same time.

Eight years had passed since the truce between the machines and Zion. Things had been going as smoothly as things ever went around the big city. Slowly the repairs were done, and the living quarters were reconstructed. The people that had been evacuated returned periodically over the months, at least those whose ships had not been destroyed for one reason or another. The population stabilized, and then revamping of the many ships, and the replacement of others began. Morpheus and what members of his crew remained built a new ship, properly named: The Neo. Naturally Niobe joined the crew, much to Morpheus distraction.

Bree had been on the crew for a year when Neo came, she was just around sixteen. But she was one of the best mechanics around and Morpheus had needed her. He had thought she was something she wasn't when he first had her unplugged, but it became clear that it was not true. However, he kept her on board to take care of some tough repairs that had grounded them for a long time. With her help, they were able to continue their search for the One. She was happy and healthy for the most part, living her life on board the ship. It didn't take her longer then most to recover from the shock of realizing her life had just been a dream world, a program. Her life before had been nothing. It was something while she served on the Nebachudnezzer.

Now she staggered into her living quarters, moaning slightly and clutching her side. Her appearance was quite different then what it was in the Matrix. Her dark chocolate hair hung tangled about her face, and her eyes that had been hidden behind sunglasses, were grey and bloodshot. Dark bags clinged to the area under her eyes, giving her a gaunt, defunct look. Sighing heavily, she dragged herself to the bed and flopped down in it, immediately wishing she hadn't. The agent had gotten some pretty good shots on her. Letting the intense stinging pain slowly ebb away into the comfortable ache, she lay there, staring at the ceiling. She could hear the sound of the crew bustling above her, and felt disgusted with herself that she wasn't doing her part. She turned to her side angrily and fell to sleep.

She was in the Matrix again. The Bree that had grown up in the city, looking like such, staring back at her when she passed by a shop window. Not the ragged creature of the real world. This was her first time in the Matrix since learning everything. Morpheus and Trinity were taking her to see someone they called...the Oracle. She had no idea what to expect, but she trusted the two walking beside her like she had never trusted anyone in her life. She remembered thinking as she walked, how much both already meant to her in the short time she had served with them. She also thought about perhaps telling them so, a flaw of being emotional, but they reached the home of the Oracle before they could do that. The visit went by quickly, the Oracle telling her that she was not who Morpheus thought, but that she had some connection with whoever that might be. That was all, nothing more was said, and Bree, Morpheus, and Trinity went back to the ship.

Now she was back on the ship, a normal day, with everyone doing their assigned job to keep the ship running. Bree and Mouse were down below fixing a few wires. They had wanted to be up on the deck, but Morpheus told them that they needed to keep the ship running. Grudgingly the two began their work. But they didn't get much work done, mostly because the two had grown rather close being the youngest on board. However, just a half hour or so after they began working, there was a commotion above, and they scrambled out to see what was up. That was when Bree saw him; the person Morpheus assured all of them was who they had been searching for all this time. She quickly climbed out of the hull and followed after him, her eyes never leaving the back of his head, which was all she could see. Then he finally turned around, as Morpheus said her name, and she remembered him, from her life in the Matrix. He didn't seem to notice anything, and just waved, granting her the same nervous smile she remembered wearing just a year ago.

There was a sudden rush of time in her dreamland, as it sped up to the day that Neo had proven he was the One. He was fast, he stopped bullets, defeated the agents, saved Morpheus, and Trinity loved him. But that wasn't all, because Bree had known long before all of them that Neo was what the Oracle had told him untrue. Before she had been unplugged she had lived a life of leisure in the Matrix, but she had not been alone the entire time. She remembered the death of her "parents" when she was little, and therefore had to be placed with a family member or foster home. Neo had been that family member, her half-brother. He took care of her for a long time, but she became restless, rebellious, and ran. She always remembered feeling bad about it when she looked back on that day, but she had been an angry teenager. Her parents had died and Neo appeared to be too wrapped up in his computer to have time for his new charge. That wasn't the case, but after she left he began even more wrapped up in his computer. The Oracle had told Bree when she came to see her that the One would be someone from her past, before being unplugged. Some one Bree regretted hurting. Neo was the One in Brees mind long before everyone else realized it.

