The Matrix

Card 4: Queen of Spades

Card 4: Queen of Spades

Lights were flickering on the Nebuchadezzar, Neo stayed up all night, unable to sleep from everything that he learned from Morpheus. Then the sound of footsteps got his attention as they were coming towards his room. Then his door was turned and open then in steps Zelda as she smiles at him, "Can't sleep?" she asks, he shook his head at her then looks away, she frowns knowing he was upset with her.

She sighs and leans against the door, "I owe you an explanation." she states, folding her arms behind her back. "A terrifying voicemail of you crying, saying you think you were going crazy and you begging me not to come and look for you. A couple of months later you come back, telling me that the world we lived in, grew up in was fake. A lie." he snaps at her. She closes her eyes nodding her head, understanding his anger. "After I sent you that voicemail, Agent Smith found me and took me in to be interrogated, but my mind it kept flashing between encoded and normal. Then I saw Smith for what he was, a machine, just a computer. Everything was just a program to control me, I rejected it. Rejected the matrix and when I screamed, everything fell away." she states as she moves away from the door and sat down next to him.

He just looks at her, "Then I found myself in that power plant of there, something to turn into a battery. I refused it and forced the machines to free me from their power plant and from there, I survived for about a year on my own in the real world, the machine tried to take recapture me, but I always outsmarted them, remained a step ahead of them. But then I saw it." she states and he looks at her, "The Field?" he asks and she nods. "Yeah, the image has been burned into my mind, I barely escape with my life," she states then smirks. "They gave me a few scars along the way too," she states as she shows him the scars on her neck. He nods and looks away, she frowns and lets go of her shirt. "Then I stumbled upon Morpheus and his crew, they were shocked when I left the Matrix on my own, but Morpheus let me join his crew and I've been helping them ever since, for 3 years now," she informs him.

Then she looks at him, "Why didn't you contact me sooner?" he questions her, she leans back against the wall. "I wanted to, but I was afraid." she answers and he looks at her, "I thought of all the ways you would yell at me, blame me, even cut off all times with me." she admits to him, Neo just sighs at her, "So I watched from afar, making sure you were alright whenever you got back home, had to retrain myself from marching into that building you worked out and punching your boss in the face." she chuckles a little. "I never wanted you to get involved with this war between man and machine, but then I wanted to save you from becoming a battery to fuel the machines," she answers and he looks at her.

He nods and looks down at the floor, "I am sorry Neo. I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to leave. The thought of you kept me going through these three years." she tells him, he said nothing. She exhales and nods her head at him, she stood up, she went to leave the room, but then stops as she gasps as she felt the light touch of his hand, slip over her wrist and he grabs a hold of it, she yelps as she was back and stumbles onto Neo's lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck out of instinct and she looks at him, "Don't ever leave like that again." he warns her. She smiles and nods her head. "I promise," she swore and hugs him tightly in her arms and Neo returns the heartwarming hug.

They then pulled away from each other and just smiles, then someone was walking towards Neo's room and Zelda stood up from his lap and the door opens and there stood Tank. "Morning," he said to them, Zelda gave him a friendly smile. "Do you sleep?" he asks Neo, who just shook his head at him "You will tonight. I guarantee it." Tank states and walks into the room, "Neo, this is Tank, he's our operator for the Matrix." Zelda informs him and Tank shook his hand and Neo notices his arms were completely normal. "You don't-- you don't have any--" Neo asks him. "Holes? Nope." Tank answers as he lets Neo's hand go. "Me and my brother Dozer, we're both 100% pure, old-fashioned, homegrown human, born free right here in the real world." Tank answers.