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matrixreimagined · 3 years

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The Dream Chronicles

Chapter Four on A03

or read it here!

Neo felt the pseudo-wind whip around him as he floated upwards almost leisurely until he was taller than any of the skyscrapers around him. The city scape spread out as far as the eye could see. In the distance, he could see mountains encased by a blue sky. A blue sky that had long ago been scorched.

He slowed down. It was like a video game. It wasn’t really him that was moving—it was his surroundings. He stilled, for a moment, taking it all in.

All that he had thought was real, just an elaborate dream.

All that he had thought was a dream, it was real. And it was waiting for him on the other side of the screen. The thought brought a smile to his lips as he looked down.

Trinity and Morpheus were only dots in the distance.

He began the descent, noting how his jacket billowed. Neo rolled in the air to face down as he soared back to the opposite rooftop before pulling upright to land on his feet next to Trinity.

Morpheus’ eyes were wide as he stared at Neo with something akin to awe.

"Already," Morpheus said, "already you can control your descent and trajectory?"

Neo looked at Trinity, unsure of what to say. Her hard gaze softened when they met his, but she still appeared tense. She flipped out a phone and hit the connect button.

"Tank, take us out," she said, and Neo felt the code around him burst bit by bit. And then his vision changed. Instead of Morpheus and Trinity, he was staring up at a metal ceiling lined with wires and tubes.

Apoc was by his side, quick to unplug him.

Neo sat up. The crew stood gathered at the console but were looking at him with a reverence that he recognized from his dreams. It had always made him uncomfortable but now it was overwhelming.

"If you all aren’t actually doing anything, go to bed." Trinity was already on her feet. Her tone brooked no room for argument and, immediately, Mouse, Switch, Apoc, Cypher and Dozer trailed off. "Morpheus, the office."

Trinity turned on her heel, crossing the main deck.

With a last, awe-filled look at Neo, Morpheus followed.

Neo glanced between the door they had gone through and the operator before asking, "I don't have to go with them, do I?"

"Nah, this is between them. She's scary when she's angry."

Neo laughed, stifling a yawn as he swung his legs over the chair. "You don't have to tell me."

Tank nodded, a smirk on his lips. "I’m Tank, by the way."

Neo blinked at him, surprised at the introduction, and then he remembered. He knew them. They didn’t know him.

And he wasn’t even sure if he did know them. It was all so confusing and, aside from Trinity, he wasn’t sure what and who he could trust.

Ghosts and shadows, he thought back to his conversation with Trinity earlier. Close to reality but not quite real.

He glanced back to the door. He needed her. To talk with her. To figure things out. Just to be by her side while he thought through shit.

He noticed that Tank was still looking at him and it occurred to him that he hadn’t actually responded to the introduction. "Right. I’m Neo."

"Good to meet you. Officially. Given the dreams, and all."

Neo nodded, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes. It still boggled the mind.

"You feeling okay?"

"Tired," Neo said. "My body feels like I was really fighting Morpheus."

"Your mind makes it real. As far as your brain is concerned, you just went three rounds with Morpheus and then pulled that superman shit in the jump program."

"Superman thing?"

"You know, making a mockery of the fact everyone fails the first jump by floating and flying over the gap like it was nothing." Tank grinned before adding, "That ain't normal, Messiah."

"Which is why Morpheus was pushing."

"Yep. You'd still be in there if Trin hadn't gone all mama bear. Looks like a good thing, too. You ain't going to pass out on me?"

Neo shook his head. "No, but can I lie down for a bit?"

"Go for it. Come find me whenever and I'll run you through some more trainings. You, uh, you remember your way around?"

Neo nodded, covering a yawn. "Yeah."

He pushed up from the chair and made his way towards the crew quarters, his mind barely registering where he was going. Step by step until he reached the door he recognized as his own. He pushed it open and kicked off his boots, eyes already starting to close. Asleep, the moment his head hit the pillow.

.......................................................

"He's the One!"

"I don't care! He is still human, Morpheus! We never, ever, start sparring the first day, regardless of what he already knew."

"He could fly."

"I was there, Morpheus. I saw it too. But you are so obsessed with the One, you're blinded to the fact that Neo is still human! He's barely woken up and you're acting like he's completed his training!"

"Did you see him in there, Trinity! What he's capable of? We don’t know his limits."

"And we won’t find them by breaking him! Jesus Christ, he isn’t a weapon. No matter the extent of his powers, he is still human!"

Morpheus regarded his first officer, seething before him. He shook his head, unable to understand.

"Not two months ago, you were completely against me trying to free him—said he was too old, that it was too much of a risk. Then a week later, you stopped arguing and started picking up shifts just to watch him— don’t deny it. I thought, maybe, you were beginning to see what I see. But you see something different when you look at him."

He wasn’t wrong but it was irrelevant.

"He’s a man, Morpheus. He still bleeds. Neo needs to be treated as such, not like some lost messiah."

"But that’s what he is."

"It’s not." It came out harsher than she intended. "He does not need to eat, sleep, and breathe being the One. He is so much more than that."

Morpheus closed his eyes, leaning against the desk. A sigh escaped him as the moment passed. Without opening his eyes, he spoke, "He woke up and said your name. When you weren’t there, he started ripping out his IVs. Dozer tried to block him at the door, and he started swinging." Morpheus shook his head. "He was so desperate to get to you. He recognizes the rest of us, but in that moment… I don’t know what he knows. I don’t even know what you know. But I will trust your judgement." Morpheus opened his eyes. "What do you propose we do?"

Trinity felt herself exhale. It wasn’t over, not by a longshot but the captain was listening. That was a start. A step in the right direction.

"Let him do his trainings, let him follow the course that any other redpill would take. Give him time to adjust—at least a week to catch his bearings and align the world from his dreams to the real world. Then we take him to the Oracle."

It was reasonable, neither could deny, even if they both disliked the proposed timeline. It still felt too short, but she could always push for more time if Neo needed it. By then, at least, they would know more.

Morpheus acquiesced with a nod. "We will start training tomorrow," he said, "but he will need to be tested eventually, Trinity. If that's what he's doing after an hour, imagine what he'll be like after a week."

And fuck, she knew that, too.

"I'm just asking for time."

"I'll allow it lest you take it anyway." Morpheus gave her a smile. "And perhaps, in time, you’ll be able to share with me whatever… whatever it is that is going on with you and Neo."

Trinity nodded gratefully and turned to leave. Her hand was on the door when Morpheus spoke again. "Trinity." She turned. "He’s lucky to have you."

The captain didn’t miss the way she flushed as she turned back to the door, not saying anything. She paused, taking a breath, before walking back out to the main deck.

Her eyes scanned the room. It seemed that everyone had followed her orders, at the very least. She had worried that they would have been too overcome with excitement, but the room was empty, save Tank sitting alone at the console.

Neo was nowhere to be seen.

She crossed to the operator, who glanced up as she walked over.

"Hey, mama bear."

"You’re hilarious," she said, although her face did not change. "Can I get a readout of his brain waves while he was in the Construct?"

"Already ahead of you. Sent a copy to both you and Morpheus. Should be on your scanner when you go back to your quarters."

Trin nodded. "You’re the best."

"That award might go to your boyfriend." Tank leaned back in the chair, as he recalled. "He didn’t even make the first jump… he fucking demolished it."

She sighed, moving to lean against the console desk. Her hand ran roughly through her hair. "He can fly."

"I thought Mouse was going to shit himself."

His words had the desired effect and Trinity cracked a grin. "How was Switch?"

"Got over excited and nearly broke one of the monitors. Christ, Trin, everyone was losing it on this side. What he knows already, what he’s been able to do. Even Cypher couldn’t begin to explain it. If all that dream shit wasn’t enough, no one who sees the readings of what just happened will be able to deny it."

"It hasn’t been more than two hours," Trinity said. "He barely has his footing in this world. Hasn’t even begun any sort of real world regimen, Tank."

"We’ll get him started. Between you and Apoc, you’ll bust him into shape in no time."

