Chapter 6
...
'Neo'
It's the first word that exits Trinity's lips as she opens her eyes on her ship. Everything hurts for having been beaten repeatedly and for not having fight in months.
"Gosh, Sis, you still got it!"
"Like riding a bike they say"
She whispers with a minuscule smirk as Ghost unplugs her and helps her to sit up.
Fuck, her head spins like hell and she has to stop exactly where she is for a few seconds in order to not being forced to lie down again.
"Neo?"
She asks again as Ghost's arm help her to stand up this time, silently helping her without asking. "They're taking him aboard"
Their eyes meet, but he doesn't say nothing else and Trinity knows it's because Ghost can't lie to her. He has no idea what's going on about Neo.
Shit, she feels like crap, but adrenaline is pushed in her vein so hard that it's like being under strong drugs. She feels nothing, nor tiredness nor pain. Neo is everything that matters now, and she needs to see him, alive or not, she needs to see him.
Trinity ignores Ghost's words as he asks her if she needs to sit down. She doesn't need to sit down, she needs to see Neo.
The crew is all around him.
Oak and Link are holding Neo's motionless body up, Kid's holding his head from tilting back. His skin is so pale and lightly bluish as Esc is wrapping him in a blanket.
...please, don't...
"Let's move him to the infirmary" Esc orders to the three men holding up Neo's body, glancing to Trinity "There's a lot of work to do"
... alive ... he's alive... it's not over yet...
Ghost's hand find Trinity's arm, in an attempt to pull her back, and to convince her that there's nothing she can do now, but she ignores his touch, just following Esc toward the med bay door.
The doctor begins fixing white electrode disks on Neo's chest looking intently at the screen monitoring his electric vital signs.
"Esc?" Trinity's voice is clearly worried, but it sounds firm like usual.
"His vital systems have been meticulously maintained, but it doesn't look good,"
Trinity bites on her lip and swallows, then looking up at the EKG as it begins beeping frantically.
"We're losing him"
It's Link's voice, but nor Esc, nor Trinity turn to look at him. Esc's green eyes meet the blue of Trinity's instead.
"Cold boot could shock him" Esc says as it's clear to everyone in there that he's suggesting something very risky and something he can't assure will work. Something for which he needs Trinity's consent, and not only as Captain this time.
"Do it!" She just says not looking at him, but staring at Neo's motionless body.
The computer buzzes rapidly as Neo gets connected to it again. He groans and exhales, opening his eyes in a total white 'world'.
"I remember this"
Neo looks around at the total absence of everything... colors, sounds, smells... it's like a white paper... like being suspended over nothing, over a white void.
Maybe it's another wrong connection of his damaged brain and this is some sort of Heaven. He never believed in Heaven actually, and he'd always thought after death he would have been exactly what he was before being born... nothing.
And yet he sort of remembers this... just as those kind of memories you somehow know are there, in a far zone of your brain, but you can't catch completely.
He looks down at himself.
He wears an ivory kimono with a black belt. Bare-footed as a lino floor appears under his soles. Now he can feel it, the warm feeling under his feet and around him.
And he can hear it... the soft rustle of steps approaching him.
He looks up as a figure appears somehow from the bottom of that endless space and walks toward him.
Trinity.
She wears a kimono too, just a black one with a matching belt.
"The Construct," she just says calmly "In between everything and nothing"
They are standing in a very sparse Japanese-style dojo and Neo just stares at Trinity.
"Am I dead?"
Trinity looks away for a moment from Neo's deep stare, then she meets his eyes again.
"Not yet," she replies as he nods, not asking more though and just waiting for her to speak again.
"Your brain is still hooked on the shit the Matrix has been force-feeding you again. Hooked bad. You're going through major withdrawals. Synthients are giving you crap odds for surviving. But, see, they don't know you like I do. I know what you need"
Trinity stretches her hands and arms and moves her neck from left to right lightly in what looks like a mild warm-up before a training.
Or a fighting.
