Well hello all!

It's been a while since I've published anything, or even worked on anything. However, after watch Tron Legacy MULTIPLE times, I started writing... and haven't stopped. Here is chapter 1 of what will probably turn out to be a novel length story. Updates will hopefully happen every week, but I can't promise anything. It's getting much longer than I originally anticipated, and chapters are about 10-15 pages at the moment. Here's to everything being on time! And before this is asked, this is not a slash pairing story of Tron and Sam. So for those of you that are concerned, you needn't be, and for those of you who were excited, I'm sorry. ANYHOW...

Enjoy!

TRON: Regenesis

Chapter 1: Rescue

"GET BACK HERE!"

Pixie ignored the infuriated roar, her feet pounding the sleek street so hard she was surprised that it wasn't cracking. Four other figures ran alongside her, all sprinting away from the owner of the voice. A pack bounced on the back of the head runner, and Pixie reminded herself that they needed it. It still didn't make the knots in her stomach go away.

"Pixel, will you keep up!" snapped the program just ahead of her, glaring. Pixie scowled, and picked up her speed. Getting separated out here would probably result in deresolution, and that was not something she was particularly eager to experience. Hell, the guy they'd stolen from had probably called some of the new 'security'. They'd have to get on something faster than feet pretty quick if they were going to make a clean getaway.

As if answering her thoughts, she was handed baton. Almost without thinking, she pulled it, and suddenly she was free. Truly free. She wasn't Pixel, newbie program on a devastated Grid. Nor was she an outlaw of the TRON City. She, Pixie, was a rapidly fading smudge of black into a black wasteland. Hidden and speeding to safety.

Their travel was uneventful, as the Grid had all but been reset since the Sacrifice of the Creator. Nobody came out here, not unless they were desperate or stupid. Which, Pixie reflected, they probably were. Bugs were a common problem, and there were whispers of something even more dangerous out here. Her friends wouldn't tell her, but she'd heard what the programs in the city had said: that the ghost of Clu haunted the wastelands. Pixie personally thought it was all a load of dismembered code, she didn't believe in ghosts, and besides that, there was no place for a ghost to haunt. The wastelands were flat for miles. However, at the moment, the horizon was starting to change, as something glimmered ahead of the black. Pixie felt her whole body relax a little; they were almost home.

The Sea steadily grew until it was no longer a shimmery line, but rather what it really was, a sea. One by one, all the riders cut power to their light cycles, letting them collapse back into the baton form. Pixie slid it into its holster and joined her friends.

"Is everyone alright?" asked the lead program, revealing a scarred and hardened face. Rex, Pixie thought, naming him automatically.

"That was cutting it really close," said the program who'd snapped at Pixie back in the city. Sync.

"What did you expect? Times aren't exactly easy," said a soft female voice, "Everyone is still facing the challenges from the Sacrifice." Tera, Rex's partner. Rex, Sync, and Codee all nodded in agreement as they started walking towards their camp out. All of them from different backgrounds, with different purposes, and now all hiding together for protection. It wasn't the life Pixie had expected when she first was created, but it was the only one she had now. The Grid was much less forgiving than it had been, even in the days of Clu.

"You'd think it'd be getting better now, though," said Pixie finally, stepping into the conversation. "It's been cycles since the Sacrifice." Everyone paused whatever they were doing and looked at her, even mute Codee. She suddenly felt very small reminded of the fact that out of all of them, she was the only one who hadn't been in existence before the Sacrifice. Sync looked even more annoyed than usual, turning to glare at her.

"Says the little program. Why hasn't naivety killed you yet, Pixel?" he snapped. Pixie opened her mouth to reply, but Rex stepped in, narrowing his eyes at both of them.

"Sync, shut your mouth. Pixie, we've been over the Sacrifice time and again. It's not going to fix itself in a couple of cycles. Now, both of you get to camp before something else happens." Rex let the 'else' hang in the air as he walked away. Sync scowled first at Rex's back, then at Pixie before following their leader. Pixie stayed where she was, still feeling horribly embarrassed by the whole situation. Of course the Grid wouldn't be fixed immediately, that was what the Users were for... But she'd hoped that things would get better after all this time. Maybe they'd abandoned them all over again...

