Electronic Shuffle
Title: Electronic Shuffle
Category: TRON
Author: Sakura123 (weber_dubois22)
Rating: T
Characters: Yori, Quorra, Tron, Alan Bradley, Lora Baines-Bradley, Clu 2.0, Sam Flynn, Jethro Bradley
Summary: "Sing a song for me program". A collection of short stories within the Tron verse. Features multiple characters and Tron/Yori, one-sided Clu 2.0/Yori, Alan/Lora.
Disclaimer: Tron/Tron: Legacy and all things related are property of Steven Lisberger, Bonnie MacBird and Walt Disney Studios (and some other guys I'm probably forgetting but can't care to remember). Seriously, if I owned this franchise, let's just say Sam's mother wouldn't be dead, Lora/Yori would've been featured/mentioned in some capacity, Rinzler would've been awesome (and taller) and Jet Bradley would've been retconed to fit within Legacy-verse and the whole movie would've been full of awesome fist-bumping bromantic moments between him and Sam as they traversed the grid with Kevin Flynn and Quorra. Basically Supernatural in the computer world.
Author's Note: I've seen a lot of these "iPod Shuffle Memes" spread about the verse of the internet, but I don't think I've seen the idea applied to fanfiction until today. I'm aflutter with excitement of new challenge. Basically, if you're unfamiliar with this concept the guidelines are simple: You choose a fandom - then you chose a pairing or character you like -, you put your music player (MP3, iPod, Media Player, whatever) on shuffle, write a drabble (or longer. Your choice) for a total of ten songs and you finish when the song is over (no lingering afterward). I recommend YouTube for the tracks you aren't familiar with to get a better feel of the drabbles.
Updated: 8/18/2018
"Mindfields" - The Prodigy
This was a dangerous and unnecessary risk. She acknowledged this the very moment she grabbed the baton from the ground and raised her arm over her head in attack. She wasn't designated for combat, only simulation and defense.
She countered the enforcer's first blow and parried the next with little trouble. Ducking out of the way of his next attack, she cut her opponent's feet out from under him. The sentry fell to the ground, he was swamped by the angry disc-wielding mob the next instant. Quorra scrambled to her feet and gave the simulation conscript a breathless, but appreciative, "Thank you."
"This is Love" - The Third Twin*
The wheels of the Lightcycle screeched uncontrollably across the arena floor as he dodged the orange light ribbon. Behind him, he could hear the eager roar of several other opponents fanning out behind him, ready to deliver the killing blow. The jeers and cheers of the attending audience bounced off the walls, wishing either for his death or his victory, it didn't matter to him which.
Veering to the left, he followed the diverging path down underneath the racetrack, leaving the opposing team in momentary in shock. One of them was already gunning for the secondary ramp, but if he could reach it before he did there might be a chance for him to win this round.
"Prologue (The Ancient Land)" - Kow Otani
"What do you think of it?" Yori inquired as she led him by the hand toward the dock. What did he think of it? He thought it was the most beautiful structure he'd seen on the new Grid so far. The length and width of the carrier was immense, he couldn't tell how many programs they would be able transit at once. Tron chuckled lightly at the delight in her eyes as he surveyed the recreated Solar Sailor.
"It's gorgeous, Yori," He said finally. "Better than the first." Yori ducks her head, her circuits begin to glow, flattered by his words. "It's not quite finished yet," She said. "But once we get everything together, I'd like you to be one of my first passengers."
"Really?" The response comes out more excited than he intends, but it doesn't matter to her.
"Send Her My Love" - Journey*
The scene was like something out one of those romantic novels. Alan held her for what would be the last time until the New Year. He was proud of her, prouder than he could express in words, but the selfish part of him never wanted to let her go. Lora cooed sympathetic reassurances into his ear as she rubbed his back. "Call me as soon as you get there," He failed to say without a tremble in his otherwise steady voice.
Lora gave his shoulder one last reassuring squeeze before she grabbed her bags from off the floor. "Look after Jet. And yourself," She reminded. Alan nodded fervently, readjusting his grip on the stroller where little Jethro Bradley sat fast asleep. "You know I will," He said. Lora managed another smile for her husband before heading for the escalator. He waited until she was out of sight to start worrying over how he was going to look after their baby boy and work at ENCOM without Lora's immediate support.
"Release Yo' Delf (Prodigy Remix)" - Method Man*
Violation
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought she heard an alarm. The lights above were flashing in sync with the panic that electrified the air, yet Yori kept her calm. Her fingers danced across the control panel as if they were in no great danger.
