Neo stood next to Trinity as the exit ramp lowered, revealing several men on the dock. As he moved down the ramp with everyone else, Neo's eyes opened wide in awe of the dock before him- and, as Trinity mused- he hasn't even gotten into the heart of Zion yet.
One of the soldiers moved forward, clearly addressing Morpheus.
"Captain Morpheus, the council and Commander Lock would like you and your remaining crew to meet them at the council chamber in one hour."
"Thank you Captain Mifune." Morpheus nodded before the captain turned and left. "Tank, could you take my bags to my room as I dock the Nebuchadnezzar?"
"Yes sir." Tank took the bag from the outstretched hand, before motioning with his head for Trinity and Neo to follow him.
"This place is huge." Neo murmured to Trinity.
"You haven't even gotten inside yet, Neo. Just wait." Tank replied, overhearing the comment.
"You mean-" Neo trailed off, turning his head to look back at the docks as they approached the lift.
"This is the dock, Neo. It's supposed to be big and wide open." Trinity answered his unfinished question as she moved into the lift behind him.
The double doors shut behind them as Tank pressed two buttons. Neo felt the lift begin to descend, and moved to the sidewall, leaning against it. Trinity, who had noticed his discomfort, turned in curiosity.
"Neo, what's wrong?" Tank turned at the question, suddenly aware of the effect the lift's movement had on the other man.
"I'm just- I never liked elevators." Neo replied quietly, almost self-consciously.
"You were told by the machines to be afraid of elevators in the Matrix. That doesn't mean that you really are." Trinity remarked, placing a hand on his arm.
"Then how come I'm still left-handed?"
"Because that was something your brain had already decided before you began writing. A fear is something learned, not born with." Trinity explained as the lift slowed to a stop.
"My stop. I'll see you two in about forty minutes. I know you just can't stay away from Ol' Deadbolt." Tank laughed at the look Trinity shot him as he exited the lift, the doors shutting behind him.
"Deadbolt?" Neo asked, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Every ship has a strong dislike for our military commander. Lock is a pain in the ass. The only reason our ship has to pretend to be nice to him is because one wrong move and he'll remove Morpheus from duty."
"He doesn't like Morpheus I take it?" Neo inquired.
"Well, Lock doesn't like too many pod-born people. Some Zionists are like that, but not too many. They learned a long time ago, that if they wanted to survive, they needed to forget their differences. Morpheus is especially good at ticking him off by just a comment, so we have to tow the line every moment he's around." Trinity answered as the doors opened.
Meanwhile...
"I'm back!" Tank yelled the moment he opened the door.
"Tank!" Zee jumped up from her bed, and pulled him into a tight embrace. Releasing him, she asked softly, "Tank, where's Dozer? Did he go to see Cas first?"
Tank pulled away a few steps, his face grave.
"Zee, Dozer's dead. Cypher betrayed us on our last mission and almost killed me, but Dozer didn't survive." Tank swallowed as he felt tears forming in his eyes.
Zee moved towards him and pulled him into a tight hug, crying into his neck. Tank could feel the hot tears on his bare skin, and only held her tighter. Neither noticed as two figures entered into the small cabin.
"Zee? Tank? What's wrong? Guys?" Link moved quickly to their side, Cas not far behind.
Tank pulled away from Zee, allowing her to move into her husband's arms as he turned to Cas.
"Dozer- he, he was killed by Cypher. Cypher betrayed us. He killed Apoc and Switch, and gave Morpheus over to the agents. But I got that son of a bitch. I fried him." Tank's anger swelled, only to melt away at the sight of Cas's face. "I'm so sorry."
Cas stood stunned for a moment, before crying out and collapsing into Tank's arms. It seemed a mournful day for them all, only made worse at the fact that Cas's and Dozer's children would grow up without a father they barely knew.
"Okay, home sweet, Zion home." Trinity commented, swinging open the door to her room.
"This is your room?" Neo asked, truly surprised at the size after living in a small cabin on the Nebuchadnezzar.
"Zion is much larger than the Neb, Neo." Trinity pointed out as she dropped her bag to the floor.
"Do I- have a room?" Neo asked as he shut the door.
"Do you want your own room?" Trinity asked back, causing him to stop and look at her.
Neo was silent a moment before replying. "No. Unless you don't want me to stay with you."