Something brushed her shoulder, and she jumped; it was Codee, looking at her sympathetically. He gave her a small smile and shrug, patting her arm. She smiled back, taking his hand.

"Thanks, Codee," she said, knowing what he meant. His smile widened, and he pulled her along to where the others were. Pixie kept her smile, but she still felt the small ping of sadness when she always did when seeing Codee. He'd been mute for as long as she'd known him, but according to Tera, he hadn't always. It had been an accident not long before the Sacrifice that he'd lost his speaking abilities. She still didn't know how, and nobody was willing to tell her, although Rex always got furious whenever the topic was brought up (which was almost never), and Tera would always look sad, often going off to think about something for micro-cycles. Pixie had learned very quickly never to talk about it. It didn't seem to bother Codee, which was good; he was just as hard working and wily as the rest of them.

As they descended into their small home, the other three had already had gone about their usual duties: Rex sorted out what they'd 'borrowed', Tera organized anything she could get her hands on, and Sync was on sentry duty. Codee joined Tera while Pixie set about doing her job: pulling up the disguises. They were situated on a small cave of sorts, overlooking the Sea, but every once in a while a Recognizer would fly by. After one scare, Pixie's talent of creating illusions became highly useful, even though they needed to be reapplied every few cycles.

"How you feeling, Pixie?" said Rex, stuffing the transport packs into a small cavity. Pixie shrugged, focussing on creating the overhang. The illusions could sometimes take a lot out of her, but at the moment it wasn't any worse than any she'd experienced before.

"Fine, same as usual," she said finally, standing up as she finished. Rex nodded absently, then called over the others from their positions. They all gathered around in a circle, all eagerly waiting for what was coming next.

"It's been a hard day," began Rex, pulling out two thermoses and five mugs, "And we've worked hard. So, I propose a drink." He handed out the mugs and opened the first thermos. Something light and blue glowed within before splashing into Tera's mug. "Here's to us. We deserve this."

The Energy was passed around, and with every swallow, Pixie felt her strength return. Everyone else was the same way, from Rex actually smiling, to Sync not looking like he was on the verge of killing someone.

"We did good today," said Tera, setting her now empty glass down. "And this was well deserved." This time she looked up at Rex, her face seeming to glow with something more than just reflection of her suit circuitry. Her partner ran his finger tips over her cheek, actually looking gentle. Pixie admired their relationship, their spark of happiness in such a very unhappy time.

Sync coughed.

Rex and Tera broke off the moment, each immediately falling back into their typical selves. Tera began collecting the now empty mugs, stacking them for later use. Rex observed, then turned his gaze on Sync.

"You'll take first watch. Pixie, you'll go after, and I'll take the last one," he growled.

"Aw, come on‒"

"No arguments Sync." Rex straightened, turning his attention to all the programs, "If you have anything that needs repairs, hand it over to me. If you don't, get some rest. Except you, Sync." Sync scowled, but didn't argue again; despite his prickly attitude, he knew when to shut up and do his job. He stood up and left the confines of the make shift cave, making his way to the small outcrop hanging over the Sea. Pixie liked the place personally; there was a great view of the sea, and looking the other way, one could see anything coming long before hearing it.

Codee nudged her, pointing to their hibernation pads with his usual easy grin. Pixie shared it, actually looking forward to some real down time; Energy was great, but combining it with real rest always brought out the best in all of them. She unfolded her own, making sure it was in the correct position before lying down; an identity disc in the wrong place meant stiffness when coming out of hibernation.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" she asked, staring up at the roof of their 'cave'.

"Sync and I are heading back to the city; we need to do a good news scope. You're welcome to come along, but stay on the low. We don't need any unneeded attention," Rex replied, bent over someone's katana, his face alight from the glow of exposed data.

