"Kevin Flynn,…there's just one thing I don't understand…"
Clu's voice had that familiar musing drawl he sometimes got, and the sound of his words broke the silence, startling Flynn out of a myriad of thoughts. He looked over at Clu as they started across the bridge.
"Yeah?… Just one thing?…I'd say you're pretty lucky, pal. There's a whole lot I don't understand right now. What don't you understand?…"
Clu looked up at the flashes of lightning which winked through the clouds, then gestured at the vast illuminated city surrounding them. "How…has all of this come back again?…"
Flynn took a deep breath, and shrugged. "Well,…I'm not sure. I've been trying to figure that same thing out myself."
"You don't…know?…" Clu glanced at him skeptically, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope…not a clue – pardon the pun…"
Flynn chuckled, looking over at the program who didn't seem to get the joke, and in fact seemed to be deeply formulating some idea, his brow furrowed and his eyes registering disappointment as he stared at the ground.
"What?…Hey, I told you I wasn't perfect, right?" he chuckled again, but stopped when Clu looked up at him with an expression not unlike that of a child who'd just learned there was no Santa Claus.
It still amazed him how much Clu seemed to be able mirror back to him not just his own expressions but his own emotions too, and so convincingly. Which was odd considering that his look-alike didn't currently have the capability to feel true emotions - at least, not right now, not yet. That was a glitch they were going to have to fix soon, along with making sure his circuitry was rid of whatever had corrupted it.
"Don't worry…we'll probably figure it out,…but…" Flynn paused, glancing at the still-silent program. "…it's okay not to know things sometimes, Clu. Sometimes things just don't make sense, and there are some things it just isn't possible to figure out. In that case, learning to be okay with not knowing is sort of a form of perfection in itself."
That seemed to really confuse Clu, and Flynn gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Nevermind. Just follow me. Something tells me that eventually this is all gonna make sense…I know where to start looking for answers."
Flynn nodded towards the path ahead of them, then started walking again. Clu followed along wordlessly, then caught up to walk side by side with him. Flynn could tell the program didn't quite understand, maybe didn't quite believe him or even know what to believe, but this was one of those instances where trusting the process was the only option they had.
"It's not too much farther, …" Flynn said as they stepped off the bridge and onto the street, "…it's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure we're getting close."
They walked down several deserted darkened streets, then rounded a corner, and then Flynn stopped, pointing up at the neon words which graced the top of the tall building across the street.
Flynn's Arcade.
"Yeah. See, now there's a piece of history I could never forget…"
Looking up at the familiar onyx tiled archways, he gave a wry smile, but as his gaze traveled down to the entranceway, the smile quickly faded. He squinted, staring with growing alarm at the figure which lay curled up on the ground beside the door. The markings on the light-suit were ones he recognized all too well, and a chill ran through him. One more step and he broke into a full run towards the building.
Clu followed behind him, stopping a few paces from the entrance, then watching solemnly as Flynn fell to his knees beside the motionless program, his face distraught.
"Oh man,…no,…Jesus no,…" Flynn reached to the fallen form, carefully cradling it's stilled shoulders and gently reaching a hand to turn the head, revealing the face they both recognized.
"Tron…" Flynn half-whispered, heart racing and eyes welling with tears as he reached to touch the unresponsive program. Surveying the damage he saw two spots of deresolution on Tron's head. Very serious wounds. And several parts of the suit had pixels torn away. The disk was still connected to his back but wasn't illuminated. It was going to take a miracle to save this program's life, to bring him back.
Then Flynn's thoughts raced, and with jaw clenched he turned to look at Clu, anger and sorrow furrowing his brow. "Did you do this to him?…"
But Clu's face was somber, concerned, and he simply shook his head and stated matter-of-factly. "No. I didn't. When I last saw him, he was not injured. We were falling and I took his baton away from him. I flew away and then I assumed he just fell into the sea."
Flynn knew Clu like he knew himself. The program wasn't lying…he wasn't really capable of it. Self-delusion, maybe, but lying, not a chance.
"The sea wouldn't have done this…" Flynn stared back at Tron's injuries, studying them, "…and besides the sea is way too far away for him to have made it this far. Someone's disk did this…"
His voice trailed off, and he sat back on his heels, then reached to gently scoop Tron's unconscious form up, cradling it into his arms as he stood slowly.
With darkened eyes he looked at Clu, then continued speaking, jaw still clenched and tears glistening, "Someone's disk did this…and if I ever find out whose,…it's going to take every damned bit of my Zen to keep me from derezzing them on the spot."
Flynn looked back at Tron, then took a deep somber breath and nodded towards the door. "Get that for me would ya, Clu?…we gotta' get him inside and help him."