The Matrix: Legacy
Five
Logos

The four hackers barely had time to log off Spark's computers and shut down before someone knocked on the door. "I bet we got caught," Sparks mumbled as he went to the door. "You're such a pessimist," Link shot back as Sparks opened up to see Niobe and Morpheus. "Sparks, have you seen Gho...," Niobe's voice trailed off as she saw the rest of her crew inside the apartment, along with the other half of the Nebuchadnezzar's survivors. "Never mind."

Ghost rose to his feet in a liquid movement that Krsna tried – and failed – to copy. Walking to the open door, he asked, "Yes, Captain?"

"Morpheus says that the machines have a surprise for us down at the embassy. We're taking a trip on the Hammer." Looking to Link, she added, "You're coming, too; the Council has reassigned you to me." Link nodded.

"Pack your bags," Morpheus ordered, "and be at the dock in two hours."

The three visitors scattered to their separate apartments, Niobe yelling after Krsna, "And nothing flammable! Or explosive!" Sparks laughed while Morpheus just shook his head. "You sure you can handle him, Niobe?" Niobe gave him one of her famous Incredulous Looks™. "I'm as sure of that as you were that Neo was the One."

Morpheus laughed and led Niobe away, leaving Sparks to wonder and worry about what surprise the machines had in store for the crew of the Logos.

"Why did you take Krsna?" Morpheus asked Niobe as they walked towards the only working ship in Zion, passing by the nearly-repaired Icarus and the half-fixed Gnosis and Caduceus. "For starters, he volunteered for my crew," Niobe answered after a moment. "But you had no ship," Morpheus said. "I know. I asked him about that. He told me it was because he figured that, since we had the smallest full crew, we'd probably be the first to get one when they were fixed."

"That is true," Morpheus mused, "especially seeing as the only other full crew miraculously retained their ship." They traded mischievous grins as they remembered their run through the machine tunnel, proving once more that Niobe was the best pilot the Fleet had.

"Why else did you take him?" Morpheus was not done questioning her on her choice of crew. She shrugged. "I guess I figured it was about damn time I added someone new, especially now that we've all heard each other's stories a hundred times over. We need new ears to rattle."

Morpheus gave her one of his own famous Looks. "And this has nothing to do at all with his strange affinity to anything explosive?" "It might," she admitted with a grin. "And if I can talk Roland into it, I wanna take a swing up to broadcast depth and see what the Oracle has to say about him. Ghost got a message from Seraph saying that she was eager to see the new batch of kids."

"She always is," Morpheus said reminiscently as they walked up the ramp of the Mjolner. Within two hours, Ghost, Sparks, and Krsna had arrived on board. Link was the last to arrive, his clothing looking as if it had been tugged on hastily. Apparently he'd given Zee a special 'good-bye'. As was his habit following the end of the war, he'd wrapped Zee's charm around his hand.

Also on board was Niobe's other recruit, a young woman named Danaë. Danaë was a quiet girl with extraordinary amounts of patience and what Sparks had termed "healing hands". The hospitals had been loathe to let the girl go, but Niobe had been persistent. Danaë could jack into the Matrix if needed, but she preferred to remain in the real world and Niobe figured that it'd be nice to keep the kid as a wild card in the very small chance that they needed her as back-up.

At the moment, she was curled up next to AK, the Mjolner's operator. She was asleep, and the normally antisocial man was absently stroking her dark hair. No one was quite sure what had brought him to informally adopt her, but he'd done it anyway. Sparks opened his mouth to comment, but AK shot him a look so deadly Sparks had the feeling that if looks could kill, he'd have been roasted where he stood.

Instead he wandered off to bother Colt. Once he'd gone, Ghost walked in and sat near the pair. Neither of them spoke as Ghost sank into meditation and AK drifted off to sleep, and neither of them noticed when the ship lifted up from the docks.

---------

Morgain heard the lock click open. She'd been trapped here for about thirty hours now, she figured. She'd dined with the Merovingian last night, squirming a bit under the looks a pale man with long hair gave her until Tiger had leaned over and said something soft, at which point he'd turned his gaze onto a man with long brown hair who had smiled and mouthed, 'I still have that crossbow.'

Well, apparently some of the people around here were looking out for either her welfare or theirs; she remembered Abel's comment on it being his neck if she escaped. Seeing as she was bait, that also translated to it being his neck if she was hurt, too.