Pixie closed her eyes, already feeling her body slowing down. "Maybe..." Before she could say anything else, she was in hibernation.

Dreams were primarily a User attribute, but it wasn't unheard of for programs to have them, and Pixie was no stranger to dreams. Tera thought it was because she was an image manipulation program, but personally Pixie didn't care. She loved dreaming. The dreams were always happy, a perfect Grid where everyone could do what they were purposed for and not face deresolution or going to the games for no reason. She could go where she wanted, do what she wanted... Rex and Tera could live in happiness, Sync wasn't so angry all the time, and Codee could talk again. And their saviour, he was there to welcome them‒

"Hey!"

Pixie jerked awake, unsure if she'd actually heard Sync or not.

"There's something down by the shore!" This time she knew she hadn't misheard, and she sat up in an instant, her body suddenly feeling very cold. Rex and Tera were already on their feet, discs in hand.

"Where?" called Rex. Before anyone could say anything else, Sync reappeared, actually looking worried.

"Not that far from us, almost directly below... I think it's a program," he said uneasily, "Look, you have to come look, I think something's wrong." The air grew thick with tension, everyone looking at Sync, and Sync looking at Rex.

"Lead the way," said Rex finally, he and Tera making their way to follow the younger program. Pixie and Codee made to stand up and help as well, but Tera held out her hand.

"Stay here, just in case," she told them, looking more like a warrior than the usual matronly figure she was. Pixie opened her mouth to protest, but Tera just gave her a warning look, then relaxed a little. "If you two could clear off one of the spare hibernation mats, that would be wonderful. Whoever this is, they're probably not in the greatest shape." With that, she ran after the other two, all three of them quickly disappearing from site.

Pixie stared into empty space for a moment, completely confused, then looked at Codee.

"Who could possibly be out here?" she asked aloud before she caught the look of cold apprehension on his face. "Are you alright?" Codee shrugged his shoulders rather violently, suddenly very agitated. He held up his hand, fingers outstretched, then pointed out to the Sea, closing three of his fingers. The two left he jerked up, towards the sky. He paused for a few seconds before hesitantly lifting the first three once more. One he put down slowly, looking exceptionally sad. One he put down more quickly, this time looking very angry. The last he put down the fastest, and a flash of absolute fear and rage crossed his face so quick that, had she blinked, Pixie would have missed it. He then pointed to the Sea, and look of wonder crossed into his gaze. Pixie followed his finger to where it pointed, supposedly the place where the Portal had been, the gateway between here and the User world. However, she now knew what Codee was trying to communicate: the Sacrifice and its key players. The two that had escaped, the User Sam Flynn and the ISO Quorra. The three that had fallen, the Creator Kevin Flynn, the oppressor Clu, and the mass murderer Rinzler.

"But they were all destroyed, weren't they? The Creator destroyed both of them?" she asked finally, looking back at Codee. He shrugged again, but he looked far from happy. Pixie reached out to take his hand‒

"Get the mat ready!" exclaimed Tera, all three of them suddenly reappearing from where they had gone only moments before. Her tone made Pixie snap her head around to see what had happened, immediately thinking that Sync or Rex had been seriously injured, but everyone was in one piece.

At least, Tera, Rex, and Sync were. The program Sync and Rex were supporting looked dangerously close to derezzing.

"What are you waiting for? Get the damn mat!"

It jumpstarted Pixie and Codee. She immediately shoved the other mats out of the way, only leaving one out in the center, Codee clearing away anything in the way of the others.

"Watch his head," growled Rex, ducking low as he entered the cave, his face even more strained than normal. Pixie had never seen her friends look so serious, even when they talked about the Sacrifice. But as she caught a look at the program as they laid him down, she understood. Whoever he was, he really was just moments from derezzing, his circuitry flickering weakly.

"What happened?" asked Pixie, staring at him. Tera didn't answer right away, instead tossing Rex the full thermos of Energy.

"We don't know," she said finally, watching as Rex and Sync tried to save the program. Rex dribbled Energy into his mouth while Sync made sure his disc was properly connected to the mat. Nothing changed for what seemed too long, but the program's circuitry flickered more intensely than it had before. Still, his eyes remained shut.

