TRON: Rebirth
Prologue
Darkness.
Darkness was all that he now knew. Darkness was all that surrounded him.
His body slowly yet surely sank, deep down into the black abyss of the Sea of Simulation. No light from the world above could shine on him, to give him hope. The infinite darkness surrounded his helpless body as it was swallowed slowly by the deep dark black, unaware, not moving, allowing what little was left of his life to be taken from him without struggle. Slowly however, awareness crept back into his mind, he could feel the freezing cold water penetrating the safety of his suit and nipping constantly at his skin. His eyes began opening, he blinked inside of his helmet. Still unaware of where he was, how he'd come to be there or who he was now, only what had been.
He remembered his life as "Rinz|er" a shadow, a shell of his former self. All his skills and ability as a warrior, yet none of his personality and conscience that made him a free thinking program, who stood for freedom and saw the Users as god like creators. He remembered blindly following Clu's orders, leading his Black Guard against any and all who opposed Clu's tyrannical rule. Including his old friend, the User and creator of this system, Kevin Flynn. Clu had been made by Flynn in his likeness, essentially to -be- Flynn whilst the User was off The Grid in the real world. Safe in the knowledge that Clu would create "the perfect system" for him. It was not to be, Clu eventually decided that he and only he could lead and govern The Grid and launched a coup de'etat against Flynn and ceased control. Rinz|er had become a key pawn in Clu's never ending game of chess with his creator Flynn. He helped in quelling any form of rebellion from Flynn or any attempts to retake power. He also played a major part in the genocide of the "ISOs" Isogenic Organisms which had come into being naturally gifted with life by The Grid itself. In his previous life he'd fought tirelessly to protect these nieve but wise beings from threats.
When Flynn had been banished from the City and Clu became its unchallenged ruler, Rinz|er took to competing the games. Proving time and time again that he was the master of everyone of them, that he had no equal. He's ruthlessly derezzed countless innocent programs, forced to battle like gladiators on both the Light Cycle Grid and the Disc Wars Arena. Eventually the son of Flynn, Sam had been tricked into entering The Grid, so that Clu could obtain Kevin Flynn's identity disc, the so called "Master Key" and escape the virtual world to the physical word. He'd sacrificed himself so that the Users could escape Clu and his minions, minions which he himself had trained and lead. Yet it was he who eventually saw the truth. That inescapable truth reflected back at him in Kevin Flynn's eyes, that showed him who and what he'd become, thanks to Clu and his reprogramming.
So now here he was, dead by all accounts, lifeless, unable to move. Giving in, giving up. Allowing himself to perish. His life flashed before his eyes now even faster, he was now remembering back further to who he was -before- Rinz|er. Flashes of him standing side by side with Kevin Flynn, flashes of him tossing his disc and defeating Sark and the MCP in another, older system. Flashes of him leaping into action to save others who could not save themselves. He began to physically feel more and more from his fingers, a few seconds later he could move them slightly, a few more seconds and he could move his arms, pulling them into view in front of his face. Just the power of mere memory was somehow empowering him, willing him on. Then he saw it, those white lights running up and down his arms, his whole suit. When he was Rinz|er he had bore orange lighting, the symbol of Clu's tyrant Black Guards. Now though, now his true self was showing through, that feeling that was oh so familiar to him, which he cherished. "Freedom." he thought to himself finding the right word, thats what these white lights signified, that was what he had stood for before Clu's reprogramming, he'd fought for it in the old system. In- this- system he'd fought to preserve it!
As the seconds passed by, he regained more and more ability and with it more and more memory. He began to flap his arms, then even began to synchronise his strokes into a front crawl, propelling himself towards the surface. Only minutes ago he'd accepted and prepared for death. Now? Now he chose to defy it! He choose to fight. Words began to form on his lips as he made fought his way to the surface, words that had almost been his last. Just as they eventually came out "I fight, for THE USERS!" he shouted with all his might as he burst from the water, grabbing and clawing his way up some rocks upon a beach repeating the words, mumbling them over and over. He refused to give in, even though every inch in his body wanted to. With trembling muscles he pulled and hauled away at anything that would give him purchase, pulling his body across the stone and rocks of the dark beach.
He rolled over on his back, his helmet automatically folded itself away into the neck section of his body suit, with his own eyes he gazed at the sky, his memory and thoughts that had given him the strength and will to survive now loyally trying to tell him somthing else, his name. His lips trembled and moved up and down mouthing the word, yet no sound came out, his eyes growing heavier and heavier with each passing nano-second. Yet once again, he displayed the same will he'd shown time and time again, never giving up, always refusing to quit. Even with his last moments of conciousness, before passing out he spoke his own true name.
"...Tron."
Chapter 1
He didn't know how much time had passed since he'd swam ashore when he woke up, blurry eyed and looking up at the stars. With a wince he rolled over onto his knees, every inch of his body aching and complaining at each and every movement, he steadily pushed himself upward with another groan and onto his shakey legs and feet and stood upright, getting an idea of his surroundings. He looked out across the Sea of Simulation at were the portal to the User world had been glowing in the constant night sky. Now it lay dark, unused. Tron smiled, it meant that Sam and Kevin Flynn had succeeded, stopped Clu and escaped back to their own world.
