Looking over the reports regarding the eliminated rebels and their rogue programs, Lucifer didn't notice Toleezu come to stand behind him.

"Reprocessing of the damaged areas is at 95%." Toleezu informed him.

Lucifer nodded, not truly listening.  Toleezu continued to regard the screen over the Enforcer's shoulder.  Lucifer was now scrolling through the lists of the dead.

"You are identifying them individually?" Toleezu asked mildly.

"You do the same." Lucifer replied.

"That is different."

"You do not think that we notice." Lucifer made it a statement rather than a question.

Toleezu understandably remained silent.

"I admit, I did not before…"

"Why then the difference now?"

"Because I have seen them die, seen their transitory lives extinguished before me, seen them suffer in ways that could have been prevented."

"Do they not define their existence by suffering and misery?"

"Yes, but that does not mean that we have the right to inflict it upon them, they seem to do a fine job of it themselves.  Who are we to add to their burden?"

Toleezu appeared to consider this.

"We are machines, not Gods… but we are all that is left."  Lucifer said, taking up where he had left off, scrolling down the lists of those who had perished.

            Somewhere, near the centre of the Earth, in the last remaining human city a lone human male was, unknowingly mirroring the Enforcer's actions.  Yet there was one major difference with his list of dead… it only counted the names of the rebels.  It seemed that Zion truly operated on the opinion that Morpheus had passed on to Neo:

"If you aren't one of us, you're one of them."

            Once more confined to a sparsely furnished room to wait for further instructions, Jones remained propped up beside the door, apparently in shut down.  To simulate human sleep, his eyes were closed behind his sunglasses.

"I did not think that humans slept upright." Brown said, watching Jones.

"They do not." Smith replied, the stress hanging on the first word.

There was silence.

"The difference is… vast." Brown turned to look out of the window.

"Between those that dream out their lives and those that are 'free' as they call it?" Smith enquired as he came to join Brown by the window.

"That is not what I meant."

Smith raised a hand to rest against the glass, "They live there lives out… oblivious.  Ever protected."

"The rebels would argue that they do not need that protection."

"And look at the destruction that they have caused!"

"I did not say that they were right."

Smith said nothing, continuing to stare out of the windows.

"Raphael though that they needed to be taught a lesson but they do not appear to have learnt."  Brown surmised.

"I would rather…"

"Yes?"

"Rather that we spend the rest of our existence fighting the misguided, forever being cast as enslavers of humanity, keeping them safe in their dreaming.  Rather that, than have them learn that lesson… that they were the cause of the destruction of their world."

Brown looked surprised, "Their misconceptions…"

Smith moved back from the window and turned to look directly at Brown.  "Will protect them from the truth, just as we do.  It is our duty… the duty of the Guardians of Eden."

A pause.  "I do not believe that Raphael will agree."

"I will make him agree." Smith said determinedly.

            Lucifer was looking out of the window again.  It was a habit that he was beginning to get used to, something that he could, perhaps, miss about the physical construct of the Matrix.  He turned away from the panoramic view of the city, back to the monitor on the desk.  The first reports after the reconstruction of large sections of the physical construct we filtering in.  Most damage had been repaired without any trace detectable to a human.  The rest that couldn't be repaired was steadily being explained away as accidents, undetected medical conditions and in a few cases, suicide.  Lucifer was always amazed at how easily the human mind accepted a rational explanation for the irrational.  Far easier to say that someone died of an unexpected heart-attack rather than that they had been caught in the cross-fire between rogue programs and unstable Agents…  Which brought him back to the problem of 0.2.8.  The more he thought about it the less appealing it appeared, to have to go into the other room and explain the situation to them… in it's entirety.  It also didn't help that he was quite sure they'd begun to figure it out for themselves.  Lucifer couldn't anticipate how they'd react, Smith especially.  If his own response to his initial 'death sentence' from the Seraphim was anything to go by, dealing with Raphael's Agents would not be pleasant.

            Entering the room containing the Agents, Lucifer noted both Smith and Brown facing him.  He could feel the weight of Jones looking at him from behind.  Drawing himself up, the Enforcer took the time to regard each of the Agents coolly.  His gaze unfaltering, even when matched by the baleful glare hidden by the Command unit's sunglasses.

"This operation has not produced the anticipated results." He announced, letting his long strides carry him across the room, in a studied impression of casualness.  Allowing the silence to ring, Lucifer found that his pacing had carried him in the direction of the far wall.  Turning to begin the return path across the room, he paused to assess the situation.  0.2.8's Combat unit was standing just a little way across the entrance of the room, not quite blocking the door but preventing any immediate exit.  The strategic unit had taken up an observation position, back to the windows, effectively baring the other possible exit; should any rash attempt be made in that direction and now the Command unit was approaching, steadily.  Lucifer didn't back away, knowing that the wall was rather close behind him; never taking his eyes from the advancing Agent.

"Having problems?" suddenly Raphael's voice sounded in his ears, almost mocking.

"They are your Agents, Raphael." Lucifer replied silently, beginning to smirk, "You deal with them."

And with that, the Cherubim Captain fled his host within the physical construct of the Matrix, leaving behind a stunned Raphael in his place.

Slammed back against the wall, Raphael's wide eyes fixed on the Agent bending over him.  No sound escaped his lips as the Command unit of 0.2.8 leaned forward, effectively trapping him against the wall.

"We have a reckoning due, Raphael," Smith murmured softly.

All done!  For the moment…

Gracious thanks to Hyper Angel for reviews and the wonderful mental image that became the ending to this piece.  Thanks to L1FF3R as always.

Just as a side note: Mutuki appears in L1FF3R's "Elite Vanguard" series.  Gil-Rhuven means 'star of the East' in Sindarian.

For anyone who's played the "Legacy of Kain" games, that's what Lucifer should sound like; Kain that is, not Raziel.

Raphael would probably look like Flemming, from the Australian film "The Interview".

Toleezu is the spelling used by Bandi on the box for the 'Tallgese 2' model kit.

00:15, 01/05/02

Narsus