"Come on, you piece of scrap code‒"

The program sat bolt upright, sending Rex sprawling. He stared ahead blindly for a moment as his chest heaved, circuitry flashing dangerously bright.

Tera took a step forward tentatively, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Excuse me‒"

He moved faster than any of them had time to comprehend, throwing Tera flat on her back and holding his disc to her throat. Rex and Sync had their discs out almost as fast, and Pixie fumbled for her own; she hadn't been expecting this program to restart so aggressively. Rex made to throw his disc, but Tera held up her hand, her eyes still fixed with the program seemingly intent on killing her.

"Wait! Don't," she said, her eyes flicking to Rex for the just the barest second, "Don't... We're not trying to hurt you, we found you down by the Sea." The program froze at her words, his body starting to tremble. His eyes left hers for the first time, and he looked around. When his gaze passed over her, Pixie felt herself shrink back involuntarily; whoever this program was, he was nothing like anything she'd seen before. For several moments, she didn't know whether to be terrified or sorry for him.

After his visual sweep, he looked back down at the still pinned Tera. "Where am I?" he rasped.

"You're safe, I promise you‒" Tera was cut off as the program pressed his disc harder against her throat.

"Where. Am. I?" he repeated. His circuitry dulled, and for a moment, seemed to change colour.

"You're in a cave just off the Sea of Simulation. My friends and I found, down by the shoreline. We have no intention of harming you, I swear on the Creator," Tera explained quickly, actually looking worried now. The program faltered, then sat down heavily to the side, shaking visibly. Tera sat up tentatively. "You were extremely close to derezzing, and we weren't willing to let that happen."

"Although maybe we should now, you ungrateful‒"

"Sync!"

The program didn't acknowledge their words, his head bent over his knees. "I deserve to be derezzed." Pixie looked at him sharply, wondering if she'd heard correct or not. Deresolution wasn't something to be taken lightly, and if this program had indeed said he needed to be derezzed, than she could only wonder what he'd done before this. However, as she continued to study him, she felt pity take over fear; he looked some completely lost and miserable, it was hard not to.

"What's your name?" snapped Rex, now holding out his disc threateningly. The program didn't respond right away, still looking at the ground. "Program! Your name..." The program looked up, suddenly looking more than a little scared. He was silent for a moment, then‒

"Nort. My name is Nort," he said, "I‒I was designated a security program." Rex relaxed a little, lowering his disc.

"Good to know. I'm Rex, this is my partner Tera. What were you doing in the Sea of all places?" Rex certainly wasn't someone to mince words.

Nort started to look scared again, breaking eye contact with Rex. "I don't remember... It's been so long." He looked back out at the Sea, back to everyone. Tera approached him, but this time kept well out of reach.

"Listen, Nort, you should really get some rest. You won't fully recover for a while as it is, and..." she trailed off, not knowing how to address what had caused his situation in the first place. Nort nodded slowly, still looking at the Sea.

"And I've been through a lot." He tried to stand up, but promptly fell back down, starting to shake again. He didn't move, save for the shaking. His circuitry flickered ominously, and now Pixie knew she wasn't imagining things when she thought she'd seen it change colour; there was a distinct red hue to it.

"... The Users, for the Users..." he hissed under his breath, "Fight for the Users..." Everyone stared at him, and apprehensive curiosity picked at Pixie. Who was this program? Who fought for the Users, especially these days?

Tera made to go help him, but he thrust his hand out. "Don't touch me! Please‒don't touch me." He managed to pull himself into sitting position. "Just give me a mat, I'll be fine." Rex and Tera exchanged a look while Sync rolled his eyes.

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure. It's all I'll need," he assured, trying to look like he was fine. Pixie could see he wasn't, his fingers still trembling slightly. Still, when he was handed a mat, he set up in a very well mannered way, making sure it faced the Sea. Everyone waited till he had lain back down and was in hibernation before talking again.

