FicWad

-I-I-I-

Neo glanced down at his watch yet again. Trinity was never this late, even on those rare occasions Agents caught sight of her. None of them were better than she was at giving them the slip.

He sighed in relief as a knock on the door sounded in the pre-arranged signal. He went to the door and opened it to see his wife. "You're-"

Then he saw she wasn't alone. "-late...um, Trin? Introduce me to your friend?"

She smiled, though it seemed a tad nervous to him. "This is Harry Potter. Harry, this is my husband Neo."

Neo studied the boy carefully. He was small and scrawny, worryingly so. That, combined with his messy black hair, made it difficult to accurately judge his age. But when you saw them, his eyes more than made up for his youthful appearance.

They were like emeralds, those eyes, hard and almost astonishingly green. The kind of eyes that had seen too much, and none of it good. The kind of eyes that he was terrified of seeing one day when he looked in the mirror.

It was only then that Neo saw the red mark slowly forming on the boy's cheek, one in the shape of a hand.

Aw, hell... "Um, Harry? How old are you?" he asked hesitantly, pushing his suspicions to the back of his mind for a moment.

"Nine," the child answered, looking up at him nervously.

Trinity sucked in a breath, apparently having thought the child was younger. He leaned into her, whispering so only she could hear him. "Abuse?"

She nodded slightly, and he swore. "Are we bringing him out?"

"You better believe it."

"Good. I'll help you with Morpheus."

-I-I-I-

Harry watched the two adults whisper to each other, until the man, Neo, abruptly nodded. "Good. I'll help you with Morpheus."

"And why, pray tell, would she need help with me?"

He turned to see a large black man standing behind him, ignoring the others as he fastened his eyes on the small boy.

"And you would be...?"

"Harry Potter, sir," Harry said quietly, not wanting to upset someone who felt so dangerous.

"I see." The man glanced over at Trinity. "You wish to unplug him?"

"Yes."

The man looked down at Harry thoughtfully. "Trinity, Neo, if I may speak with you privately?"

They both nodded. Trinity shot Harry a reassuring look as she left the room and him.

-I-I-I-

Morpheus led them to a small room filled with dusty leather furniture, all in a color not un-kin to drying blood. He gestured for them to sit, taking a chair himself.

Finally, he turned to Trinity. "Speak."

He and Neo listened as Trinity reported. Apparently, the contact she was supposed to meet had never shown up, and three Agents had picked up her trail after she left the rendezvous.

"A setup?" Neo interrupted anxiously.

She nodded. "I think so. Anyway, after I realized they were on to me, I tried to get away by cutting through a house. That was when I met Harry." Trinity leaned back into her chair. "This is where things get a little unbelievable. He hid me, and made it look like I'd already left the house by opening the front door and jumping in with me."

Morpheus lifted a brow. "That was intelligent, but hardly unbelievable."

The woman gave him an annoyed look. "The place we were hiding in was a cupboard under the stairs, which, by the way-" Here she scowled. "-turned out to be his bedroom." Taking a bit of satisfaction from the startled look on Morpheus's face, she continued. "While we were hiding, an Agent opened the cupboard door and looked straight at us, /without seeing us/."

After a moment Morpheus spoke. "That's impossible."

Trinity snorted. "And that's not all, either. He can feel Agents. He knew when they'd left the street."

Neo blinked, incredulous. "But-" He stopped as he realized something. "You said he hid with you, and the Agents didn't know you were there. But shouldn't one have taken him over?"

"I thought of that, too. He didn't know anything about the Matrix when I asked, and I've never met a program that didn't, or would lie about it."

The three sat, lost in thought. At last Morpheus stirred. "Perhaps... perhaps he is the one we're searching for."

At this Neo looked skeptical. "You thought that about me, too, remember? What if you're wrong? I'm not going to let someone else's life be ruined by mistake."

