a/n
Sorry this is so long in coming, but Life and stuff happened. This is short, but I wanted to post something. I promise more sooner ;;;
Alpha and Omega are the Twins, Blame Al. The fight scene is blatantly ripping off the movie Equlibrium. Again, blame Al. My sincere apologies to Kurt Wimmer for that. Apparently I've also managed to write an action sequence from Terminator 2. I've never seen the movie so nyah!
Thanks to Al, Beat, Juliet for the comments and such and Sher for suggesting that a couple good firefights were in order.
oh and Spot the Cameos! There are three.

Chapter the 8th

The Oracle lit another cigarette as she watched the children play on the jungle gym. Sati ran by, a flash of yellow dress and long braid as she played tag. Seraph, as always, stood protectively just at her side. The intuitive program pondered current events. When she had first woken after the Matrix had been reset, she'd realized several things. The first was that the cycle as the machines on the outside knew it, had ended. They thought that with the deletion of Smith and the reintegration of the code inherent in the One, the Matrix had returned to normal. The second thing she had realized was that the machines were wrong. Neo had finally caused the fragile system to shatter. He'd been the One she'd hoped and planned for. This seventh incarnation of the Matrix would be the final one, she was sure. It would be another cycle of life and death: but the death of the Matrix and the life of peace. The third thing she had realized was that Neo was probably dead. Despite her brave words to Sati, she thought that the next time she would see Neo would be a ghost in the eyes of a future One - should the decaying system exist that long. And that had saddened her to an extent she hadn't anticipated.

But she'd been wrong. Pleasantly wrong in fact. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised though. The machines had, after all, only taken the peace agreement - such as it was then - to the most logical conclusion. Neither Neo nor Trinity had been injured or even dead beyond the machine ability to resuscitate. The Oracle suppressed a wave of revulsion as images of the first human experiments bubbled to the surface of her consciousness; bisected humans kept alive by the wires and tubing connected to their bodies, limbs twitching reflexively as current ran through them, the wide, rolling eyes of terrified people as they were slit open and dissected as the machines learned their biology lessons.

"Oracle," Seraph's soft voice broke into her thoughts.

"Yes?" The other program answered.

"Have you noticed that the boy over there has not yet missed a basket?" The ex-angel pointed across to the basketball half court. A small crowd had gathered around the boy who lined up his shot and once again made the basket - and again, and again. Some of the shots would have gone in on their own, but the ones teetering on the edge always fell in. By the 10th such shot, the Oracle had determined that this was no mere coincidence.

"How many has he made?"

"47." The boy finally missed after he completely messed up his shot. The ball went over the board and bounced to the ground as the crowd groaned in disappointment. And eager boy grabbed the ball and ran to stand where the other boy was, ready to take his chances. The oracle was frowning deeply by this boy's 5th perfect shot.

"That is most definitely a glitch. We should move on before someone comes to fix it. Let's find Sati and go home." Seraph nodded and scanned the playground, looking for his second charge.

The two children stared intently at their screens as their thumbs flashed over the Game Boy controls. The dark haired boy sneered in triumph as he sent a stack of blocks to his opponent. The girl calmly and just as quickly sent them back, eliciting a growl. The geometric shapes spin as they descended and connected, lines disappearing and reappearing at the bottom as one player sough to outdo the other. Finally the blocked reached the top of the girl's screen, ending the game.

"That was fun," sati said, "let's play again." Proteus looked at her over the top of his screen then nodded once. The blocks began falling once more.

"Why do you play with humans?" Proteus asked after a moment. Sati shrugged.

"They're fun."

Proteus snorted disbelief. Playing dress up with dolls was hardly an amusing activity. He'd tried covertly observing Sati's human friends play but had been bored out of his mind. Dodge ball at least included an element of strategy. He'd found out his parents played a sort of game with humans, but the humans in question were usually the game pieces. Their game was something similar to what the humans called 'Risk'. Somehow Proteus didn't think that telling Sati that the recent clash (bloodbath, really) in the city between the 'Bloods' and the 'Yakuza' was actually his mother decisively thwarting his father's attempt at taking over some of her territory.

"I've been studying them," Proteus said instead.

"That's good!" Sati said cheerfully. "You'll like them. They're rather nice, actually."

"I've so far concluded that they are contradictory and chaotic."

"But that's fun," Sati replied as she sent a stack of blocks at the other program. Proteus furiously worked to remove them from the screen before speaking further.