"I’m not worried about that. I know he’ll be fine. But he’s coming into this world with so many expectations on his shoulders. And we don’t even know how much he knows. Yes, he’s had dreams of this place but that doesn’t mean he’s outlined a path to destroy the Matrix."

"We’ll talk to him. We’ll find out what he knows and build from there. No one is asking him to destroy it tomorrow. He’s got time to figure it out."

She shook her head and said, "He’s not a weapon. He isn’t. And this is what I’m afraid of. When the Council gets a hold of him…"

"They won’t," Tank said, almost smirking. "You won’t let them."

Trinity stared at the operator before letting a small laugh escape. "True." She folded her arms over her chest. "But I can’t protect him from everything. Especially since…" she trailed off.

"You can say it." Tank’s expression was devoid of judgment and far too kind and understanding for her tastes. She preferred him when he was being a sarcastic little shit. "You can say that Neo is the One. With what we just saw, I’m not sure Lock himself would be able to deny it."

Trinity was saved from responding with the door to the office opening again, Morpheus exiting looking positively exhausted.

"Where’s Neo?" he asked without hesitation, finding only Trinity and Tank.

Tank answered, "Said he was feeling tired and asked to go lay down."

Morpheus nodded. "So you took him back to the infirmary?"

"He said he knew the way," Tank said.

"I’ll make sure he has blankets and is settled. Then I’m going to bed. I suggest you both do the same. The alarms will let us know if a sentinel comes close."

Trinity nodded, the lack of sleep catching up with her. "Will do."

"Good night, Captain my Captain." Tank watched as Morpheus left, waiting for the footsteps to fade. "Take it day by day," he advised. "It’s too much for any person to take in at once. I’m still reeling from what he knows. Morpheus is damn near going insane. I can’t even begin to imagine how this is for you."

She stared down at the ground, unable to deny how much Neo was affecting her. His presence, his knowledge. His confusion tugged at her heart strings and she felt torn between playing his fierce protector and picking up where they had left off earlier, before Apoc and Switch had interrupted and forced them to remember their surroundings.

It didn’t matter, she supposed.

Asleep, in the real world, Neo was shockingly safe. From Agents, from Morpheus, from his own curiosities. At least until morning.

"I’m not going to lie," she said finally. "I’m scared. For him. Of him. I’m not sure how to manage all of this. He talks to me like he knows me. And I find myself talking back, like I know him. But I don't. Today was the first day I spent with him awake for more than five minutes. And I keep reminding myself of that but, honestly, I don’t care. And then that scares me."

Tank nodded along. "You two… have something. Whether it’s based in dreams or not, you and Neo have something. And love, even just infatuation, can mess with the most put together person and tear them apart. And this is more than just that."

"I know."

"So, give yourself a break. No matter what happens with you and Neo, your life just changed dramatically. You’re allowed to take time to adjust."

"It just seems—"

"Tank!" Morpheus’ voice echoed from the hall into the main deck.

Trinity grimaced and Tank gave her a commiserating look as he shouted back, "Yeah?"

Morpheus crossed the threshold onto the deck. "He wasn't in the infirmary. Are you sure that's where he went?"

"He said he was going to lie down," said Tank, "and that's where I’d imagine he'd go. Did you check the crew quarters?"

"He wasn't in the one we assigned for him, nor any of the other empty ones."

Her heart stuttered as the obvious thought hit her. Swallowing, she asked, "Did you check my quarters?"

Morpheus and Tank both looked at her wide-eyed.

Keeping as blank a stare as she could, she reasoned, "We’ve established that he’s seen me naked. And he knows the book on my bedside table in Zion. I think it's safe to assume, if he's going off of memory, that he probably sleeps with me."

Tank was trying, desperately, to keep a straight face. She could see his lips twitching as he worked at stilling his features. It was a losing battle. Eventually, a giggle bubbled up. His hand went up to cover his mouth and Trinity resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Laugh it up," she said as Tank shifted into truly guffawing.

"Oh my god," he laughed, leaning back in the chair, "I’m sorry. But this…" The laughter continued and she caught Morpheus’ gaze.

She could see the confusion, the wonder in his eyes.

"Do you…" Morpheus’ face was reluctant, even as he made the offer, "do you want me to have him moved or…?"

She waved a hand. "It’s… fine. We’ll work it out, Neo and I. Whatever it is that’s going on, we need to be the ones to sort it out." Trinity gave him a small smile. "I’m going back to bed. I’ll see you all in the morning."

"Have fun!" Tank called, still laughing.

The walk to her quarters never seemed so long. She took a breath before opening the door, slowly as to avoid the creaking.

Sure enough, even in the dark, she could make out the lump on her bed that certainly wasn’t blankets.

Trin closed the door and toed off her boots and socks. The floor was cold beneath her bare feet. She paused for a moment, looking down at the man in front of her, nestled in the blankets, stirring ever so slightly.

Neo’s eyes flickered open and he inhaled. "Hey," he murmured.

"Hi," she replied softly, not wanting to disturb him.

Neo opened his blankets upwards, making room for her to climb in. She did so, settling in between his arms in a way that felt right. She closed her eyes as her head rested on his forearm and quickly drifted off into sleep.

#the matrix #the matrix fanfiction #matrix fanfiction #neo x trinity #neo (the matrix)#trinity (the matrix)

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agent-7-at-your-service · 7 years

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Future Plot: Project Titanomachy - Chapter 30

(( Camille, Lee, Janine, Pac-man, and Depiction of Callie belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo

Blueshift belongs to @myzzy

Depiction of Agent 2 / Marie belongs to @agenttwo

Celeste and Willow belong to @alpinesquid

Agent 0 and Suzy belong to @son-of-joy

Nebulous and Arsenic belong to @a-demo-of-a-hero

The Galaxa Gems belong to @splat-tendency and @eiden-squid

The Frosted Gems belong to @askvincent / @asktheseastars and @evora-flux

Nexus Corp and Neo Nexus Crop belong to @alphadeathsquad

Agent 7, Agent M, Agent C, Kitzeh, Justinian, Telemachus, and others belong to me

Those not mentioned belong to @twelvetailedkitsune and @petit-blu-inkling and others.))

Parthenon, Athens, Greece - Sunset

Camille quickly woke up in a bed in the Parthenon, Athena’s home. She gets out of the bed and fixes her green tunic. There was the sound of a flute playing, and Camille followed the sound. It was coming from the garden.

When she reached the garden, Athena can be seen in her gazebo, playing the flute to a normal-sized owl.

“Athena?” Camille stepped closer.

Athena stops playing the flute. “Hello, Camille...” She puts down the flute and gets out of the hammock. “You did it.”

Camille could’ve sworn Athena called her by her real name. “Don’t you mean Camilla?”

“....No.” Athena got nervous

“Then how do you know my name?” Camille questioned.

“I think this should need some explaining.” Athena sounded guilty.

((Background Music (BGM): Athena’s Confession https://youtu.be/afkngRhuZkg ))

Athena took Camille to the ledge where they sat and ate meals when she personified as Princess Camilla. Athena confesses that she and Morpheus needed to find a way for her and her family to communicate with their Champions, so reliving memories before, during, and after the Trojan War was the only way she can think of.

Camille was kind of upset that Athena did that to her and her friends.

“So all this time, those dream of me and my friends as your friends is just an illusion made by Morpheus?” Camille questioned.

“Yes.....” Athena looked down.

A servant walks up to them and each of them a pastry and a cup of grape juice. Camille thanked the servants.

“That’s really mean of you, Athena,” Camille commented.

“What was I supposed to do?” Athena looked at her.

Camille looked away, wanting to ignore the spirit of the wise goddess. “Hmph. Some wise-ass goddess you are.”

Athena was not offended. “I know, I know, it’s cruel for me to the that....... but please forgive me!” She grabs her hands. “I never met a friend like you since I meet Camille... And I might not see one like that again...... and I should’ve just simply approached you face-to-face in your dreams! And my greatest sin...... my greatest sin... it’s that I made you relive my best friend’s memories!”

