Chapter 2
A light drizzle began to fall, casting out faint ripples in the grid surface where it fell and causing the ground of the alleyway to shimmer. Ce pulled her cloak tightly around her shoulders and quickened her pace. Normally she liked the rain, but this close to curfew she was anxious to get home and avoid the attention of the guards. Not that they usually detained the medics; most of her patients these days were soldiers of the occupation; but ever since Clu's guards had arrived in town, she hadn't wanted to risk an encounter.
She didn't know if they were still looking for her.
The docks were usually quiet this time of cycle, so she was surprised to hear the sounds of shouting as she rounded the corner. A small group of basics were gathered at the foot of a building, looking up and chattering excitedly as she hurried over to join them. Peering up, she caught glimpses of guards on the rooftops, racing back and forth and swinging their disks.
"It's the Renegade!" yelled one of the programs. Another leaned in to Ce. "I think it's Tron," he muttered anxiously.
She strained, her eyes blinking away the rain, trying to see who the guards were fighting, but from the ground it was too difficult to see.
There was a cry from above and an explosion of orange cubes showered down on the group causing them to shriek and duck for cover. Ce pressed her back against the building and watched the cubes scatter across the street. Two lightbikes whizzed past her and screeched to a halt, the guards racing up the fire escape.
"Let's get out of here!" one of the basics yelled to the group, pulling on his friend's arm, "There'll be more guards on their way!"
The group split and Ce watched them disappear into the buildings and alleys across the street. She knew that sticking around meant trouble, but also knew that there were injured programs up on the roof that would need her help. She found the door of the building unlocked and climbed the stairs.
Tentatively, she opened the door to the roof. At her feet a guard lay unconscious and she could hear shouts and sounds of programs still battling from behind the roof access. She quickly knelt down and checked the guard for injuries, before pressing herself back against the door and leaning to peer around the corner. She was met by a shocking sight of orange cubes scattered all over the roof, punctured by the black shapes of unconscious guards, slumped over air vents and laying out cold on the floor. At the far side of the roof a small group of guards seemed to be fighting together against someone. Whom, or what, she couldn't readily see, but occasionally she would catch a glimpse beyond them, a streak of white, a flicker of cyan, the flash of lightdisks colliding.
Suddenly, she saw the group converge on the figure and for a moment it seemed that they had overwhelmed the enemy. She was startled by a loud cry and the group was split by a piercing orange streak. She heard guards scream out and watched horrified, as they disintegrated into a mass of orange cubes that tumbled onto the floor, revealing a lone figure of white. The figure dropped his disk and stumbled backwards, turning slightly to reveal a large blue gash across his torso. He wrapped his arm across his chest, as if trying to hold himself together and his helmet snapped back to reveal a distinctive face. Ce gasped and straightened back up, pressing her head back against the door and trying to make sense of what she had just seen. She took a few deep breaths and peered back around the corner. Her eyes hadn't deceived her. Though it was beyond her wildest of hopes, there was no doubt in her mind that she was looking at Tron.
She watched as his back hit a chimney and he slid down to the ground with a groan, his eyes shutting and his head slumping to one side. Ce held her breath for a second, her mind racing, wondering what she should do. Up in the sky she could see two dots of light in the distance, no doubt from light jets and more guards on the way. She looked back at Tron and saw that he was still, barely conscious, his head rolled upwards and his eyelids fluttering open. She was about to step out from her hiding place, when she heard a groan from one of the guards on the floor. Slowly the dark figure pushed himself to his feet, and turned towards Tron.
Panicking, she looked around her for something to help. To her right, she spotted a section of piping that must have been cut free during the fight. She clasped it tightly with both hands and peered around the wall. The guard had his back to her and was slowly advancing on Tron, his disk glowing brightly in his unsteady hand. Ce took another deep breath, her stomach churning with misgivings. She saw Tron try to reach for his disk before his head slumped again, his arm dropping back to his side. She couldn't bear to watch any longer.
The guard barely had chance to look back towards the sound of frantic footsteps when the pipe slammed down on his head, causing a bright flash of light before fading to dark. He slumped to the ground into a crumpled heap. Ce stood above him, her whole body shaking, shocked at what she had done.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered at the lifeless figure.