"You don't remember who you are, but I do. You're the One, Neo," Trinity's stare is icy and hot at the same time, almost hypnotic in a way he can't explain, but he can't look anywhere else than to her "You may not remembering it, but you still are. You saved all of us. I saw you flying, I saw you stopping bullets... I saw you coming back from death..."
Trinity looks down for an instant as that memory comes back in front of her eyes... the warmth of their kiss on the Neb is not enough to warm the cold she feels inside her now. She just pushes that thought away, looking up at Neo again.
"But none can tell you who you are. You need to find yourself, to know yourself, and to trust yourself, once again"
Neo seems to ponder her words.
"And is this what I need to find myself? Fighting?" He gives her a very skeptical look, shaking his head "No. I'm done fighting"
"And yet not only a little ago, you saved my life, Neo, fighting against the Merovingian gang, like just you can do" Trinity's tone is calm and low despite the bitter chuckle which escapes Neo's throat.
"I thought you saved me, actually, not the opposite"
"We did it together"
It's the turn of Neo's lips to part this time, still looking in Trinity's eyes... and his dark eyes soften.
"I'm not gonna fight with you" he says in a firm tone, shaking his head again in what is a clear 'no. no way'. The chivalrous part of his being still coming outside.
He's still staring at her, like mesmerized by her piercing blue eyes despite the harsh tone of his reply. The very little smirk which plays on Trinity's lips for an instant is... amazing.
"You'll do it. You'll fight me hard. Like never before. I not have the slightest intention to give you a preferential treatment"
"You gotta be kidding"
"No joke. Could be this is the first day of the rest of your life. But if you want it…you gotta fight for it"
"No."
"Are you?"
Trinity unties her belt and the two sides of her kimono open. Her hands slide under the cotton fabric till her shoulders and she lets it slides along her arms, pooling on the floor.
Neo's gaze gets lost in the view of her white skin, so in contrast with the lucid black of the very low-necked tank-top she wears. Its straps highlight the toned muscles of her shoulders and it's so form-fitting that he can see the lines of her abs. Not her usual pants and boot this time, but a pair of shorts, as form-fitting as her tank-top, short enough to perfectly show her long legs. His eyes move down along them till her bare feet.
He's still lost in the view of such a perfect body that he doesn't see it coming. A strong kick aimed to the side of his head. He dodges it at the last moment with a quick squat, and takes a leap backward.
Neo grunts a 'fuck', meeting Trinity's teasing blue eyes again.
She doesn't let him time to think and just attack him again.
It's a relentless assault as Neo doesn't counterattack, just stopping and blocking her blows and bumps. He groans and gasps and grunts, in the attempt to contrast Trinity's moves. She's too quick, too nimble, too skilled for him.
Neo groans and gasps and grunts again, till Trinity succeeds in blocking his arms, crossed, against his chest in such a way he can't move. She stares in his deep dark eyes as he breathes hard, having difficult to keep up with her.
"They made you believe their world was all you needed. But some part of you knew that was a lie. Some part of you remembered what was real"
Still trapped in Trinity's tight grab, Neo's eyes don't look away from hers but they narrow a little.
"You don't know me"
"No?"
In front of Neo's accusatory tone Trinity's features stay unperturbed for a couple of second, then she gives him a mischievous look, suddenly loosening her grip and giving him a little push backward so that he's forced to take a step back.
He has just the time to watch her as she assumes a fighting stance again, launching another attack. He dodges her high speed fists and feet striking from every angle as Trinity presses her attack.
"Come on, Neo. What are you waiting for?"
Neo is frustrated, still unable to catch his breath. Trinity's feet and fists are everywhere, taking Neo apart, even if he succeeds in blocking her blows, most of them at least.
She doesn't slow down. She leaps into the air, so fast and graceful, stretching out her arms… and a last strong kick hits Neo's chest making him falling face down.
She just looks at him as he stays there, just propping on one elbow and then on one knee, but not standing up.
"You're faster than this. Don't think you are. Know you are"
Neo just shakes his head slowly, looking up at her.