“.....Athena.....” Camille soon embraced her. “Apology accepted... I can’t stay mad at you.....and it was fun hanging out with you.”

Soon they sat closer, eating pastries and grape juice.

“.....This might be the last time we’ll be together, huh?” Camille wondered.

“It is going to be the last time,” Athena answered.

Camille was now reconsidering to not forget this adventure. “But at least we had a blast, right?”

“I can agree with that, Camille.” Princess Camilla sighs. “What about you Athena?”

As the sunsets, Camille began to glow; she’s fading away and leaving her dream.

“There’s one more thing I need to tell...” Athena then got closer to whisper in Camille’s ear. “There’s still an Olympian that has to be stopped.”

Camille thought her adventure was over but kept that in mind as she knew what to do. “....Goodbye, Athena...”

“I miss you very much,” Athena replied.

“I’ll miss you too...,” Camille soon closes her eyes. She shed one tear.

((End of BGM))

Point of No Return, The Titan Fortress - Moon’s Orbit- 1:30 PM

Camille comes to her senses and wakes up for real. She pushed away a wine cup that was placed at her lips. She was panting and coughing out water. Hera puts Hebe’s Wine Cup aside and calms Camille.

“Don’t worry... you’re still here,” Hera began.

Camille and her friends were back on the Point of No Return. There was no longer an arboreal bridge nor is there a corpse of Cronus. Everything was peaceful.

“.....I-it’s over, right?” Camille asked.

“Well we sent Typhon flying into a black hole that closed up minutes ago, I bet he returned to Tartarus to be fed to the beasts dwelling there.” Telemachus still stood where he was, staring at the blackness of space.

“And look at us! We saved Inkopolis, the world, and the whole universe!” Celeste couldn’t wait to get some reward and recognition.

“Calm down, Celeste,” Nebula giggled.

Camille still remembered she freed an inkling that was stuck to Typhon’s body. She quickly got up and walked over to the inkling that was lying on the ground.

It was a maiden with a tattered up dress made from a sail, beads and threads of gold, and sheep’s cotton. The Typhonian crown was no longer on her head. There was a snake ring on her ring finger; a small Greek inscription on it that’s translated as “Ophion” Her inkling hair is completely black, but the roots showed her ink was original a very white periwinkle. She carefully opened her eyes which were the colors green and blue, the colors of water-meadows.

“Who are you?” Camille asked.

“Eurynome... Mother Goddess.....,” The maiden replied, “You... you save me..... Typhon was really my husband, Ophion....... Oh, how our conflict almost brought chaos back....” She was close to dying.

Nebula, Telemachus, Celeste, Justinian, and Hera got a bit closer to look at Eurynome.

“Why did your husband do this, and how did he become that monster?” Nebula asked.

“We fought because he wanted more credit for creating the world..... I had to banish him to Tartarus... I had no choice... but his envy and hate turned him into the monster you fought. He consumed me when I tried to destroy him.” Eurynome paused a few times to breathe. “If he can’t be respected for the world we created together, he would destroy it instead of watch it thrive.”

“And those bound to his influence?” Celeste asked.

“....They were all just his pawns spreading the word of his coming. The Titans were the last sign made by a certain Olympian....” Eurynome smiles a bit when she gazed upon the Earth. “But that Olympian doesn’t matter for now..... All I want is to see the world thrive.....” She looked at Camille. “Thank you....” She then closed her eyes and turns into gray ink which quickly evaporated.

Camille sighed and gets up. “Rest in peace...”

After a moment of silence, the six inkling need to return home.

“We still have to return back to earth,” Justinian reminded, “No idea how we’re going to get back.”

“I..... I think I know a way.” Athena spear was beside Camille, and she picks it up and pointed it directly at Inkopolis. “Guys hold on.”

Everyone gather and place their hand on Camille’s spear. Lightning strikes the spear and in a flash, they’re back in Inkopolis.

Streets of Inkopolis to Alexandria District - 1:50 PM

(( Background Music - Victory! : https://youtu.be/aAs7Wxvc1_o ))

Trumpets sounded, drums were beats, and Amazons chanted tunes. The Greek Mythos Force were marching into Inkopolis and to along with Agents and Heroes. Calypso and Leviathan, Nexus Corp, Neo Nexus Corp, and Inkopolis Defense followed as well.

Agent M and Agent C were carrying Camille on their shoulders while Nebula, Celeste, Telemachus, Justinian, and Hera were being carried by Amazons on their shoulders. Willow, Nebulous, Arsenic, and Kitzeh were behind the six champions. Hephaestus was behind them with Hermes and Anteros, Suzy was behind helping a patched up Agent 0 in the parade, and behind them were the Minor Olympians.

As this victory parade passed by the safety zone, everyone was cheered for them. The Galaxa Gems, The Frosted Stars, Janine, Myzzy, Pac-man, and much more were applauding.

When the victory parade reached Alexandria District, Camille, Nebula, Celeste, Telemachus, Justinian, and Hera walks up the steps to meet with Agent 7 who had Lee, Callie, Agent Blueshift, and Agent 2 by his side.

Camille and her Party salute; Agent 7 salutes back. Camille’s parent run up to Camille to give her a hug. Callie is about to cry tears of joy, Lee is glad his daughter came back in one piece. Blueshift and Agent 2 did the same with Nebula. Agent 7 walks up to Telemachus, Justinian, and Hera and he nods in approval.

Camille lets her parents let go for a moment so that she can look at everyone and raise Athena’s spear in the air. Everyone was applauding.

((End of BGM))

The Titanomachy is over.

One day later...

Earth and several planets started to recover from the Titans’ wrath and the coming of Typhon. All the forces that defended Inkopolis were returning to their normal lives. Camille and the Olympians had to return Mount Olympus to do one more thing.

The Olympian Vault - Hephaestus's Forge, Mount Olympus, Greece - 7:00 PM

Hephaestus has made notified those with Olympian artifacts to return them back to the vault. Hermes and Anteros were an exception since Hermes is still alive while Anteros was inheriting his brother's artifacts.

(( Musical Number: https://youtu.be/ehLVcUJj6ME ))

When the Olympic Champions returned one more time to Mt. Olympus, Hephaestus actually has a gift for them: a play. Hephaestus’s story tell was praising Agent 7 more, but the Muses appeared out of nowhere and decided to tell the story their way.

Living Murals retold how Camille and her friends are fighting the Titans with a bit of over exaggeration. And it was quite entertaining with it music and singing.

((End of Musical Number))

When it was time to return the Olympian Artifacts, Hephaestus took the Champions to the vault.

Arsenic returns the hammer and tongs to Hephaestus. “It was nice using these to make weapons.”

“My blessing onto you, Arsenic.” Hephaestus pats Arsenic’s shoulder. “May my blessings help ya.”

“Aww... I really liked to keep these, they’re awesome,” Celeste complained, putting Hestia’s heart back in its rightful pedestal.

Willow puts Asclepius’s Staff on its pedestal. “Cheer up, Celeste, at least this war against the titans is over.”

“Same here,” Justinian agreed, returning Demeter’s shoulder bag and Persephone’s Staff back on their pedestals.

“We all have to return these, we can’t keep them forever.” Hera places the goddess Hera’s Scepter and Hebe’s Wine Cup back on their pedestals.

“At least my daughters are avenged.” Agent 0 places Ares’ weapons and armor back on the pedestal. Camille gave him the honor to place Apollo’s Bow and Artemis’s Antler on their rightful pedestals. “There’s no point in possessing such powerful items.”

Kitzeh drank one more canteen of Dionysus’s wine before placing the wine god’s belongings back on its pedestal. “Yup.... gonna miss that.”

Camille rolls her eyes and looked at Athena’s spear. She sighed and placed the Spear on its pedestal, but she stopped as the pedestal of Athena and the pedestal of Zeus have a barrier of black apple tree roots formed over them.

The pedestal of Hades, the pedestal of Heracles, and the pedestal of Poseidon have the same barrier.

Hephaestus is alarmed. “This can’t be.....”

“What’s the meaning of this?” Agent 7 questioned Hephaestus.