He walked away from the shore line and up a bank of loose black rock and gazed out at the city, Tron City. Named after him by Kevin Flynn when he'd created this new digital world. It's blue lights shon out across the sky for hundred of miles in all directions, it's sky line was embosed clearly against the dark sky which made the perfect back drop. Even from this distance somebody could count each and every tower and skyscraper of the magnificient city. He began his long journey across the so called "Outlands" which surrounded the city, the Outlands were essentially beyond the Grid, were nothing had been constructed by Flynn. Nothing lived in the Outlands except the occasional denizen program who'd chosen to live outside of the city for one reason or another, but mostly to escape the grasp of Clu's regime. The Outlands were a vast barren area with a treacherous terrain of sheer cliffs and deep ravines. Tron watched his step carefully as he walked, headed back toward the city. Each step he took seemed to become easier and easier, his functions began returned to him with each passing nanosecond. Hours passed by and he made good time, walking at a good pace, crossing a vast distance quickly.
As he grew closer to the city he could make out brief pulses of light, which he knew to be explosions within the city and then came the sound of lazer fire. Once or twice he saw the source of the sound, orange coloured "Recognisers" which were large, vertically arranged ships used for attack and troop transport flew into view for a second then dissappeared behind the great tall towers of the city. Tron new something was deeply wrong, if Clu had been stopped by the Flynns who was this that was ordering such destruction? It was possible that Clu was actually gone, derezzed and this had left a power vaccuum leaving the higher echeleons of Clu's Generals to fight over control of The Grid.
Tron continued on his trek, debating the finer points in his head until eventually deciding to leave it alone and figure it out once he got arrived at Tron City. When he was a good 50 kilometers from the city however he saw two orange shimmers of light on the horizon, heading toward him. He stopped and blinked, trying to focus his eyes and make out what it was. They were definately two seperate objects, moving low and fast, not on the ground but perhaps 20 meters above it. There was no cover, no where to hide for Tron, he stood now on a plateau of flat black rock he'd just have to stand and wait. Two minutes past, then he knew what they were...Light Jets. Constructs of light created with a "baton" which used the programs own energy to create a light flying interceptor. They'd all ready have seen the blue lights of his suit by now and they were in fact slowing as they came upon him. Tron stood his ground, waiting for them to make the first move. The two jets with bright orange highlights roared up to him then disintegrated, their pilots dropping to their feet, the batons which had become the duel joysticks for controlling the jets buzzed and flickered with orange light, snapping back together to create one whole metallic peice a foot in length. The two men wearing dark black suits and helmets which were also highlighted with orange light walked forward, one pointed and spoke "You there! Explain your presence here program!" He demanded in an harsh electronic tone. "Did you have anything to do with Lord Clu's demise? He passed this way two cycles ago!" They were both of the Black Guard, Clu's personal guard, the one doing the talking stopped ten feet from Tron, his cohort flanked him, both of them still holding their batons in hand. "I did." Said Tron, frankly. "In fact, it was me who helped to kill him." Tron wasn't ever a fancy talker like Flynn. He said as he said and was done with it. However, he knew his news wouldn't be taken lightly. He reached to his back and grabbed the Identity Disc from his back, the edge of it glowed and hummed loudly, ready to cut through anything. The disc was hollowed out in the centre, allowing Tron to grip it firmly and control it masterfully. "Stand down!" The Black Guard's demanded simulatanously, orange beams extended from both ends of their batons, creating weapons. "No." Tron said flatly. One of the Black Guard stepped back, looking uneasy, even beneath his black mask. "I-It's him...It's..." Tron finished his sentence for him "Tron!" he said suddenly and hurled his disc. Tron had directed it to the left of the guard's and away, so that it would boomerang backwards towards its master via the guard standing to the left. The man whirled around, attempting to block it with his staff of orange energy, he turned to late however missing the disc as it punched straight through him. His body derezzing quickly, breaking down like glass disintegrating. His comrade charged Tron just as his disc returned to his hand, he parried both strong blows the guard brought down on him with relative ease, then using his back leg for purchase he spun his entire body around, holding the disc outward it sliced clean through the last guard's tors area derezzing him just like his fellow guardsman.
Tron didn't feel remorse as his feet crunched through the glass like remains of the two programs. This is what he'd been created for by -his- User Allan Bradley. To be a security program, designed to protect. It was his purpose, his reason to live. It was for this reason Kevin Flynn had brough Tron here from the old system, to this new Grid he had built, to serve as it's guardian and protector. He'd done his best during the early days of the Grid, fighting off infections of "Gridbugs" graphical representations of system errors which appeared as insects and ate away at the energy produced by the grid. However in the end, he'd failed the Grid, the Programs, the ISO's and even Flynn himself. Remorse for the dead? No. Regret of his failure. Certainly!
It was time for him to atone for it now, somehow, someone had given him a second chance to make up for his failure and the dark deeds he'd done in Clu's name as his alternate persona of "Rinz|er". Someone was now attacking the Programs and city he loved and they -were- going to regret it. Tron walked over and picked up both of the guards batons which were a constant on the grid, they didn't derezz with their unfortunate wielder. He slid one baton in his belt the other he held in two hands. Someone had sent these two scouts to search for Clu. Which meant more were out here somewhere forming a search pattern for their evil leader. Tron would have to move fast and get back to the city, before the two he'd derezzed were missed. He broke out into a light jog then leapt into the air, seemingly breaking the baton in two. However between the two peices of baton a blue tinted air frame began forming, rapidly setting and generating the inner components of the jet using Tron's own energy to do so until the construct was solid and Tron now sat upon a saddle in an open topped Light Jet, the two peices of baton formed duel control sticks. Tron controlled the throttle for the singe engine with his foot much like a Light Cycle and the fighter zoomed through the air quickly towards the under seige Tron City.