A/N: Ok, not nearly as long as the first chapter, but there's a lot of information here. Haven't been able to write fan fiction, like, for two weeks, and I didn't even have all that much time this weekend, but I had to write something. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

Also, I just realized the Oracles significant absence in Evolution of the One! Damn, but I can't really think of how to change it, so I'll just make up for the absence in the sequel ;)

Chapter 2: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Although Neo was accustomed to seeing Dessa in the Matrix, on her feet and as active as she used to be, it always warmed his heart to know that she could walk here if not in the real world.

They walked the hallway to the Oracle's apartment, both taking comfort in the fact that the building was restricted from Prophesy worshippers, Dessa's name having made its way into the "New Chronicles." It was amusing to know that so many people in the Matrix were enraptured in the texts and stories about the real world, but at the same time were hesitant to be freed.

…

On the roof of the neighboring building, two figures stood, waiting for the prodigies to enter the Oracle's apartment. One figure held binoculars to his eyes, allowing him to see through walls.

"Remember what the boss said?" the other spoke.

"Yes. Wait until we know what they want. If they're suspicious, we go in."

"Do you think he'd mind if we…got involved anyway? Even if they didn't want to know what happened to their captain?"

"…no, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

…

"Why, hello, what a nice surprise." The Oracle said happily, seeing father and daughter walk into the kitchen together. She was sitting at the counter, cigarette in one hand, a cup of tea in the other.

"How can you be surprised if you know we're coming?" Dessa retorted.

"A year of living with the Oracle when you were younger and you still don't understand her?" Neo questioned.

"It's Ok, honey, she was never in the mood for listening back then." The Oracle said, now taking a sip of tea.

"Still isn't." Neo joked.

Dessa smirked up at her father; she was a good enough sport. She then remembered the urgency of their visit. "We're here for a few reasons. The first…"

"Our visions." Neo finished.

The Oracle nodded.

"What do they mean?" Neo asked suddenly, his quick reply the only sign of anxiety he allowed to show in the Matrix.

"Are you really looking for the meaning?" The Oracle answered with another question, taking in another puff of her cigarette. "And if you knew it, would it really matter?"

Dessa decided to speak up, unsure of where the conversation was going. "Are you saying that the meaning isn't important?"

"Not now, it isn't."

Dessa thought a moment, knowing that her father was probably on the same page if not ahead of her. "I think you're saying…" She began tentatively, "that there's something else we need to know or do before the meaning would do us any good."

"You're on the right track kiddo." The Oracle said, smirking. She looked at Neo for a second, remembering a time when Neo was this inquisitive. "It takes time to understand the choices that you've already made." She now saw Dessa's slight confusion. "Don't worry, you're dad will have to fill you in on choice another time."

"So," Neo began, taking Dessa's shoulder, silently agreeing that he would relay the knowledge as soon as possible. "Can you tell us who exactly keeps sending us these messages?"

"That, I can do. His name is Peace Keeper. He's been here since the first AI prototype first walked this planet. He was created to override any program or system that decided to rebel." She took another drag from her cigarette. "You can see how well that went."

"So…" Dessa said, "How…if humans thought that far ahead, how did any…of this happen?"

Neo tried to suppress a smile, amused at his daughter's choice of words. "What happened to the Peace Keeper?" he simplified her thoughts.

"He was imprisoned." The Oracle replied, her tone a bit darker.

"Like the Key Maker?" Neo confirmed more than questioned.

The Oracle didn't answer at once. "Worse than the Key Maker, but yes, you've got the right idea."

Neo was almost afraid to ask. "The Merovingian?"

"Yes."

"Damn it." Neo cursed. "He doesn't still have bounties on us, does he?"

"No, not after your sacrifice. But I have a feeling if you do what I know you're going to do, he won't have trouble reissuing them."

Dessa stood in silence for a moment, thinking as the two adults conversed. "Wait." She finally said. "If the Peace Maker is released, can he help settle the protests? Does he have the power to settle the Blue Party?" Dessa was concerned with the Matrix's state. People were continuing to be freed, but the Blue Party was doing all they could to stop people from taking the red pill, completely convinced that the truth about the Matrix was fraud and that the "red pill" was mass slaughter. Controversy was spreading, protests for peace were growing. She thought it ironic that the real world war that had lasted a hundred years because of a lie was finally over, yet another is kindling in cyber space with knowledge of the truth.