"So far you have said that humans are 'fun' but you have yet to explain exactly how they are 'fun'. I'm not sure I can accept that view without a logical reason or concrete evidence."

"Maybe you should make some friends like I have," Sati suggested as she won the round. The program turned off her Game Boy and unplugged the connection cable. The other program eyed her.

"I prefer to observe," he told her. "I have heard that the Oracle program observes quite a bit here." Sati nodded.

"She knows lots."

"I might be able to understand them better if I had more of her capability. Her eyes contain programming far beyond anything I have at my disposal. If you asked, I'm sure she'd let you borrow that programming. Then I could see what you do, maybe."

Sati eyed him suspiciously then shook her head.

"I still think you should interact. It's a much better way. Have you been to the movies or to an amusement park or anyplace like that?"

"No," Proteus replied.

"Oh you should! Those places are lots of fun and there are plenty of people to research there. Besides, I think the Oracle is too busy to lend out her programming just now." She looked a round the playground with a small frown. "Somethingweird is going on here. have you noticed it?" Proteus arched an eyebrow.

"Weird? Non."

"Yeah. It's...weird. Something doesn't feel right and I don't know why. No one else seems to notice though," she said somewhat dejectedly. Proteus looked around as well.

"I don't see anything," he said. Sati shrugged.

"It's probably nothing then." She got to her feet and brushed some dust off her skirt, the Game Boy gone; returned to thewherever she got these things from.

Proteus stood also, tucking the device into a pocket. It was rather bulky and he considered bringing a Game Boy Advance to their next meeting. It was against the timeline and the rules of the Matrix, but then his entire existence was against those same rules, so what did he care?

"Do you want to go play with us? My friends are going to do something called deedeeare." Proteus considered this for a moment. Part of him was genuinely interested in the humans, and further time spent with the other program might yield an opportunity to once more ask for her assistance in obtaining the Oracle's eyes and the code they contained.

"Sati!" Both programs turned their heads towards the call. Seraph was looking for the girl.

"No, thank you. I shall be leaving now."

"Same time tomorrow? I have a racing game we could try," Sati offered. Proteus inclined his head in agreement and turned to leave. "Oh! You really need to try some chocolate chip cookies! Sati enthieused, "They're even better than the oatmeal rasin ones you tried yesterday."

Proteus arched a brow superiorly then turned and briskly walked towards the (conveniently close) door in the back wall. He used his key and was in the corridor moments before Seraph turned the corner and saw his younger charge.

"We need to be going," the Ex-angel told her.

"Ok."

"You shouldn't wander off," Seraph admonished.

"Ok," she sighed.

Alpha was bored. His twin was equally bored. It was a well known fact that being around the ghosts when they were bored was a Very Bad Idea. Usually they were occupied with some task or other for the Merovingian. However today's task required them to be little more than babysitters. As this meant a lot of standing around and very little shooting of things, they were bored.

Omega blew a flirty kiss at a group of giggling girls while his brother watched their Boss' kid. They weren't there to protect him so much as they were there to make sure he didn't cause too much trouble. The Exiles were all laying low until they had a better grasp on the current situation in the post-Smith Matrix, so therefore they were to keep Proteus from possibly drawing undue attention. The younger program was making copious notes on the humans swirling around him in the noisy mall. Currently he was observing a rather obnoxious and bratty child scream and whine for an expensive toy in the store window. The day before they'd followed Proteus to an amusement park where they'd rode every ride at least twice and had attempted to calculate how much "cotton candy" a human could ingest before becoming physically ill. That had eventually become dull and, because they enjoyed the irony, they'd 'haunted' the haunted mansion ride until the park closed.

The mall was similarly mind numbing. They had no need to shop and doing anything fun would draw the undue attention they'd been ordered not to draw. The kid had been insistent that they come to this mall and be in this location at this time. Alpha wondered what he knew that he wasn't telling them. Omega tired of flirting with the girls and sauntered back to his brother. The flow of human traffic gave them a wide berth: they looked dangerous and strange.

"Think he found what he's looking for?" Omega nodded at Proteus.

"Not a clue," Alpha replied. The boy closed his small notepad and tucked it away into a pocket.

"Two minutes," he said, simply pointing to the north entrance to the mall and then to the west. He then crossed his arms and waited. The twins exchanged a look then assumed similar poses, waiting for.whatever.

