Chapter Text
"Hello, dear. Please take a sit, I've just baked cookies"
Cold neon light illuminated the small apartment's kitchen, a sweet sugary smell tickled your nostrils as a hot blanket of heat enveloped you and the first thing to pop in your mind was that it was a very mundane place for a very looking mundane woman.
This is the Oracle!?
"Yes, dear" and you had the strange impression she was actually answering your thoughts "well, that's because I am. I already know what you're thinking, what you would say"
And she beamed as you stopped midway in pulling out the chair.
"Oh, please... we both know you'd better sit down. You're too anxious. And don't look at me like that, I'm called the Oracle for a reason after all"
So you decided to sit all the way down because, well, because she was right, wasn't she? Anxiety is my second name...
"I-I don't really know why I'm here, ma'am. Kali said I should talk to you but-"
"Everyone comes to me eventually but don't worry, you're not the first to think yourself not special"
"I'm not! I'm not special..."
"And yet someone thought it was best to bring you here" she paused to take a hit from her cigarette, then "I 'heard' you had a strange encounter with an Agent"
You huffed, you wouldn't call that encounter strange at all "It wasn't strange actually, but rather normal. I mean... They are programs so I suppose common sense and politeness when dealing with people is literally written into their coding"
The Oracle was now looking at you with an amazed expression.
She put her cigarette aside and pushed the plate resting on the center of the table towards you.
"Take a biscuit, they're good" and she waited 'till you picked one before resuming her talk "You're young, dear and you've just woken up but I can assure you, if you ask any of your companions, no one will tell you that was a normal encounter: Agents shoot first. Always. They don't ask if you're alright"
She was waiting for an answer and when none came she looked even more entertained by the display you were putting on with your frowned and confused expression.
"But of course, dear, if you say that's perfectly normal, who am I to disagree?"
"it's not that I-"
"But you have doubts. Of course, it's understandable. After all, you 'died' because one of them decided it was better to reload everything and be done with it and then you came back with only mere force of will. Isn't that a day to day occurrence for any single normal human being present in the Matrix?"
You predictably chocked on utterance of the word 'died' but the Oracle was already handing you a glass of water.
"Deep breaths, dear. Deep breaths" she said as you coughed.
It took you a full solid minute before you were able to breath and think properly, eventually you managed a feeble: "It was terrible... All those tubes"
"Uuuhm... See?" she said smiling "that's exactly what I mean when I say 'special': you died but you did not. You should have died, dear. Can't you see?"
A white truck just passed by and now the street was clear for you to cross. Still, you looked left and right just to be sure.
No car in sight you resumed your walk just as three blurry figures on the other side of the road in front of you rushed on the sidewalk.
They were to fast for your eyes to catch all of the details but one of them was clearly putting some distance from the other two, jumping on a near dumpster for leverage to reach the upper window of a building.
That was the moment you heard a screeching sound on your right.
Brakes, your mind supplied even before turning your head, just in time to see the same white truck swerving your way.
Then everything went black.
You snapped out of your flashback with a sharp intake of breath, though the Oracle seemed not bothered by your zoning out, she was, in fact, patiently waiting for you to say something. Or maybe ask...?
"How..." her encouraging expression pushing you to keep going "can this be? How is that even possible? I mean... now I know about the Matrix and everything but, no one could tell me why or how that could happen"
"A bug. An error"
"Sorry, what?"
"Like refreshing a page on your computer. But something went wrong and the system kicked you out"
You blinked, then blinked again and opened your mouth to- well, you were not sure to say or ask what, so you just stared gaping like fish out of water. It seemed too absurd and who the hell refreshed what?
"Agents do that to change things, usually things they do not like" she answered your thoughts once again, winking. Then she stood, put her glasses on and crossed to your side of the table before taking your hands in hers.
"A quick reload and... BAM! You were kicked out of the Matrix. Rare. A very rare occurrence, I'll give you that, unique we can say. Look child, I know what you're thinking but-"
"I'm not like them" you interrupted her. You were mortified but nonetheless you kept going "I'm unfit to be an active member of the resistance. Kali said it's not true, that we have to exploit all of my potential and help The One an-and Zion but I... I don't..."
"Dear" kind eyes were looking into yours for something only the Oracle knew, but she must have found that something because, eventually, she continued after a pregnant pause "your insecurity is testament to what you'll become. I want you to think about what happened and find the answer to the question 'how did it happen?', not why... you're clearly not ready to hear the answer from me"
And it didn't really make sense to you, but you nodded anyway.