Ookay... the last chapter was a little weird, ne? Well, that's just the start of it! *grin*

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Ziren paced back and forth in her room, staring at the kitchen unit every time she passed it. «Everything, *EVERYTHING* is where it was in the dream, apart from Neo, who's probably off shagging Trinity... I don't understand, why would I have a dream about having sex with Neo? Ah, that's it, Zi, you're jealous of Trin, aren't you? As much as you try to hide it, you looooove Neo, don't you?» The voice in her head was bitter and malicious, and gave her the idea of a little devil sitting on her shoulder like in cartoons and the old TV she used to watch in the Matrix. «No, no, that's not true!» she bickered back, «I don't... I... I can't love Neo.» She leaned against the cold, submarine-like door and slid down until she sat on the floor in a small heap. «Then you're even worse than before, you're just lusting over him for no reason!» The voice sounded so clear, so real... she hated it when her conscience argued and toyed about in her mind. "Screw you! I don't care!" she finally yelled out loud, fists clenched. Then she realised where she was and what she was doing, and it all felt so... stupid. She sighed and got up, opening the door with a quick pull at the wheel-lock, before stepping out into the cool, metallic musk of Zion. She was well away from the great pits where the Earth's core ruptured and produced pure molted fire, and so only the cool mechanical breezes really came up, until it got too cold and the automatic electric heat system would come on. The bright lights that banded the level shone like beacons, not so bright they blinded, but they gave it all an almost etheral feeling. She applied a little pressure to her temples, hands together like in prayed, and then tapped at the metal bars outside. She looked down and could see a group of nuns bustling into the temple, a few young Zion port-hands in their robotic suits greeting newly-returned crews, a young woman braiding her child's hair on the path. It was times like this that she felt particularly useless, especially seeing as thanks to her the Nebuchadnezzar was in for repairs... or was that just a lie in her dream too?

She wandered down the steel steps slowly, every now and then getting a friendly wave from some random citizen, or a 'yo, Ziren!' from someone in her Mechanics classes or prayer groups, and she replied with a distant smile or a wave back, not really paying attention. "You look lost, child." She turned to see an elderly man dressed in a formal scarlet robe. "Councillor Hamann... good, er, whatever time of day it is." The old man smiled at her and looked up at the cavernous top of Zion. "Yes, it is quite difficult to tell... I leave the business of time to the Operators. It is quite safe to use the adage 'the city that never sleeps' when you talk of Zion, eh?" She smiled to humour him. "Perhaps you should see about going to the Oracle, my dear." Ziren leaned on the nearest piece of metal wall overlooking the city. "Chances are I'll probably crash it," she muttered coldly. "Then it might be a fine day for humanity. Go on, my dear. I hear there was a bit of a problem on the Nebuchadnezzar, but that shouldn't break your confidence. You are an unplugged soul, not a hopeless one." She turned back to the Concillor and bowed slightly. "I will... thanks for your time, Councillor." Hamann chuckled slightly. "Time is not a priority, my dear... but I should dearly like to find out whether it is February or not, I believe my birthday falls in that month."

"Plug me in."

"But Captain Morpheus said-"

"Screw what Morpheus said, plug me in, Councillor Hamann advised me to see the Oracle, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Thank you." Captain Nano was fuming inside at the way she talked of Morpheus, as he was a great believer in him, but dared not disregard a Councillor's orders. "Sit down, then." She walked past coolly and sat in the plug-in chair closest to her. "Sorry for what I said about Morpheus. But I don't think I'm in his good books." Nano checked her vitals on the little screen and then yelled for his ship's Operator, a young Asian girl named Tax (apparently short for 'Syntax', but she wasn't particularly bothered. "We heard about what happened on the Neb, they still haven't found out what crashed the program, but don't worry, the Matrix firewall system means that if there's something liable to crash it, you won't get through or damage anything." She gave Nano the thumbs up. "Got a line, Tax? Okay. Remember to-"

"Keep contact with the Operator, don't get sighted by Agents and tell you straight away when I'm ready to come back for an optimized line out. Don't worry 'bout me, Nano!" she said with a smile, before she went silent as the plug locked with her mind, and she was thrown into the Matrix in a train-station phone-box. "I'm in." She replaced the handset and stepped out of the box. It had been too long since she last came here, or at least it felt like it. She saw herself in a store mirror out in the open of the Matrix and smiled at herself happily - fiery hair tied back exquisitely, upside-down-fixed shades propped neatly at the front of it, and a super-cool outfit comprised of a scarlet vest and trousers, covered by a cinnamon-burgundy which ran down to her ankles. Generally when freed minds went into the Matrix they wore a white or black suit, but she had always coloued her hair like fire before she was unplugged, and continued with her style afterwards. "Man, I look cool. Now... Oracle, Oracle..." She took out her tiny silver phone. "Hiya Tax, could you give me directions?... ahuh... yep... sixth floor... elevator... okay... right, thanks!" She flipped it back, and with a sigh, threw it into the bin next to her. It always felt somewhat a waste having to dispense of them all the time but seeing as there was no money lost it didn't really matter as such. She walked through the city with a sense of ease, though at the back of her mind, the dread of the last assault on her by the Agents began to tear at her. Ziren walked down the street at a casual pace, looking at the people who went by with intrigue, occasionally bumping into someone else from Zion, who'd simply look across at her or twitch their hand slightly, no sign of great recognition but enough to show who they were. After a while as she made her way to the trippy old flat of the Oracle, she started looking out for other freed minds to keep her occupied on the way there, but soon enough she lost track and walked into someone, or, to be more precice, four.