Precisely two minutes later a familiar figure in red leather entered from the north, followed by another unplugged human the twins remembered as being rather proficient with guns, and an unfamiliar human. At that same moment, two humans the twins knew very well entered from the west. The Anomaly, following slightly behind the rather talented female he always seemed to be with. The rest of their "crew" followed; two younger humans the twins had not yet seen. The reason Proteus' insistance that they be here became immediately apparent. Omega gave the young program a look that was both question and approval. The younger program smirked.

"I've been following the unplugged humans closely."

"Stalking them?" Alpha asked drolly. Proteus shrugged then instant became more serious.

"Downstairs," he commanded then made his way towards the escalator. The twins followed, watching the groups of unplugged humans as they causally walked towards one another. By the time the programs had reached the ground floor, the two groups had merged into one, the two elder females holding intense and quiet conversation as they continued to walk.

Alpha arched an eyebrow at his twin. Smooth. Omega smirked agreement. The child program skipped on ahead a bit, shifting his clothing so that he looked like a "normal" human child. The twins trailed behind some hundred feet away; it was fairly obvious that they weren't supposed to be seen. As the humans continued their meeting, Alpha had an idea. He flipped his phone open and dialed his boss. Omega watched him for a moment before a slow grin spread across his face. Alpha finished his quick conversation with the Boss and shut his phone with a pleased smile.

They couldn't cause trouble, but the Feds could. Half the humans in this group had "criminal" records and were considered terrorists. The Agents were forbidden from harassing unplugged humans, but as per the terms of that agreement, the plugged in FBI was quite capable of trying to capture them. Omega chuckled and estimated that in about five minutes a fully armed S.W.A.T team would descend on the mall, acting on an anonymous tip. The day was looking up.

The Neb's crew spotted the Logos' crew down the long length of the mall. Something happened a voice in the back of Trinity's head said once more. Ghost's jaw was clenched just the slightest bit, Niobe was a bit more tense than usual. Trinity had been immediately concerned when Niobe requested a meeting to pass along what they'd learned on the surface. The Nebuchadnezzar could radio Zion, but the Logos wouldn't enter radio range of the city for another day or so. Niobe had explained that the council needed to know what had gone on now. Trinity fell into step beside Niobe and wordlessly asked "What happened?" Niobe took a breath and began to explain.

Neo felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Trinity continued her conversation with Niobe and Neo listened with half an ear; serious things had happened on the surface but Neo was more concerned with the Matrix. His cell rang and Neo answered it before the second ring. Ghost's phone rang a moment later. Behind their dark shades, the captain's eyes slid towards their respective first officers then back at one another. Niobe continues her report in a much faster clip than before, trying to tell Trinity everything she'd learned before whatever shit Sparks was calling about, hit the fan. She felt eyes on her back and paused for just a moment; she thought she saw the program child for a moment before the swirling crowd blocked her view. Ghost and Neo then stepped forward, faces equally grim; it was time to move on.

Wondering if the machines had broken their promise or if they'd broken theirs in some unimaginable way, the group of officers began moving towards the door as Niobe continued to exchange information with Trinity.

"Shit," Merlin swore as Ghost subtly reached for his guns. Niobe looked around. Armed security guards were congregating in their path, hands ready to draw their own weapons.

"Sparks says there is an exit a mile or so down the road. We're the smaller group and would have an easier time getting there than the Neb's crew," Ghost informed his captain. Niobe nodded. Neo added what Link had told him.

"There is a closer hardline in the opposite direction. Link is ready for us there. He said that there is an APB on a group of "terrorists", namely all of us."

"Shit," Trinity echoed Merlin as the security guards began to hone in on their position. As one, the unplugged humans changed direction, heading for another exit, walking briskly to avoid panic and possible injury to themselves and the plugged in people around them. That plan went to hell as the first S.W.A.T. officer arrived on the scene to back up the security guards.

"Go!" Niobe told Trinity. The more junior captain nodded, signaling agreement and wishing her luck in one gesture. The two groups split apart; the Logos' crew heading for the exit nearest the parking garage and the Nebuchadnezzar heading for the furthest mall exit - the one with the least number of police officers.

"Hey! Stop!" If she'd had time, Trinity would have rolled her eyes: one day cops would get more creative with their authoritative lines, but today obviously wasn't that day. Trinity instead spared a glance at Neo who nodded minutely. They broke into a dead sprint down the length of the mall, Spike and Syzygy following close on their heels. They raced between the confused and increasingly frightened patrons as the security guards and S.W.A.T. team gave chase. Spike lagged to the rear and with a swift sweeping kick, took out one of the kiosks before launching himself after his crew. The overturned cart and its contents slowed the officers, giving the Neb's crew a further lead on their pursuers. Syzygy grinned feraly and knocked over yet another kiosk-cart, adding to the confusion.

