Thanks to all reviewers and sorry for the huge space of time between chapter updates, I haven't been feeling all that inspired to write this as of late, also a disease and the computer screwing up also got in my way.
Chapter 38: Can't hide
We wound up in Cambridge.
For those that don't know, Cambridge is a city in England filled with university buildings and cyclists. It's a nice place for the most part, in our collective frame of mind at the time however, no one was really up to admiring the scenery.
The trip through the Destiny was a one way one, courtesy of Manticore; there was no convenient tree shaped portal that could send us back to it. Doing so would most likely bring us face to face with Smith and Neo anyway.
Eric and the other humans all showed greater looks of fear on their faces then we did. Hands were occasionally lifted to the back of the head in some cases and then promptly dropped. It seemed as if the realisation that at any moment Smith or Neo could decide to pull the plug from wherever their other selves lay and end their lives.
An hour passed in which we walked from place to random place, no one said anything, and no one suddenly dropped dead in the middle of a street.
Now that there was no immediate danger of an untimely demise, at least none that I could see, I began to notice just how tired I felt. It wasn't that surprising considering I'd almost been killed about five times over in the space of a day.
Looking up at the sky I noticed that the sun was shining brightly and that there were only small, barely noticeable amounts of cloud in the sky. I suddenly remembered the time difference between England and the part of Northern America where we had been previously. After realising this I decided to abandon my attempt to get some grasp on time and just start wishing that the sun would go down.
It was Hawk who finally said the question that we'd all been expecting.
"So what are we going to do?"
Everyone stopped walking. Some, who weariness had affected more then others, myself included, took seats on the pavement with no regard for passing pedestrians.
It was about then I noticed that everyone seemed to be going about their daily lives without ay care for impending doom, thereby telling me that they didn't know of the danger they faced. People were talking as they walked, laughing, there were no headlines in the newsagent's window that said anything like 'Repent your sins for the end of the world is nigh' or 'Large squid shaped machines tear everyone to pieces'. This was partially re-assuring, it showed that things weren't quite as bad as I'd imagined, yet.
"What can we do?" Asked a random human who I didn't recognise. "The two most powerful beings in known history are trying to destroy everything on the Earth. We can't possibly hope to stop..."
The pitch of his voice was rising steadily as his statement progressed. Morpheus, having noticed this, made an effort to maintain calm in the ranks.
"That's enough Saladin." He snapped. There was a brief pause after this in which Saladin looked at the floor with a shameful expression on his face that made him look strangely younger, and everyone looked at Morpheus expectantly. Except for me and Eric, we found that looking upon him brought back feelings that right now we could do without.
"We should consult the Oracle." He said after about a minute.
Another brief pause followed this. Hawk again eventually supplied the question that we were all thinking.
"What makes you think that the Oracle is still alive?"
"Do we have any other choice?" He replied, "If we are going to come out of this with our lives then our best chance is to talk to her."
No one seemed able to argue with that.
In theory the plan sounded good, but with the Oracle's apartment clear across the digital globe and the Destiny lost to us, there seemed to be no practical way to get there, save for taking a plane perhaps, but this would probably be torn to dust by sentinels five minutes after it took off.
It was Niobe that pointed this problem out to the rest of us. After this followed yet another moment of silence. I passed the time by imagining myself and the others returning to Zion and myself being promptly set upon by a crowd in straw hats with pitchfork and flaming torches in their hands. This somewhat ridiculous image was surprisingly funny. However behind it there was the grim realisation that the people of Zion, when they found out that I'd tried to kill a national hero, were unlikely to let me live my life in peace. It would only be a matter of time before some moronic vigilante came at me with a knife.
I was probably over-reacting, I told myself.
It wasn't a new question or idea that broke this new moment of silence. It was, strangely enough, two semi-transparent green people who seemed to ascend through the pavement. The looks on their faces were ones of malevolence. Fear and traces of despair set in as I realised that the minions of Neo had found us.
Everyone stood up and readied assorted weapons, or assembled themselves in a fighting stance of some description. The pedestrians that had noticed this moved away quickly and sought refuge, (and in some cases a good place to watch). There was an almost disappointing lack of noise. Not long ago, such a sight would have caused screaming and chaos in everyday, Matrix dwelling humans, but now, with the Matrix common knowledge, sights such as people coming up through the floor were not nearly as uncommon as they had been. It was the sight of guns and bared teeth more then anything which had caused retreats.
When the number of pedestrians that was visible was suitably few, the transparent persons changed suddenly. Now they looked almost human. Both of them looked identical, white hair in dreadlocks, unbelievably pale skin, white suits. Well fitting dark sunglasses. They both stood still for a few, casting their eyes over the crowd.
"Morpheus." One of them said as a greeting finally in an almost stereotypical British accent. Morpheus didn't respond.
"What the fuck do you want?" Manticore almost shouted. The anger in his voice suggested that he knew who these two were. One again me and Wanderer had been placed in a situation where we were dealing with someone that everyone knew but us.
"We're here to repay you for ending many years of gainful employment under the Merovingian." The other replied.
"With him gone," this was the first one that spoke, he cast a glance in Wanderer's direction as he spoke, "We find ourselves unable to partake in certain," he paused deliberately, "antisocial past times, shall we say, that our previous employer permitted. Our new employer, the one known as Persephone finds these past times distasteful."
"Crude and uncivilised I believe was her exact choice of wording." The second one continued where the first left off, if you weren't looking at them, you wouldn't know that the first had stopped speaking, "Somewhat hypocritical really considering the fate that befell Abel. But in any case, whilst she is busy discussing certain changes in future affairs with our partners in this venture, we have decided to repay you for the unwanted changes in our lifestyle."
To be continued
I'll definitely get the next chapter up sooner next time.
In any case, now for replies:
LiMiYa: I'm going to try and make all the remaining chapters longer from now on, and thanks, it's nice to see I've done a halfway decent Neo portrayal. And thanks as well for reviewing.
Tai Wilson: Truth be told, I'm not sure either. That's why I threw the twins in, to create a distraction while I work something out. In any case, thanks for reviewing.