Links was stressed out. He was sitting at The Neo's operating station, looking meticulously over the glowing codes. He was having a difficult time lifting the cover-up program, but he had expected as much. Besides, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what was going on. He looked over at the four still forms before him, his face grim. All of their vital signs were still stable, but he could tell many of them had been wounded. Things were looking very grim at the moment.

After Bree had terminated the radio connection between the ships, Link had contacted Zion as she requested. He had tried not to worry about what she was doing now. One of the tech assistants had answered him. Link asked to talk to Morpheus and had been told to wait a moment. It had been the longest moment in his entire life. In the time he had waited his mind had unwillingly begun to think about what was happening to all the crew members that were now the prisoners of the agents. What were Smith and the others doing to them? Thankfully, his brain hadn't had to come up with an answer just then, because Councilor Hammand came on the other end of the radio connection.

"Link?" he said, "This is Councilor Hammand."

"Councilor Hammand?" Link replied confused, "Sir, I'm just looking for Morpheus. There is a pressing matter that I need to discuss with him."

"Yes, I was in Morpheus' office when young Bick called. When I he told me who was looking for Morpheus, I put two-and-two together and figured that something was wrong."

"Councilor, some of the crew here and some of the crew on the Nostradamus have been captured within the Matrix, and now Bree has gone in to try and save them. I need to talk to Morpheus about what we need to do now." Link suddenly felt like breaking down and letting a few tears fall. This was all reminding him too much of the warring years, and the thought of all of the others being tortured by Smith was not pleasant.

"Morpheus is not here, Link. He went into the Matrix about an hour ago when an urgent message came to him."

"What kind of urgent message, sir?" Link stomach was somersaulting uncomfortably.

"Ace sent him a radio transmission about an hour ago calling for help. Apparently he was unable to contact you. Morpheus went in to do just that, but we lost contact with him within twenty minutes."

Links disconnected the transmission between him and Councilor Hammand, not feeling capable of speaking anymore. Then he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes, in hopes this was all a dream and if he tried hard enough he would wake up, but when he reopened his eyes he was still standing by the radio, and his crew was still in mortal peril. With an agonized sigh, Link had drifted back to his chair. He sat there for a long time, not really seeing the screen in front of him. Then, his mind slowly began to think about things again, and he thought of Bree, knowing that she was in the Matrix intending to rescue everybody, and he suddenly began typing furiously on the keyboard. He had to lift this damned cover-up program.

It had been completely silent between Bree and Tron since they had left the alleyway. Neither of them had spoken a word or even looked in the other's direction. They had simply continued walking west. They were now about a mile away from the warehouse which they were heading to. Bree didn't know why, but she could feel hoe close they were getting. It seemed that since she had now accepted her new abilities more seemed to be popping up. Or maybe it was just her connection with some of the people being held hostage.

"Bree?" Tron finally said tentatively. Bree stopped and turned around on the sidewalk to look at him.

"Yes?" she said plainly.

"You stopped a bullet," he told her matter-of-factly, "In mid-air, with your hand." His tone suggested he had been thinking about this some time, and had only just figured it out.

"Yes, I did."

"How?" His innocence and sincere confusion made Bree seriously regret her decision to let him come with her. He was young, too young to have been ready for this. However, she also understood the mind-numbing effect this could all have on somebody. She sighed

"Tron, you've been unplugged what, six months now?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied slowly.

"And even though you obviously know who Neo is, I'm willing to bet you don't know the entire story about him, do you?"

"No." She could tell he was entirely baffled by this sudden change of conversation, but he was not going to object.

"Well let me tell you," Bree said softly. She led him over to a small bench that served as a bus stop and sat down. After a moment's hesitation Tron sat down beside her. It was another moment before she actually began.

"You know, Morpheus actually thought I was the One," she said, smiling at Trons look of comical surprise, "It was why I was initially unplugged. I was only fifteen, and I completely freaked out when I was told I had been living in a dream world. After I calmed down, Morpheus took me to see the Oracle. You know what she told me?"

Tron shook his head.

"She told me that I wasn't the One, but that when the One was finally found I would recognize him or her from my life in the Matrix. So, I stayed with Morpheus and the rest of the Nebuchadnezzar's crew, and they became like the family I never had. After a while, I almost forgot about what the Oracle told me. And then Neo came. I didn't know whether or not to believe Morpheus that he was the One, that we had finally found him, until I saw him. Right then, I believed Morpheus, because when I saw Neo, I realized I was looking at the only other person that had ever cared for me. In the Matrix, I guess he was my brother, and he had cared for me until I ran away and was finally unplugged.

