The moment he returned his identity disc to his back, his system was synced with the altered data.
At first the electrical charge that went through his system was small, but it immediately grew in intensity until it was incredibly painful, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut and hold his head. His eyes felt like they were being gnawed at by gridbugs, and his circuits were painfully hot to the point where he thought he'd derez altogether. Vaguely he was aware the Juno was holding his shoulders, trying to get him to say something, but he couldn't find words for her. Clu's programming that was already synced with his system was clashing with what Juno had done to his disc, making him feel as though he were in his light-jet, spiraling out of control while ricocheting off of buildings on the way down. It was one of the worst feelings he'd ever experienced, comparable only to when Clu repurposed him which had been far worse than this. And then the pain abruptly ended, becoming nothing more than a memory, and the agony in his eyes subsided a moment later.
Blinking, he slowly opened his eyes saw that the light of his circuitry had dimmed out completely. It was disconcerting to say the least, the lack of illumination usually meaning a Program was on its way to derezzing, but he felt fine now that the pain was gone.
Shaking his head to clear it, he turned his eyes down to his hands when he felt a slight jolt go through his circuits, watching as the light came back to his circuitry. This time, the light remained light blue, and the orange did not return.
"Tron?" Juno asked tentatively, eyes roaming over his face, searching for his eyes. "Are you…you?"
He couldn't answer her, struggling to comprehend what was happening.
For the first time in so many cycles, he didn't have the renegade programming dictating a majority of his actions and clashing with his thoughts, beckoning him to do wrong and follow Clu's commands.
Rinzler was finally gone, and Tron was free.
Reaching out, Tron traced the back of his fingers along the curve of her jaw and along her neck, the circuits on his index and middle finger warming in response to the natural heat of her skin. She tensed under his touch and he realized that she wasn't sure if he was okay or not, whether his touch was that of affection or if he was going to wrap his fingers around her neck and strangle her. The circuitry should be a dead giveaway, but apparently she needed reassurance.
"Thank you," Tron murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Green eyes widening, Juno's smile threatened to reopen the wound on her lip and she threw her arms around his neck, inadvertently knocking him back a bit until she was straddling his lap. Unable to keep the grin off his face, he held her tightly around the waist.
"Told you I could do it," she said, her warm breath washing over his neck.
"You did." Pulling out of her embrace slightly, taking her face in his hands, he frowned when he spotted the tears falling from her eyes. "You're crying. Why?" He didn't understand how she could be upset.
Letting out a breathy laugh, she replied, "Users also cry sometimes when they're happy." Raising her hand, she trailed her fingers lightly over his brow, looking deeply into his eyes. "This color suits you better," she said softly in reference to the change of eye color.
When he'd been repurposed, the color had gone from and intense blue with a silver undertone to a dark reddish orange. Now that Rinzler was gone, he suspected that his eyes had returned to their normal color.
Relieved that he hadn't somehow upset her, he leaned towards her, pausing only a breath away from her lips before kissing her softly.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she deepened the kiss, slanting her lips over his as his arms traveled back down to her waist, holding her tightly. For the first time since meeting her, he wasn't afraid that he would unwillingly hurt her in some way.
Reluctantly breaking the kiss, Juno rested her forehead against his. "Now what do we do?"
That was a good question. With his original programming back in control, his first priority was making sure that Juno got off the Grid with Flynn and Sam. That alone would be difficult as the Solar Sailor Flynn and Sam were on was heading to the carrier ship named The Rectifier. After that, Tron would have to take care of Clu. How, he did not know, but he had to protect the Grid.
"For starters, we have to get Flynn and Sam off the Solar Sailer."
Frowning, she asked, "Why? What's so bad about them being on it?" Remembering something, she added, "Oh, there's a Program named Quorra with them. She got injured in the fight at End of the Line."
"Quorra?" He hadn't been aware that the ISO had survived the Purge. Her survival was nothing short of a miracle. "Along with you three, she must get off the Grid as well."
"Why does she need to get off the Grid?"
"She's an ISO."
"Are you serious?" Juno asked, stunned.
"Yes, and she's all the more reason why we need to get them off the Sailor. It leads to Clu's carrier ship, The Rectifier. He plans on taking it through the portal to claim your world as his own. Now that he has Flynn's disc, he can do it," he said grimly. With the Creators disc, Clu could do unspeakable things.
"Shit," she murmured. "Okay, what if we don't get to them before they reach the ship?"
Sighing, he answered, "Things become complicated. Either way I'm going to have to get on that ship and take back Flynn's disc, but I'd rather you four be safely on your way to the portal so that I would only have to meet you there." Splaying his hands along her sides and avoiding her eyes, he continued, "Once I get the disc back to Flynn, you all will leave the Grid while I –"
"Wait, hold on a minute," she interrupted, less than happy with what he just said. "You said 'you all will leave the Grid' but I'm sure you meant when 'we will leave the Grid', Right?"
Forcing himself to meet her eyes, he shook his head. "No, Juno. I have to stay here."