Camille soon realized what Athena meant when she said there’s an Olympian that still needed to be stopped.

“OH COME ON!!!” Camille shouted.

Meanwhile...

Underworld(?) - Time Unknown

In the darkness, a young boy stood silent. Before him, a silhouette of a woman was looking down at him.

“They may have won... but my true intentions are from the stone,” The woman stated.

The boy showed her the Omphalos Stone.

The woman takes it and giggles. “Perfect~” Her yellow ominous eyes can be seen. “Soon my son, we’ll rebuild Olympus... with me as the ruler, and no one can stop me.”

[Continues in the 3 Part Epilogue]

#Futue #Plot #Project Titanomachy

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matrixreimagined · 3 years

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The Dream Chronicles Chapter Five

A03 Link

It was warm when she woke.

How odd, Trinity mused to herself.

Mornings on the Neb often had her shivering. Just as the main lights would shut down, leaving only small safety beacons throughout the ship, the heat was automatically lowered through the nighttime hours. Something about sleeping better in the cold.

She understood the principle but thought the line needed to be drawn before they could see their breaths in the air. Unfortunately, that wasn't how Deadbolt saw it.

Trinity exhaled. Sure enough, her warm breath floated in the cold air. Yet beneath the heavy blankets that cocooned her, she was comfortable. Not shivering, not desperately trying to nestle down and pull her knees up to keep her body tight and compact. For the first time in a long time, she was comfortable.

Something behind her shifted and the blankets surrounding her tightened. No, not just blankets. The heavy weights pressed against her back and draped over her waist were not just the tattered blankets that had seen better days before the surviving humans had hid underground.

Trinity turned her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Neo watching her.

"Good morning," he said softly.

The night rushed back to her. Going to bed early to catch up on sleep, only to be woken by a crash and shouting.

Talking with Neo.

Morpheus giving his speech.

Then Neo annihilating the jump test, before telling Tank he was tired. Going off on his own, ending up in her bed.

"Morning." She blinked a few times as she fought a yawn, letting the haziness of morning begin to fade. "How long have you been awake?"

"On and off throughout the night."

She rolled onto her other side, Neo lifting his arm and leg just a bit so that she could settle facing him. When she stilled, his hand draped around her again, tracing tiny patterns on her back.

And because she could sense there was more to it than that, she said, "Tell me."

"It's… hard. To know that this is real. Every time I went to sleep, I was terrified that you wouldn't be here. I'd dream of you and wake up, almost expecting to be in my apartment. Like a dream within a dream."

His voice was heavy with emotion and it weighed her down. He couldn't trust what was real yet and she didn't know how to make that better.

"Never again," she promised, surprised at the vehemence in her words.

"Every time I woke up," Neo said, smiling, "was like a miracle. You're still here. In my arms."

Unable to resist, Trinity lifted her head off of his arm and craned her neck to kiss him.

His lips were warm and soft. A hint of stubble was growing on his face and she made a mental note to get him a razor. The hair on his head was still short and thin but was growing every day.

Neo pulled her tighter to him, their bodies aligning even as they parted. He was holding her like he had in the medbay. Like a lifeline.

He kissed her forehead tenderly.

A soft kiss to the head had no business feeling so damn good.

In the distance, she could hear the others moving around. Boots on metal and the grinding of doors being opened.

They didn't have much time.

As if Neo could read her thoughts, he asked, "What happens today?"

Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure. Usually they gave new recruits a day or so to get used to their surroundings before starting to train them, but she had the feeling that Neo would want to push forward immediately.

"That will depend on what you're up for."

His face twitched. "I think I'm up for anything. I"—he hesitated—"I don't want to waste time."

She nodded in understanding. She couldn't blame him there.

"Then training," she replied, "physical in the morning, with Apoc. Your body recognizes movements but you're still weaker than you used to be. Then, after you break for lunch, I'll have Tank run some operational programs as well as combat training. I want to make sure the gaps in your knowledge are filled before Morpheus truly begins with you."

"Probably for the best," he determined, reaching up to run a finger along her face, "although I can think of a few better ways to spend the day."

"I'm sure you could," Trinity said with a smirk. "Unfortunately, the others will notice if we don't arrive at breakfast. And if we wish to not be interrupted, it might be best to circumvent the possibility."

"Always interrupted," he murmured, kissing her lips softly. "I will get you alone one of these days."

"I'll look forward to it." She gave a final peck and rolled out of the bed. Neo followed suit with a groan.

Neo walked over to the bureau and opened the drawer that contained her yarn. She raised an eyebrow.

"My things aren't here," he said conversationally. "This… this is where my shirts were. I-- I'm having trouble distinguishing real from my dreams and my dreams from the Matrix. I keep forgetting that this is not the place I've been to a thousand times before."

Neo looked at her sheepishly, almost apologetically. "This isn't my room in your world."

"No," she agreed, "but make no mistake, I could have easily kicked you out had I wanted to."

"But that doesn't make up for the fact I seem to be invading your space at every turn." He tried to run a hand through his hair, but he was unused to it being so short. He laughed, humorlessly. "I'm sorry."

"It's an adjustment," Trinity said. "To both of us. I will be patient with you for not understanding this world if you are patient with me and understand that I don't know all that you do."

He nodded, still looking distraught.

She wanted to fix it all, to make things better but she didn't even know how to begin.

"Thank you. Just… don't be afraid to remind me where I am. I feel like I see you, and I start to forget that there is a difference between my not-memories and where we are right now. The last thing I want to do is scare you or…"

Trinity closed the distance between them and reached up to cup his cheek. She angled his head, forcing him to look at her. "Do I look scared to you?"

He soaked in the sight for a moment before shaking his head.

"I don't understand all of this," she admitted. "And I won't lie to you—I was scared at first. But I'm not afraid anymore."

At least, she qualified to herself, not of you.

There were still so many factors, so many moving parts to all that was happening. Aside from finding the One, an accomplishment in itself, they now had to figure out how to deal with his dreams and the Oracle and a nosy crew.

But all the fear that had been racing through her veins for weeks on end disappeared with his kiss.

"And someday,"' she added, "I'd like to hear about these memories."

Neo smiled and stepped into her space. "I think that can be arranged."

Trinity found herself smiling back. She let her other hand wander up to rest on Neo's back. She looked up, and he easily bent down and kissed her. The hand on his cheek migrated to wind tself around his neck.

She groaned as Neo deepened the kiss.

He stepped forward, carefully walking her backwards towards the door, stopping only when her back hit the solid wall. It was cold, even through her shirt, but Neo… he was so warm, so real. She could feel each inhale and exhale between kisses. Hands slipped, caressing her sides, holding her to him.

It was unfair, she thought, that he already knew her body so well. That he knew where to slide his mouth as he kissed at her skin, finding his way to her throat. His hands were on her hips, then. Pulling her towards him as he leaned forwards. Chest to chest, hip to hip, it was not enough.

Neo nipped at her throat before sucking on her pulse point. Her fingers held his head against her neck as she openly moaned, shifting against him in a desperate attempt to relieve some of the tension between her legs. His teeth scraped along her collarbone as he moved the fabric covering her torso to the side.

She caught his face in her hands and pulled him back up to her mouth. She couldn't decide if she wanted to devour him or to be devoured.

"Neo," she breathed, as they both paused for air, cheek to cheek, panting in tandem.

"Trin."

"We really…"

He kissed her again, soft and slow.

Then he exhaled. "I know. We need to go," Neo surmised.

"There's time."

Even a lifetime would never be enough, he knew. But they would have the nights, and the days when they reached Zion. For now, though, they had responsibilities. She was still second-in-command of the Neb, truthfully in charge of more than Morpheus. He needed to share her with the rest of the crew even if the thought left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

"Breakfast?" Neo asked, impressed with his own ability to step away.

"Breakfast," she confirmed, even as her cheeks remained flushed. She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

I love you. The words almost tumbled from his mouth before he stopped them. He was uncertain if he had said them to her during his moments of consciousness after waking up in the pod. It was likely, he knew. But she was dealing with so much at once, his declaration might not be as welcome or as heartfelt as he wanted it to.

