Prologue
Lights shimmered, colors blending.
Sounds muffled and echoed, drowned out by the sound of the pounding in his head.
He struggled to keep his eyes open, to identify the shapes that seemed to swim in slow motion in front of his eyes. His own thoughts faded in and out of focus.
A cold weight seemed to bear down on his chest and he became aware of his shallow breathing. He looked down and saw large blue gashes standing out against the white glow of his suit, wisps of code curling upwards in a smoke-like haze. His light disk lay on the floor off to his right; holding his breath he tried to summon his arm to reach for it. Everything faded to black.
A groan brought him back to his senses. Opening his eyes, he tried to peer beyond the orange glow of the scattered cubes that surrounded him, searching for the sound. He'd derezzed programs tonight. That wasn't his way, but the waves of guards kept coming until he'd had no choice. Those that stayed down had been spared, but those that got up….
Had he gotten them all?
He heard the crunch of cubes and saw a dark streak in his vision, rising up from the ground. The piercing bright flash of an orange disk caused his stomach to sink. The dark figure moved closer. He felt defeated.
The thud made him startle, his eyes shooting open. He must have blacked out again. This time the figure was much closer...but….
His vision blurred. Light bounced off her pale blonde hair as she glided towards him. She didn't look like one of Clu's guards. She looked almost angelic. His eyelids became heavy. Maybe she was, he thought.
He felt her breath on his face and slowly opened his eyes again. She was knelt by him now, her head almost level with his, but somehow he couldn't seem to capture her whole face, just snapshots as he drifted in and out of consciousness: her golden hair brushing against her collarbone, her cheeks, her eyelashes, her eyes fixed on his chest. Darkness again.
Muddled noises. He forced his eyelids open and focused on her mouth, her lips moving in slow motion, almost rhythmically… hypnotizing. The sounds of her voice bounced around his head, echoing, swirling. He felt so tired. If he could just sleep a little…
He felt a jolt of pain through his body as she shook him. And suddenly, with the sharpness of the pain, everything came clearly into focus, her voice speeding up to normal– the blur lifting.
"Tron! Tron!"
"Get Up!"