She's still looking at him, and there's something in those beautiful blue eyes he can't tell.
Trinity stretches out an arm toward him and for a second he seems hesitant, then he accepts her help, taking her hand and standing up.
"Fine. Again"
He whispers and this time he's the first one assuming a fighting stance as a minuscule smirk plays on Trinity's face. She assumes a similar stance.
Neo cautiously moves, circling as Trinity just studies his movements. Then, he's the one launching an attack. Each and every blow is blocked by effortless speed by Trinity, but it's a real fight this time, both of them give and block blows. Their fists fly with pneumatic speed. Trinity begins to press Neo again, countering blows while slipping in several stinging slaps. And this time Neo's face twists with rage as the speed of the blows rises.
"Come on! Stop trying to hit me and just hit me"
It's a mess of grunting and groaning and panting.
Wham!
A single blow almost catches Trinity on the side of her head and she dodges it for a fraction of second.
Wham!
A second one, faster than the previous one (so fast that she doesn't see it coming) stops a millimeter from her face. And she's the one gasping loudly this time.
Her blue eyes widen as Neo just stares at her, both panting now.
A minuscule smirk plays on Trinity's lips and she bites the inner flesh of her lips to prevent from smiling. Neo's eyes darken… not because of rage this time and Trinity just keeps staring to his dilated pupils as a mirrored smirk appears on Neo's face too.
"That spider thing kick was amazing"
He just says calmly as Trinity's hand finds Neo's fist (still a millimeter from her face) moving it by side.
"This yours wasn't bad too" she just replies as he can't help but smile this time.
They're still looking into each other's eyes.
"I can be the One… I can have fought all my life, but I don't remember anything you said I did…" his eyes darken and Trinity just gives him a nod… she exactly knows what he means.
"Just keep fighting, Neo. For your life this time. Answers will come, I promise"
The room is dark, lighten up just by a few bluish LED lights . The total silence is broken just by the rhythmic "beep" on the screen monitoring Neo's vitals.
As soon as the light turns on Trinity moves with a little start. She lifts her forehead from the back of Neo's hand and it's clear she just dozed off there, sitting by his bed. She just straights her back and her free hand moves to the side of her neck massaging what is clearly a stiffen muscle.
"The worst patient ever" Esc says giving Trinity a scold.
"I'm not the patient here" she answers, but her tone is not tough, just tired.
"Not yet. But at this rate it's just matter of time"
She doesn't respond to his provocation and just looks down at Neo again. His face is relaxed and he looks just like someone who's sleeping.
Esc touches a few keys on the monitors, checking Neo's vitals.
"He's doing good," he says watching Trinity as she nods but doesn't look up at him "You should get some rest"
"I want to stay with him"
"Don't make me ordering you, Captain" Trinity quickly turns to the door as it gets suddenly open wide.
"Morpheus..." Trinity gets up more out of habits than because it's requested by protocol. He's still the Commander, but not now, here, now, it's the friend "I didn't expected you before tomorrow…"
Morpheus' eyes soften and he approaches the medical bed touching Trinity's arm and giving it a little comforting squeeze, then looking at Neo.
"I wanted to see him, with my eyes"
Morpheus listens to the detailed data Esc gives him about Neo's condition. His vitals are improving quickly, to the point he can be considered out of death danger. There's nothing they can do about his memory instead, but it's early to say anything more until he wakes up.
"Unbelievable, isn't it?"
Morpheus searches Trinity's eyes again and she just nods. She's apparently calm and unperturbed in her stoic attitude, but he notices how she's biting on the inner flesh of her lower lip. Keeping her usual composure is more difficult than she wants to feign.
She's about saying something else when Neo's hand moves, catching Trinity's hand which had moved almost away from his reach.
As she looks down at him, Neo's dark eyes open on the blue of hers.
"Captain..." His words are just a whisper and he has to clear his voice in order to be able to speak again "Thank you..."
"Neo..." Trinity looks up at Morpheus just for a second, then down at Neo again.