Instead, he entwined his hand with hers and opened the door to her room. Together, they walked down to the kitchen. Apoc, Dozer, and Tank were already there with breakfast.

Tank grinned at the sight of them. "Mornin'," he drawled in a teasing sort of tune.

"Morning," Trinity echoed, careful to keep her own tone even as she walked with Neo over to the cabinets. Again, they wordlessly separated the tasks: Trinity filled the bowls while Neo made two cups of tea.

Apoc and Dozer were watching Neo with an acute fascination as he went about his task.

Trinity couldn't blame them for staring as he prepared her tea perfectly, almost effortlessly. She had barely been able to stop herself from doing the same thing the night before. His ease on the Neb was uncanny, to say the least.

"Sleep well?" Tank asked as Trinity sat down, quirking his brow.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, sitting down, purposefully not saying anything to confirm or deny what Tank practically knew: that Neo had spent the entire night in her bed.

"I found it a bit cold," he pressed. "Did you? Were either of you cold?"

Apoc was smirking into his mug and Dozer smacked his younger brother in the arm. "Ease off," he said.

"I'm just asking about the temperature!"

"You know, Tank," said Trinity casually, "if you're too cold at night I could look into some room changes. Perhaps you'd like to bunk with Cypher?"

"Cypher only has one bed in his room."

"I'm aware." Trinity took a sip of tea and Tank relented.

"All right, all right. I'll behave."

"Doubtful," said Dozer.

Trinity smiled before glancing to Apoc. "After breakfast, I want you to put him on a fast track regimen. Gauge where he's at and go from there. Then, after lunch," she turned to Tank, "I want basic operations and combat training run on him. First aid if there's time."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Tank saluted.

Apoc nodded. "Can do." He looked at Neo. "Not going to lie to you, man, your body is not going to be ready for what you're about to go through, but it will help you adjust. I suggest you eat up."

Neo nodded with a grimace. He understood well enough the purpose of working out but it didn't mean he had to like it.

Switch stumbled in; eyes half lidded. "Who invented mornings?"

"No one. Like everything else, they're a social construct. Based upon a sun that no one has seen in more than a hundred years." Apoc moved down a bit making room for Switch at the end of the table. "You sleep okay?"

"Never."

"Ain't that the truth," said Dozer. "I never sleep good away from home."

Neo felt his heart clench at the half-memory of Zion. Home. More so than the Matrix had ever been. He was never happier than when he was in their little apartment, locked away from the rest of all the worlds.

Would it be the same in this reality? Trinity had been exceedingly patient with him as he adjusted but that was not a guarantee that she would keep him with her in Zion. Still, he had no memory of a home outside of the one with her. He hoped that was a good sign.

"Miss the warmth," said Switch, "miss my bed. God help me, I even miss Sparks."

Neo felt himself smile at that, adding, "Careful, you don't want to make Tank jealous."

The words escaped him like they would have in his dream world then reminded him of exactly where he was as the room grew silent. The only sound was the whirring of the ship. In his dream world, everyone would have laughed good-naturedly but here… he was just a newly woken red-pill that knew far more than anyone dared ask.

Apoc broke the silence and tension. "Huh. You're going to have to meet Sparks twice. It was hard enough doing it once for me."

"I don't…" Neo struggled with the words. "I don't remember meeting him in the dreams I had. He was just kind of there. I don't really remember meeting anyone, except Trin. I just, I don't know, knew who everyone was?"

He couldn't explain it. Years and years of dreams gave him insight to details he couldn't even fully recall. Some dreams, like the ones in the club with Trinity, happened so often he could recite them word for word. And others, like some in Zion, felt more like distant memories that disappeared the harder he tried to focus on them.

"Who else do you know?" Dozer asked curiously.

Neo shrugged a shoulder. "I know Cass. I know your kids. I know Zee and Link."

Link, he thought. Link was the Operator. But Tank was the Operator?

"I know Link really well, actually."

"Really?" asked Dozer, surprise resonating in his voice.

Neo nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes, he's here. On the Neb."

"On the Neb doing what?" Tank asked.

"Operating." Neo said, trying to recall the dream memories. "There are times when it's you. And times when it's Link."

"Link on the Neb?" Tank raised an eyebrow. "Zee would kill him. And where was I if Link was operating?"

Neo blinked, trying to piece together his memories. Link was there in his mind, but Tank wasn't. Neither was Dozer. His only memories with Link on the Neb involved Trinity, and a few with Morpheus. He thought back, trying to remember more.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, aware that everyone was staring at him. "When Link is here, you're not but there is a lot I don't remember. Some things that don't fit together right. Gaps that are missing."

"And based on what you said yesterday, neither Tank nor Link would be in about eighty percent of your dreams." Switch was smirking and Neo was exceedingly grateful that they broke the tension.

"You're having way too much fun with this," Neo said dryly.

"I really am."

"What does that mean?" Dozer asked. "That Tank and Link aren't in eighty percent of your dreams?"

"Oh, none of us are." Switch raised a brow while looking pointedly at Trinity. "It means Trinity has exclusive rights to those dreams. If you know what I mean."

Apoc choked on his goop.

Dozer gave him a hearty slap on the back. "Christ, Switch, you trying to kill him?"

Tank looked back and forth from Neo and Trinity to Switch. "Are you saying that eighty percent of those dreams that have given you insight to our lives and world were dirty dreams?"

Trinity glared half-heartedly at Switch. "Thanks for sharing that with half the crew."

"Oh my god!" Tank said, leaning forward. "Can I please be the one to tell Sparks?"

Apoc downed his water. "Neo, finish up so I can get the fuck out of this room before Tank or Switch loses it."

"Gladly." Neo started to eat a bit faster.

"No, I got more questions!" said Tank, "You guys get to see the Oracle—this is the closest I'll ever come to learning the future."

"We can't be sure what he knows is the future." Trinity pointed out. "Think about the club—there were multiple scenarios that he recognized being played through. His visions were not strictly of the future."

"But a lot of what he's seen is true. You said he knew the book you keep on your bedside table, for fuck's sake."

"It still does not indicate the future."

"But it does show that he knows things."

"I know very little," Neo said between bites. "I wouldn't stake my life on half of it."

"And yet you remember your training."

"But I don't remember being trained," he countered.

"In Zion, what's your apartment number?"

"Floor 44, apartment 31." The answer came automatically, flying from his lips before he had time to process. He blinked in surprise, not really sure where the answer had come from.

Trinity flushed red as he revealed her apartment number.

Tank grinned at Trinity. "At least he's consistent."

Trinity flipped him off as Tank fired another question. "What's the best bar in Zion?"

"Cain's."

"Who leads the Council?"

"Dillard."

He blinked again. Dillard was right but he was having trouble finding a face in his mind to match. Peculiar…

"We get it, Tank," Trinity cut in, giving Neo a chance to return to his food. "But there will be time for questions later. Let's not interrogate over breakfast."

"Oh, but we all have so many questions," said Cypher walking into the kitchen, "like how the hell you were able to fly in the construct. It was built with parameters, one of which is gravity." Cypher didn't bother to go for breakfast, instead sitting at the table on the opposite side of Neo. "That's what got me curious."

"I'm sure we'd all like to know," said Apoc, standing from the table and bringing his dish over to the sink. "But later. Right now, we have training to do."

"Right," said Neo, pushing up from the table.

Trinity mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Apoc as Neo also tossed his bowl in the sink. Apoc nodded once before heading for the door.

Neo followed, murmuring, "I'll see you later," as he stopped briefly to bend down and give Trinity a kiss.

Trinity grinned, lightly pushing his shoulder back. "Go."

His hand traced across her back as he walked by, following Apoc out the door.

"Kissing at the breakfast table?" Cypher asked Trinity with a raised brow. "My, he does work fast."

"That's nothing!" said Tank. "They're already sharing a room."

"What!" Switch's head shot up from their food, looking frantically between Tank and Trinity. "What? When did that happen? How do I not know this?"

