Something I've been working on veeery slowly. It's set eight years after the last movie, and Sati is all grown up. Hope you guys like it... it's a big long.

Chapter 1
The Question

A girl sat in the sun on one lazy Sunday. She stretched out her arms and limbs so that the brilliant sun could warm them. The Oracle had gone to the real world, along with Seraph, and she was alone. (Although the Oracle was a computer program, the humans had given her the ability to pass between the two worlds in return for aiding the humans in their victory.) For the girl named Sati, a time to simply enjoy her own company and the company of the scenery around her was a rare occasion. She smiled, lay in the sun, and started to daydream, hanging on to awareness of the events around her.
She was thankful for everything that she had. She missed having her mother and father around. They had loved her and she had loved them to a boundless extreme. They had sacrificed their own lives for Sati's opportunity to live in the machine world. Through dealings with the Merovingian, a cruel and selfish man, they had been able to bring Sati into this world. They had exchanged their freedom for her freedom; they willingly agreed to go back to the Source when Sati was released to the machine world. She missed them, and she knew that though they were trapped in the Source, they still loved her.
Eight years ago, a man named Neo had shown her kindness while her family took her to the machine world under the command of the Train Man. She remembered how he stood up when the Train Man had flung him into a wall. Soon after, a gracious woman by the name of the Oracle and her boy Seraph had taken her in. The Oracle and Seraph were nice, and the Oracle made cookies with young Sati. Seraph was now like Sati's older brother, and they talked for long hours under the sun in the machine world. The Oracle had become like the girl's mother, showing her how to appreciate the wonders of the world, and appreciating Sati's purpose in this special world. Sati had a warm, loving family, and she was happy and content.
But the thing she thought the most about was the man named Neo. What had happened to him? Would he ever return? She knew from his appearance that he was a kind and generous person, and she would enjoy his company and his warmth like she did Seraph's. She had asked the Oracle eight years ago what had happened to Neo, and if she would see him again. The Oracle only replied, "Maybe, someday, he might return." She said nothing more about Neo since that day eight years ago. Every day since that dawn of a new age, the girl had desired to know what had become of Neo. As she grew into a young woman, her inquisitive nature grew. Now, the question was exploding inside of her and she desired to know what had become of Neo more than anything else. The girl, now sixteen years old and determined to learn the truth, resolutely decided to talk about it with the Oracle and Seraph when they returned. But for now, she was content to just lie in the sun and let her spirit drift.
"Wake up, Sati," a kind and benevolent voice said, "it's time for lunch. And after lunch, I can help you make cookies if you would like." Sati roused to find that she had fallen asleep in the sun, and the Oracle had returned, along with Seraph. "Are you tired? Would you like a lift?" Seraph asked, smiling. She nodded her head and gave him her hand. She then used him as a support as she stood up. "How was Zion?" Sati asked. “Zion was interesting," Seraph said, “I saw a lot of places that I haven't seen for ages. It felt good to go back. I have so many friends that I want you to meet." "Really?" Sati asked, “Like who?" Seraph thought for a minute and started, "Well, there's my friend Drake who..." The Oracle could not hear what Seraph was saying anymore; Sati and Seraph had stopped walking, and Sati was listening intently to Seraph. The Oracle stopped walking as well and tapped her foot impatiently. "If you two don't keep walking, then how can I ever make my special chicken curry?" Then Seraph and Sati looked at each other, and quickened their pace at this bit of news. The Oracle sighed and tried to keep up with Sati and Seraph, but they were too fast for her. As a result, Sati and Seraph had to wait at the door of the Oracle's home for five minutes; they had to wait because only the Oracle had the key.
Lunch was excellent, and Seraph took a nap, tired from the trip, while Sati made cookies with the Oracle. "Cookies must be made with a lot of love, and you must always think of the ones you love when you make them," the Oracle said while Sati put the finished cookie dough on the pan, and the Oracle helped her put them in the oven. Afterwards, Sati sat near the oven so that she could smell the delicious cookies, and the Oracle gave the teenager a plate of brownies. "When did you make these?" Sati asked. "I didn't make them, Sati. These were a gift from one of my good - - friends in Zion. He is a good cook." the Oracle replied, as she sat down facing Sati, with an iced tea, cigarette, and a chocolate orange. They shared a moment of silence, each enjoying the food in front of her. Then Sati saw the opportunity to ask the question she had been dying to ask. " Oracle, Whatever happened to Neo?" Sati asked, a part of her curious to know the answer and a part of her scared of what the answer would be. Apparently, curiosity had won out over fear, as she asked more questions, " Is he okay? Will he ever come back?" Both Sati and the Oracle were biting their lips after these questions had been asked. Finally, after a long awkward silence, the Oracle sighed and said, "I guess it's time you finally knew the truth."
