Seven

-

"No!"

His serenity gone, Neo slammed his fists off two of the screens before Link could stop him. Neither left any cracks thankfully, but he shooed Neo back as best he could all the same.

"Easy!", he shouted back in his loudest tone. "You break these, I can guarantee we won't be able to get her out of there!"

Horrified at what he'd almost done, he looked into his hands for a moment, and then gazed at the code more intently than ever, able to read it perfectly, as well as just how screwed up it was getting.

"Trinity", Link started back in a careful tone. "Try and remember. Remember those exercises Morpheus taught you."

Of course, Link knew this would be much easier if Morpheus was actually conscious. He would have been able to walk her through it no sweat. As it was, the best they could hope for was that the rapid coagulation of the coding for the building would slow down a tad.

"I'm going back in", he heard Neo's voice from behind, sounding every bit as determined as she had when she had demanded to be plugged in less than half an hour before. "I'll see what I can do for her."

This time, Link obeyed as fast as he could. "Better do it fast, man, can't stay at broadcast depth forever."

Strapped back into the chair, Neo nodded to him, understanding completely- just as when Smith had interrupted his escape, the Nebuchadnezzar had a good weapon to use against the inevitable Sentinel attackers, but wouldn't dare use it when it's first mate was irrevocably trapped in the Matrix. If the Sentinels came, if they found them, Link would have to make the choice between Trinity's life… and all of theirs.

Neo didn't envy him that. He plugged back in without another word, leaving Link alone to watch the sensors for the attack that would be Trinity's death knell, and listen to the earphones for what they would say to each other.

"…Trinity!"

"Neo. I'm… very sorry. I didn't think it would happen this way."

"Don't say that. You can get control, you just have to focus!"

"I've tried, Neo. Believe me I've tried. I can't seem to-"

"NO! We're not leaving you! Try again! There's another exit line just down the street!"

"Do you think it's easy for me to say this? I'm trapped because of my weakness, and I hate myself for it!"

A long silence followed. Link winced and braced himself for an alert that would forcibly end their little chat. Despite himself, Link was inwardly amazed- Neo and Trinity were the most stalwart people he knew. Their calmness, their ability to take any disaster in stride had sometimes scared him. Yet here, he felt more emotion in their agonized words to each other than he had ever thought them capable of.

After what seemed an eternity, Neo's voice came again. "…You're not weak, Trinity. You're the strongest person that I know."

"Yeah right."

"No, you really are. You never back down from anything, you never show a hint of emotion except for me. I think we both know why I'm the exception…"

Link certainly expected to hear the sound of a kiss, but what he got was an alert siren. Just as he and Neo had been both expecting and dreading, the sensor showed a roaming 'squiddy' machine closing fast.

"Hate to break up this little chat", he barked into his microphone, "but we got company. Neo, you'd better get your butt out of there pronto."

By design or just bad luck, the Nebuchanezzar had been facing towards the approaching Sentinel. By the time Link got the ship turned around and up to speed, he heard Neo's voice come back. "No, I'm not leaving her here!"

"Neo, don't-"

"We'll keep looking for another exit line, Link. Keep them busy as long as you can!"

"Will do, boss."

With that, he ran to the top deck and threw the engines to full. Feeling the acceleration run through his teeth, he indulged in just a moment of exhilaration- this was the first time he had piloted the Neb without the stern supervision of Morpheus, or orders to rely on the autopilot to help train him.

Autopilot wouldn't help them now. It was designed to fly through whatever openings were widest in a trip that would culminate at Zion. No, Link thought grimly to himself, twisting the ship through the tightest manageable passages throughout the massive subway system, machines can't save us now. Only humans. More precisely, just how often I listened to Morpheus in all those practice sessions.

Banking right to afford a narrower profile, he piloted the ship through another broken gate, with no luck. The 'squiddy' was tucked right in behind him, a far more maneuverable craft without all those computers and living quarters weighing it down.

Cursing its speed, Link nearly bit his tongue once the ship shot out from the tight passage into a new area of the ruined station. The hover units on the bottom of the craft had kicked it up way over how high he had wanted to go, and it now slammed down on the ground with bone-jarring force, audibly scraping the bottom engine cluster.

He cringed at that. Just have to hope Morpheus will forgive me. Pity that thing doesn't have hover units to kick it… hey, that might work!

Hauling the craft around again, he built up the ship's speed back up to its previous limit, this time making straight for a long-abandoned subway car lying on its side. Closer than ever, the Sentinel also increased its speed to what Link assumed was as fast as the multilegged machines could go.

