Tron Legacy: Son of Flynn

Chapter Nine

Sam busied himself as he worked to clean up the mess left behind by the thieves and when he was done, he fed Marv and made sure that he had fresh water before he finally laid down on his couch and fell into a restless sleep as his exhaustion overcame him beyond more than he could fight off any longer. The small dog finished eating his food, took a drink, then he jumped up onto the couch and laid down beside his friend, cuddling up against his chest as he did every night. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before his nightmares continued as Sam began to wrestle within his sleep, being unable to break from the visions' hold keeping him trapped within his mind.

Sam weakly opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, then he shook his head to try to clear the fog he felt covering his memories that could explain where he was and how he had come to be there, not to mention why he felt a sharp pain shooting through his skull. Finally, his eyes cleared as he blinked to focus on his surroundings, finding himself sitting within a dark, empty space that immediately made him realize he was back upon the Grid, though not as it was before the reintegration.

Before he could move to stand upon his feet, a voice sounded from behind him, a voice Sam knew that he couldn't possibly be hearing, but as he turned his head to see for himself, he found his father standing above him, looking down on him with concern etched across his face and then allowed the old man to help him up.

"Sam, how are you… why are you here?" Kevin asked worryingly as he continued to stare at his son. "You went home. You were supposed to stay safe and keep Quorra safe too. I warned you what would happen…"

"Yeah, you did, but… you're still here," Sam interrupted, confusion in his voice and upon his face, until he shrugged it off as he reached out and pulled him in for hug. "You're still alive. How?"

Kevin shrugged as he turned around and started walking forward, Sam following close behind him, and replied, "I'm not really sure, but I guess I'm grateful, at least now that you're back. It was foolish of you to come, Sam. But I am really happy to see you."

Sam stopped, when Flynn turned around to smile at his son cruelly as he morphed into a younger version of himself, into CLU, then suddenly thrust a light dagger deep into his chest, causing Sam to gasp in shock and pain as he collapsed within the program's arms while Sam looked up fearfully at the man who was moments ago his father, tears forming in his eyes. The younger Flynn gasped again, his tears slipping down his cheeks and blood trickling down from the corners of his mouth, as CLU pulled the dagger free, not caring to be gentle.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but it looks like your dad was wrong about what might happen if he were to reintegrate with me," CLU said casually as he continued to hold Sam close against his chest and gently began to wipe his tears away while the boy struggled gasping for breath, for however much longer he could remain alive. "We both struggled for control. It looks like I won."

"Da… dad," Sam pleaded weakly as he looked sadly into the program's cold eyes. "Fi… fight him!"

CLU smiled at him as he raised the blade above the young man once again and then responded with a smile, "He's gone, Sam. And now so are you."

Sam gasped awake in fear and drenched in cold sweat just as the blade entered his chest within the dream once more, as he sat up wildly, causing Marv to jump down from the couch and bark until he sat on the floor beside him and stared at his friend as if he felt worry for him. Within a few minutes, Sam tried to stand and when he was finally on his feet, he stumbled his way to his bathroom as quickly as he could, then stepped into his shower without caring to remove his clothes and turned on the water, letting the cold wash over him.

Thirty-five minutes later, Sam slowly walked out of the bathroom again fully dressed in dry, clean clothes. He walked over to the coffee table in front of his couch, started to pick up the keys to the Ducati, until he paused and looked down at Marv, who continued staring up at him, then Sam released the keys, stepped over to a work bench over in the corner of the room, and finally picked up another sets of keys that went to his own truck.

Sam spoke to his dog saying quietly, "I need to get out of here for a while, Marv. How would you like to go for a ride?"

"I'll take that as a yes," he added when Marv barked once and ran outside to the truck parked off to the side of his apartment. "We're going to head down to the arcade. I guess now is as good a time as any to start getting it ready to reopen. I certainly don't plan on sleeping anymore tonight."

He bent down and lifted Marv into his arms and opened the driver's side door to place him inside, but before Sam was able to get in himself, two men snuck up behind him in attempt to strike him across the back of his head until Marv alerted Sam to the danger as he began to bark loudly. Sam dodged the blow, but not completely as the crowbar came down hard on his shoulder when he spun around and lifted his arms to try to defend himself. ENCOM's newest owner cried out from the blow, then scrambled back a few feet as he turned to face his attackers before they could try again.

"I don't know or care who you are, but you're making a mistake," Sam called out in frustration. "If you're trying to rob me, I've got nothing."

One of the men quickly stated, "You're wrong, but there's actually more to why we're here than just theft, Mr. Flynn. Mack… our boss wants to know how exactly you plan to reshape ENCOM. He wants to know you're big secret and believe me, we don't have a problem with hurting you or that pretty little girlfriend of yours to get what we're after."

Sam smiled and answered, "We've both been through Hell so trust me when I say that no matter what happens right now, it's nothing compared to what I've already suffered. And if you threaten my friends, including Alan Bradley… let's just say you will regret it. You can tell your boss that he will never again steal another of my father's ideas, or ENCOM. Threats don't work on me. I don't scare easily.