"Aaah. Well if it isn't anuzzer freed mind," one of the gentlemen said, helping her up. Looking at them, they were an odd group - the man who was helping her up was meticulously groomed, a woman who she though must have been his wife or mistress or something, and either side of them, two men who she could think of no other phrase than 'freakishly albino'. "Thanks," she said as she let go of his hand, which was a little cold to the touch. "It is as you say, no problem. I am Monsieur Merovignian... and you, ma dear?" She brushed herself off lightly and looked across at the woman, who looked a little upset at him. "Ziren. I haven't heard of anyone called Merovignian ... before," she stumbled, very nearly saying 'in Zion'. "Zat is because we are programs," the woman interrupted. "I am Persephone," she started, and then, getting closer to her, saying in an almost-whisper, "and zis mongrel, ma pitiful excuse for a husband, it seems, will be nothing but trouble to you." Ziren raised an eyebrow as Persephone stepped back to her husband's side. The Twins smiled coldly, eyes hidden behind their shades. "May I haz ze pleasure of asking where you are going?" he continued, trying not to appear annoyed by his wife. "Nowhere, really. Just going round," she lied, and attemped to begin her depart. "Iz zat so, mm? Zen how come you are heading in ze direction of ze Oracle?" Ziren growled and walked past. «Programs can be so *annoying*,» she thought as she pushed past Merovignian. "Very well, mademoiselle. Au revoir, until we meet again. Come along, Persephone! I feel like treating you wiz a slice of ma chef's... most exceptional gâteau..." Persephone looked over her shoulder with a warning glower as her husband led her off, the Twins still at their sides. Ziren was a little shaken up by the experience, but didn't let it bother her too much. By what she'd heard, the Oracle wasn't one for giving out the best news in the world.

In the sitting room, she sat down on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, watching intriguedly as a small boy talked to a younger one who staring at a spoon. He turned round at looked at her. "Do you want to try? Do not try to bend the spoon itself, for in reality, there is no spoon, instead, bend the world to fit the spoon." It was a little confusing at first, but she got the idea of it, it was a lot simpler than the prospect of, say, flying, for instance. She looked at the space where the spoon was, and focused on it. "The Oracle will see you now," a young girl said timidly behind her. "Okay, thank you." She looked at the boy again. "Maybe some other time, hm?" She wanted to stand up and ruffle his hair before she went into the room where the girl was pointing, but seeing as he had no hair that would be difficult. She stood up nonetheless and walked through the beaded curtain into a kitchen, where the Oracle, an ageing woman, was sitting with a cup of coffee at the unit. "Hello there, dear. Please, sit down." Ziren sat down on the seat next to her. "You're quite good at following orders, I see, unless they seem to come from that old Morpheus," she said with a smile. Ziren remained silent. "You're lost, aren't you, that's why you came here." She nodded. There was no point in asking anything because the Oracle knew what she was going to ask. "Very well then..." The Oracle turned over the fiery-haired young woman's hands and sighed. "You freed minds never seem to have any luck once you're out, do you! But you want to know, so I guess I should tell you, it ain't pretty though." Ziren swallowed and nodded again. "You're going to betray the man in your dreams, but don't worry, you'll get revenge for your actions with the help of those who you'd never think of helping you." Ziren sniffed and nodded one last time, before standing up. "Alright. Thank you."

Back out on the street, she was a little dazed by what the Oracle had said to her, and wandred around with no real sense of place. «I'm going to betray Neo...? I'm going to betray Neo... no, that can't be right, why would I betray Neo? And how? And what did she mean about getting revenge for my actions? Ack, I'm more confused now than I was before I came here...» Her thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of people in directly in front of her again. "So we meet again, eh?" She looked up and cringed at the voice. "Merovignian. What do you want now?" She folded her arms and stared at the figure in front of her. For a second she dared to think of him as a man, but it slowly dawned on her again that he was no more than a simulated cold-hearted program. "Ah, ze question is not what I want, but moreover, what you want, or should I say, *who* you want." She blinked in fear and confusion. "Neo..." she mouthed, unable to stop herself from saying it. "Wiz a little persuasion on both sides, I could get him for you... wiz a little persuasion. Of course, I will need somezing from you in return. What do you say to zat, ma dear?"