Unable to stop himself, Link gripped the controls and yelled out as the Nebuchadnezzar's hover units once again kicked itself up and over the obstacle, into midair. The Sentinel was not so lucky- its engines were maneuverable, but they were jet engines, not hover. It plowed directly into the subway car at top speed, falling away from the wreckage in a weak rollout on its many tentacles.

He knew better than to stop and celebrate- the thing was damaged, but still alive. The same trick wouldn't work twice. He banked hard left to head for the closest exit, but in doing so overbalanced the craft, tilting it too far sideways and making it child's play for the Sentinel's six remaining tentacles to grab out of midair.

The sudden stop banged Link's head off the console, and his face paled as he saw one tentacle trying to drill its way through the top. The Sentinel was holding the larger craft upright like a ripe melon, using its own body to smother the engines' thrust. All he could do was shift power back and forth between the two clusters, and hope that-

Then, the drilling noise abruptly cut off, replaced by a far louder crashing noise that rocked the ship harder than Link's earlier stunts had. Nearly falling over, he glanced back at the monitors. He chuckled at the familiar engine arrangement along the superstructure, and the curved front end that was hardier than any Sentinel. "Thank you very much, Bane."

The somber voice that came back to him was distorted by static, but still conveyed a kind of humor. "I figure when every cop and Agent in the Megacity is doing something else instead of looking for us, you guys have to be involved, right?"

While it was true they were never exactly friends, Link had just now recognized the ramming tactic that had destroyed the Sentinel, along with the ship and crew that made it famous. He knew only a few of the people on the long prowed hovercraft called Caduceus- captain Ballard, old man Scrap, Bane, their bearded pilot and the one responsible for the ramming just now, and his friend and Operator, Malachi. Caduceus was one of the few ships they had that was capable of ramming the Sentinels with minimal damage to itself, and its nickel-iron prow had been customized to that specific purpose.

"So", Malachi's thin, wiry voice spoke to him as he hauled his own ship around to pace the larger craft like a nestling to its mother. "Where's Mr. Invincible? Off in Kansas again?"

He turned away to muffle his sigh over the communicator. He didn't even have to meet their captain to know this was going to be bad. "Yeah. Pirate signal gave us away, thought we'd had it for a moment."

"Come on." Bane's voice again. "Just pull him out of there, shut off the broadcast and we can get the hell out of this dump."

Another despairing sigh, this one unquenchable. "Wish I could, Bane. I really wish I could."

-

Though no spot could be considered truly secure, the two hovercraft and their pilots had eventually settled on a relatively well-hidden position- a mine, one of the few ones left, tunneled into the earth. While Sentinels saw through darkness like it was daytime and could travel passages far narrower than anything their craft could manage, they had hoped that the exposed iron and ruby ore would hamper the machines' ability to trace the broadcast.

That was the hope. But that hadn't stopped Link from doing everything short of threatening disconnection to get Neo out of the Matrix. As before, Trinity could not follow him. Already, Link figured they were getting close to pushing the record for Trinity's pirate signal, keeping her in that programmed reality even as the crews gathered on the Caduceus's meager conference room. The first mate's seat, the one Trinity normally would have sat in, was occupied by Bane.

"Didn't want to say this, but I think there's no other choice", Malachi spoke up from his spot near their sullen captain. While Bane's little friend could be every bit as snarky and sarcastic as the rest of them, both men usually drew the line at disobeying their captain or their commander. "I know it hurts, but you won't survive another day broadcasting like this."

"We're not leaving", Neo said, not slamming his hands down like so many other captains when they wished to be heard, but with more adamant than Link had ever seen in him before. "Not while Trinity is still in there. We leave now, she dies, the same way Apoch and Switch did. That's not going to happen."

Ballard, the Caduceus' burly captain, wasn't impressed by this. " 'We' ", he grunted at the younger man in dismissal. "You can stay if you want, but I don't really feel like sacrificing my crew and ship just so one person might survive. Don't think we haven't had this incident before, disconnection. Scrap's younger sister died that way; we still have the body."

If the wispy, white-haired engineer known as Scrap was at all offended by this mention of his past, he didn't show it. "You said that Morpheus was helping her deal with this problem, Link. Perhaps the best compromise would be, that we wait for him to wake up, see if he can talk Trinity out of this… funk."

"How long?" his captain asked, still uncertain he wanted to tempt fate for any length of time.

"A few hours", Link estimated, "maybe more to get him on his feet. That new Agent really gave him a pounding."

This was not what they had wanted to hear. "Enough time for every Sentinel for fifty miles to track us all down", the captain proclaimed darkly. "We'll give you one hour, that's all. Don't call anyone else in to disobey orders either. One hour. You got that!"