"I don't know why I didn't tell anyone that I knew he was the One because of what the Oracle told me. It was probably because by speaking it out loud I would jinx it or something and he would turn out not to be the One and all that hope would have been for nothing. Then the day came when he fulfilled his destiny and stepped into his role, and I was able to tell everyone. From that day forward we were so close, we were like siblings again. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Now comes the part I think you've heard. The day he saved the real world from the machines. Boy, I will never forget that day. Just all of the emotions everyone went through, it was draining. When those machines retreated, for a moment I don't think any of us really knew what to do. Then Ace went running through the crowd screaming to everyone that Neo had done, that he had saved us all. Not really understanding what that meant at that time I went running with him, pure glee and adrenaline coursing through my body. When I finally realized that the ending of the war had meant Neos destruction, I was devastated, and finding Trinity's body on the Logos just made it worse." She finally took a pause and turned her head to look at Tron, whose rapt attention brought another smile to her face.

"The reason I can stop bullets and how my hand moved at such a great speed, is because when his body was destroyed all of his power had to go somewhere. It was too great to just disappear into thin air. The Oracle told me that I now have that power, because I was the closest thing Neo had to family. I didn't ask for it, and I'm not sure whether or not I even want it, but the fact is that I have it. And now, I am going to use it to get those I care about most back to me safely." With another sigh she finished, and there was silence once more between them. It was broken quickly, however, by a clapping sound. Both Bree and Tron turned around quickly, startled by the noise.

"Neo!" Bree cried immediately. Her heart leapt as she saw him, all thoughts of Ace and the others and their predicament forgotten. Once again she was looking upon the face of the person whom she had loved the most in her life. She ran to him, ready to throw her arms around him, but he backed away, hands up as though warding something off.

"Don't, please," he said regretfully.

"Neo, what's wrong?" Bree asked him, thoroughly confused. Neo sighed.

"I'm not Neo," he said, taking off his sunglasses, "I'm a program, made by the machines. Made to lure you into the Matrix, to think you could save your friends."

Brees mind was in a spin. It seemed as though everything had been erased from her mind and she was suddenly all alone within the dark depths of her own thoughts. He wasn't Neo? He was just a program. She felt numb all over, and she suddenly felt very faint. Tron was beside her in a moment, placing both hands on her shoulders to keep her steady. A look over at him told her that he was glaring heavily at the program Neo, a look of deep hatred on his face.

"I'm OK, Tron," Bree said, brushing his hands off gently. She still felt a little shaky, but her legs were remaining as still as she expected them too. Tron did not seem so sure of her statement. She gave him a wan smile, and held up a hand, reassuring him that she was fine. Then she turned to Neo, or the program she had thought was Neo.

"I'm so sorry," the programmed figure said, "I wish I could take back what I did, but I can't."

"Of course you can't," Bree said briskly, "You're a program. You're only meant to do what you're told to do. Which leads me to ask you why you are here telling me you're a program, when your job was to lure me here?" It seemed a strange thing to ask with all the emotion she was feeling right now. She was surprised she hadn't thrown up yet. Neo also appeared surprised, but Bree was sure it wasn't by that particular fact.

"Well," he said slowly, "To be honest, I'm coming clean because I'm scheduled to be terminated. They don't need me anymore now that you're here. You haven't tried since you first entered, but you can't contact your ship anymore. The one you named after…well, the one I was created to imitate." He seemed deeply embarrassed to have almost taken credit as The Neo's namesake.

"I was reassigned after our last encounter," Bree told her, surprised out how easy it came out, "Ace didn't want me coming back into the Matrix after he found out I was…not well." For a moment Bree wondered to herself why she couldn't say that she was pregnant out loud, but she knew it had nothing to do with who she was around. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to realize how much danger she was putting the precious fetus in by doing this.

"I met him last time didn't I? Ace?" Bree nodded, almost smiling.

"Yes, yes you did. I suppose some kind of imprint of Neos memory must have been floating around because you remembered him." Strangely, she was finding all of her anger and other discomforting feelings dissipating. She was at a loss to explain this phenomenon, but she did not resist it.

"So," she said, drawing in a deep breath, "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you didn't come to find me just to tell me you were a program." As always, Bree was highly intuitive, and very impatient. She was becoming ever more aware of the time they had wasted discussing this matter. Neo, the program, looked quite stunned she had picked up on it.

"Well, yes," he finally said, "I know why you're here, and I want to help." At this, Tron took a firm step forward.

"We don't need the help of a liar," he growled at the other man. Bree held out an arm, preventing Tron from getting any closer to Neo. She forced him back and held his gaze a long time, until he relaxed and resigned to stay in his place.

"How do you think you could help us?" she asked the program as she turned to look at him again. To make Tron feel better she slipped some skepticism into her tone, but in the far reaches of her mind she had already resolved to accept his offer.

"Have you thought of how you're going to enter the warehouse without being detected when you got there?" Neo, the program, asked. Dumb-founded, suddenly, Bree turned to Tron, a similar look on his own face. They hadn't really discussed what they were planning on doing.

"Not at all," Bree finally said, still puzzling over how she had missed thinking about that.