"Well, Sati, what happened eight years ago is very hard to explain to anybody. People are still deciding what actually took place before the machines surrendered. I will tell you what happened, but you must promise me you won't be frightened. You have become like my daughter, Sati, and I love you-- I don't want you to become scared." the Oracle said to Sati. She then said, "No, Oracle, of course not. Why would I be scared?" Sati was really quite flustered by what the Oracle said at first, but a part of her wanted to know the truth, and so she told herself not to be afraid. So the Oracle started telling her a story. "Very well then. Well, Sati, Neo was the sixth descendant of the One; however he was different from all the rest. He was stronger, faster, and more agile than the others. But the most prominent difference was that he fell in love in the real world. His love allowed him something firm and stable that he could hang onto, and this support from love helped him to be better and smarter in every way. He was the one who ended the war. I think you met him on the train, when the Train Man - - encountered him, yes?" Sati nodded. "Well, after that, he was recovered from the Train Station by the woman he loved, and he returned to the machine world. He then came to see me. At that final meeting, Neo asked me if Zion could be saved. I told him to look inside himself for the answer to that question. He then left and returned to the real world. Neo was a strong, smart, brave soul, and, finding the answer inside himself, he knew that he had to take a ship to the machine city. Of course, the woman he loved the most was there with him. She was everything to him. They faced many tragedies on the way to the machine city: a traitor attacked them, Neo was blinded, and he lost her when their ship crashed in the machine city. After his tragic loss, he trekked through the machine city and found the leader of the machines. He formed a peace treaty with the leader-- he promised that if the machines stopped attacking the city then he would defeat Smith, a virus among the machines. The machine leader wanted him exterminated because Smith was making so many of his soldiers into a rebel group-- Smith wanted control over everything, and so would anyone that he infected with his program. And so Neo fought Smith, ultimately becoming a copy of Agent Smith. But he won because even underneath the guise of Smith, he was still Neo, the One, and he knew exactly what he had to do. You see, Sati, whatever happened to one Smith happened to them all. Neo realized this and put his last efforts into destroying Smith from inside one of his own copies. Because Neo had defeated Smith, the machines upheld their part of the treaty and retreated." "Yes, Oracle," Sati said, now understanding all that had happened that day," but whatever happened to Neo? Is he dead or alive? Is he coming back?" The Oracle sighed and said, taking a swig of her iced tea, "Well, Sati, we really don't know what happened to Neo. He may be dead or alive, and who knows if he's coming back. If you ask me, I think he's alive, and in the care of the machines in return for his great service." Sati bit the last part of her brownie and said, "Even you don't know if Neo is dead or alive?" The Oracle, sensing that the cookies were done, got up and put her plate and glass in the sink, and put her cigarette out. " Remember Sati, I can only see the future when certain choices and actions have been done. The choice has not been made as to what the condition of Neo is. We'll have to wait and see." Sati nodded as she put her plate in the sink and helped the Oracle take out the cookies and put them on a clean plate. While the Oracle transferred the cookies from the tray to the plate, Sati shivered in wonder from the Oracle's words. Could Neo still be alive, after all this time? She, like so many others, had wondered what would make so many warriors believe that anything could be possible. She had heard all of the stories from Zion: how people did not believe this peace would last, how all of humanity's ship commanders were convening and getting ready for war, and how people started to forget all of the old stories that the Oracle had told her about the Second Renaissance and beyond. More than anything, she wanted people to believe in anything again, and she knew she needed Neo to do it. She wasn't being arrogant, but she knew she was practically the daughter of the Oracle. Even though she was adopted, the Oracle felt like her second mother. Sati knew that she would be gifted with a lot of sight and power-- especially in the eyes of the people of Zion. She could do anything she wanted; she wanted the city of Zion to feel right.

"Sati, these cookies are for after dinner, okay? You can take some to bed with you." the Oracle kindly explained to the girl. Sati nodded, and went to hang out with Seraph, who had just woken up, until dinner. They played board games, drew, practiced kung fu, and watched TV until dinner. Dinner was marvelous-- rice with a type of chili. It was hot, spicy, and smooth: just the way Sati liked food. At the end of dinner, everyone somehow had room for at least one of Sati's delicious cookies. She had made them exactly like the ones the Oracle had given Neo. She knew she needed this boost, and took another cookie. The Oracle and Seraph rarely went to Zion, but Sati always felt unnerved after they came back. (She didn't know where she formed this habit, but sweet things always made her happy; it was a wonder that she was only 100 pounds) She slowly bit them, letting her mouth break them, and she took in their savory taste. Tired from emotional strain and having a good time with Seraph, she excused herself from the dinner table so that she could turn in early. Sati ran upstairs, changed into her pajamas, and climbed into her bed. As she looked out the window facing her bed, she found a beautiful bat perched like a bird on her windowsill. It was there when she closed her eyes to dream.