Captain. For the first time in her life the sound of her military title hurts like never before. Captain. Not Trin, not anymore. She can feel the burning pain down along her throat and even down in her stomach till her lower abdomen. She just swallows.
"Morpheus," Neo whispers again as the black man appears in his field of view and he somehow recognizes him.
Hope tries to come back once more, but it lasts just a moment, till Trinity realizes that, back in the Matrix, Neo was doing a Google research about Morpheus and had succeeded in finding at least a piece about the famous hacker from an old newspaper.
"Welcome back" the Commander just says giving a squeeze to his shoulder "Just rest now, answers will come"
Neo nods and his eyes try to fight against the tiredness which in turn try to close them. He does his best but has to give up to both depletion and the drugs Esc pushes in his veins.
"He needs to rest" Esc says almost excusing himself for having put Neo back to sleep. Trinity just nods and Esc can't hold back an "and you too"
This time she nods again at Esc's words. The doctor is adding something about going to move Neo out of the infirmary and to one of the free quarters, but Trinity's just staring at a fixed point in front of herself and he's not sure she was listening to him.
She hears him, despite the strong hammering of the blood in her ears.
"Captain?"
"Trinity!"
Morpheus' arm is fast around Trinity's waist, in the exact moment in which she wavers. Their eyes meet just a second as Trinity's hand finds Morpheus' chest instinctively looking for a support in turn. Her knees don't give up but she's aware of the moment in which she really needs to sit down again in order not to collapse.
Trinity doesn't talk, waiting for her head to stop spinning and for her brain to be able to form a coherent thought.
"Sorry, just a giddiness… I'm fine"
She whispers not looking at Morpheus not at the doctor though.
"Captain, you should lie down and be checked"
She shakes her head, predictably.
"Esc, it's nothing, I'm just tired"
Trinity turns her head to Esc, meeting his eyes this time, and he replies just with a 'yes, ma'am', not trying to change her mind. A little part inside her smiles at how he's somehow intimidated by her. She has the same effect on Kid, but he's half Esc's age.
She gives him a nod that is a silent 'good' and she does her best to stand up without wavering this time. She's aware she really need to lie down, but she's determined in doing it in her own bedroom, and in going there on her own feet.
From the way her head still spins she can tell it seemed easier in her mind, but she needs to restore her authority in there. Showing vulnerability in not something she's used to.
They both turn to the door as Link enters followed by Kid. They're just bringing there two large boxes which probably are drugs and medical devices supplies. They just greet both of them, but apparently don't seem interested in what's happening there, just focused on their tasks.
"Don't make me say it twice. Go and get some rest,"
Trinity turns her head meeting what's the half scolding half fatherly look of Morpheus
"I'll cover for you here"
"You don't resist the temptation to take my place, right, Commander?" She makes fun of him, giving Morpheus a lopsided smile while just one of the corners of his mouth turns up mirroring hers.
"You caught me," he makes fun of her in turn "but you really need some rest"
"I agree,"
Esc and Link's voices come in unison and Trinity rolls her eyes. Link wasn't supposed to be paying attention at them neither.
"It's a conspiracy" Trinity snorts, but she knows they're right "Fine, I'll rest. Morpheus if -"
Morpheus' look stops the words in her throat and she bites her lip, keeping back a little smile. His look is a clear 'Are you giving instructions to your former 15-year-older-than-you-are Captain?'
Trinity lifts up a hand in a defeat sign.
"Fine,"
She does her best to ignore the too many eyes looking at her as she heads to the door, trying her best to do it without swaying.
"Don't worry, I'll be the best Godfather, Captain"
Trinity stops at Morpheus' words, and she turns to him. Her eyes widen and for a second they just stare at each other.
"...for the Genesis" Morpheus points out lifting an eyebrow, serious like no allusion had been done.
Trinity realizes her jaw had hung open and she hurries to get a grip of herself, despite she can't help swallow.
"No doubt about it"
She replies with a smirk as a similar smile appears on Morpheus' face.