This chapter contains a suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
Accessing archived data...
After an encounter with an old friend...
...There was a loud crashing noise, and Cyrus felt pain blossoming in his chest. He looked down, and saw a black disc with white lines sticking out from his chest... As glowing white cracks spread across his body, Cyrus lifted his head, looked over his shoulder at Beck, and started laughing softly.
"I win," Cyrus said as the cracks spread across his body. Then, with a sound like glass breaking, Cyrus collapsed into a pile of voxels, spilling cubes around Beck's feet...
...Beck's faith in himself is shaken...
...Tron reached behind his back and drew his disc. He separated the white half of his disc, and held it out to Beck, but Beck pushed it back towards Tron.
"Keep it," said Beck... "I don't think I'm ready to become the Renegade again."...
...But Tron is there to support Beck.
...Tron rested a hand on Beck's shoulder. "I have never regretted my decision to take you in. You're a good program, Beck, and you've proven your worth to me from the beginning..."
Meanwhile, Dyson comes up with a plan of his own...
...Tup spotted Dyson approaching, and attached the grenade to his disc, then threw his disc at Dyson. Tup felt a staff slam into the side of his head, shattering his helmet, and a pair of Black Guards forced him to the ground... However, as Tup looked up from the floor, he saw Dyson reach out and catch Tup's disc as it hurtled towards him. Once Dyson had Tup's disc, he pulled the grenade off the disc and tossed it into the air, where it exploded harmlessly...
..."You're good," said Dyson as he knelt down and docked Tup's disc on his back. "But not good enough. Take him to the repurposing centre."...
..."I heard a few of the Guards talking while I was being held at the Garage," said Tup. "I know of a weakness in the Coliseum's defences."
Yori adjusted the holographic display, and a large blue wire-frame diagram of the Coliseum's floor plan appeared on the monitor in front of the three programs that had gathered.
"Tron and I have been analysing the plans we stole from Dyson's flagship," Yori said.
"Yori found a hole in the Coliseum's defences, and thanks to Tup's new information, we now have two ways inside," said Tron. "Tup told us of a way in through the Argon Tunnels that will allow us to come up from below, and Yori's found an unguarded entrance on the north side, facing the Sea of Simulation."
"Then we can send two teams in," said Beck, pointing to an area near the bottom of the schematics. "The first team should head below the Arena here, where the power generators are. If we overload the generators, the explosion should destroy the Arena."
"And if you destroy the generators, the entire Coliseum will be without power," said Yori. "Without power, the cells in the prison will open automatically. The second team should head to the prison and deal with the guards to allow the Conscripts to escape."
"Agreed," said Tron. "Beck, I want you leading the second team, to free the Conscripts. The Renegade's presence should inspire them to join the Uprising."
Beck shook his head. "No, the generators will be heavily guarded, and you need someone who can fight and who knows how to overload a generator. I should be part of the first team."
"Hmm," said Tron. "Yori, bring up the patrol schedule."
Yori nodded, and pressed a few buttons. Orange dots appeared throughout the Coliseum floor plan, moving slowly to represent the paths the Occupation soldiers would take as the cycle passed.
"Beck's right," said Yori. "There are a lot of Guards set up near the generators, with only a few within range of the prison."
"But the prison is mostly protected by Black Guards," said Tron. "There might be less of them, but they're more dangerous than the regular Guards protecting the generator."
"Then have Paige and Ram lead the second team," said Beck. "They're two of our best fighters, so they should be able to handle the Black Guards."
"Not only that, but Ram was in the Coliseum for some time," said Yori. "The other Conscripts might recognise him and join him."
Tron nodded slowly. "That could work," he said. "But we'd need to send more than just Paige and Ram to free the Conscripts."
"Yeah, I figured we could ask her who she wants with her when she's done treating Hawkeye," said Beck.
"So, Paige will lead the second team in from the north, through the Sea of Simulation," said Tron. "They'll enter through the north entrance and make their way to the prison. Meanwhile, the first team will head up through the Argon tunnels and take out the generator."
"I'll lead the first team," said Beck. "I'll need to shut down the generators for a few microcycles before I can overload them, which should give the second team enough time to free the Conscripts and get out before the generators explode."
"I'll go with you," said Tron. "You'll need someone to protect you while you work."
Beck nodded. "Who else do we want on our team?" he asked.
"Let's figure out our path through the Coliseum before we worry about who we bring with us," said Tron.