Chapter 2
Zion
In Zion, it was still dark when the new day broke. The tunnel through the hull to the surface of the earth (which was constructed three years ago) revealed a world with a blackened sky and cities still in ruin, though the Great War between humans and machines had ended eight years ago. There were no birds chirping, nor was there any sign of life anywhere on the surface. The only change on the surface of the earth was that the tunnel from the surface of the Earth to Zion had been closed with strong steel plates; this tunnel had served a purpose to the machines who had attacked Zion from it one day eight years ago. Now that the machines had closed it up, it was the only sign on the surface of the Earth that humans and machines had formed an uneasy truce. However, most people had never even seen the surface of the Earth since the end of the Second Renaissance. Most were still living in Zion, the only human city stationed near the center of the Earth. These people had grown so accustomed to being underground that no one even remembered seeing the Sun-- most knew to wake up using their inner awareness of time. If a person could see Zion wake up, however, it would be an extraordinary sight. At seven in the morning, before any civilian had stirred, engineers went down to the lowest levels of Zion when it was still practically pitch black to check the machinery that kept the people warm, filtered their water, and provided them with light. They often would install new machinery, upgrade equipment, or fix a problem with the utilities of Zion. This work, often involving welding materials of great strength, released a small show of fireworks in the sea of darkness. Often, a sea of sparks would fly up into the air, only to separate and come back down again. On the hovercraft bay, ship commanders came in to start their craft-- whether or not they were expecting a machine army, it would be a busy day. The turbines of the craft would turn bright blue, and hum all across the bay. Dozens of crafts would take flight gracefully above the ground while their Operators checked for any running problems and climbed out courageously onto the ship's body to use welding tools to fix any problems. Commanders of ships, if they had nothing to do, would often watch their Operators with great pride and made sure their ships, which many of them had used life savings to obtain, were maintained well. One of these Commanders was Commander Locke.
He watched his ship, the Nosis, glide gracefully into the air while the Operator climbed onto the ship's body to fix any problems. He remembered when he was a youth of fifteen, helping his father maintain their ship; his mother had died giving birth to him. Locke still remembered how his father had taught him to pilot the ship, how to maintain a good crew, and how to get the objectives of a mission done. He missed his father; Locke's father had died facing down an Agent while in the Matrix. It was painful, but Locke had overcome his loss in his own way. He became a hard and strict man, believing in only what his eyes could see and wanting to believe that he had total control over everything in his life, especially Niobe. Niobe was a beautiful captain that had been with him, but had abandoned him and his wishes when she went to save Morpheus, his rival. She went to save him the day before the war ended. She came back alive, but was never the same. She left Locke, and later married Morpheus. At this thought, Locke clenched his fist while thinking of what he would like to do to Morpheus, but suppressed his thoughts by looking at his ship.
Just a few docks down was Morpheus, lucky that he did not notice Locke's presence in the neighboring docks. Morpheus was deep in thought, a pastime that he had left by the wayside for almost six months. Life had become wonderful all of a sudden. He had just bought a new craft with money he had earned from his job of taking people up to the surface of the Earth. It was a fine craft, better than any ship he had ever seen, even the Neb, which he had lost eight years ago. He had yet to name the beautiful ship, but he knew he would take care of that this morning. Another thought was that he had fallen back in love with Niobe, and their five-year anniversary was tomorrow. She was even more beautiful to him as the days progressed. She had given up her ship as the transport to and from the Earth's surface-- and he was glad she had. The business of maintaining a ship seemed much more pleasurable with her around. They managed the ship as a team-- she would fix the ship, and he would buy the parts and would eventually assemble a crew. Morpheus loved how they worked as a team; he only missed days before the war ended when thinking about his friendship with Trinity and Neo. However, he mostly thought about Neo. Morpheus knew that Trinity had died while in the machine city; people had recovered her body from a crashed hovercraft. However, Neo's body was gone, and no one had seen him for eight years. Most soldiers and civilians assumed that machines had killed him while he wandered alone in the machine city; the machine army had only surrendered of their own accord. However, Morpheus and Niobe believed something different; that Neo had negotiated a truce between the machines and humans. He had done the impossible. However, in these times no soldier, except for Morpheus and Niobe, ever believed in miracles or doing the impossible. Life in Zion was painful to watch. At council meetings, other ships' leaders kept talking about how the war was not truly over. Morpheus could still hear the disturbing speech resonating in his mind. Yes, they might have given up the rest of the people living in the Matrix, but who says they can't imprison us again? They did it once, and they'll do it again so they can power their filthy asses. No, we can never live peacefully among them. I ask you this-- can anyone live peacefully with a race