This is a one shot for my little sister Air-Jack, we both came up with this idea after seeing Terminal on Tron: Uprising. Basically CLU has had enough of Beck and decides to employ his new weapon. Tron has been missing for a week (User time) and Beck has heard rumors about his mentor being held somewhere so he investigates...only to face CLU's greatest weapon against him.
I own nothing.
Requiem For a Renegade
"Why does this always happen to me?" Beck thought as he ran down the alleyway.
Tron had been missing for seven cycles now…ever since they both were pulled to different sides of Argon to stop CLU's minions. And Beck had heard a rumor that "the Renegade" was being held near Tesler's fortress…meaning Tron.
He had just started infiltrating it when he was attacked by a Program. He had heard stories about this one…
The Enforcer.
Designation: Rinzler.
And he was a killing machine.
CLU gave him one mission…to derezz the Renegade. Unfortunately, Beck had seen CLU give the order and Beck had to run from that strange, broken purring that was always on his tail.
A flicker of black and orange crossed his vision and Beck yelped, leaping backwards as a Disk slashed across his vision…
And a low, growling purr rumbled through the air.
"Great, just great," Beck thought bitterly as Rinzler's Disk returned to his hand.
The purr deepened as Rinzler reared back his Disk and slashed at Beck once again. The young Program deflected the Disk as the barely-lit Program advanced, a strangled, growling purr rumbling from its throat.
Suddenly, something slammed into his Disk port and Beck fell forwards to the ground. Rinzler stalked forwards, slamming his foot on Beck's back before yanking his second Disk out of the young Program's Disk port.
Two Disks? What kind of Program has two Disks!? Better yet…how is he able to control two of them? It was impossible!
Or it should have been.
Rinzler kicked Beck in the side and Beck's arm shot up, Disk blazing as he tried to derezz the hand that nearly derezzed him.
Both Programs fought with elegance and grace that few knew how to. Beck absentmindedly thought Rinzler had a good trainer…since Beck had been trained by the great Tron himself…and Tron had been undefeated.
Beck's Disk blazed a trail through the air, catching one of Rinzler's Disks and sending it to the ground. The Renegade continued his decent and shattered it in half.
Now the playing field was even!
Beck rushed forwards, but the Enforcer caught his arm and twisted, sending Beck's Disk clanging to the ground.
He flipped Beck over on his chest, showing the white garbed Renegade the Enforcer's blank black mask.
Beck froze, his circuits freezing as he looked at the black glass. It couldn't be!
Could it?
He knew that mask…or at least he thought he did.
Rinzler put a knee on Beck's chest to make sure he couldn't escape, giving the Renegade a better look at…
Dear Users!
Four pixels glowed a dim red-orange at the Enforcer's throat. Beck never would have seen them if Rinzler hadn't bent over him.
The four pixels were shaped in the same form as the four on Beck's disguise.
Only one Program had it.
"Tron?" he croaked as the Enforcer's remaining lit Disk pressed against Beck's throat.
A slight hitch in Rinzler's purr, a subtle flicker of white in the orange circuits confirmed it.
"What did they do to you?" Beck whispered, horrified.
His mentor, his friend was one of them! CLU did this to him!
"Tron, it's me! Beck!" Beck pleaded, removing his mask…
Suddenly, he shrieked in pain, looking down as heat and a feeling of breaking apart blasted through him. Rinzler's Disk was lodged in his side.
A cold feeling flooded the young Program as he watched the derezzing continue slowly from the impact point and he knew…
He knew he was going to die.
"…Beck?" a voice asked softly and the young Renegade looked up at the blank mask of Rinzler, whose white circuits gleamed softly in the dim lighting.
"Tron…" Beck grunted, "I…I…"
"What happened to you?" Tron murmured, his hands ghosting over his young friend's side, "Who did this to you?"
A tear streaked down Beck's face as he limply pointed at the Disk in his side, the look of betrayal and hurt clear in his dark eyes.
"I…I'm sorry," Beck whispered, Tron taking his hand as the younger Program's circuits pulsed weakly, flicking red and back to white as his energy depleted and the derezzing crept up his face, "I… I…couldn't save y…"
He never finished.
The fire in the once vibrant, determined dark eyes dimmed until just a tiny spark remained…and then it extinguished, the young Program becoming nothing but glittering white and blue pixels.
"No…" Tron whispered as his apprentice, his friend derezzed in his arms, "NO!"
The System Monitor picked up the Disk that had killed his friend. Beck might be gone…but Tron would finish whoever did this to him.
He pulled up the holographic form of the Program…and dropped the Disk in horror.
The one who this Disk belonged to…the one who murdered Beck…
Was him.
"I…I'm sorry. I…I…couldn't save y…"
I couldn't save you.
That was what Beck meant to say.
I couldn't save you.
Tron let out a strangled howl, tears streaming as he held what used to be his friend.
He killed him. He killed his best friend.
Murderer!
"Rinzler!" CLU's voice cut through the alleyway and Tron picked up Beck's Disk and stood, shaking.