Speechless, she just stared at him for a long moment. When she found her words, she was angry. "No. No! You're coming with us. You have to!"
"I can't. I have to make sure Clu's reign comes to an end and that means that I must remain here." He wanted to go with her more than anything, but he couldn't leave his fellow Programs to lead the life they currently were leading.
"No, there has to be another way. Maybe… maybe we can kill him, derez him, or whatever!"
"It's not that simple to derez him."
"Like hell it isn't!" she snapped sharply, rising to her feet and pacing from side to side. "We get Kevin's disc, you kick Clu's ass, and we all go home to my world. Simple as that."
"Juno…" Standing, he stopped her from pacing, taking hold of her arms. "I fought Clu when he betrayed Flynn, and I lost. He's grown more powerful since then. If I'm going to fight him I will have to gather as many Programs as I can to stand against him. That means that I have to stay."
Trembling, Juno met his eyes, hers filling with tears that she refused to let fall. "So that's it? You kiss me a couple of times, act like I'm special, and then once you're you again you just decide to send me on my way and get back to work?"
He blinked, not expecting her to bring that into the argument as it had nothing to do with what they were talking about.
"This has nothing to do with that, Juno. Nothing to do with us, and you know it."
Pulling free from him, she turned her back to him and leaned against the far side of the Recognizer. "Whatever. It's my own fault that I'm upset anyways. Should have known that falling for a Program would have a bad ending to it. I just… I just assumed you'd be coming back with us. Stupid, huh?" she asked with a humorless laugh.
"You couldn't have known that I'd be unable to go with you," Tron said quietly, coming up to stand behind her. It hurt to hear and see her angry and upset, but going back with her to her world was something he could not do. His place was on the Grid.
"But I shouldn't have made such a crazy assumption." Shaking her head and glancing back at him, she muttered, "You'd better see to getting us to Kevin and Sam."
Sighing, he backed away from her, giving her the space she needed, and went back to the controls, forcing back his desire to go to the User world with her and the others.
Juno half wanted to strangle Tron. She might be acting childish, but it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for her to find Tron, who had already claimed a piece of her heart in the short time they'd spent together, only to be forced to give him up. There was something wrong about that. She could see his reasoning for claiming he had to stay, could even agree with him to a certain point, and she wasn't afraid to admit that she'd been wrong in bringing whatever they had between them into the argument when it had no place in it, but she didn't like him staying behind in the slightest and hadn't cared what she said.
Sparing a look at Tron, she sighed.
They hadn't spoken a word to each over for a good while, both wanting to give the other their space. She imagined that it would take him a while to get use to being Tron again fully, and she needed time to sort through her emotions. She really needed to push them aside so that she could concentrate on getting to the others. That, like so many things, was easier said than done.
Several yards ahead, Juno saw a square-like tube in the sky that reminded her of a train. Stepping over to Tron, she asked, "Is that the Solar Sailer?"
"Yes." Increasing the speed, he brought the Recognizer along side it before speeding ahead. "We're too late."
"What do you mean?"
Answering for her was a reddish orange glow among the clouds as the Sailer ventured into them. Such strange clouds… but then she realized it wasn't the clouds that were glowing, but a massive ship. It was The Rectifier. That was what Tron meant by they were too late.
"We have to get on that ship," she declared, not taking her eyes off the ship.
"I agree," he replied. "But you will have to follow my lead and do as I say. I will no longer be seen as one of Clu's Programs. We'll have to be careful." He stared at her pointedly when he said the last part.
"What?" Frowning, she insisted, "I know how to be careful."
"That's yet to be proven," he muttered, bringing the Recognizer into The Rectifier.
Choosing to ignore his comment about how careful she was, she tensed upon seeing what had to be hundreds of Black Guards. Thankfully, Tron's ship was still orange and blended in well enough. Once the got off, however, they would stick out like sore thumbs, as would Sam, Kevin, and Quorra. She would have to trust that Tron would lead them safely through the ship.
The Recognizer landing softly, the deck lowering them to the ground level, Tron took Juno's hand and pulled her with him as he darted to cover near the Solar Sailer. Looking around to be sure that they were not being watched, he knelt on the ground and locked his fingers together. Not needing to be told what to do, Juno accepted his help and climbed up onto the Sailer, thankful for the boost Tron gave her, her petite height making the climb a bit difficult. Climbing over the edge and hastily moving to the center, she jumped down to the walkway below, wincing when her bad leg took the force of the landing. Tron followed shortly after, jumping up onto the Sailer with the ease of a master gymnast and landed smoothly beside her.
"Show off," she muttered.
Paying no attention to the remark, focused on the task at hand, he led her down the walkway, stopping and peering around the exits before continuing on.
Scanning the area, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the large crate-like structures on either side of her became illuminated, revealing dozens upon dozens of Programs. With her hands on the glass, she stared inside. "Tron?..."
"They're to be repurposed to serve in Clu's Black Guard." Laying his hand on her shoulder, he said, "There's nothing we can do for them, Juno. We have to find the others."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded, tearing her eyes away from the helpless Programs. Clu was going to pay for this.
