The two men walked down the hallway, Seraph a few paces ahead of Fenshire. Neither spoke as they walked. Fenshire had too much to think about; too many thoughts he was trying to collect in his head.
The past four months seemed hazy, as if it were a dream and he had just woken up. Bits and pieces began to fade away... people, names, operations... Fenshire furrowed his brow trying to remember them all. He could remember coming to... where? Tabor Park? No... somewhere else... he could remember trees, and a fight... there were trees in Tabor, it had to be it. That's where he was last... in the Machine building...
The Machine captain stumbled forward, putting out a hand to catch himself against one of the pristine, white walls of the hallway. Ahead, Seraph stopped and turned.
"It is not much farther. Will you be able to make it?"Fenshire looked up at the exile, confused.
"Seraph...? What... where am I...? What happened to you...? Your eyes..."Seraph stepped forward, placing a hand on Fenshire's shoulder.
"I am sure you have many questions. We are heading to the Oracle. There, you will find answers. Come."Fenshire nodded slowly, looking around him.
"Yeah... I can walk... I'm fine..."His head was pounding as he continued to follow the exile. He realized that he felt like he was thrown in traffic and hit by about a dozen busses. What the hell was going on?
After a few more meters, Seraph stopped at a green door, completely indistinguishable from all the others. Reaching into the sleeve of his dirty jacket, he pulled out a keyring. He selected a key, then slid it into the door's lock and opened the door. Inside, Fenshire could see what appeared to be an apartment living room. Seraph bowed to the captain.
"The Oracle is inside. May you find your answers."Fenshire rubbed the back of his head, and nodded to Seraph.
"Thanks..."As Fenshire stepped into the living room, the door closed behind him. He turned around, noticing that the door was now just a regular apartment door, the paint cracked and peeling from it. Fenshire turned back to face the living room, looking around in confusion. Inside was an old television set, some toys scattered about, and a ratty sofa. On the other side of the room was an entrance to what appeared to be a kitchen, beads draped across the opening. Even though it looked old, the room felt comfortable. And it smelled fantastic... It didn't smell like freshly baked cookies, like he expected, but like something else... something familiar.
"Ah, Fenshire!" He heard the Oracle's voice from the kitchen.
"Come on in and make yourself comfortable. You're right on time."Fenshire stepped through the beaded curtain into the kitchen, looking around in awe. The Oracle stood at the stove, her back to him. She waved a hand to a small table, just by the entrance to the kitchen.
"Go and have yourself a seat. Dinner's just finishing up right now."He sat, and gave an involuntary sigh. It felt really good to sit down, for some reason.
"Oracle... why am--""You can ask your questions later, after you've finished your supper," the old woman said, turning around. In her hands was a porcelin bowl which she sat down on the table in front of Fenshire.
Fenshire smiled and breathed in the vapors coming from the bowl. Inside was homemade soup with pieces of chopped chicken and vegetables. It smelled delicious. He looked up to the Oracle and grinned.
"Soup? I always thought you gave out cookies."The Oracle chuckled and sat down at the table opposite him, lighting a cigarette.
"You kids and your cookies."She smiled at him, warmly... sympathetically.
"There are times when people need a cookie... and times when people need a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup."Fenshire looked down at the bowl, and picked up a spoon. He took a taste of the soup and looked up at the Oracle, smiling.
"This is delicious...""Oh, you're just flattering me," the Oracle said.
"It's an old recipe and I'm sure I left a few things out. You just eat."Fenshire began eating the soup, eagerly at first. Soon, he became lost in thought, forgetting that the Oracle sat just a few feet away from him. He tried to piece together what had happened to him...
He had been laying on a table, with cables connected to him. He was oddly reminded of when he had first been awakened... wait... that's right. He had met with the Agents an hour or so prior... wanting to be... reinserted...
How could that be...? He'd never wish for reinsertion. He enjoyed his freedom. He had command of his ship, he was making great advancements in the maintaining of the Truce, he was surrounded by great people... he had
her. RedBindi. Absently eating a spoonful of soup, and smiled when he thought about her. She was every bit as beautiful now as the day he met her...
He had walked out of Camon Central, called by Farplane. And there she was... it hit him like a ton of bricks. She walked by and smiled at him as she got to the hardline, jacking out. It was the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen... and there was something about her, almost as if they were connected. Farplane had laughed at his reaction, snapping his fingers in front of Fenshire's face.
