Accessing Archived Data…
Beck experiences a loss…
Beck couldn't find Paige. He slumped to the floor, his head in his hands, trying to fight the notion welling up in the back of his mind. Clu's great conquest of perfection had crushed her in its wake leaving Beck feeling defeated and hopeless. That was two people he cared about now taken by Clu's regime.
...While the uprising gains a victory…
"Glad you made it back," Tron said, "Did the cube make it out with you?"
Beck pulled out the data cube he had managed to steal. He thought about Paige, about Bodhi, about Able, Zed, Mara, and Tron. His hand tightened with resolve around the stolen data cube, he wasn't going to let the Occupation take anyone else. He handed it to Tron, "It did."
...However, distrust begins to take shape...
There had been several people who had made snide remarks about Raven's previous loyalty to the Occupation behind her back. The first few times Mara had nearly scolded the speaker, but each time Raven would stop her saying that it wasn't worth it. The former soldier chose her battles carefully. Clearly, though, the strain of such distrust was getting to her after so many jabs at her integrity.
...But some welcome the newest addition to the Uprising…
"My captain always called me 2890958433," her voice sounded shaky.
Link sat for a moment, repeating the number in his head, but he soon lost it again, "Is there something else I can call you?"
"Why?" she narrowed her eyes.
"I keep forgetting the number," Link said embarrassed, "Do you have another name, or something?"
She gave Link a smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Link replied automatically, but stopped and even more confused asked, "For what?"
"No one's asked for my real name in while," She unbent her legs and sat criss-cross, "For the longest time, I was just a number." She extended a hand, "My name is Raven." Her smile beamed with warmth.
Link shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, Raven."
...And Beck makes a promise to a friend…
Link turned towards Beck, "Even though Abel's gone, this place is still home. I don't know if I can leave it."
Beck sighed. He couldn't tell Link, but the same feeling had hit him. "You'll come back here someday," Link looked up, "That's what we're fighting for so that we don't lose anything or anyone else."
—
Raven hung onto the cliff. It was black all around her except for the lone program standing on ledge. It was a female program, her long, braided, golden-red hair hung to her waist. She was as young as Raven remembered her. The blonde program kneeled down closer to Raven as her fingers began to weaken. "Help!" Raven shouted, 'I'm slipping!"
"You're afraid to fall," replied the other program. She grabbed Raven's hand and pulled her up to eye level. "That's good," she let go. Raven screamed as she plummeted down. Air and water swirled around her as she landed on the edge of the Sea of Simulation, the artificial waves lapped at the rocks she stood on. A smooth yet forceful hand jerked Raven's head around to face the blonde program. Raven drew her disk, but couldn't look away. For her, those deep golden eyes seem to swallow her, engulf her mind and motivation in a cold, metallic grasp. It would be so easy to give in here, to let go and submit. Then for an instant, she saw a flash of white in that sea of gold. A white pure and noble and she knew. "I won't say them," Raven replied, her voice still shaky, but confident.
The blonde program grabbed Raven's arm holding her disk, "Come one," she said as she slowly moved the disk toward her own chest, "You can't refuse," She pressed the disk to her sternum, "Say those words." Raven's disk began to be absorbed by the other program until it was gone, "Say them."
Raven fought the words. They rose up in her throat, welling with memories and feelings. There was panic, pain, anguish, and a throbbing dread that drove the words to her lips, but before she could say them, she saw a figure in the distance. She couldn't see his face, but his suit was white and his chest bore four small squares forming a capital "T."
"Tron," she thought. Redoubling her efforts to fight the words, the words she knew she must not say, Raven replied, "I will not say them."
There was a flare of orange light as the other program's gridlines flamed in agitation. With a steel grip, she took Raven's arm and pushed her back into the Sea. Where her fingers touched Raven's arm, the orange lines on the program's suit began spreading onto Raven's, slowly enveloping her in Occupation uniform. Raven screamed as the spreading orange lines seared themselves onto her body. The other program pushed her into waist deep water which was now bubbling and boiling around them. "Say. The. Words." hissed the other program. Raven thrashed her arms in an effort to break free, but the only result was her sinking further into the water. "Say them," continued the other program, "You must say them." Raven looked to Tron in the distance and for a moment she could resists, but a wave washed over her head, and he disappeared. With no strength left, Raven sank until just her chin was above the water. Without Tron, the memories came flooding in, overwhelming her until she couldn't fight them. As the black waters rose almost to Raven's face, the other program asked once again, "Say the words, Raven."
Her resolve was broken. Raven, with the dark waters filling her mouth, spoke the dreaded words, "I am afraid." Then she disappeared beneath the waves, swallowed whole by the sea...
"Aaaaaah!" Raven screamed. She had woken up in a sweat. She was in her bed back in Tron's hideout. This was the third nightmare she'd had in the last five days. She was almost afraid to go to sleep for fear of having the same haunting dream again and again. Having no choice, however, but to resign herself to the night, she lay back down, knowing she'd get no rest.
TRON: Uprising
Raven's Reckoning
She flew in on a lone light jet. Her long braid of gold and red hair streamed out behind her. A single orange streak across the dark sky of the Grid marked her progress towards Argon. She had gotten the message six cycles ago; "Come to Argon city immediately."
The message had said nothing about why she was crossing half the Grid to come to the small city. That didn't bother her; she rarely asked the "why" and just enjoyed the "how." She had been the first person to figure out how to repurpose programs, although she disliked Clu's mass-produced version of her methods. Her own by-hand technique rendered the individual loyal, yet retained their personality. On top of that, it was a lot more fun. Her last assignment for Clu was to personally alter a revolutionary by the name of Cutler. He had been difficult, but few could resist her methods. The only drawback to her techniques were that for some subjects it could take days, weeks, or possibly months to recondition them effectively. But, in the end, they all succumbed to her persuasive voice.