She dropped the pipe with a clatter and tried to collect her senses as she walked over to Tron and knelt beside him. Even without her medical training it was clear to see that he was gravely injured. He seemed aware of her presence and he opened his eyes narrowly, though he seemed to have difficulty focusing on her.
"Tron. Can you hear me?" she said softly.
He groaned and closed his eyes again. She looked down at his chest and examined the gaping wound. A mist of blue code swirled above, and through it she could see that the damage was extensive. She reached over and grabbed his light disk from the ground and looked up at sky. The light jets were getting much closer and there was no way she could repair him before they reached them. She needed to get him somewhere where she could treat him. She looked back at Tron and found that his eyes were open again as he struggled to look back at her.
"Tron, we need to get out of here. Do you think you can walk?"
She saw that he was starting to lose consciousness again, his eyelids drooped and his head lolled backwards. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him firmly.
"Tron! Tron!"
"Get Up!"
His eyes opened and for the first time he met her gaze. In that moment her stomach flipped and suddenly she felt very self-conscious; intimidated in the presence of the greatest warrior the grid had ever known. She pushed back her doubts and reached out to him, pulling his shoulder forwards and clipping his disk to his back. She stood up and help pull Tron to his feet. He winced and breathed heavily between his teeth, but managed to steady himself. Ce pulled his arm around her shoulder and he leaned on her as she helped him slowly and painfully across the roof to the door and into the elevator.
Opening the front door to the building she could hear the sounds of lightbikes approaching. She looked across the street to the large containers at the docks.
"This way," she murmured as she half dragged him across the street. Tron stumbled slightly and Ce panted under his weight, but somehow they made it to the other side and beyond the outer perimeter of docks. She found a spot between two stacks of containers that was partially covered from the air and lowered Tron to the ground, gently leaning him back against the corrugated surface. She reached over his shoulder for his disk but Tron batted her hand away.
"I'm a medic. I can help," she insisted impatiently.
She reached out again and Tron raised his hand weakly in resistance. Irritated, she pushed it aside and unclipped his disk. Tron groaned in protest, but was too exhausted to stop her. Instead, he watched as she accessed his disk and poured over his code, surveying the damage, pausing only to watch as the lightjets tore overhead and circled back around.
She knew that it was only a matter of time before the guards would come looking for them, so she quickly changed track and accessed the files for attire. Promptly, pixels of black fanned out across Trons body, replacing his white suit.
"Good," she muttered to herself "Now you don't stick out like a walking spotlight anymore."
She sighed as her fingers danced across the images and digits projected above the disk so quickly, Tron had no way to keep up with the changes she was making. Suddenly he felt a surge of heat through his body, the pain numbing, his chest tightening and his head felt impossibly light. The blue streaks that scarred his torso faded to black. He struggled again to focus on his surroundings.
"What have you done to me?" he croaked.
Ce knelt forwards and pulled his face level to hers, staring into his eyes. "Can you see me ok?"
He nodded weakly. She leaned over and clipped his disk back onto his back, before lowering herself back face to face with him. She spoke steadily and firmly.
"I'm Ce. I'm a friend. Your code is too badly damaged. I need to get you somewhere safer before I can help you. I've diverted power from some less necessary functions to help you move and keep the damage from getting worse. Do you understand?"
Tron nodded. She continued.
"You're going to feel a little strange for a while, so I need you to try to focus on me as much as you can. You'll be using energy faster than you can pull from the grid, so we won't have much time before your systems will start to shut down. Just follow as quickly as you can - my unit isn't far from here. Can you do that?"
He nodded again and she helped him back to his feet. This time it was effortless; but the effect was disorientating and he felt like he was much taller, like his head was being pulled upwards by a string. Ce turned away and took a few steps to the edge of the container and peered around. He followed and struggled to stop without losing his balance and had to reach out to steady himself. He felt uncomfortable, like he was drunk, the sights seeming to shift around the edges of his vision.
Tron narrowed his focus and stared at the slender figure before him, watching for a cue. He wasn't even sure if he could trust her, but at this point he was incapable of defending himself. Though he was loathed to admit it to himself, he needed her help. And he didn't have any choice but to hope that she truly was an ally.