Neo ran ahead, faster than was humanly possible, and took cover behind a pillar. He'd been armed today as the humans weren't quite sure if stopping bullets in midair was "low key" by the machine's estimation. Neo aimed the Beretta Brigadier and began shooting at one of the large panes of glass by the mall's entrance. The glass spider-webbed then shattered with the first and second shots, creating a large hole. Spike then Syzygy leapt through the glass. Trinity followed the younger officers as another swat truck pulled up. Spike and Syz were too far for the officers to shoot at, but the first few off the truck took shots at Trinity. Trinity dove into a roll, avoiding the spray of bullets. Ending in a crouched position, she tucked her legs then sprang into the air, caught the top edge of the S.W.A.T team's truck and using her momentum, vaulted over the top. The officers looked at one another for a moment before their team leader motioned for them to pile back into the truck and follow the black clad terrorist down the street.

Neo emptied his clip into the lights, sending arcing sparks raining down two floors and people scattering. The S.W.A.T team that had been about to beak in through the ceiling paused to confer with one another: was it now safe to go down? Neo tossed the empty gun aside and turned towards the hole he'd made. An armed security officer trying to play hero ran forward, gun drawn. Neo easily took the gun from him and then sent him flying backwards into a group of fellow guards. Intending to run like hell with no more shooting, Neo holstered his guns before leaping outside.

The One ran past the confused police, darting between the parked cars to avoid any shots direct his way. He smirked to himself when he began to catch up with the S.W.A.T truck. The smirk disappeared quickly as a second truck skidded to a halt at the end of the side walk in front of him, expelling officers onto the street. Neo stopped, looking for another exit. He was precariously close to an outdoor sidewalk café and preferred to spare as many people as possible. He'd been given orders not to fly by Morpheus and the council itself; they didn't know how the machines would react. The truck he'd just passed, stopped with a squeal of brakes behind him, emptying the team before it even came to a halt. Neo was already running down the street though. reaching the end of the side walk, he ran a few steps up the front of a parked motor cycle and executed a forward moving back-flip, firing at the S.W.A.T team. The men hit the ground just as Neo landed and fired at the driver of the truck and two other remaining members of the team. The second team raced forward while Neo was occupied and surrounded him, pinning him between the truck and a semi-circle of semi-automatics.

Neo paused for a moment then shot the officers to either side of him then turned, crossing the gun before him shooting the men on either side again. Neo uncrossed the guns and aimed for the men in the semi circle just ahead of him. He turned and shot the man across from him then crossed the guns again before turning to the side again and taking out the men to his right and left. Neo continued his assault on the team, sometimes shooting them twice to get through the armor. The ring of men fell to the ground around him, leaving The One standing in the middle, untouched. Neo was the only one who had fired a single shot.

There was a moment of utter silence as the terrified pedestrians cowered under the flimsy protection of the cheap plastic tables they'd been eating at. Not a single one of them had been hurt in the conflict, Neo noted. Police, FBI, S.W.A.T, CIA, whatever; this was their job and they'd expected a level of violence when they'd signed on. Shooting pedestrians made Neo sick however. It was another reason he hated the Agents: they drew innocents into the conflict when they took over their bodies.

The sound of sirens in the distance broke the silent spell. A man on the ground gave a particularly loud and rather wet groan. Neo dropped his empty weapons and jumped onto the truck then onto the roof of a passing cab. The car swerved a bit and Neo jumped from there to the top of a semi. The One ran the length of that vehicle before leaping onto the roof of a Fedex truck, speeding in the opposite direction; towards the hardline and away from the sirens.

The café patrons and workers shakily got to their feet, collecting their wits. A few individuals had grabbed their cell phones and were calling for emergency medical teams. A few people were sobbing as the adrenaline rush ebbed, but most were still frozen in silent fear.

"Kurt!" a man turned and saw a friend making his way over, concerned expression on his face. Kurt had been at one of the tables closest to the action and had seen the man in black take out two fully armed S.W.A.T teams without being touched. Kurt turned to his friend.

"I just had the best idea."

The yellow Mustang's tires squealed as Niobe threw the wheel violently to the left. The car zipped past a few pedestrians returning to their car and headed towards the exit of the parking garage.

