Chapter 30

Author's note: Jeez... the time has really flown by--harshly counted, this is about half way into the story. Hope the rides been good so far!

As usual - thank you more than you'll ever understandto youreviewers. I will try to get chapters up more frequently, for you.

The ride down in the elevator was quiet.

Both of them had been given things to think about, things that would need some serious thought. Both were also wondering when they were going to get that, it was usually things that they thought about when they were given a task on the ship, a task to do alone. And even though Neo and Trinity admitted to never wanting to be without each other, even though they did not say it to anyone other in those words, they knew that they would find themselves requesting task when they got back to the ship… lone tasks.

" Did she give you any useful information?"

Neo heard Morpheus' question as he un-plugged him, and as soon as he opened his eyes he found Morpheus looking straight into them, arms crossed in front of him. He may look too serious, but Neo had come to learn that that simply was the way with Morpheus. He saw Trinity sitting up in her own chair, disappearing from the Core without a word.

" She said a lot of things, " Neo answered as he rose up from his seat. Morpheus, even though he knew that he would most likely not get any more answers out of his friend at the moment, followed him as he walked and stopped behind Link, correcting his screens and shutting down some monitors no longer needed online.

" Anything we can take advantage of at the moment?" He asked, looking at Neo, who stopped his actions for a second to answer Morpheus.

" No… It was things I need to work out alone. I'll let you know if I come up with anything, " Neo answered, and almost began walking away, but Link cut in.

" Hey! You can't leave like that! You gotta tell us what that Agent fight was all about…" Link said, and Neo looked down at the floor. Everything that had happened when they had just been inside the Matrix was very much to take in, almost too much for one time of going in.

" Why did they rally you up like that? And who was the one with the weird code?" Link continued, talking about a person he had never seen in the Matrix Virtual World… only heard stories about.

" Those were going to be my next questions…" Morpheus said, and Link quickly fixed his eyes onto the keyboard to divert the attention.

Neo looked at them all, wishing Trinity was here by his side to help him. To help him get out of this before he said things he was not even sure of himself, before he said too much of what he had discussed with the Oracle, but still was so unsure of…

" It was Smith. He's back… with a vengeance, apparently."

Morpheus and Link both looked at Neo, not sure if they had heard right. But Neo's stoic façade that remained upon his features told them that they had not been mistaken, and Neo could have seen the disbelief in Morpheus' eyes from a mile's distance. Link, on the other hand, just looked surprised; he did not realize the amount of graveness this would all inflict upon them.

" Smith?" Morpheus asked, the disbelief very evident in his voice. " How can that be? You killed him!" Neo looked at Morpheus. He just wished that he could transfer all the things that he had in his mind in the moment into their minds, so that he would not have to explain it all… it was giving his mind an overload at the moment.

" That's what I thought as well… but apparently, he managed to escape the system, and now he's gone rouge within the Matrix, " Neo told them, and now he had even managed to get Link to stop what ever he was doing, focusing on what Neo said. Information Neo did not even know how accurate it was… but he would trust himself in this matter. If he did not know, who would?

" What does he want?" Morpheus continued, his hand across his mouth, muffling his own voice. Neo shook his head, looking at the floor, then at Morpheus again.

" He wants everything, " Neo said. And with that, he walked away, leaving Morpheus and Link to ponder this by themselves.

He knew that Morpheus would come to him later, when he had figured out some things in his mind. But right now, Neo wanted to be alone, alone to think… to think and try to work some things out within his mind. There were so many empty statements and question marks that all needed to be tied together, and he knew that if he did not do it now, he would not be able to take the pressure on his mind anymore.

He knew of other ways to soothe his worry, he thought as he entered their shared cabin. They involved her, his angel, his saving grace.

But after all went down, he would sure need that grace…

… or the grace would.