Well, Cain or Abel appeared to be in the library, and she was done with the part of Faerie Queen she'd wanted to read, so Morgain got up and carried the book into the library.

Neither of her baby-sitters was there; instead, Persephone was watching her on the huge TV. She shut it off and turned to Morgain. "That didn't take you too long," she said, rising and walking towards the girl. Morgain took an involuntary step back, feeling her back press up against the wall. She didn't trust this beautiful woman with her silver aura.

Persephone smiled. "What's the matter? You don't trust me?"

Is she reading my mind?

"I'm reading your face, darling," Persephone replied, amused. She brushed Morgain's hair away from her face, saying, "You really ought to wear this up; it would make you look so much older." The Faerie Queen was occupying the girl's hands, effectively silencing her, but the crimson tint to her cheeks made up for that.

Persephone easily removed the book from her hands, carelessly tossing it onto a table and leading Morgain over to the couch. Morgain could only be envious of Persephone's beauty, her grace and poise, and especially her figure.

"It has been quite some time since I've had a woman around to talk to," Persephone sighed, turning the girl around and running a brush taken from her purse through Morgain's black waterfall of hair. "Usually the women here are either in a hurry to get what they want and leave, or they're the women of my husband's minions." Morgain felt the brush against the middle of her back as Persephone pulled it away for another run through her hair.

"Such a pretty name, Avalon. From the legends of King Arthur, isn't it?"

'Yes,' she signed, unsure if Persephone could see it. "I thought so. It suits you, you know, though I think Eden would have done just as well for you. A pretty name for a pretty child."

Was the woman really this naïve? Or did she have an ulterior motive for this... 'girl talk'? Persephone had finished with the brush -- Morgain's hair hadn't really needed it -- and was now pulling the sable locks away from her face, slender hands drawing a strand from behind Morgain's ear and braiding it. "I fear that my husband is quite upset with Ghost and his captain. After all, in a sense, they did clear the way for the One; but they also killed a great many of his minions along the way, and he does so hate having to reboot them... that's probably why he took on the men he did. Less rebooting."

Morgain was now of the opinion that the beautiful woman was quite nuts -- she was speaking of men almost as if they were programs. "Be a darling and hold this for me, would you?" Persephone requested, handing her the braid and starting a second one on the other side. "And I am quite sane," she added, almost as an afterthought. "You just have no knowledge on the subject of which I speak. You've watched horror films, of course; Cain and Abel are all but addicted to some of the cheesiest ones ever made.

"Watch the men closely, Morgain Avalon Davidson. You will understand soon enough."

What does horror have to do with Tweedledee and Tweedledum? Morgain wondered as Persephone took the braid from her hand.

Persephone smiled as she began twining the two braids together. Soon the question would start running around in Avalon's mind, drawing her towards the knowledge of the Matrix. Undoubtedly it would be the Ghost who would come to free her... and she would have him.

Persephone was a patient woman. She could wait for quite some time to claim Ghost for herself.

---------

"Wake up call!" came Sparks' cheerful voice, snapping Ghost back to reality and causing AK to growl and throw a hat at him. Danaë had awoken a little beforehand and was talking softly with Krsna. Ghost saw the medic shaking her head and smiled gently; obviously the Indian had asked her if she could smuggle a few things on board for him.

A small brown hand descended from on high and resoundedly thwacked Krsna upside the back of his head; the boy yelped more out of indignity than pain and turned to glower at Niobe. "I said, 'no explosives'," she said, trying hard to look stern. "But you didn't say she couldn't bring 'em on board," he said, not the least bit abashed.

"That's because I can trust Danaë not to blow up Roland's ship with 'em," Niobe answered. "Let's get moving, all of you." AK caught Ghost before he could leave. "Hey Ghost -- when she goes to see her," Ghost didn't need to ask who either female in question was, "could you keep an eye on her for me? She's like my own kid; I don't want anything to happen to her."

Ghost nodded. "It would be my pleasure, AK."

"Thanks," AK replied before disappearing back aboard the Mjolner. Danaë had fallen behind Link, looking back a little longingly at the ship. Ghost put his hand gently on the small redhead's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll see him again," he said reassuringly. She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Ghost."

Ghost's reply died on his tongue as saw what the others saw outside of the embassy. Sparks stared, for once utterly silent, then he uttered a loud, "My baby's come back to me!!"

This had been the machine's surprise: a fully repaired, fully functional Logos.

---------

lehorin-- Ahh, a Brown fan! Huzzah! …people mix up Jones and Brown? How?