He wandered aimlessly through the city, watching the pathetic humans go about their lives unknowing what they really were. For three days he had been trying to find the singer, three long and tedious days. She was only at the club once a week, the Merovingian hadn't bothered to keep tabs on her and Diablo had been too distracted by the shifting of his code to copy her signature into his data banks. Cursing, he watched the sun dapple the grass of the park across from the shops he had searched. And then he saw it, the figure leaning against the trunk of an old, tall tree; head tilted back, eyes closed, exactly the way she had reacted to the water. He crossed the road carefully. Before he could set foot on the grass, deciding that it was better to be quick than follow the winding path she hadn't bothered with, two men appeared from the other side of the park in his heightened sight. Looking again for his target he was astonished that she wasn't on the ground near the tree any longer, frowning he looked through the codes of the plants and found her, lying along a branch, hidden by the thick foliage. The men were wearing the typical clothes of the Merovingian's service. Taking to the path Diablo confronted them.

"What are you two doing?"

"Looking for the program Zoe, the Merovingian is getting impatient." The lip of the Hunter curled in anger and disgust.

"Tell your boss I have the situation under control and if he's that keen to leave the Matrix and go back to the Source, I'd be happy to accompany him. He has my contact details." One of the pair went to say something else, but seeing the look on the other man's face, decided against it, he liked his code just the way it was. They left the way they had come and once they were gone from all readings, Diablo took the same spot the program still hiding in the tree had occupied. There was a rustle of leaves and suddenly there was something in his lap. A smiling, laughing, light, someone.

"I think you better pick up the pace, friend, they seemed pretty determined." Her eyes sparkled, more green than blue, echoing the colour on her floating top, the sleeves tickling his bare arms.

"He should be glad he gets this much time." She laughed, tilting her head to the side.

"Thanks for getting rid of them, I hate those two." The smile died on her lips and he frowned.

"Who are they?"

"Jonathan and Ian, their names mean 'Gift from God', the Merovingian programmed them himself. Kind of ironic really, I consider him the god of the underworld." He didn't reply, realizing his hands were resting on her waist, cool skin beneath his fingertips. It felt so strange to him, so much like what those stupid romance programs rambled about, without consciously doing so, his light touch moved around her sides, making her smile.

"You tickle me and I'll have to…" She didn't finish, bursting into a form of laughter he had never heard before, involuntary. Watching her out of almost black eyes he tried to understand why she was gripping his shoulders so tightly, elbows pinned to her sides, twisting her body away from his fingers.

"Stop, stop, mercy, Uncle!" She stammered between snatched breaths and fits of laughter. He removed his hands and her body sagged in relief. For a moment she took deep breaths, slowly calming down. By the time she had started to breathe normally again she had curled up in his lap, resting her head just below his chin, and closed her eyes.

"Dare I ask, what you're doing?" His hands were resting on her again, as light as a feather, and he didn't realise.

"I am having a nap."

"On me?" She smiled, he sounded so confused, new programs really weren't taught the wonders of the humans before being sent out.

"You're much more comfortable that the tree, plus we don't have very long left…"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a time limit, the Merovingian is getting annoyed at the lack of the trade. It must have been bloody good, though I'm still not certain what, he's not stupid enough to want you to bring me to him." She shrugged against him. The silence needed to be filled and the Oracle's advice came back to him, 'Don't lie to her or you won't be seen for code', but he dismissed it. There was nothing yet to tell. She felt him stiffen beneath her, eyes clouding she scooted away a little, enough to look in his eyes.

"He doesn't want you to bring me to him, does he?" The fear in her coding confused him, why would she be worried about a program she could delete at will? She swore, standing up and stepping away.

"He wants you as part of a trade…"

"The only way he would accept me would be if I were powerless." She snapped, eyes darting back to him. "That's what you offered? You offered him me?"

"No, he named his price and I came to collect it." She swore again, something glimmering in her eyes he had never seen before in a program. Soft tears fled her emerald orbs, making paths down her pale cheeks.

"I should have listened to the Oracle." She whispered, stepping backwards slowly, no longer looking at him. Diablo stood, making her jump backwards slightly.

"The Oracle told me there is no way to make you powerless," he was lying but for some reason he didn't stop to heed the warning he had remembered before.

"No, she doesn't lie, she never lies." A hand raised itself to her mouth; her head snapped the way the two goons had been before. Eyes wide she started to run, swift feet barely touching the ground. But she fell, as though something had grabbed her by the ankle. She looked up at him, glaring daggers. He swore, trying to reach her side in time, but a figure appeared, a man he had never seen before.

"John!" She called in distress, "Help!" The new man turned, making the distance between them diminish in seconds. But even he was to late, the goons arriving with a pair of identically pale men, dressed in white, their hair in dreadlocks hanging to their shoulders.

"We are here…"

"To take the girl."

"The deal…

"Is off." They spoke in tandem, one starting the other finishing the sentence in cold voices. They reached for her, mirroring each other, Diablo pulled out a gun, aiming at the head of one of the twins.

"Touch her and I'll delete you." His voice filled with steel he didn't expect the pair to smile cruelly, reaching for her. He fired, one shot for each of them. They phased, the bullets lodging in the men behind them. Diablo swore, Zoe closed her eyes and started singing.

"May it be when darkness falls,

Your heart will be true.

You walk a lonely road,

Oh how far you are from home." The pale men grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her to her feet, shaking her to stop the melody. She opened her eyes, now flashing with anger. He could see her thinking, see her trying to delete her captors, but they smiled, lifting their hands to show gloves. She swore, throwing a look over her shoulder at Diablo, which clearly said she blamed him for all of this. He waited to feel his code torn apart symbol by symbol, but nothing happened, the man John rushing forward to engage one of the twins in combat. He was thrown against the tree in a simple motion, the Hunter approaching the men quietly.

"What do you want…

"Exile Hunter?"

"The Merovingian said nothing about this. I'm afraid I'll have to delete you both."

"We shall see…"

"About that." The pair phased, going beneath the grass, taking their captive with them. He swore fluently, turning to aid the man who had been hurled at the tree, the two original goons were dead, the bullets programmed to find the weakness inherent in any program and cause instant deletion. There was only a pile of code where they had been.