The thin ban of light that was Argon came over the horizon, she was almost there. Pushing her control sticks forward, she speed towards the city, not noticing as several lights beneath the waves veered off toward the Outlands. Tron had been following her almost all day. The Uprising had intercepted a envoy stating a new officer would arrive that day; however, the transmission didn't specify the new official's rank or what their purposes was in Argon. Tron had taken his submersible out to intercept the newcomer to try to discover those two very pieces of information. As he sped back to the hideout under the waves, he reflected on what he had gleamed from his recon, which wasn't much. She was a general with marks of special distinction, but as to why she was in Argon, that was still a mystery.
Whoever she was, Tron's gut feeling told him to keep an eye on her. Based on the data cubes Beck and Raven had managed to steal, they knew Clu had begun construction on a repurposing center in Argon, only they hadn't been able to figure out where it was. What the data cubes had told them was construction had stopped for reasons unknown. That combined with the arrival of this new officer couldn't be a coincidence and Tron had a feeling that whoever this new arrival was, she had something to do with it.
Beck strolled in between the shipping crates. He was flanked by five black guards on either side. High above them, amidst the web of crane towers and suspension cables sat Mara, Dash, and fourteen other programs. Mara stared down at their target; Beck's disk. She nodded to Dash and the group put up their faceplates. In total silence, she and the others jumped. Waiting for just the right moment, they hurled their smoke bombs to the ground in mid air, right in the middle of Beck and the guards. Quickly pulling their wing shoots, the group of Uprising troops stormed into the mist. Grunts and groans issued from the thick dust as several blackguards were shunted out, unconscious.
The tide quickly turned, however, as Dash, in the middle of a fist fight with a guard, took a disk to the back and went down. Likewise, the black guards easily outclassed the other young ambushers. On top of that, Beck's raw skill didn't make things any easier. As three freedom fighters charged him, he grabbed the first, swung her into the second, causing the third to trip and fall. Lying at the bottom of the heap, Mara looked up at Beck as he walked over, docking his disk.
"That was better," he said derezzing his helmet, "End simulation," he told the computer. The shipping crates, cranes, and lapping sea decomposed into basic grid lines before disappearing. He offered a hand to the trio before him and as they got up, he looked around. Most of the attack group were still on their feet. Beck smiled, that was progress. They had run the simulation ten times now and for the first six or seven, the artificial black guards had wiped the floor with the Uprising recruits. Not any more, though, as it looked as if the newcomers were finally getting their combat forms down.
He noticed Link sprawled out on the floor. Proffering a hand, Beck pulled him to his feet. "Sorry about that, Beck."
"What's to be sorry for?" Beck asked, putting an arm on Link's shoulder, "That was good. A few more runs and you guys will be set."
"Yeah about that," Dash came over, "we've been at this all morning. Could we, you know, take a break?"
Beck looked past Dash to see the hopeful faces of the other programs. He smiled. They'd earned it. "Alright. We'll call it a day." There was a collective sigh from the recruits as they shuffled to the training room door, weighed with fatigue
Before they could leave, Zed stepped into the hallway door, "You aren't done yet. Vehicle practice." Everyone moaned.
"Do we have to?" Link asked, rubbing his sore arm from the fighting a few minutes earlier.
"It's for your benefit. You wouldn't want to be shot out of the sky someday, would you?" Zed crossed his arms.
"Zed's right," Beck added, walking over, "vehicle training is as important as combat training." Beck held up a finger, "But rest is important, too. Take a ten minute break before light jet drills." More or less satisfied, the weary programs filed out of the room. Beck put a hand on Zed's shoulder, "I think your promotion may have gone to your head."
"What? Fame go to my head?," Zed scoffed as he hobbled after Mara and the others on his crutches.
"Practice went well, I see," a solid voice said.
"It did," Beck turned to face Tron, but upon seeing his scowl, replied, "I take it our intel mission didn't go so well."
"I got more than I thought I would, but not enough," Tron pullout out his disk. After sifting through a few memories, he highlighted one that showed the female program on the light jet. "Notice anything?"
Beck squinted at the holographic display, "She's a general." He looked up at Tron, "Why send a general? They already have Tesler."
"My thoughts exactly," Tron replied. He pulled out a data pad and transferred the image of the general to it. He handed the pad to Beck, "As of right now, finding out who she is and why she's in Argon is top priority. Clu wouldn't ask for another general unless something big was happening."
Just then the door opened admitting Raven. She was slumped over and had to steady herself against the wall. "I'm here. I'm-" she looked around, "Where is everyone? I thought we were doing a snatch and grab exercise today."
Tron and Beck looked at each other. "Raven, the training is over."
"What!" she leaned against the wall, "I missed it?"
"Kind of, yeah," Beck replied, "Are you ok?"
Raven put a hand to her head, "Yeah, just a little tired"
"You look exhausted," Tron pointed out flatly.
"Hey, I can still do this-" Raven replied, defensive.
Tron crossed his arms, "I disagree. Take some time off," when Raven protested, he added, "That's an order."
"Alright," she sighed. "But at least tell me if there is any new intel."
"Yes, but it doesn't tell us much," Beck walked over and handed her the pad, "A new general just arrived. For what, though, we're not sure."
Raven didn't seem to hear him as she stared at the image on the screen. "We're having a hard time recognizing her," Tron said, "Even from my time as a security program, I can't place her."
Beck noticed Raven's hand was shaky as the datapad began to wobble, "Raven?"
"That's her," she replied, "After all this time, she's here."
"Who?" Tron asked.
Raven met his eyes, her own filled with a single emotion: fear. "Phobos."
"Phobos, it's good to see you," Dyson had gone out personally to welcome the newest addition to Argon. The female officer flipped her long golden-red hair as she collapsed her light jet.
She looked up at him, "Dyson?"
"Surprised?"
"Only a little," she walked up to him, "Where ever Clu is, you're never too far behind." Dyson tensed slightly as she put her hand on his chest and ran her fingers up to the right side of his face, "Mmm, some of my best work."
"Thank you once again," he said not unkindly, "for repairing what the ISOs ruined."
She held her lips close to his. Dyson didn't retreat. "Any time," she whispered in his ear as she began combing her fingers through his hair.