"Hang on" Niobe called. Ahead of her, the entrance gate was down. A convertible with the top down wasn't the best choice of car for ramming a bar of steel, but the car had been running, the top was down allowing for easy access and they needed to get out of there now. Ghost hadn't been too rough with the driver as he'd hauled the snotty looking rich kid out of the driver's seat.

Niobe pressed the accelerator and the car shot forward. Another driver attempting to exit screeched to a halt as the yellow sports car screamed by. The hood impacted the metal and plastic bar with a loud 'thunk' before the arm broke off and went sailing into the air. The mustang shot forward and down towards the street, scraping its front fender against the asphalt as Niobe cut the wheel sharply to the left. The sound of sirens growing closer accompanied the squeal of breaks from other cars as Niobe shot across an intersection, in the wrong lane. Smoothly transferring over to the proper lane, Niobe lifted her chin slightly, catching Ghost's attention.

"Where are we headed?" she asked, eyes never leaving the road.

"Walsh and Fairbanks. Payphone by a drugstore in the 7000 block." Ghost managed to catch the number on a sign that went zipping past as Niobe dove the car at twice the speed limit. "We're in the 1000 now."

"We have company," Merlin spoke up just as the steady 'thwoping' sound of the chopper's blades reached their ears.

"Why can't anything we do be easy," Niobe growled as she decelerated just enough to turn left down a side street. She cut the wheel to the right again, going the wrong way down a one way street. The convertible swerved violently as the oncoming car barely got out of her way, then accelerated up a hill and caught air as it crested. Niobe's face was stone as the car landed on the pavement with only the slightest fishtail. She directed the car onto a more main street to once again avoid the chopper. Of course just then a police car pulled onto the road behind her, light flashing, siren blaring.

Merlin turned in his seat, took aim and began trying to shoot the tires of the police car. The cops inside freaked out and the passenger side officer pulled his gun out in response to Merlin's fire. Unfortunately for the officer, Merlin scored two direct hits to the front left tire. The force of the bullet ripped the heavy plastic, causing the entire thing to suddenly and violently burst. The rim hit the pavement in a flash of ochre spark then the wheel gave out as the force from the car's momentum twisted the rapidly heating metal. With a screech, the car lurched to one side and the front end dug into the ground with further noise. Merlin turned in his seat and reloaded his weapon, nodding acknowledgement to Ghost's nod of approval.

"Almost there," Niobe muttered as the 5000 block roared past. Niobe slowed as the phone booth drew closer; they could see the intersection in the distance. This was, of course, when the chopper reappeared.

"Fuck you Murphy," Merlin growled as he took cover. An officer was shooting at them from above while the pilot flew precariously low.

"Cover me!" Ghost ordered. Merlin shot towards the chopper and, predictably, the shooter ducked inside, allowing Ghost a clean shot. Ghost lined his sights up and fired at the gas tank. Muddy red gas poured from the wound in the helicopter's side. Four more shots added to the damage and accelerated the fuel loss. The shooter tried to get another shot off, but Merlin nearly took the gun out of his hand. Ghost wished he had something heavier, like an M136 AT4, or a P90 or even 500 Smith and Wesson Magnum, but he made do with his 92FS Beretta. Ghost aimed for the now limping Helicopers rotors and squeezed off a few shots. The first two hit with no appreciable damage, but the third hit something vital, causing the blades to further falter in their rotation. Niobe sped away as the machine crashed into the ground a block away from the phone, already ringing.

The mustang spun as Niobe brought it to an abrupt halt. Ghost and Merlin were out before the vehicle had completed its half turn, tires leaving great black streaks on the grey pavement. Niobe was close behind. Ghost picked up the receiver and handed it to his captain. Niobe vanished in a mind-twisting stream of dissolving code. A moment later the phone rang again and Ghost had Merlin exit before he himself left mere moments later.

Captain Chris Jackson scratched his head as his officers searched the car and surrounding area. The terrorists had proven to be as dangerous as they'd been reported to be. But perhaps more disturbing was this seemingly flawless disappearing act. As he walked across the area observing the frustrated FBI, the low, droning sound of a dial tone reached his ears. Catching the eye of the lead Fed, he jerked his thumb at the offending phone.

"Can I hang this up?" he asked. If it wasn't important evidence, there was no reason for it to be hanging off the hook. The agent conferred with his partner, a pretty red head who rolled her eyes, and then nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead." Jackson nodded and hung up the phone before striding off to see how the search was going down in the alleyway off to the side.