"We should just derezz him," Sync said immediately, glaring death at the now sleeping program. Codee gave a tentative nod, also eyeing Nort with something reminiscent of the look he'd had when explaining the history of the Sea to Pixie earlier. She looked at her friend, surprised, but he didn't look back.

Rex sighed, looking torn, "I know what you're thinking, but we can't do that. He could be useful."

"And whether we like it or not, we could use another program to help. We've been struggling far too long," added Tera, taking a gentler tone. At this, everyone became quiet. Pixie remembered who they were talking about, and knew Tera was telling the truth; although they were managing okay on their own, ideal Grid work meant going in pairs, and they were one short at the moment. This Nort program could be just who they were looking for.

"We should at least give him a chance," said Pixie, surprising the others as she spoke up. "I mean, he's probably looking for help as much as we are. Why can't we both benefit?" Rex gave her his odd smile, as if her words solved the problem.

"Good point, and well put. You're learning, Pixie," he said approvingly. "Alright, for the time being, be nice to Nort and try and accept him despite his... differences. If he meshes well, I don't see why he can't stay."

"And if he doesn't?" asked Sync.

"Then he's out on his own." He looked up at the sky; for once, it looked clear. "Now, let's all get some rest. Pixie, you're on watch now. Sync, grab a mat." Pixie sighed inwardly, but she wasn't in the mood to protest, nor would she win the argument. She knew it was her turn, and whining about it would get her nowhere. She started to walk towards the look out, keeping well away from Nort, but Rex grabbed her arm.

"If he starts acting up again, don't hesitate to either get one of us or derezz him yourself. He's not stable," he whispered, studying Nort with deep seated suspicion.

"But, you said‒"

"We're giving him a chance, Pixie. That doesn't mean he's immune to our decisions. He screws up, he's gone." He looked at her, trying to make her understand.

She didn't like it. She knew why Rex had said it, but she didn't agree with it. Judging by Rex's look of sympathy, he knew she didn't like his orders. He didn't say anymore, just clapped her on the shoulder as he headed to the cave. At long last, the wasteland fell silent, save the whisper of the Sea lapping at the shore below. Blowing out a deep breath, Pixie made her way to the lookout point, settling down. The view ahead of her, overlooking the Sea, was the most beautiful in her opinion, and had always served as a source of comfort, as it did now.

Sync would have chalked it down to her being a fairly new program, and therefore inexperienced in the ways of Grid life, and she had to admit he was probably right. Thirty cycles wasn't a long time, not when one considered all that had happened. She hadn't seen the mythical ISOs, the Betrayal, the Age of Clu, or the Sacrifice, not that things now were much better now, despite reassurances from her friends. She knew that having a perfect life wasn't possible, Clu was proof of that, but couldn't everyone at least try? She knew enough about the current situation the Grid was in now to know it was on the brink of chaos. Why couldn't programs help one another? It wasn't that hard!

"You must have some answers," she said to the sky, addressing the Users that were supposedly on the other side. "Or do you even exist?" If there was anything she was cynical about, it was the Users. They'd abandoned them again, and it wasn't like their history with the programs was all glowing and music. Maybe they'd all died. She sighed, kicking out her feet. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was the fact that her mind would always wander when she was on watch. The Sea glistened out in front of her, and she tried to focus on the shifting data, letting her command processes slow.

As it was, she was able to calm down and stop thinking cynical thoughts. The Sea did that to her, lulling her until she almost drifted off into a light sleep. Still, when her shift was done, she wasn't unhappy. Actual hibernation would be nice after all the excitement tonight. Standing up, she stretched working out any bits of stiff coding that had creeped up on her while sitting. Giving one last look at the Sea, she started back to the hide out.

Everything seemed still as she approached, everyone but Nort hidden well within the depths of the cave. She was just about to go in when she heard something.

"No... don't... don't do it," mumbled a voice. Pixie paused at the mouth of the cave, looking back at Nort. He wasn't moving, let alone talking. She shook her head, admonishing herself for being too imaginative. She put her right foot into the cave, then‒

"Don't! Stop!"