"If you said that two weeks ago I would've kicked you out immediately. Now though, I don't know if I'd ever want to sleep alone again." Trinity smiled at the cheesiness of the comment, but could see that Neo was quite pleased by it. "Come on, we'd better get going. I don't want Tank to have to wait long by himself. I almost wish I'd gone with him."
"Why?" Neo asked, clearly confused.
"Because he has to tell Zee, Cas and Link all by himself." Trinity replied.
"Who are they?"
"Zee is Tank and Dozer's sister. She's also married to Link. And Cas is- was Dozer's wife." Trinity corrected herself, suddenly saddened. "Life in Zion just became much harder for Cas. She has two kids to take care of, but I know that family well enough. They all take care of each other; it's an amazingly close-knit family. Come on." Trinity ended the conversation with a twist of the door handle.
Moving out onto the walkway, Neo brushed his knuckles against the back of Trinity's hand before clasping it tightly, intertwining his fingers with hers. Trinity was at first unresponsive, but the flood of emotions within her head forced her hand to grip his tightly. A ghost of a smile graced her features as a few passersby stared. Trinity knew Neo was itching to ask a question. There is no way I'm allowing him to prod me with questions tonight. I'll tie a shirt around his mouth if it keeps him silent. Squeezing his hand gently, a sign that she would answer his question momentarily, Trinity pressed the 'down' button for the lift. Slipping through the opened doors, Trinity quickly pressed another button, shutting the doors before anyone could follow them into the lift.
"Okay, what are you dying to ask?" Trinity inquired, not even turning to look at Neo.
"Why were some people looking at you oddly?"
"Because you were holding my hand. Also because I was allowing you to hold my hand." Turning to glance at his face, Trinity continued. "I'm pretty well known here. The Trinity spoken about in Zion and whispered about among male crews on ships has been known for the past fifteen years to not even look at another person any differently than is normal. I've never taken a partner, nor been with anyone. I've never acted affectionately to anyone, and any guy that tried to come on to me found my fist in their face."
"Wow. They whisper about you on ships?" Neo asked, eyes wide.
"Tank tells me that many a man has spoken to him about how much they want me. But, I tend to just ignore it." Trinity shrugged.
"I can see why."
"Why what?" Trinity turned to look at Neo, a question in her eyes.
"Why they want you." Neo paused at the continued question lurking in the blue eyes before continuing. "Hey, I want you, and I can safely say it's because you are an amazing woman. Of course, they're probably just looking at your body, which I can also agree with." Neo smiled as Trinity hit him in the shoulder. "You're beautiful. Don't deny it."
Leaning down to stop her from responding, Neo pressed his lips to Trinity's. Pleasure blossoming throughout her body, Trinity moved closer, pressing herself to his frame. Moving a hand to grip his neck, Trinity didn't notice the lift come to a halt and the doors open. A group of people stood outside, just staring, unbelieving at the sight before them as Neo gently moved his lips over Trinity's mouth, causing her to emit a soft moan. Suddenly, one of the men standing cleared his throat. Neo and Trinity jumped apart, obviously embarrassed, but slid out through their unwanted observers.
As the pair moved forward toward the council chamber where Tank was waiting for them, one of the women turned to the others once they were in the lift and asked, "Is that Trinity?" All nodded, not taking their eyes off of Neo and Trinity until the doors shut.
"Tank, what's wrong? Are you all right?" Trinity asked, concern etched across her features, brow creased in worry.
"Yeah. I left everyone crying in Zee's room. They want to have Dozer's ashes stored in Cas's place instead of being dumped with the rest of the crewmates' ashes." Tank answered as Trinity pulled him into a hug. Releasing her after a moment, Tank glanced up at Neo before hugging him too. Neo was taken by surprise, but recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around the shorter operator. Letting go after a moment, Tank wiped his face before speaking.
"Okay, we'd better go in. How do I look?" Trinity stifled a laugh at the question, but only nodded her head. "I know, like shit, but I think we all deserve to look a little worse for the wear."
Pushing open one of the large doors, Tank moved inside where two soldiers stood at the second entrance. Neo and Trinity followed at his heels as they were led by one of the soldiers into the main room. Neo saw twelve people sitting at a long, slightly curved table, facing two other tables with stands behind them. Following Trinity to one of the tables where Morpheus was already seated, his face stoic as he sat, Neo saw another man, a little taller than Morpheus, with dark skin and a distinguishing indent in his chin cross the room to their table.