However, he reached up and stopped her hand, "Do you know the expression, 'Work first, play later?'"
She rolled her eyes, "When it comes to us, you never seem to get to the second one."
Dyson grinned, "We'll have time."
They then began their walk back inside the command ship. "Speaking of which," she remarked coyly, "It's about time you told me what I'm really doing here. Your message wasn't exactly teeming with information."
A soft chuckle escaped Dyson. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he pointed her out toward the bay area. She could see what used to be a garage, but it was surrounded with construction equipment. "That is what you are here for. Our new repurposing center."
She gave him a raised eyebrow, "It's finished?"
"Not on a large scale. The first few reconditioning chambers are in operative order and seeing as you were the inventor, there's no one better to test their quality."
"An inspection?" she gave him a distasteful look, "you brought me out here to do an inspection?" She narrowed her eyes, "You could have asked any old tech to do that for you. Why ask for me?"
Dyson smiled mischievously, "Work first," he replied as he pulled her closer to his chest, "play later. One of the advantages of power is that I can do what I want. I wanted you here for more...personal reasons."
She cosied up to him, "Mmmmh, you are a devil. I'll have it done by the end of the next cycle." She slipped away inside. Dyson watched with lustful eyes until she got into the elevator. The doors closed and Dyson's practiced smile dropped. Straightening his shoulders, he again looked out over the harbor. He remembered when he first met Phobos and how she had repaired his face. He had been grateful, but she had taken his gratitude for affection. He had been looking for a way to get rid of her and this was the perfect opportunity. The repurposing chambers didn't need an inspection and even if they had, a simple technician would have been preferable to Phobos. No, the real reason she was here was as bait. Once Dyson let word slip about who she was and why she was here, he and Clu were sure Tron would come running. True, they might lose a repurposing center, but if so, Dyson was hopeful they'd lose Phobos with it. She was a pest to him and a dangerous one; if Tron or anyone got their hands on her disk, they'd have the key to the repurposing process, and possibly, a way to undo it.
"Now place that one there," Raven guided Links fingers along the digital surface until the item he'd been dragging across the touch screen came to rest in a neat little box icon. "Alright that wraps what set up."
"Cool!" Link enthusiastically practiced the steps she'd taught him, "Thanks for showing me."
"Glad to," she yawned, "Tron told me to take it easy, but I can't just sit around. Teaching you Occupation code breaking is the next best thing. This way we can both do something."
"Yeah," he turned toward the screen again and after a minute, "Hey, do you think you could show me that set one more time?" When he didn't get a response he looked around to see Raven asleep on a bench. "Uh...Raven?" He said softly, "Raven."
"Uh-huh? What?" she sputtered. Catching Link's expression, she asked "Did I fall asleep again?"
"Yeah," Link replied sheepishly, "for a couple seconds."
Raven stood up, "Sorry…"
"No it's fine," Link started, "I mean, I really appreciate you teaching me all the cool decoding stuff but if you're tired…" he trailed off.
"It's alright," she leaned back, "but how about we take a break? I've been showing you those decryption pathways for hours now."
Glad to rest, Link sat down on the bench opposite her. She rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Smiling, Link thought a nap might be a good idea, too. Vehicle practice with Zed earlier had been a doozy with most everyone leaving the training field with no small collection of bruises and scrapes. It also was the first time Link had ridden a light jet and he was relieved when Zed had place the inhibitor code on the accelerator to limit the max speed he could go. Without it, Link was sure he'd have flown off uncontrollably and hit something.
"You're doing it again," Raven said.
Link nearly jumped in surprise, he'd thought she was asleep, "Uh- doing what?"
She opened her eyes and sat up, "Staring at me."
Link blushed, "No I wasn't."
"Yes you were. Same as you were doing a few minutes ago."
He was about to deny it when he remembered he had stared at her a couple times. "Well, those times I just…" he struggled for an excuse, "wanted to make sure you were ok."
He didn't believe it himself and neither did Raven. Link thought she'd be mad, but instead she seemed touched, "Thanks," she replied, although she gave him a sideways glance that indicated she didn't really believe him.
Eager for a change of subject, "So… have Tron or Beck gotten any info more on the new general Phobos person in Argon?" he asked.
"No," Raven sighed, "And I don't know if I'm anxious or relieved by that."
"Why? Is it because she's the person from your nightmares?" Raven shot him a sharp look and Link looked down abashed, "You talked in you sleep once."
"Oh…" Raven blushed and looked around the room for something else to talk about. Nothing, however, seemed willing to supply food for conversation. So instead, the two sat there for an awkward moment, both a little embarrassed.
Eventually Link couldn't take it anymore, "Can I ask, what was she like? This Phobos person." He was grasping at straws. He didn't want to bring up anything painful for her, but he remembered when Abel had died it had helped him to talk to his friends about it. Were he and Raven friends? He didn't really know, but he both felt an obligation and a want to help her and this was the only way he knew how. "If it helps to talk about it," he added.
Raven thought for second. She really didn't want to talk about what she'd been through. She had been tortured, isolated and left in misery only to escape with her life and sanity. But clearly Link cared. When she'd first joined the Uprising, he was the only one to welcome her not as a former enemy, but just as someone who needed a friend. Even now, with all the rumors and gossip floating around about her previous alliance with the Occupation, Link didn't seem to care. Whenever she talked with him she didn't feel like he was viewing her as a soldier, a traitor, or a trainer. To him, she was just Raven and there was something immensely comforting in that, especially now.
Her mind went back to something Tron had said earlier. He had told her he had gone through something similar when Dyson had tortured him. The only reason he survived was with help from a few friends. Although it wasn't there anymore, Tron had used a healing tank designed by a good friend named Abel that had kept him in decent enough condition to carry on the Uprising. In retrospect, Tron had told her that Abel himself had helped him heal as much as the tank he designed had. They hadn't talked or had any kind of heart to heart, but Abel was a strong and steadfast program; he had understood the nature of Tron's betrayal and in building him, what in effect became Tron's new home, showed how deeply he could be trusted.