"Shut up..." mumbled Sync from within, but Pixie paid him no attention. This time she was sure she'd heard Nort. She didn't move for a moment, debating what to do.

"Don't make me do this, please," Nort whimpered. He sounded like he was in pain. Pixie battled with herself for a couple more picocycles, then walked back to the still hibernating program. As she got within touching distance, she could see that he was trembling again, his frame almost seeming to vibrate.

"Nort, Nort wake up," she whispered, touching his shoulder gently. He didn't wake up, but he jerked violently.

"I will not, I will NOT‒"

"Nort! Wake‒"

"NO!" Nort's eyes burst open, staring wildly. He looked like he'd been claimed by a virus. Pixie jumped back, trying to decide what to do.

"Nort?" she said tentatively, looking at him with wide eyes. He froze at her words. "Nort, are you okay?"

He sat up shakily, meeting her gaze. He looks awful, Pixie thought, and he did. Hair in disarray, eyes overly bright, still shaking, he could have passed as data pusher on its last cycles.

"What‒what did I say?" he asked her, trying to guard his expression. She shook her head.

"Nothing, really, just that you didn't want to do something," she answered, "What... what didn't you want to do?" Nort's expression became incredibly sad and he looked away.

"Something I should never have done," he murmured, half to himself. Despite her earlier reservations, Pixie scooted over to sit closer to him.

"Was it bad?"

His mouth turned upwards in a very bitter smile. "Yes, it was." They fell silent, staring at the Sea. Pixie picked at the edge of battered Grid she was sitting on. She'd never known any program to do something so bad they had nightmares. Even with her imagination, she couldn't conceive what in the Users Nort had done to make him like this. Out of the corner of her eye, she studied him; thin nose, even facial structure... Physically, there was nothing special about him, but his eyes, his eyes were a whole other story. At that moment, she knew that he was extremely old and had seen far too much.

"I'm sorry," she said finally, not knowing what else to say. Nort looked at her, confused.

"Why? You didn't do anything."

"I know but... I'm sorry you have to feel this way?" she stammered, feeling her circuitry flare brightly, "You shouldn't have to feel unhappy about whatever you did. It's all in the past now, right?"

The sullen look returned to Nort's face. "Yes, it is." He returned his gaze back to the Sea, his shoulders sagging with what Pixie could only call defeat. Flustered with where to go with this rather confusing conversation, she stood up again, meaning to finally go get Rex.

"You should get some rest, Nort, or you'll have a difficult next few cycles," she said. Nort raised his eyebrow at her.

"What are you, my User?"

Her circuitry flared bright again as she stumbled over her words, "What I mean‒you almost‒I... Oh motherboards, I‒" She stopped as Nort chuckled softly. "What?" she demanded.

"I was just giving you a hard time. I didn't mean any harm," he said, actually smiling this time, "It's been a long time since anyone has actually cared about me."

"Oh." Pixie stared at him, finally seeing more than just a broken shell of a program with a terrible past. "Well, have a good hibernation, Nort."

"You too... I'm sorry, I don't know your name," he replied, looking a little embarrassed himself this time.

"Pixel, but everyone calls me Pixie."

He smiled again, lying back down. "Have a good hibernation, Pixie."

Hope you all enjoyed! I'm really enjoying writing everyone's characters right now, it's a ton of fun. Chapter 2 will hopefully be up next Wednesday. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated, along with any questions you may have :)

A note on the time measurements I will be using throughout this story, when in the Tronverse:

picocycle=second

nanocycle=minute

microcycle=eight hours(movie canon)

cycle=week(deducted by the fact that Kevin Flynn was on the Grid for about 1000 cycles; this means 50 cycles a year for 20 years)

I'll probably add measurements for a day or 24 hours in the future, but for now these are the ones I'm using.

One final closing note: I've posted this on my deviant art account as well, under the name Sandeyes. So, if you see it, not to worry, it's mine.

Thanks for reading! :)