Link swore he could already feel Neo's reticence. But anyone who knew him also knew that he would wait for his lover to return even while Sentinels chewed both ships apart, just as she had for him. That left him the only people on their own ship capable of thinking clearly and, much as he hated to admit it, Ballard was right about the Sentinel threat.

"I'll see what we can do" he nodded to him helplessly. "Care to join me, Malachi?"

-

Once again, Neo vanished. Once again, she was alone, back in a ruined building, the unyielding chaos that had become her existence. While it was true that both Link and Neo were constantly watching her over the coded monitors, Trinity could not recall ever feeling more alone.

Calm. Calm yourself. Force the panic down with your will, stop your heart from beating ten million miles an hour. They'll notice. They have already noticed…

How long would this continue? It didn't take genius to figure out how dangerous it was for the two ships to stay on the surface for all this time. Sooner or later, the Sentinels would catch them, and they'd be forced to dive down, back to Zion and out of broadcast range.

Incredibly, the other possibility seemed so much worse- being stuck in the Matrix forever, knowing its nature. Stop it. You're just imagining this, letting your mind run wild.

There is nothing wrong with me! This was an accident!

Okay, now you're talking to yourself, sister. Calm down.

How can I be calm when everyone I care about is risking their lives to save me?

Enough. Regaining some extent of control, she reopened her eyes to the devastation all around her. None of the coppertops had seen her yet- there was a possibility that none lived in this area. The melting effect seemed fairly localized now- only objects that came within half a meter of her displayed the nightmarish effects. She could travel unnoticed by simply keeping her distance.

Where, though? There was nowhere in the Matrix that she wanted to go. She wanted to be back on the ship, back in the comparative safety of the real world. Back with Neo.

Can't always get what you want. But so long as she was stuck here, there was exactly one goal to pursue. All this time, she had been denying that the man and woman who had been her parents meant anything to her. But what if Morpheus had been right? Given present circumstances, she was inclined to trust him- or any Zionite more than her own mind.

It was then, looking back at her outstretched palms, that Trinity realized that her residual self-image had changed. It was not a massive change- only enough to make her stop for several seconds and stare, wide-eyed. As far as she could tell, nothing about her own body had been altered by the chaos, only her clothes.

The trench coat nearly identical Neo's was gone now, as was the black shirt beneath. A completely different one had replaced them both- shiny, impossibly skintight black leather that felt weirdly comfortable, despite it being her sole piece of clothing. Its sleeves stretched far further than before, becoming smooth, featureless gloves that completely sealed themselves together with her hands, as though the leather itself was her new skin. It almost looked as though her previous two garments had fused together, leaving her feeling oddly vulnerable, but flexible as well. (1)

Doesn't matter, now does it, sister? It really didn't. The facts remained- there was an instability from the past that had brought her to this point of breakdown, and it lay somewhere in the programmed, artificial landscape that stretched before her now.

True, she faced the possibility of sudden death or disconnection at every step. But then, how would that be different from any other day?

-

It had not taken Morpheus a great deal of time to digest and understand the situation. Even injured as he was, with several injections helping to dull the pain, he acted as though he had expected the crisis all along.

"They're applying Malachi's hacks now", Neo explained in a tired and broken voice. "After that, Ballard's going to make them leave."

The older man's eyes widened only a fraction out of acknowledgement, sitting on his cot- it was the weariness and frustration he heard in Neon's voice that let him know just how very tired their savior was. Tired of the pressure, tired of spending every day on the edge of destruction. He knew the look- he'd worn it himself ten years prior.

"You do not trust Malachi?"

Neo turned away at coughed at that, but there was no trace of merriment. "It's not that. It's what happens if they succeed. We'll be leaving her behind, detached… and there's no guarantee it will work both ways." He locked eyes with his mentor, revealing the start of tears. "Morpheus… this could be the last time we ever see Trinity in the flesh."

"What is done, is done", he replied, recalling their earlier debacle over Allison. "Trinity would understand that this is safest path. And, while you may not wish to accept it, you are infinitely more important to our survival than-"

He regretted his partisan choice of words the moment they emerged. Without any hint of it, Neo completely overturned the wheeled gurney that carried some of Scrap's tools. He said nothing, but Morpheus knew him too well.

He could see just how alarmed Neo was at his own human anger- in all the time they had known each other, Neo had never, never come so close to brutally punching this dark-skinned man he had once considered a friend. The sheer, bestial impulse was so strong it had taken every bit of his will to clamp down on it. It took his breath away.

"I'm so sorry", Neo finally blurted out softly, holding onto his sweating forehead with one palm. "It's just… encoded like this, she'll be-"

"Like a program, Neo?"