Making her way down the walkway, she began calling out in a near whisper, "Sam? Mr. Flynn? Quorra? Where are you?" There was no reply and she kept repeating, desperately hoping they hadn't been caught. And then she caught a flash of movement near one of the exits, a figure disappearing that was too small to be Sam or Kevin. "Quorra!"
A dark haired Program poked her head out from the exit, icy gray eyes widening in surprise. "Juno! Sam, Flynn, its Juno!"
Rushing towards her, Sam came within a few feet of her, a relieved smile on his face, but he quickly slowed and the smile faded when he caught sight of Tron standing behind her.
Quorra, unaware that Tron had once been Rinzler, looked at him in shock. "You're alive! But I thought Clu derez you many cycles ago!"
"I managed to escape and went into hiding, aiding some of the factions against Clu," he replied with a straight face.
Juno stared up at him. Why had he lied to Quorra? Before she could say anything about it, an aging man stepped out from behind Sam and Quorra, staring at Tron in amazement.
"Tron," Kevin began, stepping towards his old friend. "I was sure that Clu had derezzed you."
Bowing his head out of respect, Tron said, "He nearly did. It's good to see you again, Flynn."
Grinning, the old man clasped Tron's shoulder. "It's good to see you, too, buddy."
"Yeah, we're all happy to see Tron," Sam sighed, putting too much emphasis in his name. "Can we find a way off this thing?"
"Sam!" Juno snapped at his rudeness and his father turned less than appreciative eyes on him as well.
Tron seemed to take no offense. "He's right. We don't have much time left to get your disc."
Frowning, Kevin asked, "What do you mean?"
"Clu discovered how to take this entire ship through the portal a many cycles ago. Since then he's been building an army to take with him back to your world. Having already taken control of the Grid, he now desires to control yours. All he needed was your disc, and now he has it."
"Wouldn't half the stuff that exists here on the Grid not work in our world?" Juno asked, looking from Tron to Kevin.
Stroking his gray beard once, Kevin replied, "No. Every ship, light-jet, light-cycle, and so on works in relatively the same way as planes and motorcycles in our world, they're just more complex and dangerous. Theoretically, everything here would work in exactly the same fashion in our world."
"Including the Programs?" Sam questioned.
Looking to his son, he nodded. "Yes, including the Programs. I don't know how our world will affect their systems, though. When hit with a fatal blow, they might derez into shards of code, or they might bleed like you and me. I don't know." He sighed, shaking his head. "But figuring that out isn't important right now."
"Agreed," Tron said. "I know where to find your disc, but you'll need to leave the moment I get it to you. We'll have to split up to find transport to the portal."
Catching what Tron said, just as Juno had on the Recognizer, Kevin asked, "You aren't coming with us?"
"No."
"Why?"
Answering for him, Juno bit out, "He won't come because he wants to stay behind and take on Clu."
Glaring at her, Tron said tightly, "Those weren't the words I used. I can't allow Clu to rule over the Grid. You understand, Flynn?"
"No, I don't actually," Kevin replied, voice firm and lacking approval. "You fight for the Users, correct?"
Tron nodded. "Yes."
"You want to protect us, correct?"
Another nod.
"Then tell me, how does sending us off alone to the portal ensures our safety? Let's say Clu sends out light-jets to apprehend us. What then? We ask them nicely to leave us alone?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Tron hesitated to answer and Juno wanted to kick herself. Why hadn't she thought of pulling that card with Tron on the Recognizer?
With a resigned sigh, Tron said, "I'll accompany you all to the portal, but understand that I must stay behind when you four go through."
"Tron, no…" Juno began, turning towards him, missing the knowing look she received from Kevin Flynn.
"We've had this discussion, Juno," Tron sighed, keeping his expression void of any revealing emotion while his silvery blue eyes expressed his regret for it having to be that way.
Stepping into their conversation, Kevin said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's focus on getting my disc."
Not liking Kevin's vague reply about his staying there but ignoring it, Tron said, "Clu's command ship should be arriving soon. With him is the disc. As soon as he disembarks I'll make my way up to his ship and retrieve the disc. The rest of you find some sort of transport."
"All right," Kevin agreed. "But take Sam with you."
"What?" Sam exclaimed. "Dad…"
"Sam, with the two of you working together I know for sure that I'll get my disc back. Just do as I say. Quorra, Juno, and I will handle getting us a ship."
Gritting his teeth, unhappy with the partnering, Sam nodded.
Though she was angry with how he was acting around Tron, Juno couldn't really blame Sam. He had a stubborn streak a mile wide and had been deeply angered by what Clu did to Tron. To some extent, he probably blamed Tron for the things he'd done as Rinzler. It would take Sam time to get over it. He could do without being rude, though.
"Let's move out," Tron ordered and they split up into two groups.
Biting her lip, she called to Tron's back, "Tron…" When he looked at her over his shoulder she gave him a small half smile. "Be safe."
A smile tugged at his lips, remembering that he had used those words when leaving her at his apartment. "You too, Juno."
Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!