She looked up from her thoughts to see that Link was still waiting. However, he took her eye contact for a "no" and stood up to continue practicing the decryption pathways. She watched him for a moment. Link wasn't an Abel. He hadn't moved heaven and earth to help her, he had simply asked for her name. Yet, in effect, he had given her name back to her. He had given her a light in dark place, both literally and figuratively.
She sighed, then spoke, "She was terrifying."
Link turned around, "Phobos?"
Raven nodded, "Her job was to brainwash us into compliance. If we didn't cooperate, she'd send us off to be repurposed." She recalled images of friends, other security programs that had stood against the Purge of the ISOs. She remembered their faces when the black guards dragged them to the repurposing centers as she looked on, helpless
She went on, her voice unsteady, "I don't think any of my friends made it. They resisted and...and I never saw them again." Raven took a shaky breath and went on, "I don't know if it was because I was friends with an ISO before or something else, but instead of sending me off to be repurposed, she kept me.
"When she first started trying to convert me, I told her I would never give in and that I I wasn't afraid of the consequences. So she began hitting, trying to drown me, putting me in a ring of soldiers who… who would-would beat me up. She made it her goal to not just break me, but get me to fear her, to say-to say..." Raven stopped. She started crying softly. She held her face in her hands, trying not to break down completely. Link didn't know what to do. He didn't want her to cry so he put a hand on her arm to try and comfort her. She put her hand in his and after a moment seemed to feel better.
The two sat there for a moment, nothing to disturb them. It finally ended when the screen Link had been practicing on gave a notification sound. Wiping tears away with the back of her hand, Raven went to look and saw it was a new intercepted message. With deft fingers she opened the message and began decrypting it. "Strange," she thought, "this isn't very hard," the message didn't have the usual five layers of code to hide its contents, but that thought disappeared when she at last pulled out the order it contained. Link looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened.
"That's her," he read further into the order details, "She's here for an inspection?"
"Phobos designed some of the first repurposers," Raven shivered at the thought, "she must be here to check out the ones their building in Argon. Up until now, Tron said we haven't been able to locate them." She pulled a copy of the message onto a datapad, "But with this, we finally know where to strike."
"Great! So where are they?" Link asked.
Raven scanned through the information until she came to the very bottom, "They're inside of a large structure… there's an image here." She turned the tablet around to show Link. In front of him was none other than Abel's garage.
"What's going on?" Mara poked her head out of her room as dozens of programs rushed by.
"Tron's called a meeting," Dash said as he passed. Joining the group, Mara and the other programs made their way to the observation deck on the top floor. Upon entering, she saw that everyone had gathered at the base of the elevated platform, on top of which stood Tron, Beck, and Raven. A few stragglers came in after her and Tron gave a raised hand for silence.
"Today is the first opportunity to strike back at the Occupation. We have recently discovered the location of a repurposing center in Argon; inside of Abel's garage," at this there were hushed whispers which fell quiet as Tron resumed, "Our mission is to mount a covert assault on the building and bring down any equipment inside. Many of you haven't been here long and some of you may have second thoughts about going into the field. Which is why not all of you will be accompanying the strike team."
Beck stepped up, "Half of you will stay here in case we're either captured or killed."
Dash spoke up, "I know we're kind of new at this, but don't we stand a better chance if everyone was part of the attack?"
"No," it was Raven this time, "because if those who go don't make it, everyone here will need to carry on the cause." There was a solemn hush after she spoke. Everyone knew she was right, but it was uncomfortable to have the bleak possibility said aloud.
"There will be two teams," Tron paced the platform, "one with me and one with Raven," at this Raven flinched, but Tron didn't notice. "My team will infiltrate the garage and plant charges on key supports, bringing the structure down and the repurposing equipment inside along with it. Raven's team will pull a snatch and grab on General Phobos's disk. Questions?" No one spoke, "We leave in twenty."
As Beck sorted everyone into groups, those who'd stay and those who'd go, Raven pulled Tron aside. "Sir," she looked shaken, "I can't go."
"You have to. You're the only one who has prior experience with General Phobos. We know she'll be down there and you are the best person we have to deal with her."
"Tron," her voice had a slight treble to it, "I can't face her. She's a monster."
"I know," he put a hand on her shoulder. His face had softened and he said, "Although I wasn't afraid, I learned a valuable lesson from when I fought Dyson." He turned to look out the window at the city below, "You can't let them control you. If I had derezzed Dyson, I would have become like him, but I didn't because I knew I was part of something bigger."
"The Uprising," Raven responded.
Tron nodded, "We all have our jobs. Yours is to get that disk. With it we will have valuable information on the Occupation's forces that we can use to turn the tide in this conflict."
Raven cast another look out onto Argon below. Somewhere down there was her greatest fear, but it was a fear she knew she had to face. "I'll do it," she said, her tone firm and confident.
"Good to hear it."
Back over with Beck, he had finished sorting everyone and had the two teams ready. Zed led both groups to the armoury to stock up on batons and bombs while those who stayed settled in. Beck was about to show some of them how to use the advanced observation deck window to watch the operation from afar when he felt a hand on his arm. Turning around he saw it was Link who had stopped him.
"Beck, I want to go with the strike team."
Beck was surprised, "You want to go?" Link nodded, "Well, Link," Beck tried not to sound too harsh, "we need our best fighters down there and, well…"
"I know I'm not a good fighter, but…" Link shuffled his feet, "You told me when we left that someday I could come back."
Beck remembered, but he had meant after the Uprising had won the war. He certainly would never have thought that they'd have to blow up Abel's garage in their fight with the Occupation. Now he was stuck in between the right choice and the smart one; he could deny Link and break his promise or send him at risk of having an extra man to slow things down. Beck mulled it over and considered. Link would be surrounded by at least seven other programs at all times for as much as he wanted the mission to succeed, Beck he had made Link a promise and this was the only way to keep it. Crossing his arms and with a heavy sigh Beck said, "Fine. I'll send you with Raven's team," Link's face broke into a small smile, "Just, be careful," Beck added.