that blackened the sky and destroyed our cities? Of course not!!! We must destroy them once and for all. We must do this so that we can live well, our children can live well, and our children's children can live well. We must go down to the machine city and kill every one of those mother fuckers for our Earth. Who's with me? Morpheus had only watched from outside while this disturbing meeting took place; he stood in disbelief as the elders did nothing to oppose this aggressive pugilistic speech by a commander, and the massive cheer in agreement afterwards. He wished for the days before the war's end, and mostly for the days when Neo was here as the One. He showed all of the people that anything was possible, and that there were no boundaries to what a person could do. He sadly thought of how the behavior of Zion had changed so rapidly. Only eight years ago had the people yearned for the end of war, and now they craved its thrill in a time when peace was fragile even without the people of Zion calling for war. He remembered the sparkle in every commander's eyes when he associated the coming of Neo with the coming of the end of the war. He longed for that feeling in the masses-- stable peace could only be established by that kind of enthusiasm in all people. His consciousness almost fully drifted to the past. It almost did, but was stopped by a distant sound that was part of the present. He leaned over, as he thought, almost falling off the platform.
"Morpheus! Are you alright??” Niobe asked frantically, "Snap out of it!!” She was in front of him, shaking him and snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Oh, yes, sorry Niobe," Morpheus apologized, "I was just thinking.” Niobe smiled and said," Well, then, you sure you're alright?” “ Yes, Niobe," Morpheus replied. “I’m just a little depressed about what I heard in the council with the Elders yesterday. Who would have thought that our lives lead up to this?” Morpheus inquired himself, and he started to feel as if he were deteriorating along with Zion. Niobe, feeling what he felt, stopped fixing up their ship for a moment and came down next to Morpheus. “Morpheus,” she said, “I know things look bad, but we must always look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember when," Niobe said, smiling, "you thought that the people were acting foolish by not believing in the One's ability to end the war? I still remember how you searched day and night through that damn Matrix, waiting for the right person to come up. I saw you, Morpheus," Niobe paused, looking away from Morpheus for a brief moment, "sometimes I couldn't recognize your face, and you looked like a zombie. But look what all your hard work has done. Because you found Neo, the war is over and there is a possibility for peace for the first time in a thousand years. So much has become possible, just because you put yourself through living hell for so many years. I believe that somewhere, someone is doing the same thing, and yearning for this Zion to feel right. One day, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Humans and machines must find a way to coexist, otherwise I guess we won't need to look anymore-- we'll all be dead.” Niobe looked away, upset, clutching her arms as if she were cold. Morpheus drew her close and said, "Niobe, I promise that I will find a way to fix this shithole that Zion has become. There has to be some way.........” Suddenly, they hear a footsteps coming from the hallway leading to the platform. "Sir! Madam!" a young messenger called, "you are needed in the commander's conference. Please attend-- the Elders have called a citywide meeting of citizens.” As Niobe finished cleaning and fixing the ship, she powered it down and Morpheus helped her off the ship's body. They swiftly walked to the room where all meetings were held, and the room was filled to the brim with adult listeners, and Morpheus and Niobe took their seats near the front of the congregation.
However, there were many citizens of the city who weren't adults, like the man who Neo had unplugged mere months before the end of the war. Though he was twenty-four years of age, members of the council, commanders, and citizens who could participate in war-related talks had to be at least thirty. So, while all the other adults discussed matters in the monstrous cave of Zion, and all of their children were asleep in their beds, this young man created an opportunity to daydream.
The man, now called David, had made a very comfortable life for himself since he was introduced to the real world. He had a home, and worked for the engineers that maintained the utilities housed just below Zion. He liked this job, and it gave him a means of supporting himself in Zion. However, David had always wanted to join up with a ship. It had been his dream ever since Neo had saved him from the Matrix. He smiled faintly as he could still hear the sound of his voice the last time Neo had returned to Zion-- Hey, Neo, I've been thinking about what ship I wanna join up with, and I’ve really thought about it........... I decided that I want to join up with the Neb. It's like my destiny. David could still see the look on Neo's face when he said that; his eyes were rolled, and he looked at Trinity like he wanted to be alone with her. But he had kept talking. You're the one that set me free, Neo. You saved me. Neo's calm voice was also fresh in his mind. No, kid, he said, you saved yourself. I was just at the other end when you came to. David smiled now that he recalled one of his last talks with Neo. He felt embarrassed now, ashamed that he could bother, pester, and burden someone so much. How could he not have realized that telling someone, "You saved my life" wouldn't burden already complicated lives?? He wanted to rewind that tape of his life since he was unplugged and start all over again. He knew he would do things differently-- or at least he wanted to believe that he would.
