Sup. Hope the intro was bearable. I enjoy writing this story.

Mona awoke to find sunlight streaming through cracks between the blackout curtains adorned on the window beside her bed. More light seeped through the thinner drapes covering the large French doors that opened to her patio and overlooked the nearby lake. Surprised that she had been sleeping so solidly for so long, Mona rolled over to the side of her large queen sized bed and looked blearily at the clock on her bedside table. It read half past noon.

This surprised her further, since Mona had been having trouble sleeping past nine, or falling asleep before two in the morning. And even when she did fall asleep, her dreams were vivid, jumbled, and strange, causing her to lie awake in a trance in between the fitful bouts of slumber. This had been happening for most of her life, causing Mona to tolerate it like one tolerates a crying baby. She had eventually admitted her issue to her father, and he had guessed that it was a glitch in her coding, which was common among Exiles.

Tossing her legs over the side of the bed, Mona rubbed her eyes and forehead, trying to rid herself of the drowsy feeling clouding her brain. She then threw open the various drapes, hoping the warm sunlight would wake her up. It was another warm and sunny day. Mona sighed, then began rooting about her room for acceptable clothing, since she was wearing the small shorts and tank top that she slept in. For the millionth time Mona told herself that she needed to clean the place up, but the thought rolled through her brain without meaning.

Finally dressed in a loose pair of jeans, belt, and a T-shirt, Mona opened her bedroom door and headed into the hallway. She remained barefoot, something she did year-round and something that drove her father practically insane.

The East wing of the Chateau was where she slept, and where her parents' bedroom also was. There was also the main office, "hobby" room, library, and a large bathroom. This area was usually not entered by the other Exiles, since they all inhabited the large downstairs, or hung around the West wing of the mansion. This wing was as large as the East, but contained the huge living room, kitchen, and dining room, which flowed nicely into one another due to the very open concept. The entranceway branched off the centre of the Chateau, and had a sweeping staircase leading to a "tower", where the guest bedrooms were. Finally, at the back of the Chateau was a huge two-story hall used for entertaining and partying, though few were ever held there. The Merovingian preferred to go out for parties for a multitude of reasons, mainly the fact that he did not trust other people to remain respectful of his property.

Mona was merely thankful that the Chateau wasn't confusing to navigate, and she had it figured out within hours of living there. That was years ago. Her father owned this house since the fourth Matrix had been created.

Upon exiting the hall and stepping into the dining room, Mona saw that she was not alone. It was no surprise, since there were many Exiles living in this house and they often milled about wherever. They were also encouraged to try things and find hobbies, so usually at least one of them had made some sort of food in the morning. Today was no exception. Mona immediately picked up the smell of bacon, toast, eggs, and, her favourite, coffee.

As she passed the large dining table, two of the three Exiles seated there looked up. Sid, more commonly called "Sparky", tipped his coffee cup to her in salute.

"Morning, darlin'," he said with a slight mocking tone.

"Sparky," Mona said, too tired to retaliate with a witty comment. She shuffled into the kitchen, which was only separated from the dining area by counters. Immediately making a beeline for the coffee maker, Mona quickly grabbed a mug and placed it beneath the dispenser. While it filled with the warm, aromatic liquid, she glanced around to see who it was who had made breakfast this time.

"Oh, hey Lisa."

The vampire turned and gave Mona a wide grin, her fangs baring, her short vivid red hair tousled from sleep. This painted a rather amusing image, since she was wearing a pink apron and holding a spatula with purpose. Mona quirked an eyebrow at this, then turned back to attend to her fresh coffee. While pouring cream and sugar into it, she heard Lisa poking around the scrambled eggs she was making.

"This is an odd hour to see you just getting up," Lisa said over her shoulder. "Did you sleep well for once?"

"Eh, not really. Maybe for a few hours during daytime," Mona replied, shrugging. "I'm beginning to think that I should go fully nocturnal."

