11
Marcus awoke suddenly a few hours after dawn, in his shaded room. Something was deeply troubling him. Sekhmet lay curled against his side -- when had she come in!? -- her face anything but serene. She was not sleeping well. Marcus didn't stand, for fear of waking her... but something was upsetting him greatly... and he didn't know what.
She woke on her own a few moments later, her eyes wide. "No…" "What is wrong?" Marcus asked, concerned. She shuddered. "I had a dream… we were with him again… and he gave me to them…."
He held her. "I am sorry."
"It was just a dream… why are you awake?"
"I have a sense... of wrongness...."
"What do you mean?"
"Something's wrong... something bad is happening right now."
Sekhmet frowned. "To who?" He shook his head. "I'm not... sure." "Should we ask her?" Sekhmet queried. He considered. "If she can tell us."
"You mean if she will tell us. She's not too good with straight answers."
"You have a point... even if we know... I cannot do anything now." He gestured to the closed window "You can't," Sekhmet replied, "but I can." He shook his head. "If it is truly terrible, then we both must go."
"I could take Seraph along if it's an urgent right now thing."
He thought for a moment. "I guess…."
"Come on, then."
He stood and went with her to see the Oracle. She knocked softly on the woman's door, casting nervous glances along the hall. The door opened, and Seraph was there. "Come in. She has been expecting you."
The cat-girl bowed to him and led Marcus inside. The old woman was in the kitchen again, this time sitting at the table and smoking. "Oracle," Sekhmet started to ask, then hesitated -- after all, it was Marcus who had the feeling, not her. Marcus continued, "Something bad is happening. Do you know what it is?" She looked up at Marcus for a long moment, then puffed on her cigarette again.
"Is it the rebels?" Sekhmet asked softly. "He knows," she said, looking into Marcus's face again. Sekhmet looked between them, feeling as if this was flying over her head. "When Red and I were separated... I saw the Twins out, looking for someone..." Marcus said softly. "I assumed me."
The girl was definitely confused. "But… why would the Merovingian come after him?"
"To get us... I doubt he would try to go after someone in the Oracle's care, and I am good at making myself hard to find."
"So we should go get him."
Marcus nodded.
"Are you coming, or will you catch up at dusk?"
"I have little choice."
Sekhmet nodded, and stood on her very tip toes to softly kiss his cheek. "I'll be fine, Marcus. I promise." He smiled weakly in return. "Alright." She turned to the Oriental program. "Seraph, will you help me?" Seraph looked to the Oracle, and then back and nodded. "Of course." "Thank you," she said with a smile before turning and hugging Marcus fiercely. "I'll come back. I swear it."
"I know." He smiled back.
***
A young man watched the screens over the operator's shoulder. "Salvo-san… why did they not kill him?" "He's tryin' to use Red as bait for the rogue programs." Poni replied, interrupting Salvo. The young man watched thoughtfully. "Epona-san… with your permission, I would like to enter the Matrix and do what I can for Poitin-san."
"And what, exactly, do ya think you could do?"
"Get to him in ways you cannot." He allowed himself a small smile. "I am the sneak, as he so delicately termed it, am I not?"
"What's your point?"
"An assault is expected to come. But with many people, not just one." She thought about this. "Ya have a point, but alone?"
"If you would like to help, Epona-san, you are the captain and I must bow to your orders. I would prefer to go alone, however, and minimize the danger to the rest of the crew."
She considered this. "Alright... but be ready for us ta come and bail ya out if ya bite off more'n you can chew."
"Of course, Epona-san." The boy bowed to her in the manner of his people before turning to the Dream Chairs, again as Red had put it. Salvo was already typing away. "Your entry point's almost ready." "Arigatou, Salvo-san," the young man replied, leaning back and closing his eyes, already finding his centre.
Poni plugged him in, and Salvo pressed the last key, dropping him into the construct. He immediately began methodically choosing his weapons. He looked longingly at a naginata, or glaive, before deciding it was too bulky for his purposes and instead selecting a kodachi, a number of shuriken, and a pair of sai. He opened his cell phone and dialled the Zodiac.