"Thanks Beck," Link rushed off the armoury to get suited up, leaving Beck with mixed feelings about what he'd just done. What had Tron said? If he wanted to make a decision, then go ahead and make one, but be prepared to deal with the consequences. His shoulders slumped at the thought, Tron's motivational talks really could use some work.
A trio of Recognizers cruised low over Argon's skyline, heading for the bay area and the disguised repurposing center. Inside the lead ship stood both Dyson and Phobos. Thus far, he was thankful Phobos had remained professional in his company, he didn't know if he could stomach playing smitten anymore than he already was. But it was almost over, the plan was rolling into effect smoothly and Phobos didn't suspect a thing. He had taken the time to butter her up sufficiently before the mission started to make her putty in his hands. When they landed and things got underway, she'd be right where he needed her to be.
"We're approaching the garage now, sir," remarked the pilot from above them.
"Take us down," Dyson ordered and the recognizer began its descent. Upon touchdown he, Phobos, and a battalion of guards exited the ramp. Dyson caught her eye studying the armed escort and guessed her thoughts, "Too much company?" he asked.
"I should say so," her voice tinged with annoyance, "is that, what's his name, the Renegade really such a problem that we need all these extra troops?"
"If only you knew," Dyson thought. He assured her the guards had been assigned by Clu himself to ensure her safety, she was, after all, a guest in their city. They had brought a total of thirty programs for protection, but not just any programs. Dyson knew the battalion that accompanied them consisted of honor guards, the elite of the elite when it came to Clu's fighting force. Additionally, fifty more personal waited just outside the perimeter of the garage in case things got ugly.
Upon entering the garage, Dyson directed Phobos to the nearest reconditioner engine, the heart and soul of the repurposing process. While she was busy running basic diagnostics on it, he took the opportunity to do a visual sweep of the garage. All of the previous mechanical equipment had been cleared out to make room for the large machines necessary for repurposing. Dyson inwardly groaned, the large apparatuses that now filled the space had numerous nooks and crannies, perfect for hiding in.
High above in the rafters, crouched Tron and the several programs who made up his team. They had just set the last of the explosives when Dyson had shown up. Even from his perch a hundred meters up, Tron could tell there was something different about the guards that had accompanied Dyson and Phobos, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was the just the fact there were too many of them. The plan had hinged upon their only being fifteen to twenty guards, not thirty. While thinking, he felt a touch on the shoulder to get his attention. It was Dash and he derezzed his helmet to talk, "We have a problem."
There always seemed to be one, "What did you find?"
"More guards, the entire outside of the building is surrounded by them."
Tron's brow furrowed as he swore under his breath, "It's a trap." He looked back down at the guards below. They had to be honor guards and they were waiting for someone to make an attempt on Phobos's disk. Thinking fast, he knew they had to get a message out to Raven's team to abort the mission. He was about to speak when he realized this might be their one opportunity to get the information they needed. Once the inspection was complete, Tron was sure Phobos would leave and all the valuable information she had with her.
"What do we do?" Dash asked. He and the others of his team looked worried, but ready to fight. Tron paused for a moment. If this was the only shot they had to get her disk, then Raven's team would need an opening, a diversion.
"How many bombs do we have left?" Tron asked.
There was some whispering behind Dash before someone replied, "Three."
That wasn't much. Tron scanned the Occupation forces below, trying to think how to best utilize the charges. His eyes landed on the three Recognizers outside and a smile appeared on his face. He called out to a program in the back, "Jet."
A program with dark green lines and buzz cut, black hair came forward, "Yes, sir?"
Tron gave both Dash and Jet a bomb and took one for himself, "You see those recognizers out there?"
"Yeah."
"Us three are going to rig them with the last of our bombs," Tron motioned to everyone else, "The rest of of you, take your light jets and head to the roof. When you see the bombs detonate, take off. Once you're in the air, start bombarding the ground outside the building, try to keep their reinforcements from using their light jets."
"Where will you guys be?" someone asked.
"We'll be right behind you," Tron replied, "Now let's get a move on!"
Down below them, hidden in the myriad folds of the vast machinery, were Raven, Link and their team. They had intended to jump the inspection party as soon as they entered, but Raven had belayed the order when she had seen that the guards outnumbered them five to one. Since then, she had been trying to rethink their plan, but every option she'd come up with she knew would get most, if not all of them, derezzed.
"Curse the Grid! If there was only a way to get behind them from here." Phobos and the soldiers were standing right in front of one of the large machines so that guards were all facing outward with a wall to their backs.
"There is a way." Raven turned around to see it was Link who had spoken. "When we repaired vehicle's here, sometimes they'd leak energy. We had drains set in the floor to let the energy flow out of the garage."
"So you're saying that there are pipes running underneath this place?" Link nodded, "Are they big enough for someone to fit in?"
"I think so…"
"Link, I need to know so. I can't move our position on a hunch."
"Well they were big enough for me," Link looked embarrassed, "Abel had me clean them out one time."
Any other time, Raven would have laughed, but the gravity of the situation was too intense. "Can you lead us to the pipe's service entrance?" Link said he could and stealthily, the group began to move further back into the garage. Unfortunately, they weren't stealthy enough. Link had a particularly hard time making through a small gap. With a shove, he got through, but the squeeze was so tight it knocked his baton free from his leg. It hit the floor with a single, ringing, clang. Everyone, guards, freedom fighters, Raven, Link, Dyson and Phobos all froze at the sound.
"Finally," Dyson said to himself. With a hand gesture, he signalled the honor guards who noiselessly drew their disks. Half of the guards headed towards the sound while the other half stayed behind to guard Phobos.
"Is that him?" she asked Dyson.
"Likely," she probably meant the Renegade, but Dyson knew it was someone much worse.
Phobos drew her disk which hummed to life with a sickly yellow color, "I'd love to meet him."