"Recent development," Tank informed them casually. "But Cypher is right, Neo ain't wasting any time."

"Our past isn't exactly conventional."

"You don't have a past. Not a real one, anyway," he pointed out not unkindly.

"I'm sorry," said Switch, head going back and forth, "we need to go back. You two are sharing a room? Like, your room? Like, your room with one bed?"

Trinity smirked at Tank. "Doesn't seem like that hard of a concept to grasp."

"Oh my god," Switch said, pounding a fist on the table. "I take it back. This is the best day of my life. Have you fucked yet?"

"Switch!" Trinity said sharply as Dozer tried to cover a snort with a burst of coughs.

"It's a valid question!"

"And it's also none of your business. I don't ask you about your sex life."

"I wouldn't mind if you did," Switch shot back. "Bonding is important amongst a crew."

"Yeah, Trin," said Cypher, "bond with us."

"You're all disgusting," Trinity said, standing up from the table. "I can't stand any of you."

Tank nodded before looking at his brother to say, "I bet that's why she got Neo."

"Jesus Christ"—Trin tossed her dishes into the sink—"this can't be the most interesting thing in your lives right now."

"The fuck it isn't! We may have found the One and the One has weird dream-memories about boning you. Tell me one thing in your life that is more interesting than this!"

"I'm leaving now."

"I will find you!" Switch screamed after her. "I know where you sleep!"

"And where Neo sleeps," she heard Tank add.

Trinity resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Even still, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

#the matrix #the matrix fanfiction #trinity #neo #trinity x neo #neo the matrix #trinity the matrix #the matrix has queue #i posted this on a03 and forgot to post it here #whoops #the matrix fanfic #the matrix dream chronicles

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matrixreimagined · 3 years

Text

The Dream Chronicles Chapter 3

On A03 here

or read here

Neo only woke a handful of times over the next few days. The first time he had woken up after the meeting with Morpheus, she was standing over him again. She had been helping Dozer stimulate his muscles. While adjusting one of the needles, the nerves in his leg caused him to kick up before falling back down on the harsh metal table.

He had been startled, eyes flying open, but she had placed a hand on his head and whispered to him that he was safe. He locked eyes with her and immediately he settled. Neo did not speak a single word before he had fallen back into an exhausted sleep.

She and Dozer had exchanged a look but the medic had been kind enough not to say anything.

The next time, she had been sitting in the chair next to the bed. Morpheus wanted Neo under twenty-four-hour care and she had taken the bulk of the shifts with only a bit of hazing from her colleagues. She had been reading between taking and recording his vitals every fifteen minutes and he had spoken before she even knew he was awake.

"What’re you reading?" His voice was scratchy from lack of use.

Her eyes shot up. Neo had turned his head to the side and was watching her under lidded eyes. Still pale but looking better with every passing hour.

"The Silmarillion."

Neo chuckled. "That's my girl."

She turned the corner of a page and closed it, ignoring the warmth that spread at his adoration. "How are you feeling?"

He closed his eyes. "Hazy, numb. Scared."

"You're safe here, Neo. Nothing is going to hurt you here."

"I know that." Neo swallowed, blinking up and looking at her like she held all the answers. She wasn’t sure how to tell him that she didn’t. "But what if I wake up tomorrow in my bed?"

"You won't."

"But if I do?"

"Then I'll find you," she said harshly, shocking herself with the conviction in her words.

That seemed to pacify him, and Neo exhaled. He was starting to drift back toward unconsciousness.

"Love you, Trin," and he was asleep again, leaving her alone with her heart pounding.

She had felt that spread to her very core.

"You were built for great things, Trinity," the Oracle had told her, so many years ago. "I know you doubt yourself, but you won't always. Your capacity for love is unlike any I've ever seen in the course of my long life. It will take years, but you will find the One to match it."

Even in the way the Oracle had said it, the words, even the concept of the One made her feel a little too warm.

"I'm not looking for love."

"But love is looking for you. And it will find you. You see, the man that you love is going to be special. And while the world will need him, he is going to need you.

"Without you, he'll do his darndest to try but he will fail. But with you at his side, that man will become the One."

"I'm going to fall for the One?" she had breathed.

"Head over heels. Through and through. Balls to bone. You will find him and save him. And he will save you."

How could he love her already? she wondered, desperately trying to focus back on her book. They didn't even know each other. He had only met her in dreams.

That wasn't enough for love, right?

.......................

Dozer had been there again the next time, moving the needles along with Trinity.

He looked around and didn't see her, standing at his legs to stimulate his thigh muscles.

"Trinity?" he said, a hint of panic to his tone.

"I'm here." She set down the needle and moved closer to the head of the table, walking into his line of sight. He relaxed, holding her gaze.

"What're you doing?"

"Your muscles have atrophied. We're rebuilding them," Dozer explained.

Neo managed to lift his head a little. "Oh. Hey, Dozer."

The medic raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment. "Neo. How are you feeling?"

"I… everything. Why can I feel everything?"

"Your body is adjusting to being awake," Trinity said. "It can be a little overwhelming."

He nodded, closing his eyes in discomfort.

She placed a hand on his forehead, and he steadied his breathing.

"Sleep, Neo."

The days all seemed to blur together as they waited for Neo to regain his strength, but finally, Dozer had determined they had done all they could do.

Together with the medic and Morpheus, they had removed the long needles and cleaned him up. Dozer had dressed Neo while Morpheus and Trinity talked quietly.

"This time tomorrow, he should be awake enough to talk, if nothing else."

Trinity couldn't decide if it frightened her or excited her. She said nothing, though, listening as Morpheus made predictions about how Neo would react, given his knowledge.

"You should get some rest," Morpheus finally said to her. "You've barely slept."

Her lips twitched. "I've done more on less."

"There's no reason to work yourself to exhaustion. Go sleep. I'll stay with Neo tonight."

...........................................

Trinity woke up to a crash. Morpheus was shouting and footsteps banged down the hall.

She sat up, blinking as another crash echoed off the walls. She slipped on her boots and left her quarters in time to hear Morpheus shout, "Get Trinity up, now!"

She took off at a run towards the medbay. Mouse almost crashed into her as they crossed paths but Trinity continued.

When she arrived, Neo was up and restrained between Morpheus and Dozer. He was putting up quite a fight for a fresh poddie between the two biggest people on the ship. Apoc was in the corner, readying a syringe while Switch was trying to shut down the alarms from the monitors that he had yanked from his body.

"Neo!" Trinity called loudly, making Neo stop his thrashing. She moved in front of him and put her hands on his face, forcing him to look at her. "Neo! You’re safe, Neo."

Neo’s breathing was ragged, his face flushed and eyes wild.

She looked at Morpheus and gave a nod. Morpheus and Dozer released Neo and he swung his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

He was shaking around her, gasping for breath. "I’m… I’m sorry," he said, "you weren’t here and I-- I’m sorry."

"It’s all right," she assured him, rubbing a hand on his back soothingly. She could feel his heart still racing. That wasn’t good for someone freshly unplugged. "But I need you to get a hold of your breathing. Can you breathe with me?"

Trinity leaned back just enough that he could see the rise and fall of each breath. She slowed her own breathing, emphasizing each intake and exhale. He followed her example and Trinity could feel him coming back down.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, so no one else could hear. Neo nodded and Trinity glanced back to Dozer. "Is he okay to eat something?"

Dozer nodded. "Yeah, he should be fine."

She looked over to Morpheus. "I’ll feed him then bring him to the console. Is thirty minutes all right?"

Morpheus nodded, a touch of hesitance in his gaze. It was obvious that he did not want to let Neo go off but acquiesced. Neo needed to step away. She could see it in his eyes. He was overwhelmed.

They had unplugged a man who was nearly thirty. He had spent too long in the Matrix to come out unscathed and with his dreams… Neo was a wildcard to say the least.

Trinity took him by the hand and led him off to the kitchen. He looked around as they walked. "We’re on the Neb," he recognized before thoughtfully asking, "how did we get from the hotel to the Neb?"