"Heh, don't even think about it, Fen. That's our newest recruit."It wasn't long after that the two got to know each other. They immediately had hit off a wonderful friendship, one that was built on watching each others' backs. For Fenshire, it had always been more than a friendship. He knew that she was something much, much more from the very first day he met her. Eventually, they grew closer to each other... the day they first kissed, in the rain in Chelsea, laughing at the Unlimits who would pop up at the absolutely worst times...
Why would he ever want... reinsertion...?
A tear slid down Fenshire's cheek as he stared into the nearly empty bowl.
She had left him... no... he had abandoned her. He had been afraid that he was replacing a void that had been left in his heart... he was afraid that he was replacing Thera with RedBindi... so, he let himself drift farther away from her, trying to figure out where his feelings really where.
She left the Devildog... no one understood why he was so hurt by that, because after all, he had abandoned her. To make matters worse, when she left, she went to the arms of another man... Gruk...
The thought was unbearable. The pain was unbearable. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hand into a fist, bending the handle of the metal spoon. How could he have been so stupid...? How could he have let her go...? And now... now he understood. He understood why he had wanted reinsertion...
...but why was he here...?
He felt a gentle hand on his fist, and he opened his eyes, looking up at the Oracle. He had almost forgotten that she was there. She looked at him and sighed.
"I wish I had something I could say to take away all you're feeling right now, kiddo."Fenshire, embarrassed, wiped his eyes.
"What am I supposed to do now?"The Oracle leaned back, taking a long drag on her cigarette.
"Oh, now.. I can't tell you what you're supposed to do. These are your own choices, Fenshire. It's up to you to make them, and to understand them." She took another sigh and looked... almost sad.
"And I wish I could tell you that the choices you'll be making about this girl will be the hardest ones you'll have to make... but the reality is that there are some real doozies you're going to have to face in the coming weeks. And that's what you're here to ask me about.""I am...?"She looked at him, an eyebrow raised and a knowing smile on her face.
"Aren't you?"Fenshire thought for a few moments, before looking back at the Oracle.
"The Machines... they... didn't reinsert me..."The Oracle merely smiled, taking another drag on her cigarette.
"But why... if I'm here, then something else happened... I wasn't re-awakened, because then I'd remember being pulled out of the sewers, remember taking the choice... something else happened... If I wasn't reinserted... then... they lied to me...""You're going to ask me what happened and why," the Oracle said.
"But you don't need me to answer those. Both are answers you can find on your own."Fenshire looked at her, a hint of frustration showing in his expression.
"Then why am I here? To have soup? To remember why I tried to shut out these shitty memories? To remember how badly I failed her..."The Oracle smiled.
"You talk like it's all over.""What do you mean by that...?"The Oracle exhaled a cloud of smoke and put out her cigarette in an ashtray. She then got up, taking Fenshire's bowl and bent spoon to the sink.
"You've got a big heart, kiddo. And usually, you're pretty good at listening to it when it has something to say. That's a very rare quality, believe it or not. Where most do what logic and experience tell them to do, you follow what your heart tells you to do."Fenshire said nothing, sitting in the chair watching her.
"You sit on a fence, Fenshire. Oh, not literally. But figuratively, you sit on a fence. What you came to ask me is which side of the yard you should fall on, should anything ever happen to that fence."Fenshire looked up at her, almost jumping from his chair.
"You're talking about Zion and the Machines... is something going to happen to the Truce...?"She turned and smiled at him.
"I see you're not as worthless as you're thinking yourself to be. One little comment, and you're ready to jump out into the world and protect something very dear to you." She turned back to her dishes and sighed.
"All I can tell you Fenshire, is that you made up your mind about this a long, long time ago. You're going to fall on whatever side your heart is on."Fenshire looked down, as the Oracle turned away from her dishes. She walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and tilting his chin up with the other hand.
"You keep that head of yours held high, kiddo. As long as there's love in that heart of yours, there'll always be a chance for just about anything. You listen to that heart... it'll never steer you wrong. Love will always find a way. That applies to just about every situation in our lives."She smiled and moved her hand out of sight. When she brought it back, she was holding a warm, chocolate chip cookie.
"Here's your cookie."Fenshire reached up, taking it out of her hand. He smiled.
"Thanks... I guess that's my cue to leave, huh?""Well, unless you want to stick around and help me clean up this old place."He chuckled and took a bite out of the cookie.
"Nah... I think I'll head out."The Oracle walked with Fenshire to the front door of the apartment.