He turned around, the twin Disks blazing brilliant blue like the lights in the sky Flynn had told him about a long, long time ago.
He remembered that failed mission in Argon where Beck had been on the other side of the city while Tron had been captured.
He remembered screaming as CLU implanted a virus.
It was all CLUs fault…
Beck was dead because of him!
"YOU!" Tron snarled, "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"
"Get him under control," CLU ordered his Guards, "NOW!"
Tron lifted his and Beck's Disks in a defensive position and, with a howl of rage and pain, he attacked.
The first one came at him, Tron smacked his Disk away before ramming his twin Disks under the Black Guard's chin, derezzing him. The second came at Tron, he grabbed its Disk, elbowing the guard in the face before slashing at him, derezzing him with his own Disk.
Tron settled into a fighting stance, daring the others to come at him, his steel-blue gaze burned in hatred at them as they charged forwards.
The System Monitor ducked underneath their Disks and derezzed one before disarming the other and derezzing him too.
He turned to where CLU was…but the Admin was gone.
Tron cast his head around, looking for…
Suddenly, something slammed into Tron's Disk port, sending him sprawling to the ground. The older Program groaned, retracting his helmet and turning around on his back to look up at CLU.
"I'll kill you," Tron threatened weakly as he tried to stand, "You…You did this to me! You killed him! You killed Beck!"
CLU kicked his old friend down again.
"Did you care about him, old friend?" he growled, slamming his foot on Tron's left hand, making him yelp as he released his original Disk, "No, Tron. You killed him. I just had the luxury to watch you do it. And now? I won't have to worry about the Renegade anymore,"
Tron tried to get up once more, eyes set in icy, steely fury…and CLU finished messing with the virus that created Rinzler. He pushed Tron down once more and turned him over, snapping the Disk on his back.
The System Monitor's vision blurred and his breathing became labored as the circuits pulsed between orange and white.
"N-No…" Tron groaned, trying to get around the growling purr that now manifested in his throat, "CLU…p-please…"
"You are Rinzler," CLU told him, "You are my Enforcer,"
"N-No," came the weak reply as steel blue eyes flickered to orange and back again, "I-I'm…"
"Rinzler," CLU repeated.
"Tron!" Tron gasped…
Right before his systems crashed and he fell unconscious, circuits flicking orange.
"Take him to the Throne Ship," CLU ordered his subordinates that were still alive.
It was many cycles later when Rinzler rebooted, having no memory whatsoever of what happened with Beck.
He ran a diagnostic over himself, noticing that he had many damaged areas…some from Disks and some from armored fists…thought it was normal with him. Anyone who fought against Rinzler tried their best not to be derezzed.
It was the Disk wounds that confused him. Not many could get that close to Rinzler and survive, his diagnostic showed that it was a single Program…and the residue from one of the Disks indicated that it was the one that injured him. A cough jolted him from his thoughts.
The Enforcer gracefully got to his feet, scanning the room for any threat…
"Ah, good, you're awake," CLU said from the door.
Rinzler looked towards his master and respectively bowed his head. CLU beckoned him closer and the Program made his way over, making no noise except for the growling purr that was always present.
"You seem rested," CLU told him, putting a hand on Rinzler's scarred face. It was both unnerving and satisfying to see the fiery orange gleaming where steel blue used to be, "You had a minor imperfection, we fixed it though,"
A faint smile flickered over Rinzler's features before disappearing behind an obsidian mask.
Rinzler brushed off the remains of a Program he had just derezzed from his hands as he put away his Disks. Another mission, successfully completed.
A glint of white entered the side of his vision and he turned his gaze towards it…only to find nothing.
He shrugged it off, probably another Program keeping out of sight. It didn't matter, all that mattered was that the mission was a success and that he was to report back to CLU.
"What have you done?" a young male voice breathed, "What have you become?"
Rinzler froze…he knew that voice.
"This isn't you, you're better than this!" the voice cried and Rinzler looked around, trying to find a source.
But again, there was nothing.
He watched as Rinzler went back to CLU and nothing saddened him more. The great Tron reduced to a mindless, obedient lackey. What had happened to his friend?
"It's sad isn't it?" a Siren asked him as she put a hand on his shoulder, "You can't do anything…not anymore,"
"To see him like that…" a male Program sighed, "That isn't how I remembered him,"
"It isn't him," the first protested, "It's CLU's virus, he's been repurposed and…and…"
He closed his eyes, tears streaming.
The Siren pulled him into an embrace.
"I remember the first time I saw you both…you were glitching and he was protecting you," she told him, "He's still in there…I can feel it,"
"But you were right the first time, Lux," the second male said, "We can't do anything,"
"And that, Ram, is where you're wrong," the first Program growled, "He can't see me…but that doesn't mean I'm not going to help him get back to being Tron,"
He put a hand to the pixelated scar that crossed his side.
"And get him to stop being Rinzler," Beck finished.
Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please Review! :)
Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)
Máriessë ar mára tecië
Farewell and fair writing
Elhini Prime signing off.