"Operator."
"I am ready, Salvo-san," he said. The world distorted, and he found himself once again in the warehouse. "Salvo-san, how far am I from Poitin-san's location?"
"Far. You need a plane."
"So get me one. And the programming to fly it."
***
Sekhmet looked nervously up at the Merovingian's château. Was she really going in there willingly? She softly bit her lip, taking care not to accidentally draw blood with the fangs he had given her.
Seraph walked forward. "You are sure you wish to go?" "No, but I must go in there. Marcus owes the rebel his life, and the longer he is there, the less are his chances of survival," she replied, tail gently waving.
Seraph started to walk forward then, hands reaching inside the coat. "If we are lucky, he will not be guarded." Sekhmet nodded and followed him on silent feet. It occurred to her suddenly that there had been no evidence of Bastet since she had left Marcus in the Goodwill store. But why? Surely the subprogram would have tried to assert herself by now…
Sekhmet pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She would wonder about it later. Seraph walked up to the front door and tried it. "It is locked." "Of course," Sekhmet said. "Nothing is simple." She unsheathed her claws. "Have you a key to open it, or shall I?"
He gestured widely to the door. She nodded and delicately inserted a claw into the keyhole. Some delicate work, and it was unlocked. She smiled softly. "At least my curse has a benefit." They both walked in then, moving against the walls, keeping out of sight.
Sekhmet kept an eye out for the Merovingian's more feared minions, namely Cain and Abel as well as the Twins. It would not do to be captured while on a rescue mission. Although Seraph figured that this was exactly the Merovingian's plan... it was more than likely there would be traps.
Sekhmet was growing more and more nervous by the minute. This was easily seen due to the black fur on her tail starting to stand out like that of a frightened cat. Seraph slowly began to turn a corner... and then stopped. Sekhmet stopped behind him, peeking over his shoulder.
The werewolf Cain had a gun to the Asian man's head.
"Looks like I caught a couple of trespassers."
Sekhmet glared at the older program. "Let him go, Cain." "You're in no position to be ordering anybody around," came a voice behind the girl. Abel. She turned slowly to see the other werewolf holding a gun to her head. Her eyes narrowed as her brain raced through the options.
"How much a bonus you think we'll get?" Cain called to Abel. Abel grinned wolfishly. "A big one." "I don't think so," Sekhmet muttered. Seraph reached back and grabbed Sekhmet's hand. Then, his free hand whipped out, knocking the gun from Cain's hand as he pulled the cat girl down, his foot launching backwards and into Abel's hand.
Abel snarled as the force of the kick knocked the gun from his hand, then Sekhmet had sprung to her feet and launched herself at him, claws coming out and scratching him deeply, eliciting a yelp from him.
Cain tried to fight back, but Seraph was too fast, leading into a quick combo of pummelling into the werewolf's chest. Abel, on the other hand, had recovered quickly. He had years' more training than this little kitten, after all. He toyed with the girl now, blocking her attacks with ease. He threw her down easily and smirked. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…."
Seraph threw Cain away, and then rushed to Abel, launching a quick three-punch combo at the other wolf. He yelped as the punches threw him back. Sekhmet got to her feet, hissing angrily. As much as she hated fighting, she had to train more. Otherwise she'd be defenceless against the assassin/bodyguard programs like Cain and Abel and the Twins.
Cain got up then, and then began to press the fight with Seraph from behind while he was busy with Abel. The Asian program dodged these blows almost preternaturally, entering into combat with them both. Sekhmet watched, feeling like extra weight. She really had needed his help.
Suddenly, Seraph called, "Watch out!" a second before a hand reached out from behind her and grabbed the cat girl over the mouth, a razor rising to her neck. Sekhmet's eyes widened in fear at the cold kiss of the razor's edge against her throat, freezing in place. She whimpered a little at the even colder touch of her captor, realising that it had to be one of the Twins.
EDITED.