But now that his life seemed to center again, life in Zion at least felt normal. He had a life, and he actually had a bank account. He smiled to himself as he remembered how he'd spent all of his money on skateboarding gear-- he'd never seen the point of a savings account. But then again, he never would have guessed nine years ago that he would one day be living in an underground city, and that the city of his birth was simply a computer program.
In short, life was slowly starting to materialize, but there were still a couple of holes in the great big jigsaw puzzle of life. He needed someone to share his life with. Every night, he would lie awake in his room, knowing that his bed was too cold. He needed someone to talk to and love between the early morning shifts and trips to the bank. His heart pained with the knowledge that he could never solve this problem-- only fate could. He could only keep his eyes open for opportunities to see the world.
Another more serious hole in his life was all the unanswered questions he had after the war's end. What happened to Trinity? Why did the machines suddenly leave? And, most importantly, what had happened to Neo? It seemed as if there was no transition point between the time of peace and the time of brutal war-- but he knew there was one. Deep inside himself, he knew that he would find all he needed to know before he died. He knew that somewhere, someday, somehow, the answer was striving to make its presence known.
It pained him that he knew nothing of the end of the war that he had fought in. David knew that this pain was not going to heal right now, so he did the only thing he could-- meditate. His mind felt like it was flying on air, soaring on the sweet air current, and ascending into a bright blue sky.
David was startled as the enormous gavel of the head councilor came down in the cave of Zion with a resounding crash. He returned to reality, and back to work for his engineer supervisors.
The rest of the day in Zion was really quite uneventful, and children played at a safe distance along the docks, watched by worried parents who would simply faint if they just wandered toward a hovercraft. Hovercraft crews were now known for their high death rates (due to the war eight years ago), and only those who had no family, were criminals, or were told to joined up with a crew. Lunch came, and Zion now had better food than the shit served during the war that looked like a bowl of snot. Kids could be seen with many types of fruit that had been cultivated long before the Great War had started. The people of Zion went crazy over foods like bananas, oranges, plums, nectarines, kiwis, pineapples, and especially coconuts. They especially loved their meat, like lamb, cow, and goat meat. The art of cooking had been reborn because of the presence of so many foods that hadn't been seen before the end of the war. Biotechnology in farming had made all this possible, and the citizens of Zion also started to look and feel healthier as a result. Because of this return of abundant food supplies, it was very easy to raise a family. Link and Zee, now married, could be seen giving their son of six years and daughter of two years some nectarines for lunch, and Zee was preparing succulent lamb with some bread (also engineered with biotechnology) so they could eat a kind of lamb burrito. Link had retired from operating ships, and spent all his time at home with his family. He and his wife were valued citizens of Zion; they both were smart and skilled in all types of warfare. They made their money as advisors to the councilors, and they became great friends to all commanders and people of stature inside the citizen population of Zion. They were tired of adventure, and although they had both seen what Neo could do, they had no more questions about the war. They were completely satisfied with a homely, calm life, needing the occupation only to feed their two children and live in a very comfortable manner. Their children were little mirrors of their parents. Their daughter of two years, Cassandra, was a very strong-willed young girl who could always get her way, ever though they were four years apart. She loved hearing the "stories" of a man who could do anything, and who had stopped the war. Both Link and Zee knew that Neo had ended the war, and they were very grateful to him for this, even if Neo never knew it.
Their son of six years, Tank, named after Zee's brother who had died in the war, was a sort of mixture of Tank and Link. He was very much bound by duty, very enthusiastic about everything, and loved to fight others in small tournaments on the docks with other boys of his age. Tank was a boy who never broke a promise. He loved his parents, but Link could feel that his young son wanted to have an adventure now, even though he was only six years of age. But Link would never let him, loving his family above all else in this world, and wanting to be with them for the rest of their lives. Cassandra, Link, Tank, and Zee would always stay in Zion, and never ever take such risks as Link and Zee had during the last fight of the Great War between humans and machines.
Children played until their inner senses told them that it was getting late. They went home, and finally the lights of the main dock were shut off. The only light left came from the tiny beacons placed at some houses. At last, after an ordinary day at Zion, its people could rest.

((I'm currently working on the third chapter))