"Right," said Beck, letting out a nervous breath. "I can't believe it. We're really going to hit the Coliseum."
"This will be the biggest blow the Occupation has faced yet," said Tron. "Thanks to your efforts over the last few cycles, you've managed to repair the damage Cyrus did to your reputation and swing public opinion back in your favour. If we succeed in destroying the Coliseum, we could inspire a city-wide revolution, and finally start taking the fight to Dyson, and then, all the way up to Clu himself."
TRON: Uprising
The Traitor, Part II
Hawkeye opened and closed her right hand into a fist, and rotated her wrist around a few times.
"How's the new hand?" Paige asked as she examined a full-body hologram of Hawkeye that was hovering above the disc in her hand.
"Feels good as new," said Hawkeye, rubbing her right wrist with her left hand. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," said Paige, turning the hologram off and holding the disc out to Hawkeye. Hawkeye took her disc from Paige and docked it.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Hawkeye asked.
Paige shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I explained everything."
Hawkeye nodded. "In that case, I'll go get Kix and we can see how good my new hand is," she said. As she turned to leave, Hawkeye paused. "I know Tron and Beck left to try and find Tup. Do you know if they're back yet?"
"They're back," said a voice from outside the medical bay as an Elite Guardsman walked in. "And they found me."
"Tup!" Hawkeye ran up to Tup and grabbed him in a hug. "Oh, thank Flynn you're alive. When you charged at that army of soldiers, I… I thought…
"Hey, it's okay," said Tup as he returned the hug. "It's not your fault I was captured, it was Dyson's. Speaking of, how's your hand?"
"Fully healed, thanks to Paige," said Hawkeye, releasing Tup from her hug and holding up her repaired hand.
"Looks like you never lost it," said Tup, looking at Hawkeye's new hand. He then looked over at Paige and nodded. "Thanks for helping my friend, Commander."
"You're welcome," said Paige. "And I thought I told you not to call me that."
"Right," said Tup. "Sorry, sir. Old habits."
Paige nodded. "Was your squad under my command?"
"Not directly, but we did work with you a few times," said Tup.
"We were actually guarding the Coliseum Prison when you were arrested for treason by Pavel," said Hawkeye. "You knocked us all out and escaped."
"Sorry," said Paige, looking sheepish. Her sheepish look soon turned into a frown as she remembered something. "Wait, I thought there were seven Black Guards in that fight."
"There was," said Tup. "The seventh program was Rex, our squad leader."
"When Dyson sent him off to be repurposed, Rex tried to desert," Hawkeye said. "Dyson derezzed him and showed us his disc, as a warning of what would happen to us if we tried it."
"With Rex dead, Cody was promoted to squad leader," said Tup. "This was a few millicycles before the virus outbreak."
"And since Cody and Echo were killed when we made our escape with the cured programs, Kix is now squad leader."
"Actually, Cody's not dead," said Tup.
"What?" said Hawkeye.
"When I was being held at Able's Garage, Dyson brought Cody to see me," Tup said. "He'd been repurposed, and Dyson was using him to intimidate me before he repurposed me."
"So, you were Dyson's prisoner," said Paige. "Did he check your disc for information?"
"No, he was going to wait for me to be repurposed, then he'd check the information extracted from my disc," said Tup. "I guess he figured it was easier to get what he wanted once I was repurposed."
"And how can we be sure you're not repurposed?" Paige asked.
"Ugh, this again?" Tup said, rolling his eyes. "I already went through this when Tron and Beck found me. I showed them the memory file of me escaping from the Garage."
"Repurposing removes a program's original personality, leaving them a mindless drone," said Hawkeye. "Tup's still acting like himself. He's not repurposed. I'd stake my life on it."
"Alright, if you're sure," said Paige, nodding. "You two should probably go and see Kix, let her know you're both okay."
"Right," said Tup. "Oh, and Tron and Beck told you to meet them upstairs when you were done down here. They wanted to discuss their plans for hitting the Coliseum with you."
"Thanks," said Paige with a nod. "I'll head up there now."
She walked past Tup and Hawkeye, and passed through the open door to the medical bay. She turned a corner and entered the elevator. Once she was inside, she tapped the button for the command centre and waited. As the elevator rose, Paige drew her disc, and turned it around so the white half was facing outwards. She then docked her disc, and her black grid-suit changed, square by square, into a white one. Her orange circuit-lines and red highlights shut off, as new white circuit-lines appeared, and a dark blue triangle and semi-circle design flashed to life on her chest.