The fifteen honor guards who'd gone in search of Raven and her team were getting closer. Neither Link, Raven, or anyone had so much as breathed since the guards started to approach. They were too afraid that the slightest movement would give away their position. The soldiers climbed through and over the equipment, circling in on the source of the sound and incidentally its maker. They were just a few meters away now, Raven could see them through slits in machinery as came nearer. She was just thinking about how fast she could draw her disk when there was a loud explosion. It was followed by two more from outside as everyone turned to see the recognizers outside go up in flames. Raven saw their opportunity and took it, shouting, "On me!"
Together with the rest of their team, they rushed the honor guards. Catching them with unawares and with the tight quarters on their side, Raven and her squad made surprising quick work of Clu's elite soldiers. One or two managed to recover enough to put up a fight, but by that point they were hopelessly outnumbered. With the last honor guard knocked unconscious, Raven did a headcount, everyone was still in one piece and better yet, none seemed to be injured. Although she was relieved, she knew that the remaining guards around Phobos wouldn't be so easy.
Raven turned to Link, "We won this fight, but if we still want Phobos, we're going to need those tunnels."
Link motioned with his hand, "This way!"
"Now!" Tron had shouted. The blast from their three bombs had ripped apart the recognizers sending showers of voxels into the air. Having cast a look inside, Tron had spotted Raven making good use of their diversion. But now their job was done. Tron, Dash, and Jet had popped their light jet batons and had taken to the skies to help the others pepper the ground troops with energy bolts. But just as Tron had rezzed his jet, a blindingly fast orange disk had hit it and broken the code. So while Dash and Jet had taken off, Tron had been grounded, his light jet destroyed.
All of this flashed through Tron's mind as he picked himself up from his failed take off. When he looked up he saw the owner of the disk that had ruined his take off. Dyson, along with two guards, were coming toward him, disks drawn. Taking out his as well, Tron assumed a defensive stance, the cutting edge of his disk humming hungrily.
"Well old friend," Dyson and the guards stopped a few feet away, "I hope you're ready for surrender."
"Gladly," Tron sneered, "I'll accept yours anytime."
Peeved, Dyson ordered the two guards to attack. Tron didn't even blink. He jumped and pulled himself into a tight spiral kick which landed his foot squarely on the leading guards head, the blow sending him straight to the ground, out cold. The second guard was more cautious, making jabs at Tron from a distance to test the older programs reach. What he found out was Tron's reach was quite far. With blinding speed, Tron ricochet his disk off the ground up into the soldier's hand causing him to drop his disk. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the guard's now empty hand and, throwing him over his shoulder, brought him to the ground where he drove his elbow into the other programs face plate. The hit to the head was so hard it broke the honor guard's helmet and rendered him unconscious.
Tron stood up just as a disk came zooming toward him. He barely had time to react before the disk made contact with his arm, only grazing it slightly but enough to be plenty painful. Instinctively, Tron switch his disk to his was his less dominant hand and he looked up to see the attacking disk return to Dyson. "I was counting on you being here."
"The message, I was told it didn't have much encryption on it. You wanted us to get it."
Dyson shrugged, "Guilty." Taking a running start, he lunged at Tron. The Champion of the Grid easily parried the jab, but having only his left hand to use and his other searing with pain, there wasn't much more that he could do than stay on the defensive. Dyson pressed the attack, launching a fury of near misses and close shaves with his former friend, but to no avail. Although Tron's arm was wounded, the rest of him was in perfect condition; he could evade Dyson all cycle if he had to. Dyson quickly realized that out in the open Tron had all the room he needed to outmaneuver him. With a spin kick to Tron's left side, he changed the direction of the fight, beating Tron back toward the waterfront.
Phobos fiddled with her disk. She was boxed in on three sides by honor guards and she was itching to get some action. She could hear the light jets outside raining fire down on what she suspected where Occupation ground troops. How many of these programs were there? Back in the capital, the Uprising in Argon had been dismissed as nothing more than one or two freaks with delusions of grandeur, but this was clearly different. Whoever these people were, they'd already taken out half of her body guards and, with only a handful of pilots, were keeping the rest of their reinforcements suppressed. These people were organized and much better than the Occupation gave them credit for. At the thought, her grip on her disk tightened; organized or not, they weren't going to take her.
As if in response to her thoughts, she heard a quiet noise at her feet. Looking down she saw several small pellets roll out from behind her. Realization hit just as she and the guards were engulfed in a cloud of smoke. She couldn't see anything, but she could her people rezzing their disks which was followed quite closely by the sound of bodies dropping to the floor. In the dim mist, Phobos could see flashes of orange as the honor guards tried to find their ambushers. But then a streak of blue color like lightning appeared and she heard someone grunt. Bolts of green and white lights followed and Phobos knew the fight wasn't going in her favor. Rather than stick it out, she grabbed her bike baton and upon breaking it, shot out of the cloud of smoke and the ensuing ambush.
But she wasn't about to get away scot free. As Phobos escaped the thick vapor, a program rolled out from the fight and hurled her disk after Phobos. The disk sliced the back of her light cycle causing it to veer wildly to the left and careen through the garage's wall. Having sustained too much damage, the bike shrunk back into a batten while still in motion, throwing the disoriented Phobos to the ground.
Rubbing her head, she sat up to see that she was near the waterfront, the simulated sea only a few meters away. What's more, she saw the same program who'd disabled her bike coming toward her. Quickly drawing herself up, she pulled out her disk and studied the approaching program. She sighed in disappointment; it wasn't the Renegade. The Renegade, she knew, wore white and was a male program; this was a woman and she wore a black guard's uniform but with the gridlines blue instead of orange.
"Take it from me, program," Phobos said smugly, "You don't know who I am and you don't want to."
"Oh, but I do."
That was definitely not a response Phobos was expecting. The other program collapsed her helmet revealing a face cloaked with long black hair with streams of blue in it. Phobos's face broke into a smile. "Oh, it's you."
Raven revved her disk, "You can give me your disk now, or I'll take it from you." She was surprised when she got a laugh in response. "Give it up, Phobos, you were never good at combat. You know I'll win."
Phobos crouched into a combat stance, "Come try me."