Lisa chuckled, then turned to dump the finished eggs into a bowl, which sat next to plates of bacon and toast. "Hey, I wouldn't complain. Keep me company during the nights I sit around downstairs. Food is up!"

She had turned and yelled this last statement into the dining room, and almost instantly came the sounds of chairs being pushed back. Sid came into the kitchen, almost jogging, his expression reflecting either his intense hunger or his inner werewolf. Following him were the other two who had been sitting in the dining room. Rem, a Hispanic werewolf with quiet and intimidating mannerisms, was second to line up. He was followed by his close companion, Dev, who was a very cocky Russian vampire. Despite both of their differences, these two Exiles were known to work exceptionally well together, especially in combat.

As Sid filled his plate, creating a mountain of food, he glanced comically at Lisa's outfit. "Well, it's a good thing we have you, Lisa. Who else would feed us?"

"I imagine you'd do fine, but thanks for the sentiment," Lisa said, rolling her eyes. She stepped back to where Mona was still hanging around the coffee maker, sipping her drink. "I swear, that's all I'm good for to them."

"Well, you are a woman," Dev joked quietly, snickering. Lisa kicked him in the shin, nearly making him drop his plate of food, and causing Sid to explode into laughter. Meanwhile, Rem had already stalked back into the dining room and was seated, enjoying his late breakfast. Eventually they all joined him, Mona having gotten a plate herself. Quietly they all ate, apparently consumed by their own thoughts. Mona found it odd to be sitting here, doing such a human act with these various programs. All she was really eating was code, which then convinced the code of her own body that it was full and therefore did not require further nourishment. The whole thing made Mona feel numb and pathetic, so she quickly stopped pondering it and finished her eggs.

Dev and Rem left as soon as their meal was done, saying something about a private contract, which they seemed to have a lot of. No one really paid much attention to their departure, and soon even Sid had polished off his pile of food and was sitting contentedly, staring dully ahead.

"I wonder if everything is the same as it was," the werewolf muttered. "Y'know…since the Matrix reset and all."

Lisa glanced around at him. "Aren't you from the Fourth Matrix?"

"Well, yes. But it was never quite like this," Sid said, blinking slowly. "The One never succeeded, I guess."

"Is that what happened?"

"Actually," Mona said, piping in, "My father told me that he made a deal with the machine. Said that if destroyed Smith, they'd let people free from the Matrix, if they so choose."

Sid quirked an eyebrow at her, then leaned forward. "So, does this mean that there'll be no more 'Ones'? If so, that's gonna make life a bit more boring."

Mona smirked grimly. "Not quite, Sparky. We'll now be spending our time running from the Agents, especially now that they have nothing better to do but hunt us all down."

"Damn," Sid growled. "Forgot about those fuckers."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be preoccupied with Rogues before they get down to us," Lisa said as she rose and gathered up their dirty plates. "We're a lot more difficult to find and kill. Unless they're planning on getting the hard part out of the way first."

"It would kinda make sense to go after us. I mean, isn't the Merovingian the only guy who has access to the Train Station?" Sid almost yelled as he tried to keep Lisa in the conversation, since she had moved into the kitchen and begun to put away dishes.

"Yes, since the Train Master works for my dad," Mona answered.

Sid nodded. "Yeah, so if your dad was killed off right away, then that would practically cut off all Exiles from entering the Matrix."

Shooting Sid a pointed look, Mona stood up abruptly. "Okay, let's stop talking about the inevitable demise of my father. I'm going to go get my laptop, be right back."

Her laptop was usually kept in the office, which was also where her father usually was, going over code or organizing events and meetings. Unfortunately, as Mona approached, she saw the door to the office was slightly ajar, warning her that someone was in there. Hoping it wasn't the Merovingian, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

"Ahh, Mona, my dear," her father said in his favoured French accent, greeting her with a business-like smile. "I have been meaning to talk to you."

"Uhm, I'm really just here for my laptop…"

"Nonsense. Sit. We have things to discuss."