Just like that, they had returned to their original argument, back at that alleyway. "Yes", he admitted. "A part of the Matrix. There's more than just the Agents, Morpheus. I've sensed them. I can seethey are more than just coding ona computer. They have forms, minds, and feelings of their own. What's the difference between them, and us?"

We come to it at last, Morpheus thought to himself in resignation. This was the edge of reason, the end of what he knew was right and wrong. Until he could confirm the existence of The One, he would never have bothered thinking so far ahead, as to the fate of the programs that were tied to it, some of them every bit as intelligent, insightful, and lively as any human.

"I can only tell you what I know", he said gravely. "From what we have seen, all programs created for the Matrix develop greater sentience and personality with time. The enforcers- the Agents- are not an exception. But, the consciousnesses we have met in the past are still a part of the system. Their lack of action is a tacit support for the status quo… but I do not blame them for merely doing what they were created to do. Nor do they blame us for doing what we must do, if they are rational."

"Each of them has a purpose, a reason they were born", the younger man acknowledged him, extrapolating. "Humans aren't like that. How can I consider our lives more valuble, just because their lives have one single purpose?"

"You may do that", Morpheus said, hands folded, "or you may not. The choice is up to you. It is a moral choice, and one that has no past precedent or rule."

That actually got his mind out of fearing for Trinity for an entire minute. It was true, he had felt very little in the way of sympathy for the Agent programs, which would be destroyed along with the Matrix, just as the others would. They could be likened to animals- instinctively devoted to the single purpose they were born into. But that bastard Smith, for all his many faults, had been far more than a simple animal.

Morpheus' closing words resonated within him as well. To Zion's knowledge, no one had ever faced the decision of the type he faced now, whether to spare the world of programs, or what was left of the world of humans. The best he could hope for was to make the decision he felt was best.

In this case, that meant following the prophecy and purpose he had been given. No program would fault him for it. If the only choice is between one tragedy or another, then I will not be responsible for the tragedy that ends my own species.

Saying nothing of his new resolution to Morpheus, he delicately hauled the gurney back up to its correct position, finally feeling some of that dark cloud of uncertainty boil away. "Thanks, Morpheus."

…Which left just one more thing to resolve between them. "The Oracle told you that you would find The One", he prodded Morpheus, placing the last of Scrap's metal tools back in their places before looking up expectantly at him. "I just hope that 'The One' isn't the only thing you see me as."

"Never. I also see a comrade and friend. I only pray that one of those titles will never be called into conflict with another."

"Yeah… me too."

A few minutes later, they stood together on the main deck of the Nebuchadnezzar, watching the two resident Operators complete their unified work on a single console. A few more button presses from Malachi, a few more from Link, and the brain patterns of their first mate would exists dependently of the Matrix, exactly like all programs did… as the Oracle did.

They had to do it quickly too, Morpheus noted absently. For all intents and purposes, Ballard's time limit was already up. The very moment Malachi finished his work, he would no doubt run for his own ship and depart with the others. They had defeated two Sentinel probes already, using Bane's ramming technique… but even that only worked when the Sentinels were willing to slow down and wrap up the smaller ship, letting their defenses down. If another wave came, they wouldn't survive it.

"There", Malachi finally said, pressing his ring finger down hard on the final key, initiating the experimental hack he and Link had been tinkering with for so long. "It's a brutal solution, man, no doubt… but we had no other alternative."

Still partly dizzied by what they had just done, Link nodded slowly. "Good to be working with you, Mal. Give my regards to Scrap and the rest; we're heading back to Zion for now."

Neo said nothing to acknowledge any of them. His heart was in his throat. His eyes, now capable of reading code just as Link and Malachi could, were locked onto the patterns that showed Trinity's life signs, her residual self-image, and her heart rate. The body still sitting in the chair before them was far beyond a coma.

You hang on, Trinity. Stay strong. Give us ten hours, less. I swear by whatever God exists that I'll find a way to save you. Just hold on.

-

1- In case you can't tell, here I am describing the differences between Trinity's getup in the first movie and the one that she wears in Reloaded.

M: No question that I'm taking risks with this story. I've seen the movies, and my big worry is that Neo and Trinity are out of character. They certainly exhibit more emotional vulnerability than in the films, but that was my intention, to portray some of their weaknesses. The big controversy I would appreciate some feedback for is the scene between Morpheus and Neo aboard the Caduceus. Would the Neo of the films, under extreme emotional distress, ever even consider hitting Morpheus over an ill-placed analysis? I'm not sure.

That said, I really enjoyed writing the rest of that scene. I check this site every day for reviews, so please do. Do it, before I psychoanalyze you to death! (j/k)