"Captain Morpheus, this is your remaining crew?" the man asked.
"That is right Commander. Trinity and Tank are all that remain of my original crew. And Neo here is our newest crewmember. He was unplugged right before Cypher's betrayal- which I told you about." Morpheus replied calmly.
"He seems to be quite a bit older than the age limit we have on releasing minds." One of the Councilors pointed out. Neo looked at the man, dark fuzzy hair and a thick beard.
"I know Councilor, but you see, I had to unplug him."
"Why is that captain?" The woman sitting dead center asked, her voice tinged with eloquence.
"He is the One." Morpheus replied proudly, causing a murmur to erupt from all of the council members. Neo watched as Trinity kept her eyes locked on the commander- who snorted quietly before moving to converse with the council.
"Commander Lock doesn't believe in the prophecy." Trinity explained as Neo looked on with confusion before turning to her and nodding in understanding.
The four members of the Nebuchadnezzar sat in silence for several more minutes as the council continued to talk amongst themselves. Finally, a slightly pudgy man with silver hair and a kind-looking face stood and walked around the table towards Neo.
As he approached, the man gestured for Neo to get up, saying, "Stand up son, come around to this side for a moment."
Neo looked from Morpheus to Trinity before standing and moving around to the other side of the table. Running a hand over his head, Neo tried his best not to look scared. Trinity could instantly see- he was uncomfortable, unused to this type of attention, and terribly afraid.
"I am Councilor Hamann. What is your name?" the Councilor asked kindly.
"I'm Neo." Neo replied.
"All right. Neo, can you tell us how you came to be the One?" The Councilor inquired.
At Neo's loss for words, Trinity took one look at Morpheus before standing and moving around the table. Ignoring the murmuring of voices from the council, Trinity grasped Neo's hand as she stood next to him. The Councilor looked down at the obvious pubic display of affection with both surprise and happiness.
"Trinity, would you mind telling us then?" The Councilor looked to one of the most well known woman in the resistance, hoping for an answer.
"The Oracle-" Trinity paused to glare at Commander Lock when he snorted at the name before continuing. "She told me many years ago that I would fall in a love with a man, and that that man would be the One. One of the agents shot and killed Neo on our last excursion into the Matrix to save Morpheus. Sentinels were ripping our ship apart, and yet, I told him, told his flat lined body, that he couldn't be dead, that he had to be the One because I loved him. I-I kissed him, and he breathed, and he, well, he can explain it better than I can."
Neo shifted as everyone focused back on him. "I, well, the three agents fired at me, and I just said 'No.' I didn't want to accept the rules anymore, and I didn't. I stopped every bullet they shot at me before they even reached my outstretched hand. When Agent Smith ran to fight me, I fought him with only one arm. I kicked him back down the hall and ran into him- and deleted him. Then I got out." Neo explained, taking reassurance in Trinity's thumb rubbing his hand idly.
The Councilor stood stunned for a moment before excusing himself and returning to the table. This time, Commander Lock didn't follow- he knew it wasn't his place to take part in this conversation. Finally, Councilor Hamann turned back around to face Neo, who had returned to his seat with Trinity.
"Neo, if you don't mind, we would like to have a few doctors run some tests, just to make sure you're fine and healthy. We do this to every new fighter when they come to Zion for the first time as Trinity and Morpheus can tell you. It really isn't our place to ask you to prove to us that you are the One, but I believe that there shouldn't be a reason for any person to lie to me, so I will take your word for it. On behalf of the council and Zion, we welcome you, both as a newly freed mind and as the One." Beaming at Neo, who smiled in return, the Councilor turned his gaze to Morpheus. "Morpheus, the ceremony for your lost crewmates will be held tonight, the plaques will be made ready for you. The Nebuchadnezzar will be repaired as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I ask you all to attend the gathering tomorrow night and to enjoy yourselves as much as you can during your stay."
Morpheus smiled softly before speaking. "Thank you Councilors." Nodding his head, Morpheus stood to leave.
Neo, Trinity, and Tank stood to follow him out before the leading woman spoke up.
"Tank, if you could, please accompany Neo to the hospital. You have sustained severe injuries in Cypher's betrayal, and I do not wish you to fall victim to infection and possible death from untreated wounds."
"I will Councilor, thank you for your thoughtfulness." Tank smiled at the woman before turning and following his crew out of the door.