Tron's agitated movement would tell her otherwise, however. The control room was being surrounded, Abraxas was getting closer.
Violation
"Yori," His voice was tense. The ring of his disc flaring to life interrupted the rhythm of her breathing but her fingers maintained their form.
"Almost there," She promised.
Violation
A message flashed on the screen above, access had been granted. Her lips curved into a smile as she declared, "Running Executable!"
"Sure Promise" - Toshihiko Sahashi
Sam would have never believed he'd be so happy to be the focus of a spotlight. The recognizer, lacking its trademark orange circuitry, hovered clumsily above the offending sentries that threatened to derezz him like a beacon of hope.
His savior was none other than Jethro Bradley - the last person he thought he'd see alive after the explosion on the Regulator-, who looked more than pleased with himself as the vehicle coasted closer toward him. "C'mon, man, we've gotta go!" With an amused grin, the son of Flynn fought his way through the distracted sentries and leapt onto the platform as it began to rise. The vehicle veered away as Clu's minions began to reorganize and attack.
"Nice to see you haven't lost your grace, Flynn." Sam joined the man up at the controls, re-syncing his disc to his back. "Shut up and drive, Bradley."
"Dream Is Collapsing" - Hans Zimmer
As if cued to the sound of his voice, the slim figure stepped out of the darkness and revealed herself to the defeated hero of the Users.
No. Tron stared up at the woman standing next to the self-appointed "Creator" in aghast, unable to believe his eyes. She regarded Tron with no recognition in her eyes, her fingers intertwined with Clu's without a second thought.
His counterpart was corrupted, repurposed and integrated with the false deity's perfect system. "What have you done?" His voice barely rose above a whisper. "Clu, what have you done her?" Clu's smile increased tenfold as he pulled her hair free of the ponytail, moving it from behind her shoulders. Yori's eyes, downcast, followed the path of his hand as it past from her shoulder to her chest.
"So, you see, Tron, all things can be made perfect," The dictator continued, running a finger across the bottom of her triangle. "Even the ones so far from it."
"Arrival" - Daft Punk
Alan never pushed to know where Quorra was from, though he wonders now why he never saw it. It was right front of him the entire time, everytime she stopped to awe at something no one paid any real mind to anymore.
No one stared at the sun as if were the greatest creation known to man, no one marveled over the "ingenuity" of refrigerators and they certainly did not speak to computers and toasters as if they could answer back like people.
"Prohibited Art" - Kow Otani
Gridbugs are the least of her worries when she finds him lying facedown on the shore of the sea of simulation. The light above from the dissipated portal creates an eerie atmosphere that gives the glow of their circuitry an almost otherworldly presence.
He rolls onto his side on his own power as she sits down next to him. His helmet retracts into the collar of his suit, revealing the face she had not seen in over 1,000 cycles. He looks no different from when she saw him vanishing in the distance behind the ribbons of her lightjet.
Suddenly, their surroundings begin to change. ENCOM's quarantine protocol is in affect, Ma3a is looking for the fractured grid's malicious program, CLU 2.0. Yori pulls Tron into her embrace so that his head is resting on her lap. Like second nature, his hands grip her arms in reflexive response.
"Halo" - Depeche Mode
Clu doesn't so much remember the relationship as he does the feelings. He remembers his User used to be in love with the woman whose avatar befriended him, remembers the kiss she'll never regard as something significant beyond what it taught her.
As Flynn's absences continue to grow, Clu has grown considerably resentful of Tron's relationship with Yori. The loneliness and frustration he'll never confess to feeling gnaws at him the most when he sees them together. Tron doesn't deserve her, but he doesn't think she's quite up to his standards yet.
There's a flaw in her design that he wants to fix. He knows it's a flaw he cannot correct until the security program is out of the picture.
(FIN)
Notes:
* The "He" in the Lightcycle race would be Tron.
* A reference to Lora leaving ENCOM for a job in Washington in 1983 in the comic, TRON: Betrayal. In the TRON 2.0 universe, Jet was born in December of 1982 (presumably after Lora and Alan were married), thus he would be about a year old (and a year older than Sam Flynn who was born in 1983) by that point.
* A reference to the special combo attack in Kingdom Hearts II. Tron declares "Program Executable" before all hell breaks loose and the heartless programs get it.
* The Clu/Yori(/Tron) idea was inspired by an artist named Swirk on DeviantART.