"Well, I have, because since I was notified of my termination I have been planning on revenge. I was hoping for a long life as a program, but I guess the machines had other plans. Also, I think they programmed me too well." He smiled at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"When I first met you, I found myself suddenly enveloped in a feeling I don't think programs are meant to feel. Sure, we have feelings, they're just part of the technology, but I felt connected to you. I think that's how I recognized Ace and remembered the last thing I, er, He told you tell him. It was like, well like I really was…Neo." He seemed prepared for a reprimand or something else. Bree realized Tron was advancing on him again, and she thought that maybe her story had had an effect on him she hadn't expected. At any rate, she held out her arm once more and forced him back.

"Tron, would you just cut it out?" she said to him exasperated.

"But Bree, he's just trying to manipulate us!" Tron exclaimed, "He could have just overheard your story and repeated the part about the 'connection!'"

"You think I haven't thought of that," Bree yelled back, for a moment dipping into a dark part of her where her short-temper always lied in wait for her to unleash it, "Do you think I'm stupid?" This seemed to silence him, and he shook his head, not meeting her eyes. She felt bad about yelling, but it was just part of life, so she didn't bother apologizing.

"He is right though," she said as she turned back to Neo, the program, "You could have just overheard what I was saying." Before Neo, the program, could say anything in his defense, Bree continued.

"However, I do have one thing that can prove your story true. The machines would have either found it too tedious or it was just not in the collection of memories they acquired from him." Everyone was silent as she rummaged around in the pocket of her jacket, for a trinket that she carried everywhere with her in the real world, so her mind put it in her pocket when she entered the Matrix. After a moment, she extracted her hand and held out a spoon. It was rusty and well worn, but most definitely a spoon. Tron looked utterly baffled, while Neo, the program, looked simply perplexed.

"What is this?" Bree asked Neo, holding the spoon out so he could take it. He turned it over in his hands, examining it. Suddenly, he grinned.

"An orphan gave it to me," he explained slowly, Bree breaking out into a grin herself, "He taught me how to bend it. He said 'Try and remember that the spoon isn't really there.'" There was a moment's pause as he focused on the spoon, and slowly the head of it bent backwards, then sideways, before righting itself again. Bree couldn't help herself this time. She ran forward and threw her arms around him. She didn't care whether or not he was a program. This was as close to Neo as she was going to get.

"Tron," Bree said as she stepped back, "I expect you to be satisfied. No more accusations." Tron nodded, looking in quite a stupor about what had just happened. Bree chuckled a bit and grinned broadly. Things were looking up now, and she was generally cheered up by the circumstances.

"Ok," she said, looking back and forth between the two men, "We need to get going. There's no telling what Smith is doing to everybody. No more wasting time." Her voice was all serious now. She nodded to Neo to lead the way now, and with a tug on Trons sleeve he followed her.

Smith was growing very weary now. He had been at this for a very long time and the little brat had yet to divulge the information he wanted. He had drawn up a chair before the boy called, Circuit, and was slowly massaging his temple. The computer programmer was proving to be stronger than he had guessed, and that was making him very angry. He had already ordered one of the captives to be shot, but that had only seemed to further his determination not to speak. The agent was running out of ideas.

"Sir?" said a voice behind him, and a jab of artificial pain shot through Smith's head. He turned his cranium to look at the other agent standing there.

"Yes?" he asked menacingly.

"Sir, we've captured another lurking outside." Smith was suddenly very alert and he stood up in a hurry.

"Who is it?" he demanded. The agent turned to the door at the back of the warehouse and nodded his head. An agent entered the warehouse, several others flanking him, as he escorted the new prisoner inside.

"Morpheus!" Circuit shouted, speaking for the first time, Smith thought, in about a half an hour. Smith, however, had forgotten about the boy for the time being and was smiling evilly.

"Put him with the others," he ordered the agent, who nodded and threw Morpheus roughly to the ground in compliance. The man hit the ground hard, adding insult to his growing number of injuries.

"Now," Smith said, turning around with a renewed vigor to Circuit, "Where were we?" He resumed his questioning of how to hack into the system, trying tactic after tactic to weaken the boy.

Meanwhile, in the corner, Ace crawled up to Morpheus. With an effort he managed to lean his back against the wall. Both of his eyes were black and blue, one of them had swollen shut, and his lower lip was bulbous and red. He looked to Morpheus, attempting a smile, but it quickly turned into a wince at the pain in his jaw. Morpheus looked at him in concern, but then quickly looked to the body of Tick that had been left in the middle of the group. Ace did too, then sighed and shook his head.

The two continued on this way for a few minutes, trying hard to communicate without speaking aloud to each other. Ace was not keen to receive another kick, and he was sure Morpheus was not eager to join the others and gather some incapacitating wounds himself. They just had to bide their time, and hope that Circuit held out just a little longer. If he gave away the secret to hacking into the real world's system, then they were all doomed, and Zion would cease to grow, slowly falling to destruction. It was all up to Circuit now.