The elevator came to a stop, and Paige stepped out to see Tron, Yori, Beck and a program she didn't recognise studying the plans to the Coliseum.
"So, do we have a plan?" Paige asked as she walked up to the group.
"We do," said Tron. "Paige, this is Ram, a friend of mine who was brought over from the Old System. Ram, this is Paige, a medic and General Tesler's former right-hand woman."
"Nice to meet you," said Ram, nodding at Paige. "You know, I heard some of the Guards talking about you while I was being held at the Coliseum."
"Really?" said Paige.
"Yeah, they were talking about how you had joined the Uprising," said Ram. "They were calling you a traitor. The Traitor, in fact, working with the Renegade. I was wondering how a loyal program who served directly under Tesler had such a sudden shift in loyalty."
Paige was silent for a few moments. "I lost everything in the Gallium Massacre. I was angry, and Tesler gave me an opportunity to use that anger. I believed he had saved my life from the ISOs, so I felt indebted to him, and accepted his offer to join the Occupation. I quickly ascended through the ranks, but I never felt comfortable with some of the things the Occupation did, like the curfews, or sending programs to the Games. I was able to convince myself that things like that were necessary to maintain order on the Grid."
"So what changed your mind?" Ram asked.
"The Renegade showed up," Paige said. "At first, I thought he was just a criminal... but then, after he destroyed the mining drill, he saved my life from the explosion."
"If that drill had hit the energy pool Tesler was mining, it would've caused an explosion powerful enough to wipe Argon off the face of the Grid," said Tron.
"I realised that later," said Paige. "As time went on, Tesler and Pavel's plans to stop the Renegade and gain control of Argon became... excessive. After the Renegade destroyed Keller's pathogen code, I was tracking Keller down when I met Beck. When the light-rail we were on was damaged, he helped me save everyone."
"Didn't you promise Keller amnesty if she returned to the Occupation?" Beck asked. "What happened to her?"
Paige grimaced. "Tesler derezzed her," she said bitterly. "He did it right after he dismissed me to speak with Keller privately, though I didn't find that out until a few cycles after the fact."
"Oh," said Beck. "I'm sorry."
Paige smiled at Beck briefly, then continued. "Anyway, while we were saving the light-rail, I realised Beck was a good program, and we went on those dates together. When we were dating, some of the things Beck said reminded me of things the Renegade said while we were stranded on an island that was derezzing around us, and had to work together to escape."
"Is that when you first suspected Beck was the Renegade?" Yori asked.
"It was, but at the time, it didn't make sense to me," Paige said. "I couldn't figure out how Beck matched up with the image of the Renegade that I had in my head at the time, and since I didn't have any evidence to back up my suspicions, I didn't say anything. Then... I was framed for treason and arrested. I had a fake memory installed on my disc, and I was sent to the Games."
"That's when I rescued you," said Beck. "When I tried to convince you to join me, you turned me down."
Paige nodded. "I was angry, and I didn't trust the Renegade. However, Pavel cleared my name by bringing in the program who added the fake memory to my disc, and showing a memory that had the Renegade telling him to make me look guilty, and that he'd enjoy watching me suffer."
"What?" said Beck, his eyes wide in shock. "Paige, I would never do something like that!"
"I know," said Paige. "And I didn't buy it at the time, either. If the Renegade wanted to watch me suffer, why would he try so hard to recruit me? It didn't make sense, so I knew the memory was a fake."
"And since Pavel brought that program in, it's likely he was the one who framed you, and was trying to cover his tracks," said Yori.
"That's what I thought, but I didn't have any proof," said Paige. "After that, Clu arrived in Argon, and Tesler was executed for incompetence. Dyson let me have Tesler's identity disc, and I ended up going through his memories." Paige clenched her hands into fists, and her voice wavered as she continued. "That was when I found out that Tesler was the one responsible for the Gallium Massacre, not the ISOs. He'd taken advantage of my trust in him, betrayed me before I'd even met him."
Paige took a deep breath to steady herself. "That was when I realised the Occupation was wrong," she said, her voice steady. "I wasn't fighting to protect the Grid, I was working to oppress programs. So I joined the Renegade. If that makes me a traitor, then so be it."
There was silence for a few seconds, then Ram spoke up.
"Well, that was a longer answer than I expected, but it explains everything nicely," he said. "I look forward to working with you."