Confident, Raven closed the distance in six steps and brought her disk down hard on Phobos. But Phobos wasn't there. She had deftly dodged the attack and in the process swept Raven's legs out from under her. Raven was stupefied, her previous commander had never, never done well in a fight, preferring to keep her battles on the mental plane where she could outsmart other programs.
"Surprised?" Phobos ran her finger over her disk sensuously, "I got a little training from Dyson." She saw Raven's dumbfounded expression and smiled, "Oh, you thought you'd wipe the floor with me did you? You were always one to assume, 8433."
"Don't call me that!" Raven sprang to her feet and threw everything she had into a barrage of hits on Phobos. But the Occupation general danced around her attacks, seemingly amused.
"Not call you by your number?" Phobos said in mocking innocence, "But that's what you were, my dear." With a spin kick, she knock Raven's disk out of her hand, "That's what you are." Raven threw a punch at her and with more dexterity than she than she thought possible, Phobos managed to twist Raven's arm behind her back. She squirmed to try and get out of her captures hold, but Phobos's grip was like steel. "Do you remember my favorite words, 8433?"
Raven's eyes went wide in recollection. "I won't say them!" She yelled in pain as Phobos twisted her arm further.
"You will!" She twisted again, causing Raven to scream. But no matter how hard Phobos jerked her arm, Raven would not say the words. "I see we're in need of a little reminding." She cast a look at the ocean waves lapping a few meters away, "Why don't we try one of my favorites," she hissed into Raven's ear, "You remember the water, don't you?"
Terror engulfed Raven. She recalled nearly being drowned before and all the fear of those moments flooded her mind as Phobos, despite all the resistance Raven could muster, pushed her captive closer to the swirling black water.
"Yaaaaah!" Link yelled as he body checked a guard. He and the other members of the Uprising had quickly taken out the honor guards except for two who had escaped. They had returned with reinforcements from the troops outside that hadn't been too busy avoiding the flak from Uprising light jets.
Link looked around. So far, the members of Raven's team were holding their own against the two to one odds of the black guards. Most of the Uprising soldiers there had been in Tron's training sessions and although Tron hadn't been an easy teacher, the techniques he'd taught them were proving their worth. Link wasn't a strong fighter, but he was able to dodge and weave around the soldier's attacks easily enough. There was also one big advantage he and the others all had; they were fighting on home turf. They knew Abel's garage in and out like the back of their hands and could easily out make use of their surroundings. Things were going well, Link thought, but he then realized that Raven was missing. A sudden panic struck him as he feared she'd been derezzed, but then he remembered she had gone after Phobos. Through the various limbs and torsos in the fight, Link spied the whole in the wall Raven had chased Phobos through.
"I'm going to find Raven!" Link shouted to his friends as he ducked and rolled out of the brawl they were involved in.
He saw a trail of voxels leading to the waterfront, no doubt left by the light cycle Raven had damaged. But when he looked up from the path of cubes, his heart stopped. He could see Phobos with Raven in some kind of hold, pushing his friend toward the ocean. Link remembered what Raven had told him about when Phobos nearly drowned her. He wasn't sure what it was and didn't even knew he had it in him, but he found himself sprinting toward the pair. He was focused on one thing and one thing only; he had to save Raven.
Another light jet went crashing to the ground in a flaming heap. Dash, Jet and the rest of Tron's team were working overtime to keep the troops below them from rezzing their light jets. Their jobs was getting easier though as most of the fifty black guards that had initially surrounded the garage had fled into Argon, unable to combat the Uprising's air superiority. Jet had spotted several tanks entering the scene from the center of the city and he and three others had dived bombed the group. After several runs, the tanks had finally been destroyed and Jet now surveyed the surrounding area, watching for any other incoming forces. What he saw instead was a lone pair of dueling programs near the shore line. Jet recognized the one in all black as Tron and het could tell he wasn't doing well. The other program had him backed up against the water and was making an effort to break Tron's footing.
"Dash!" he yelled over the wind, "Tron's in trouble!" Following Jet's gaze, he could see he was right.
"On it! Let's give that Occupation piece of work something to worry about!" Dash replied as he and Jet shot downward.
"You never did like to swim." Phobos had pushed Raven to the brink of the water and had forced her to her knees. Putting her weight on Raven's back, she pressed the younger program down to the black water's rippling face. Raven more than ever tried to fight, but the hold Phobos had on her made it impossible to move. The slick, opaque surface got closer and closer and Raven made one final scream before her head was thrust under the waves. Cold water rushed into her mouth and she tried to hold her breath, but in her panicked state, she quickly exhausted her air supply and began to choke. She tried to push up to the surface, but a stiff hand held her head down. Water filled her chest as she ran out of breath and the edges of her vision began to blur and darken. She was about to die; she didn't want to die. Her mind raced through the last few days, her meeting Tron and Beck, defying the Occupation, and her time with Link. His calm face, his friendliness toward her, it was all about to go. As the circle of darkness closed in around her, she thought she saw a flash of white above her.
Suddenly the hand holding her down vanished and Raven instinctively pulled her head up from underwater. Sweet air rushed into her as she coughed up the water she'd swallowed. In her dazed state, she looked around for Tron, sure that it was he who saved her. She did see him, but he was a white speck in the distance and it looked like he was fighting with someone. But if Tron was over there, then who had gotten to Phobos? A hand reached down into her field of vision, and taking it, she was pulled to her feet by none other than Link.
"You ok?" he asked her. In response she more or less collapsed on him in an attempted hug. After a second Link returned it, greatful she was alright.
A moan to their left caught Raven's attention and she turned to see Phobos sprawled out on the ground. Link had shoulder charged her and the resulting collision had been enough to make Phobos dazed. She made to get up but Link jumped on her, using his knee to pin her hand with her disk. "Gotcha!" Link said triumphantly.
His small victory was short lived, as Phobos, upon coming to, easily threw off the inexperienced Link. But as she moved to attack him, she found a disk pressed to her throat. Raven, her hair still dripping wet, gave a satisfied and weary grin to her previous commander. She pressed her disk closer, forcing Phobos to step back to the water's edge. "Now," Raven said in an exhausted yet victorious voice, "give us your disk."