Eyeing her father suspiciously, Mona took a seat in one of the many cushioned armchairs in the room. The office was huge, high-ceilinged, and warmly decorated. There were multiple desks, but the largest was a rich mahogany one in which the Merovingian was currently seated behind. There were multiple computers all around, some off, others flashing random coding every so often. The huge picture windows behind her father's desk were almost completely shut off by flowing drapes, except for the middle one.

"Okay, so what's this about?" Mona asked, leaning on the desk.

Her father frowned slightly. "Why must you always sound so displeased? Can we not have a pleasant conversation anymore?"

"No, not really," Mona almost growled. "Not since you started acting like a drunken frat boy on ecstasy. Now what the hell do you want?"

The Merovingian briefly looked like he was about to explode, but Mona knew her father well, and he had dealt with so many people in his time that it was hard to get him riled up. About the only time she had seen her father's anger boil over was when her mother gave the Key Maker to Neo. Just as she expected, he regained composure so quickly that his previous fury seemed almost imagined.

"The pets I had programmed over the years are, obviously, gone now that the Matrix has reset. I'm sure you miss them, no?"

Mona nodded.

"Of course. And you know that I wish for you to become one with the code. Here is the perfect opportunity for you to learn, non?" He asked, giving her a look like there was no other choice but to agree.

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," Mona replied. "I already know the basics."

"I want you to have an intimate knowledge of it. You are my daughter, and someday you may find yourself in need of such skills." The Merovingian shuffled some nearby papers together, then pushed them towards Mona. "Here are some of the codes of animals in this world, some I think you will like. These are very basic and are just to start you off. You know how much further coding you can do, like creating certain nature, quirks, whatnot."

Mona took the papers and idly leafed through them, picking up a few specific pieces of code she recognized. One of the animals was a cat, since it was no secret that she had a love for all things feline. Another was a snake, one a ferret, then a crow. For a brief moment Mona was surprised at how much her father seemed to know about what she liked, and felt somewhat touched. Then she remembered that he was a lying adulterer and regained her usual displeased attitude about him.

"Looks good," Mona said, rising from her chair. Her eyes swept the room in search of her laptop, and spotted it on the far right desk, where a bottle of whiskey and some glasses were sitting.

"If you have any questions or issues, feel free to consult me," her father said as Mona grabbed the laptop and headed for the door. Before she left, she heard the sound of his cell phone ringing, and closed the door behind her to give him some privacy.

When Mona returned to the dining room, she found Lisa and Sid still seated at the dining room table, except a new person had joined them. Crow, a lanky Arabic zombie Exile, was leaning against a chair in a way that looked quite awkward, all the while chatting quietly with Sid. Crow was an Exile Mona always felt uneasy around, since he was the newest recruit and had not taken well to his new life. As a program in the machine, Crow had helped control the proper decay of flora and fauna, and when he was taken in by the Merovingian, he found the human body and emotions somewhat overwhelming and has never been the same. Mona's father reassured her and the others that he is fine, but there is no doubt that everyone wonders if someday Crow will snap.

"Good afternoon, Mona," Crow said. His tone was kind but there was no compassion on his gaunt face or in his cold, grey eyes. Mona smiled at him out of courtesy, then suppressed a shudder and quickly went to sit beside Lisa on the far end of the table.

The vampire almost immediately latched onto Mona's arm. "Got your laptop? Great. Let's go to the living room."

"But…Sparky," Mona said, casting a glance over to the werewolf. He seemed calm enough, talking with Crow, and was even sharing a joke (or so Mona guessed, seeing as he was chuckling).

"Sparky can take care of himself," Lisa hissed. "Besides, he doesn't mind Crow. I do."

Lisa stood gracefully and practically dragged Mona with her, past the kitchen and far back into the West wing of the house, where the huge lounge area was. Once there, the vampire finally released Mona and sunk down into the large leather couch that was situated in front of the vast flat screen television.

"God damn zombie," Lisa muttered.

Mona sat beside her and stared at her incredulously. "Are you serious? I thought zombies were weak compared to the rest of you Exiles."

