Ghost was in his quarters, meditating within his Personal Processing Unit.
The scene was of his favourite simulated garden, following Zen and Buddhist agriculture and architecture. There was a gong in the corner, numerous rock formations, a bridge spanning a tranquil stream, a number of sculptures, and many small Japanese plants and hedges surrounding the area. There was river gravel underfoot.
There were many Japanese-styled buildings, made of raw timber and rice paper, that encircled the complex. And, there was one important addition, one that Ghost always paid homage to whenever he entered his Zen garden.
A sculpture of Trinity.
His sister.
His loss came back to haunt him, and, as he lost his concentration, he lost his balance, crashing to the ground, landing between the column of rock he had been balancing on, and the sculpture.
"Ouch!"
He lay there, in this tranquil garden, and stared at the sculpture of his sister, standing there, so proud and tall, unafraid. He had known her well. Her likes and dislikes, her fears, her proudest moments. He remembered the disappointment he had felt, when, long before Neo had come, she had refused a date with him...
"Watch out, here they come!"
They were on board the Nebuchadnezzar, trying desperately to outrun the sentinel swarm they had unexpectedly flown into, after jacking out from seeing the Oracle. Morpheus was piloting, with Dozer as co-pilot. They had been returning to Zion, when, seemingly out of nowhere, the swarm had hit, attacking the Neb with a ferocity that was, so far, unheard of.
"Tank, Trinity, Ghost, everyone, get to the guns!" Morpheus had ordered tersely. As he did, he threw the hovercraft into a tight turn that threw everyone and everything, that wasn't secured, into the bulkheads.
"We need to get there in one piece, first!" Tank had yelled, landing face first into a power box. Clanks and bangs could be heard as various things were thrown about.
The crew made their way to the turrets, with Tank turning aside to handle the reloading of the massive weapons, and Cipher was already in his chair, fine-tuning the targeting reticle, waiting for the first of the sentinels to get into firing range. He looked up, as Trinity took a chair beside him. "Quite a night for squiddie hunting, huh?" He grinned as he spoke, caressing the turret controls in front of him.
"I don't have time for this right now, Cipher!" Trinity replied. Cipher had been trying to crack onto her ever since she had first been unplugged, six weeks ago. So far, every attempt had failed, and Trinity intended to keep it that way. Despite this, the two had formed a friendship, but somewhere, deep within, doubt lay in Trinity's heart. She dismissed this thought. All that mattered at the moment, was keeping those sentinels from getting their claws on the ship. She saw one approaching, and turned the gun turret in its direction, pressing the firing stud. Ammunition spewed out, tracing bright blue arcs against the darkness of the tunnel walls. The sentinel was hit, and she watched it fall to the tunnel floor.
Then there was no more time for thought.
Ghost was buried deep in concentration, assessing, targeting, firing, reassessing, targeting, firing, all in an endless loop, and he was making a good go of it, too. Every sentinel he aimed for, he hit, and he was beginning to enjoy the challenge. Then, the unthinkable.
His turret quit.
"Shit!" he yelled. He pressed buttons and reset the thing, but still with no results. "God damn you! Trinity, I swear, if we get out of this alive, I'm taking you out for dinner!"
"If that's what it takes," she replied, glancing at Ghost, her soft black hair, already a respectable length, falling over her incredible blue eyes. She smiled at him, then tossed her hair back out of her face, and commenced firing again.
Ghost, however, wasn't having any luck with his. Giving up on that turret, he was unstrapping himself to go to the next, when it suddenly came back on line. He sat down again and strapped himself back in.
"Sorry, Ghost, I forgot about that one!" the voice of Tank came floating up the stairwell. Busy reloading Ciphers' and Trinitys' guns, he had neglected to watch the feeder behind him, not noticing, until he heard Ghost curse, that it was empty. Ghost had run out of ammo.
"Tank, next time we go and see the Oracle, I'm gonna ask her whether you're human or not!" Ghost yelled back at Tank, upset at the lapse.
They had made it back to Zion in one piece, in the end, minus a couple of electro magnetic pads on the rear of the ship. Ghost had stepped gratefully onto solid ground, and had actually considered kissing it, until Trinity walked over.
"Hey, Ghost. You did good out there today." Trinity was smiling her gentle smile at him, and he was going weak at the knees.
"You didn't do so bad," he had replied. "So, when do I take you out to dinner?"
"Oh, Ghost," she had said, laying a gentle hand on his cheek, "I can't go out with you."
His face fell. "Why not?"
Her answer was enigmatic to him, at the time.
"Because you're my brother."
Now, Ghost lays there, smiling at the memories, of both the good and the bad, that haunted him at a time like this. He remembered being hurt, and of not understanding why she refused to go out with him. It wasn't until, two years later, he had asked the Oracle if she would ever love him. The Oracle had replied, "Only as her brother." Then he had finally understood.
He gave a gentle smile, the one the Oracle had remembered so well, and climbed to his feet. He saw a sharp-looking rock, near the stream, and walked over to it, preparing for meditation...
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