"But what if he's /right/?" Trinity leaned forward eagerly. "I hadn't considered it, but it would explain so /much/!" Her face turned grim. "And besides, there's not exactly much we can do to make his life worse at this point."

Morpheus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Harry's family was abusing him. I asked him how long it had been going on, and he couldn't remember when it started." She looked away. "I broke into his house through a window. After the Agents left, his uncle came home, and saw the broken glass. He started to beat Harry, and... I lost my temper."

The others both winced. They knew very well what it was like when their shipmate was pushed over the edge.

Trinity glared at them fiercely. "Harry saved my life, and I am not letting him be hurt again. I swore I'd protect him, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep that promise."

Carefully studying her face, Morpheus nodded. "Alright. But you are the one who will train him. I trained the last recruit." He nodded towards Neo.

Trinity beamed. "Oh, Neo'll help me." She sent him a pointed look as he started to protest. "Won't you, dear?"

He sighed in defeat. "Of course."

-I-I-I-

Harry sighed, scuffing the hard, concrete floor with his worn sneakers. It had been forever since Trinity had left with Neo and the strange man, and he was starting to worry.

Following the others' disappearance, the boy had tried to distract himself by examining his surroundings, but that wore out quickly. After all, there was only so much you could do with peeling wallpaper, two ratty couches and a table.

Although, you could sit on a couch, which Harry quickly did as his feet grew tired.

As he sat waiting for Trinity to return, he contemplated his situation. A voice inside Harry screamed at him, asking him why he was willing to trust someone who had just broken into his house and murdered his uncle.

Wouldn't that last be a point in her favor? Harry wondered. The voice in his head conceded the point. Besides, she said she wouldn't let anyone hurt me, and I believe her. I like her, too. She feels...nice. So did the others, even if I wouldn't want to make that one angry.

At last the voice subsided, temporarily convinced, and just in time, as the man he didn't know stepped in. Walking over to Harry, he sat down across from him.

"We were never properly introduced. I am Morpheus."

"Er... hello?" Harry offered nervously.

The newly proclaimed Morpheus studied him carefully, fiddling with a small silver box. "Why do I frighten you?"

The young boy hesitated. "You're... dangerous. So are the others, but... you the most."

Morpheus frowned. "If that is the case, then why do you trust us?"

"You're free."

The man's eyes widened. "How-"

Harry shrugged and curled up into himself on the couch, not noticing the other's shocked expression. "I don't know any other way to explain it. I never realized it before I met Trinity, but... it's like everyone is chained up, somehow, and you're not."

Morpheus seemed shaken. He hadn't quite believed Trinity's claims, but now... "I... see." Eyeing Harry closely, he nodded. "Harry, I am going to offer you a choice." He opened the box and took something from it, before holding out two clenched fists. "In my hands are two pills, one red, and one blue. If you choose the blue pill, the adventure is over and you will forget everything that has happened here. But, if you take the red pill, then the adventure continues, whether you want it to or not. Choose carefully."

Harry started to reach for the red pill, stopping as Morpheus closed his hand slightly. "Remember, after this there is no going back."

Struck by the seriousness in his voice, Harry leaned back to consider his options. On the one hand, he could return to Privet Drive and resume being beaten and worked to death (although, now that Vernon was a corpse that might slack off a little), or he could go with these strangers to an unknown place.

Even with as little as he knew, the latter option sounded much more appealing than the first. He leaned forward and took the red pill from Morpheus's hand. Looking down on it, he sighed. "I'm probably going to regret this." He tossed it back dry, taking a couple of swallows to force it down.

"So be it." Morpheus rose, beckoning for Harry to follow him. Together, they walked to another room, filled with computer equipment and, oddly enough, a broken mirror sitting next to a chair. Trinity smiled at him proudly from where she puttered over a console next to Neo. Smiling back, he sat in the chair as instructed.

"Alright. The pill you took was what is called a tracer program. It will allow us to track you inside the Matrix." Taking in the confused expression, he smiled. "Everything will be explained later. Now, I'd try to relax. This will feel...a little weird."

