Part 3

Disclaimer: Verse is by Chloe Carpenter, the chorus from her song 'Stay Away'

A/N: In response to a reviewer: you will find the poetry has been written by my wonderful friend Chloe Carpenter, and ironically enough my muse Chloe gave me the idea to use it. And to another reviewer: I am a girl

How could you tear my life like this?

Why did you steal away my bliss?

I know you've been hurt in the past,

But so I have to be the one hurt last?

An Oracle.

            The One.

            A prophecy.

            Somehow these three things are all linked together in some way that she cannot yet comprehend, sitting on edge in a cozy living room, surrounded by children that peer over their books, toys and computer to inspect this strange white intruder.

            She is not sure if she even yet believes in this 'prophecy'; she hasn't met the woman who made it. She wants to know their intentions.

            But Morpheus makes his intentions quite clear to anyone who joins his crew, and she is not excluded from that category. An end to the war. That is what they seek.

            There is a tap on her forearm. Instinctively, her hand reaches for the holster of her gun as she looks down; into the wide eyes of a little dark girl who tugs on her sleeve, a small finger pointing to the right, at a young woman beckoning. She smiles briefly at the child - how long has it been since she smiled at anyone other than Him? The smile feels strange on her face, as if it does not belong.

            But then, it does not.

            She ducks under the beaded curtain leading to the small kitchen. A dark-haired old woman sits at the table, lighter in one hand as she puts it down on the laced cloth covering the wooden surface.

            "So then, dear…" Lifting the newly lit cigarette to her lips, the woman drags deeply on it, her eyes never moving even as her body does.

            For a moment the old woman's weathered face seems to disappear in the cloud of smoke that exhales from between her thick lips. She almost wishes that the woman will not be there when the smoke clears, but those same knowing brown eyes look at her, staring into her soul, as the cloud dissipates.

            "You're the Oracle?" she cannot keep the skepticism out of her voice, immediately regretting it but refusing to show outward denial.

            The old woman gets up, walking to the counter, not looking at her. "Hit the nail right on the head, don't you?" Beside a polished crystal platter sits a pan, a puffy white substance inside. Angel food, she absently remembers.

            "Well, we might as well get this over with then, shouldn't we?" The woman says, letting a perfect white cake slide easily out of the pan onto the platter. She lifts her dark eyes, glasses on the end of her short nose. "You don't know if you trust me or not." Cigarette in mouth again, her words are slightly awkward with the cylinder blocking their exit. "Unfortunately for you, its not me you should be distrusting."

            Her white eyebrows rise, skeptical again but a faint unease creeping through her mind to the surface. She shifts her weight to her left leg. Her voice is found and she demands a more accurate answer.

            "I'm sorry I can't give you one." Reaching into an open drawer, the brown hand pulls out a knife and settles it above the angel cake. "Someone you trust will betray you."

            Trust? Who does she trust?

            There is only person that she truly trusts, who knows most anything about her.

            She leaves the apartment, a small piece of white angel cake in hand on a white-floral napkin. The car waits for her outside, a black phantom out of place in the ghetto area. Hesitantly she slips inside. He is waiting for her, a faint smile on his lips, his eyes masked by dark shades. She looks at him, at his open face, smiling for her.

            "And?"

            She looks away, out the tinted window, focusing on nothing. She sees her reflection in the glass; a white ghost, transparent, expression slowly falling.

            Falling…