"That door will take you back to where you started. And Fenshire..."He had his hand on the knob, and turned back to her.
"You listen to that heart of yours, no matter what, and everything will turn out just fine. Just you wait and see."*****
Fenshire stepped out of the apartment and was in Terrace Del Sol. The sun was shining though the red and gold leaves of the trees in the area, and there were no longer any signs that any scuffle had taken place there earlier.
He looked around, slightly confused.
"My spot... why am I here...?"From the corner of his sight, towards the McClane Tower, he thought he saw movement. Using his training as an operative, he reacted quickly and dropped to a crouch. If what he thought had happened to him at the hands of the Machines really happened, they may have sent other Machine operatives to get him... or worse... they could've sent Agents. Moving his gaze in the direction of the movement, he thought he saw the briefest flash of red hair...
"Was that...?""Hey pal, you alright?"Fenshire shot up and turned in the direction of the voice. It seemed to be an older man sitting on one of the benches, holding a bag of bread crumbs that he had been using to feed a small group of pigeons.
Fenshire chuckled, trying his best to be nonchalant.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm good I just thought--"Suddenly, the man sitting on the bench twisted in agony, dropping the bag of bread crumbs. Oddly enough, the pigeons weren't startled... they continued to nip away at the crumbs scattered across the ground. In the place where the older man had been, a man in a well-tailored black business suit wearing black glasses and an earpiece was getting to his feet from the bench.
"Mr. Wright. We would ask that you--"Crack! The echo of a high-powered rifle rang out in the still air around them, followed by the sounds of people screaming. The Agent fell back, a well-placed bullet hole gracing his forehead. As he hit the ground, the body twisted again, reshaping itself into the image of the older man who had been sitting there feeding the pigeons.
Fenshire backed away, glancing again in the direction he thought he saw the red hair moments before.
Nothing... he thought.
I'd better go before more show up.Turning, Fenshire leapt into the sky in the direction of the Sai Kung Southwest hardline...
*****
When Fenshire opened his eyes in the Real, he quickly removed the jack from his skull and sat back up. Immediately, he caught the sight of long, reddish hair and was knocked back down, having just been embraced.
"Fen!! You're okay!!"He was confused, but he didn't think to question what was happening.
"Bindi... Bindi!!" He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry..."The body in his arms went limp, and then pulled back away from him.
"Fen..." The woman looked at him, sadly.
"It's Misfit..."He looked up, rubbing his eyes.
"Misfit... oh... sorry, I thought you were..."She sat back, looking at him.
"Are you okay...?"He looked around, then back at her.
"Yeah... I'm okay..." Realization suddenly hit him.
"Misfit... was that you...? That shot the Agent...? I saw red hair and thought..."Misfit stood up, crossing her arms and looking down.
"You thought it was her. Well, no. It wasn't me. I didn't get a good look at who was firing on the Agent... I was worried about you..."Fenshire nodded sadly, getting to his feet. He looked around the operations deck.
"Where's Hauk?"Misfit looked back up at Fenshire, worried.
"You... don't remember...? You kicked him off..."Fenshire's gaze snapped back at Misfit.
"I did WHAT?!""You thought he was a security risk, so you had him removed..." She moved over to Fenshire, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"Fen... if you don't remember that... please tell me that you remember..."Fenshire cut her off, raising a hand his mouth.
"Oh God... Misfit..." He turned to her, putting both hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. Misfit smiled, hoping against hope that he still remembered...
"Did I hurt Bindi...?"Misfit's face dropped.
"...what?" she asked quietly.
"Bindi..." he looked at her worriedly.
"If I kicked Hauk off my ship... oh God... please don't tell me I hurt her..."Misft backed away from him, quickly turning away.
Fenshire turned and rushed over to the operator's chair, looking at the screens of code.
"I need to talk to her..."Misfit started walking away.
"I... I guess I should go then..."Fenshire waved at her distractedly, staring at the screens.
"Yeah, yeah... thanks. See ya.""I'll... be on the Electronica... if you need me..." she began to sob.
"Alright, cool. Look... if you happen to talk to Bindi before I do... please tell her to contact me. I'm going to keep looking for her here in the code."Misfit ran out of the operations deck, heading to Fenshire's quarters to grab her dufflebag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she moved to the exit ramp and walked out. As she got to the bottom of the ramp, she fell down to her knees, crying softly into her hands.
"Asshole..."