"The answers are coming," she told him, "soon."

He nodded and reached to open the door to the kitchen before she had even slowed down. She stepped in, dropping his hand so she could go fill up two bowls. Silently, Neo followed and took out two mugs from the correct cabinet. He hadn’t even paused to think.

It was less memory, she deduced, but habit.

She tried not to watch as he flawlessly made them each a cup of tea. He knew where everything was, his hand was practiced like he had done it before, even going as far as to add a splash of cold water to hers, just as she always did.

Fuck. She swallowed, her own heart pounding furiously. Trin forced herself to look away, concentrating on her own task.

Grabbing two spoons, she led him to the table.

Neo swung one leg over the bench, intent on watching her. His scrutiny made her shiver.

"You know who I am," he said carefully, thoughtfully. Like he was piecing together a puzzle. "But you don’t know me. Not the way I know you."

"What gave it away?" she replied, picking up the mug to hide behind.

Neo smirked. "Glad to know your sarcasm hasn’t diminished in this world."

"I’m as snarky as ever."

"I see it, in your eyes," Neo said. "You don’t look at me like I’m someone you know but you’ve taken care of me regardless."

"There are… shadows of you," she murmured, unable to look at him even while he was unable to look away from her. "Ghosts of memories that I can’t see, even when I try. I don’t know you the way you know me. But I would be lying if I said that you weren’t familiar to me."

"And what do you see? When you look at me?"

Mine. Possession, obsession. Adoration, temptation, desire. Chemicals in her body reached massive imbalances until he was the only thought on her mind, overwhelming her senses and telling her what Morpheus wanted to hear the night he had spoken to her about what she knew. Neo was the One.

But he was hers and that thought made her stomach roll with fear but also excitement. She wasn’t sure she was ready to label her feelings as love quite yet but there seemed to be no other word that fit what she was experiencing.

For fifteen years, she had waited for him. Terrified, uncertain. The Oracle had left her with a few answers and a thousand more questions. And Trinity had kept that to herself for so long, carrying the burden of knowledge within her heart.

And now he was here. In front of her. Irrevocably real.

Trinity turned towards him, letting her hand rise up and cup the back of his head and pull it down towards her.

His lips touched hers and she shuddered.

This was real, she acknowledged. This wasn’t Neo kissing her in the Matrix which, as good and wonderful as it had felt, had lacked something visceral.

Neo wrapped his arms around her and groaned into the kiss as her teeth pulled at his lower lip. He deepened the kiss, tugging her closer. His hands were moving, touching and memorizing this Trinity. The real Trinity.

Her words from earlier rang true. The Trinity of his dreams had been beautiful and loving and oh so brilliant, but he was a fool if he thought she was any more than a shadow of the real thing. Trinity turned more, bending her leg beneath her so as to face him on the bench. Her other hand wrapped around his back.

This was familiar, but whether it was from some long-forgotten memory or a simple primal instinct she was unsure. At that moment, she didn’t care.

She had waited so fucking long after the Oracle had shared her part in the war. Waited long enough for her to begin to wonder if it was possible for the Oracle to make a mistake. But he was there, in front of her. Warm and gentle and real.

They pulled apart, resting their foreheads together as they each caught their breaths. Neo didn’t loosen his grip on her. Instead he held her tighter as if he was afraid she might pull away.

"You're mine," she said. "I see someone who is mine; to protect, to cherish, to…"

He kissed her in her hesitance, and she was grateful to put off saying what thought echoed in her mind.

"You already know where I stand," Neo said as they parted. "You're my everything."

Trinity nearly shivered at his words. Too overwhelmed by it all to reply, she kissed him again. Just to feel him once more.

Years of worrying, of sheer terror at what finding the One would mean disappeared. The thoughts that kept her up at night seemed trivial.

How had she lived without this?

"Swear to me," Neo whispered, almost begging as he set his forehead to hers, "swear to me I'm not going to wake up back at my apartment."

"I swear it. You're not going anywhere."

"I don't understand it. But I don't care as long as you're here."

"You'll understand it soon." She forced herself to sit back up. "Eat, and I'll take you to Morpheus. He'll explain everything."

He reached over and caught her chin. "I can think of a few things I'd rather do." Neo leaned down and kissed her.

Trin smiled against his lips, letting herself take just a few more moments of selfishness before what she could only imagine would be a trying day.

"Well, I stand fucking corrected," Apoc called loudly, causing the couple to break apart in surprise.

"Are you serious?" Trinity heard Switch scream back. Footsteps echoed down the hall and Switch's blond head poked into the room.

"I'm not dealing with this," Apoc said, shaking his head as he turned to walk away. "Above my pay grade. They're all yours."

"Yes!" Switch punched the air, bouncing into the kitchen and taking a seat across from them.

"Hello, my name is Switch and I will be your chaperone for this evening."

"No," said Trinity.

"Oh, yeah. Orders of Morpheus. He wants you two to make it out of dinner with clothes still on."

"Clothes are still on!"

"And I'm here to make sure that's where they stay." Switch looked too goddamn smug. "Now turn around. We got stuff to do."

Trinity rolled her eyes as she moved to face forward at the table and eat the food in front of her. Neo grimaced but followed suit, muttering, "Every damn time."

Switch grinned. "Jeez, boy. How many of your dreams were just sexy times?"

Trinity stopped, spoon halfway to her mouth. She cocked her head and looked at Neo, whose eyes were wide as he looked between her and Switch. The unasked question: am I allowed to answer that?

At her curious brow, he relented. "Uh… well, um. More than half? Maybe sixty percent?"

"And the other dreams?"

"Uh, maybe closer to eighty percent. The rest of the dreams… there are a couple that we’re together, dressed in black and carrying guns. There’s one that takes place in a dojo. There’s a couple where men in suits are after us and, for some reason, we’re trying to find a phone…? I’m sorry—everything is still a little hazy."

Trinity and Switch looked at each other.

"Agents?"

"You know any other men in suits after us?"

"Christ. I’m assuming the dojo is our dojo."

"It would have to be." Trinity ran a hand through her hair. "I don’t even know where to start with all of this."

"The dreams?" Switch asked, looking at Neo. "They all have Trinity?"

Neo’s eyes skirted to Trinity and back to Switch. "Yeah."

Trinity concentrated on her dinner as her head reeled. Zion, the Matrix, the Neb, the Dojo… every place possible, he had dreamed of her. She wasn’t sure what to make of it other than another confirmation that the One was indeed sitting next to her. Inches away. She could still taste him on her lips and, damn it, if Switch wasn’t there, she would be tasting him.

"And the rest of us? How often do we appear?"

Neo shrugged. "Half the time? Maybe. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve graphed it or anything. Out of everyone, Morpheus and Tank probably make the most appearances. Then you and Apoc. Dozer. I know Mouse and Cypher but they’re a rarer sight. We—I usually only see them when everyone is congregated together. Then, there’s this other guy, Link… he’s on the Neb sometimes but sometimes he isn’t."

"Link?" said Switch. "I don’t think I know a Link."

"I do." Trinity paused in her supper. "You know Dozer and Tank’s sister? Zee?"

"Vaguely. I could pick her out of a lineup, but I don’t think I’ve ever said more than a few words to her."

"Her husband’s name is Link. He’s an operator on the Babylon. Has been for almost a year now." She looked at Neo. "You’re sure he’s here? Not in Zion?"

Neo nodded. "Positive."

"Something to look into," said Switch. "Neo, eat up. Believe me when I say you’ll need your strength later on."

.....................................................

"This is the world you know. The world as it was at the end of the Twentieth Century. It exists now only as part of a neural interactive simulation that we call the Matrix. You have been living inside a dream world, Neo. This is the world that exists today. Welcome... to the desert of the real. We have only bits and pieces of information but what we know for certain is that at some point in the early twenty-first century all of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI."

"Artificial intelligence," Neo said with a nod.