"Well yeah, in theory. But have you ever witnessed an Exile gone mad? No. It is terrifying. I've only seen one, years ago, and since then the Merovingian has been even more careful about who he selects to bring into the Matrix."

Nodding slowly, Mona set her laptop on the coffee table in front of them and started it. "Crow's fine, though. He's weird, but he's alright, isn't he?"

Lisa shrugged, leaning forward to see the laptop screen. "I dunno. I don't really want to risk it, you know? I'd rather just stay away from him."

"Fair enough."

The two searched around the web, seeing if any interesting articles had popped up, or if anything drastic had changed in the overhaul. From what they could find nothing really had changed, except for maybe political parties in certain countries, or the cost of rice. Just as the girls were getting bored of their search, Sid showed up and took control of the computer. Raving about websites "they had to see", the werewolf meandered through the internet, showing them random videos, pictures, and songs. Mona ended up hooking the laptop to the television screen so they could watch all the action on hi-definition and with better volume. They were all in the middle of watching Charlie the Unicorn on Youtube when the Merovingian entered the room.

"Oh god, I am so glad this still exists," Mona said in between bouts of laughter.

"Are you kidding?" Sid sputtered. "What would be the point of living if it didn't?"

"Ahem."

All three fell silent and turned to see who had made a noise. The Merovingian stood with his arms crossed, staring sternly at them like an upset mother. For a few moments no one said anything, the only noise coming from the still-playing Youtube video. Then Sid slowly reached over and paused it, enveloping the room in silence.

"Is this what you people call humor?" The Merovingian asked suddenly, gesturing to the television. "Crudely-drawn cartoons by humans? Pssh."

Groaning, Mona rose, then snapped her laptop shut. "What do you want?"

Her father frowned. "I just got off the phone with a client."

Lisa quirked an eyebrow. "Already?"

"Yes, already," the Merovingian replied. "The machine is making better programs for this new Matrix, meaning more programs are going to be sent to the Source, meaning more Exiles. There are always more."

"So it's a good client," Lisa stated, also getting up from the couch. Mona had moved towards the television and was half-listening to the conversation, half-unhooking her laptop.

The Merovingian nodded leisurely. "Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. But for now, I need all of you to meet in the dining room tonight at eight. There we will discuss what is to happen." He gave them a keen look, turned, and said before leaving, "Don't be late."

No one said anything for a few moments after the Merovingian left. Sid cleared his throat, perhaps for comedic effect, but was ignored. Mona wrapped up her laptop and set it back on the coffee table, apparently done with it.

"Your dad's weird," Lisa finally remarked with a dull bluntness.

Mona stared at her blankly, frozen in a standing position above the couch. Then her face gradually broke into a grin and she fell back onto the couch, laughing hysterically. Sid almost immediately joined in.

"What? It's true!" Lisa almost bellowed over their laughter, but it was infectious and soon the room was filled with their hoots and guffaws. Mona wiped tears from her eyes as Sid held his stomach from the intensity of their mirth, and Lisa put her head in her hands in mock shame. When they all finally calmed down and had caught their breath, the three sat there wheezing and sniggering every so often.

"Whew…" Sid breathed. "I really have no idea why that was so funny."

Mona snorted. "Just the look on your face, Lisa. Ohhh…"

"I try to entertain," Lisa said. "But in all seriousness, your father is strange. I guess this deal's a big one. I can't really remember the last time he's had a 'family meeting' like this."

Sid shrugged. "Maybe he's just taking things more seriously now."

"There's nothing really different than before, is there?" Mona said.

"Eh, not really. Your dad lost a fair few Exiles due to Neo, though, so I imagine he's kinda eager to get some good replacements," Lisa answered. "Maybe it's a mass conversion or something equally ridiculous."

"He can't do that, it's too dangerous. You know that," Mona said with a smirk.

"Just throwing out ideas," Lisa defended.

"Whatever it is," Sid added in, "I get the feeling it's going to be interesting."