Why wouldn't he just fall? Dyson was growing exasperated at Tron's continuing perseverance as the older program continually dodged and evaded his attempts to push him into the water below where he'd be an easy target. For every jab Dyson made, Tron either blocked or managed to avoid it despite the terrible pain in his arm. But Tron knew he couldn't last forever, sooner or later he'd slip up and Dyson would have the advantage. The moment came sooner than he thought for just as he parried another attack, Dyson swept his legs under Tron, knocking him off his feet.
"You never did give up," Dyson said in a breathless voice. He'd given it his all to just barely edged out Tron. He held his disk over him, ready to deliver the final blow.
Tron's mind raced for what he could do when he espied over Dyson's shoulder two lights, one blue, one green approaching fast. It was Dash and Jet. "They must have seen me in trouble," Tron thought. He looked up at Dyson, "No, I never did give up. That's what friends are for." And with that Dyson brought his disk down, but Tron rolled off the edge of the platform into the water.
"Oh Tron," Dyson took aim at the white suit he could see below the waves, "You always did avoid the inevitable." But before he could throw his disk, he was surrounded by income energy bolts. He dodged out of the way and had just enough time to look upward at his attackers. Dash and Jet had pulled up and were coming around for another pass. "Gridbugs," Dyson swore as he ran. Any second now, he was going to have hot plasma fire on his tail and there was no cover in sight. If he dove into the water, he'd be an easy target and if he tried to get inside the garage, they'd easily cut him off. He reached for the baton strapped to his leg. If he could break it, then he could easily use his light jet to outfly them. Unfortunately, just as he was about to break the baton, Dash and Jet resumed their steady barrage. He couldn't take off while under fire or else they'd shoot him out of the sky.
As he ran down the length of the waterfront, doing his best to avoid the incoming energy bolts, he noticed a trio of programs up ahead. He recognized one of them as Phobos and he immediately realized that she was being threatened to hand over her disk. That meant the other two were with Tron and if he could get close enough, the two light jets on his trail would cease firing in fear they might hit one of their own. He revved his disk, if he could last a little bit longer, he'd be close enough for a take off. Phobos wouldn't escape, though; she'd become a captive of the Uprising and Dyson couldn't allow that.
"Give us the disk-" Raven stopped as Phobos held her disk out over the water. Raven pressed her disk closer to Phobos's throat, "Move again and you'll be nothing but a bunch of cubes."
"Then go ahead and derez me," Phobos said coyly, although Raven could hear a slight tremor in her voice, "when you do, my precious disk will sink to the bottom of the sea."
"You realize without your disk, you're useless," Raven spoke, "in a few cycles any useful information you had will have been lost as without your disk you'll become just another stray." At the word 'stray' there was a visible expression of horror on Phobos's face which gave Raven a twinge of satisfaction; even Phobos was afraid of something.
"Perhaps we can work something out."
"No. Give us the disk and we may let you keep your identity. That, or the water becomes your permanent home."
Phobos struggled to think, trying to come up with some alternative, but after a moment she seemed to resign herself to her fate. She was about to hand her disk over, when an orange light jet roared overhead. Raven and Link watched as it ascended into the dark sky of the Grid. Raven turned back to Phobos just in time to see an orange identity disk come flying along and derezzed their captive. The malicious Occupation general quickly disintegrated into voxels, a stunned expression on her face. Phobos was dead.
Everyone met in front of Abel's garage. Tron was clutching his wounded arm and was soaking wet, but his face bore a rare smile. "Well done everyone. You all made it through in one piece."
"You took quite a hit there," Dash pointed out, looked at the cut on Tron's arm.
"It would have been worse if you two hadn't engaged Dyson."
"Ah gee," Jet replied, "it was nothing."
"You saved my life," Tron's expression softened, "Thank you."
"Alright, let's head home," Raven made to break her jet baton when Tron stopped her.
"Not yet," he turned to address the rest of the Uprising's programs, "This isn't easy, but it's what we have to do," he motioned to Abel's garage, "this place has been twisted by the Occupation into a tool for oppression. It must go." He stopped and scanned faces of the programs, meeting their eyes, "However, I understand that this was once your home. That in many ways it may always be your home. I don't have the right to do this," Tron held up the detonator to the bombs they had placed inside, "This is yours to leave behind."
Many of the programs turned to look at the garage. No one spoke as time seem to stand still in respect for them, letting them enjoy the last few moments with what had been theirs for so long. Raven could see many of the programs were fighting back tears as they gazed upon the old building.
The silence was broken as Link stepped up to Tron, "I'll do it."
With a solemn expression, Tron handed Link the detonator. The crowd separated before him as he made his way to the front. He stood for a second, the switch in hand, doing nothing but standing before the place where he'd made so many memories. He put his thumb to the switch and hesitated. He felt someone slip their hand into his. He looked to see who it was and saw Raven with a warm smile. She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. He took a deep breath, "We won't forget you Abel, I promise" He hit the button.
There was a thunder as explosions echoed from within the garage. Pieces of beams and debris crumbled to the floor as the charges went off. The flashes of light illuminated the weary faces of the onlookers as each came to grips with losing what was once their home. As the structure collapsed and burned, someone pulled out their disk and held it up in salute. Others did the same until everyone stood with raised disks in honor of both their lost home, and their fallen friend.
000
Greetings Programs! It took me a while to write this one as there was so much I wanted to pack in here and while not all of it made it in, I'm satisfied by what did. The relationship between Link and Raven is a tricky tightrope to walk. This isn't a romance FanFic and I tried to make their relationship as organic as possible. Phobos was a fun character to create as a sort of demon from Raven's past that she'd have to face, but not without the help of Link who is now her closest friend. I tried to make Link heroic without forsaking his rather timid character trope we're given in the show and I think I got him to a good middle ground here. This episode was as much about Link as it was about raven and having that last scene in here where he's the one to flip the switch is meant to serve as a powerful driving force in his development. This was a long episode and hopefully they won't always be this way, but I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to share, rate and review! TRON LIVES!