"Correct. A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don’t know who struck first, us or them. But we know that it was us that scorched the sky. At the time they were dependent on solar power and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

"The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTUs of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines have found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields, endless fields, where human beings are no longer born. We are grown. For the longest time I wouldn’t believe it, and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watch them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth.

"What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this." He held up a battery.

Neo exhaled.

It was bad but… it made sense. A piece of understanding that had been missing from the dreams. He knew the difference between the Neb, the Matrix, and Zion but he had never been able to name the differences nor was he able to understand why some dreams were here and others were there.

His dreams followed Trinity and Trinity existed on the Neb, in Zion, and in the Matrix.

"Okay. I understand the concepts," he said, finally, vaguely aware that Morpheus was watching him as he took in the new information. "But why have I been able to see into both worlds? You're all too in awe for that to be a common occurrence."

"I believe," said Morpheus, "that you are special. There was a man born inside the Matrix with the power to change things at will. To remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth… as long as the Matrix exists the human race will never be free.

"After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return," Morpheus continued, "and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix, end the war, bring freedom to our people. That is why there are those of us who have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix for him. I suspected it was you before I knew about your… unique dreams. Now, I am certain.

"You are the One, Neo."

The One. Trinity had called him that before, in his dreams. He remembered Lock using the term in an almost derogatory fashion. The Council referring to him as such with reverence. But it had always been abstract in his mind; a title he didn’t fully recognize or understand.

He knew… he knew that he was supposed to destroy the Matrix somewhere in his head, but it hadn’t made sense until this moment.

Neo closed his eyes as he tried to make sense of it all. When they opened, he was in the real world, in the same chair he had sat down in twenty minutes before.

Trinity was next to him, unplugging the jack from the head. He twitched and waited as Dozer undid his feet from the stirrups.

"How are you feeling?" Trinity asked.

Neo blinked. "It makes sense. Like, everything is clicking into place. Things I’ve tried to figure out for years, just…"

He trailed off. Years of dreams that he knew intimately but could never understand. Trinity, sometimes among steel, sometimes surrounded by warm rock, and other times totally lost in the Matrix. It fit together; the pieces of the puzzle that were lost just dropped into place.

"It may take some time to get used to," Morpheus said, standing from his own seat. "You’ve taken in a lot of information in a short period of time."

Neo huffed a laugh at the understatement. His head shot up and he looked at Trinity. "The dojo!"

"The dojo?" she repeated, eyeing him curiously.

"It's in the construct, isn't it? That's why I can’t remember ever going to or leaving it."

"You've had dreams of the construct?" Morpheus asked.

"The dojo, at least. I'm not sure about anything else."

"Tank, load the dojo."

"What are you doing?" Trinity asked her captain as he moved back to his seat.

"I want to try something."

"Morpheus," her tone offered a warning.

"It will be fine, Trinity."

She looked to Neo, who shrugged. Trin bit her lip as Dozer prepared to plug Neo back in.

...........

When he opened his eyes, he was in the dojo. The warm, not quite pajamas he was familiar with were on him. Morpheus stood before him, dressed similarly.

"You're familiar with this? You've sparred here?"

Neo nodded. "Yes, but only with Trinity."

"We all have the same training," said Morpheus. "I want to see how much you know already. It's possible that you are a blank slate but I would like to know for sure. I want you to hit me. If you can?"

"Are you serious?"

"Quite."

"You actually want me to hit you?"

"Yes.’

Neo shifted uncomfortably. "I’m not sure I'm comfortable with that. Like, you're just standing there and—"

He was cut off by Morpheus lunging forward, arms waving.

Neo reacted, side stepping out of the way, countering Morpheus by swinging his own to cut off Morpheus's momentum. He was aware of his body moving, could feel every step and gesture as he blocked each incoming attack.

It had been a dream, but now…

Neo jumped in the air, flipping back to avoid the kick Morpheus had aimed at him. He landed, the psuedo-ground cushioning his feet.

His body, his mind, some part of him remembered these motions. These movements were familiar, as were Morpheus’.

Hit me. If you can.

Neo blocked all of Morpheus’ incoming assaults, each movement seeming slower than the last until a space opened for Neo to slam his fist forward.

And Morpheus was flying backwards, crashing through a support beam and into the wall behind it, leaving a giant dent in the wall.

Neo winced. "Oh shit."

Morpheus laughed, jumping to his feet. "Good. Again."

Neo bounced on his feet assuming a defensive position as Morpheus moved closer. He made the first assault, swinging a punch that Morpheus dodged, rolling to the ground and coming up behind Neo. Neo waited, not turning, for the motion behind him. He leaned to the side, letting Morpheus’ hand shoot by his head.

Neo grabbed Morpheus’ forearm and use the momentum to pull the larger man forward and up over his shoulder. Morpheus hit the floor hard.

"Your speed is abnormal," Morpheus commented, rising to his feet. "Your moves seem to be limited to the eastern arts; however, your defensive skill is impressive. Again."

Neo lunged forwards, missing Morpheus by inches. He leaned back to avoid a hit to the face and swung back up. Arms flew, crossing each other as they both successfully avoided direct hits from the other.

The atmosphere around him changed. He could feel the code around him, pushing and making space for another. He spared a glance to the side, never pausing in his assault. Trinity stood on the side of the dojo, sufficiently out of the way. Her arms were crossed, and her face was blank. That was never a good sign.

He moved forward, pushing Morpheus back. Morpheus began to move slower and Neo wondered idly if Morpheus was letting him win. As space opened, Neo placed a kick squarely to the chest, sending Morpheus across the room, yet again.

"Enough!" Trinity walked towards the center of the dojo. "Morpheus, he's been on his feet less than an hour. Let's not overwhelm him."

"He knows the basics of combat training, Trinity. And his speed—"

"—Is very impressive but this can wait. He just learned what the Matrix is, we can slow down on the rest. And regardless of what he knows, he needs to run the training programs before this continues."

"One more thing," Morpheus said, "before we go."

"He’s beat you three times," Trinity argued, looking then to Neo. "The gaps in your knowledge are being made up for by speed, but that’s not enough."

"Tank, load the jump program." Morpheus looked to Trinity, noting the look of disapproval on her face. "The last thing," Morpheus promised, "and then we can gauge if Neo is up to anything else for the day."

Trinity gave a single nod and the program around them changed until they were in a replica of Capitol City, standing hundreds of feet in the air on top of a skyscraper.

His clothes had changed. Gone were the pale pajamas he had worn in the dojo. Instead, he was in a black button down and slacks, with a black jacket, not nearly as long as Morpheus’ coat.

Trinity’s dojo-wear had morphed into tight leather pants and a skintight tank top. He was more than familiar with the outfit having peeled it from her body before.

"In the construct, like in the Matrix, there are still the same basic rules," Morpheus’ voice broke into Neo’s thoughts. "What you must learn is that some of them can be bent. Others can be broken."

Neo nodded, looking around at the city he once called home.

"You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief."

Morpheus turned and took off running. As the edge of the building approached Morpheus jumped, tens of feet, into the air, soaring between the buildings before slamming, feet first, into the next skyscraper with a sickening crunch.

Trinity looked at Neo. "If you don't want to do this right now, say the word."

Neo nodded, staring over the gap. "I-I can do it."

"I know you can," she said; it wasn't an assurance so much as agreement. "As long as this is by your choice."

"Wait." Neo caught her hand in his. He turned, bending his head enough for a small kiss. A gentle brush of his lips to hers.

For luck, he told himself as Trinity opened her eyes.

She gave him a small smile. "I'll see you on the other side."

She followed Morpheus, jumping off the building with a quiet grace. She crossed the gap in a careful arc before landing on her feet. The concrete floor thudded at her landing but broke little more from what Morpheus had already done.

Trinity turned when she had righted herself. From across the buildings, he could still see her soft smile. She gave a nod and Neo nodded back.

The distance between them was great. Too much. It just wouldn't do.

"Okay," he murmured to himself. Neo took off at a run and jumped.

#the matrix #the matrix fanfic #the matrix fanfiction #otp: you hear me? i love you #neo (the matrix)#trinity (the matrix)

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