The Oracle shook her head. "It's unknown to anyone what the Peace Maker is exactly capable of, but if anything, he can't purely change opinion with a snap of his fingers."

"Well, he has to have some power." Neo said. "He's imprisoned and he's still able to contact us, no matter how short or disturbing the message."

"They're so real." Dessa added, referring to the visions. "They're always so cold." Then, Dessa remembered, a flash of death igniting her memory. "What happened to Ciricia?"

The Oracle sighed. "Yes, but it's not pretty." She paused, looking at Neo, knowing this would affect him more. "Ciricia has been communicating with her brother."

"Her brother, the hacker who was convinced the Matrix didn't exist?" Neo asked, incredulously. "Her brother, the Blue Party leader?"

"The very same." The Oracle said a bit gravely.

"Oh snap." Dessa said under her breath, somewhat instinctively, having not known anything about Ciricia having a brother, let alone one with power.

Neo's mind became overwhelmed with questions. "What has she been telling him? How long has she been doing this? How did she die?"

…

Trinity and Shosti were both watching the feed, listening in, neither having said a word since Neo, Dessa, and Morpheus were plugged in. Trinity decided to speak up.

"You didn't have any idea Ciricia was so involved?"

"Not a clue." Shosti replied solemnly. He glanced at Trinity, her gaze still glued to the feed. He remembered her stare like nothing else. She and Neo were two of the most intense people he had ever met, especially when looking out for each other. He didn't know whether it was the fact that they were the first two real people he had ever met or if it was just so.

"What was it like? Death?"

Trinity didn't turn; her face didn't change. No one had ever asked and he could tell that she was thinking about what to say.

"…it was brief. We didn't feel the time pass, but we were together. Then, when the time came, I felt the same feeling I felt when I was dying, that same feeling of slipping away. And then I woke up in the Matrix."

Shosti listened intently; respectfully intrigued. He looked back to the feed, automatically seeing Neo and Dessa's code. It was very similar, although Dessa had both nuances of Trinity's code as well as the new code that enabled her to do certain things Neo can't as a first generation Chosen One.

"I don't think those Sentinels were rouge." Trinity said suddenly.

"No? Then what were they?"

"Dessa said that she didn't recognize their language; that it was encrypted.

"She's never talked with a Sentinel before, she might not have known how."

"True, but I trust my daughter."

Shosti sighed. "Yeah." Faint memories flickered in his mind, but he willed them away.

Trinity turned to him this time, knowing what she had triggered. "Do you ever watch her?"

"Always." He replied without thought. "But…as much as I want to, I know it isn't right to meet her. Not to mention against regulation. But…how could Ciricia have been contacting her brother without any of us knowing? How could she have done it without guilt? She's one of the tightest rule followers I've ever worked with."

"Love can make you do some crazy things."

"I believe it. Coming from you."

Silence.

"What do you think her brother knows? What do you think she told him?" Trinity wondered out loud.

"She could have told him anything for all we know."

Just then, a voice came on from the radio. "This is Niobe of the Logos II, do you copy?"

Trinity answered it. "This is Trinity, I copy. We've got the remaining crew of the Knight with us."

"We're heading in. We'll be landing in a couple minutes." Trinity could hear her faint laugh on the other end. "How are the boys?"

"Fine, in the Matrix on a visit to the Oracle." She sighed. "We've got a bit of a mystery on our hands. I'll fill you in when you get here."

"Roger." They broke the connection.

"Trinity?" Shosti said. She turned. "Do you think Pachelbel knew anything? Do you think they were working together?"

"It's a possibility." She answered. "Too bad dead men don't tell tales."

Just then she spotted two terribly familiar figures emerge from the Matrix. Shosti doubled back when he saw it, the two phasing through walls like nothing.

"What the hell is that?"

"Not 'what the hell.' Who." Trinity replied, typing away. "Get Link, we might need him for this."

The younger second in command got up and ran towards Link's chambers.

"Morpheus?" Trinity said once he picked up his phone from inside. "We've got trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Morpheus asked calmly from inside the Oracle's apartment, cookie in hand.

"The Twins."

"…that is trouble."

"What do we do? Run or find out what they want?"

Morpheus heard a knock on the door. "Well, I suppose we might just have to stay and see what they're here for."

CLIFFHANGER! Yeah, my favorite! Thanks for reading and as always, stay tuned :)