Harry almost laughed. What else was new?

Behind him now, he could hear Trinity talking to someone on a telephone. "What do you mean he's practically invisible? Tank, you're the best operator outside of Zion, I'm sure you can-" Anything else she said was lost, as Harry's attention was seized by the mirror he'd noticed earlier.

It was... repairing itself?

But... that was impossible, wasn't it?

Okay, apparently not, he thought, studying the now flawless mirror. Frowning, he turned back to Morpheus to ask if he'd seen it. The man was watching him with a blank face, and Harry was reminded of the test he'd been given. So, this was another one, was it? Determined to pass, he turned back to the mirror, reaching out tentatively.

He gasped as his finger passed through the mirror, and jerked back, only to find that a silvery goop had covered his hand. Eyes wide, he tried to scrape it off, and the goop started to travel up his arm. "Er, Morpheus?" he asked, glancing behind. "Is this supposed to happen?"

"It varies," Morpheus replied calmly. "Although, it is most similar to Neo's induction."

"Oh? So... what happened?" he asked, turning slightly so he could see Neo.

He looked uneasy. "It might be better if I didn't tell you that. Although, I would recommend you not try and get it off. The more you struggle, the colder and faster that stuff gets."

Harry nodded, holding perfectly still as the substance crept upwards. It was almost impossible to resist the temptation to squirm, at least until Neo sent him a encouraging grin. The boy gritted his teeth as it passed his shoulder.

"Trinity, what is taking so long?" Morpheus called, the first hint of apprehension entering his voice.

"Tank says he's having trouble locking on."

Harry shivered, trying to ignore the sensation of the stuff making its way up his neck and over his jaw. He concentrated on the others, praying for a distraction before it reached its apparent destination.

Just as he felt the goop touch his lips, he heard Trinity call out. "Got him!" Then, the world faded as it plunged down his throat.

-I-I-I-

The first sensation he became aware of was that of floating. The second was that he was underwater and couldn't breathe. Here, Harry decided to finally panic.

He surged upwards, and whatever was in his mouth stifled a scream as he felt something between him and air. Scrabbling desperately at it, he nearly fainted in relief as the barrier parted, and he burst out into open air.

But something was wrong. He still couldn't breathe. Harry grabbed at his face and found something over his nose and mouth. The boy tried to pull it off, and quickly discovered that it didn't come /off/, it came /out/. Gagging as he felt it sliding inside his throat, Harry gave it a good yank, and at last drew in a deep breath of...

The worst-smelling oxygen he'd ever had the displeasure of inhaling.

Coughing, he only then registered that he was surrounded by a mess of cables. Idly, his eyes followed one, weaving around until it led into... /him/?! Twisting, he could see others all over his body.

Trying not to either hyperventilate or scream, Harry searched around for something to distract him. Grabbing onto the edge of the... pod he found himself in, he hoisted himself up until he could see over the side.

As far as his eyes could see were towers that reached up into the gloom high above and were covered with thousands of pods like his own, each glowing pinkly and complete with its own shadowy human being. Great arcs of electricity traveled up the walls of the towers, and Harry ducked as one passed over him. His skin tingling, the boy slipped back down, bewildered and not a little frightened.

Suddenly, he heard a buzz from above, and something that looked like it belonged in a late-night horror movie dropped down to hover in front of him. Harry froze as the... machine seemed to study him, like a sparrow watches a bug. After an endless moment, the machine moved, grabbing him around the neck.

Harry screamed as an excruciating pain lanced into the back of his head. Barely registering the removal of his various attachments, the small boy fainted.

Satisfied that its task had been completed, the machine sent a command to flush the growth chamber, and floated away.

-I-I-I-

Morpheus brought the Nebuchadnezzar down to just above the water, holding it there while Trinity brought the boy up. He waited until she reported him safe and sound before guiding his ship back into the safety of the sewers.