The scene switched, the conscious part of her mind hoping for the last time, and she was in Zion, standing with Ace. They were playfully chasing each other around the debris, though they should have been working. Both were laughing and just happy they were together and the war was over. About six months had paced since the peace had began. While the two joyously darted about the bits and pieces that had been chipped off the city, Bree heard the radio at her hip hiss and she halted reluctantly. She held it up to her ear.

"Bree," she said.

"You two need to get to work, this isn't time for games," came the voice of the infamous Capt. Lock. He was probably more irritated then normal because there was a possibility of him being booted out of his position.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes so Ace could see, "Look Capt., you told us to keep a look out for anything 'unusual' and that's exactly what we're...doing." She dropped the radio and stared straight ahead of her. Ace had already turned around and was standing with his mouth open.

"Bree, Bree!" came Locks voice from the abandoned communicator.

Brees attention was focused on the ship in front her, landing at the dock. Lock hadn't mentioned any incoming. Perhaps he didn't know the peculiarity about this ship being here. The Logos harbored itself at Gate 3 and, simultaneously, both Bree and Ace rushed to meet it. They got there just before Morpheus, Link, and Niobe. The five of them all exchanged glances, before the door to the ship creaked up. A machine slithered out and was gone. Now they were really puzzled. At once the rushed onto the ship, Niobe first since the Logos was hers. What they found brought a sad face to them all.

"Bree," came a gentle voice, and Bree suddenly awoke. She sat up straight and closed her eyes, trying to force the tears that wanted out back in. She leaned against the back wall of the bed and took several deep, shuddering breaths. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Ace sitting there, worry etched into every corner of his boyish face. He had a tray of food in his other hand.

"You all right?" he asked soothingly. Bree swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded slowly.

"Just a dream," she whispered. He offered her the tray but she shook her head. She was hungry, but did not trust herself to keep anything down.

"About what?" he asked after a few minutes. Bree almost didn't want to say, but she shared everything with him, and was not about to stop that system now.

"Everything," she said, knowing this was a vague beginning, "My first visit to the Oracle, the day Neo arrived, the day Neo became the One in everyone's eyes, and...and the day the Logos returned." The tears fought there way out this time, and streamed down her pale cheeks, leaving a moist, stinging trail behind them. Ace gave her shoulder a squeeze and before she knew it she threw her arms around him in another hug, her face face buried into his shoulder. He patted her back comfortingly and just sat there with her for a long time. Finally she retracted and wiped her eyes. She sniffed once and lay back down upon the bed. Her eyes drooped and she fell back into a deep sleep, no dreams troubling her this time, but they would again.

"Coming up on Gate 2 in about five minutes," Niobe said as she fingered the controls, coasting The Neo further forward towards Zion. Bree, who had been standing behind her watching through the front window, nodded, patted the other woman's shoulder and left. She wandered through the ship, checking up on everyone. All of whom gave her an odd expression which she ignored. Magnet was working on the ammunition feeder; Stella was busy in the infirmary, tending to a wound Bolt had suffered the other day. The bandages needed to be changed. Finally, Bree reached the "jack room" to find Link and Ace in whispered conversation, both staring at the matrix feed.

"What's going on in this room?" Bree said, trying to muster up a smile, "Well be landing shortly." The smiled failed, and she just drifted over to where the two were standing. The two men glanced at each other and then at Bree, who was occupying herself with the screen in front of her, trying to pretend she didn't notice. She sighed when Link coughed.

"All right all ready," she said exasperated, "You all have been staring at me funny all day. I know what you guys are thinking; I know what you guys want to know. But I'm not sure I can tell you until I come to terms with the information myself..." Well that let the cat out of the bag. Like moths to the moon, the rest of the crew just seemed to appear there in the room with Bree, Link, and Ace, all with eagerly hopeful looks on their faces. Bree stared around at them all painfully, knowing that she now had to speak.

"It was Smith," she muttered, and immediately there was a murmur of disbelief around the group, "His face, the way he smiled...It was him." A silence fell upon them all, only broken when the ship jolted, announcing its docking in Gate 2. They left the room one-by-one, two in Magnet and Bolts case, until only Ace and Bree were left. They looked at each other, both wearing similar looks of fear. Bree held out her left hand, twitching a half-smile at Ace. He smiled back in the same manner and grasped her hand. Together, as with almost everything they did, the two walked off the ship and into the city. Bree tried not to think about what would happen as the day wore on.

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