"Likewise," said Paige, nodding at Ram. She then turned to face Tron and said, "So, what's the plan for our attack on the Coliseum?"
"We'll be splitting into two teams," said Yori. "Tron and Beck will lead the first team through the Argon Tunnels, and come up from below the Coliseum. At the same time, Ram and Paige will lead the second team in from the Sea of Simulation, and enter through an unguarded entrance on the north side. The first team will head for the power generators, while the second team hits the prison. Beck will shut down the generators and set them to overload, which should give the second team time to rescue the Conscripts and escape."
"How are we going to approach from the Sea?" Paige asked. "Light-jets and light-boats will be spotted and shot down."
"Yes, but a light-sub won't," said Yori. "I'll upload the subroutine to your batons, so you can come in underwater."
"Beck and I have figured out a plan to reach the generators, and we have some ideas on who we want with us," said Tron. "Now, we need you two to come up with a plan to reach the prison, and who you want on your team."
Ram nodded. "Alright, let's get to work."
Beck looked around the command centre as a few more programs entered and joined the group of programs that had already gathered on the lower level.
"Is that everyone?" Tron asked quietly.
"I think so, yeah," said Beck.
"Then let's get started," said Tron. Tron began walking up the steps to the upper level of the command centre, and Beck followed closely. The small crowd of programs grew quiet as Tron and Beck joined Yori, Paige and Ram on the upper level.
"If I could have everyone's attention," said Tron, and the last of the murmuring trailed off.
"I called you here because you're the best programs the Uprising has to offer, and we have need of you for our most dangerous mission yet," said Tron. "But, if we succeed here, we'll deliver a crippling blow to the Occupation forces here in Argon, and take the first step in kicking them out of your home for good."
Tron turned his head and nodded at Yori. She activated the holographic display, and an image of a large domed building with a glowing red band that was wrapped around the side.
"The Coliseum, and the Games held inside, are the biggest symbol of Clu's rule," said Yori. "Today, you're going to destroy that symbol."
"We'll be splitting into two teams," said Beck. "I'll be leading the first team, and Paige will lead the second team."
"Beck and I will tell you more about the plan and our objectives once we've split into our teams," said Paige. "Once we've finished the briefing, everyone will need to be ready to leave in one hundred micros."
"Tron, Zed, Mara, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup," said Yori. "You're Team One, with Beck. Ram, Simula, Alick, Backus, Ada and Melissa, you're Team Two, with Paige. Any questions?"
"Yeah, how are we supposed to destroy the Coliseum with fourteen programs?" asked Zed. "Dyson's got a whole army stationed there."
"We're relying on quality over quantity," said Yori. "Additionally, the members of each team have been selected because they have the skills necessary to succeed with the objectives that team has to accomplish. Anything else?"
"Why the secrecy?" asked Tup. "You're not worried about spies, are you?"
"Not spies, no," said Yori. "But, if one of our programs is captured or killed on this mission, then they won't know about the other team's plan, keeping the other half of the mission safe."
"What sort of security will we be facing?" asked Simula, one of the Bismuth Rebels.
"Your team leaders will explain during their briefings," said Yori. "Are there any other questions?"
Yori looked over the crowd, but no more questions were asked.
"Very well," Yori said. "Report to your team leaders for your full briefings. Good luck."
Beck walked over to stand by the large window as his team made their way over to him, while Paige walked down the stairs and gathered her team around her. Ram walked up the stairs, and made his way over to Tron and Yori.
"Well, looks like we're really doing it," said Ram.
"We are," said Tron. "It's too bad you're not on my team. We could use you."
"Sure, but we all agreed I'm more useful on Paige's team," said Ram. "I know some of the Conscripts. I should be able to convince them to join us." Ram looked at where Beck was organising Team One, then looked over at Paige, who had generated a map of the Coliseum and was explaining the route Team Two would take.
"Those two have really stepped up, haven't they?" he said. "How did a mechanic and a medic end up as the faces of the biggest threat to Clu's rule in almost two hundred cycles?"
"The same way an actuarial program and a laser simulation program helped me overthrow the MCP," said Tron. "We have a cause worth fighting for."
"Yeah, but we also had a User on our side when we went up against the MCP," said Ram. "Well, you two did. I had already been derezzed when you actually fought him." Ram sighed. "I wonder where Flynn is now. We sure could use him."
"I don't know, but I'm not sure he could actually beat Clu," said Yori. "I remember watching Clu and Flynn playing a strategy game from the User World, about three hundred and fifty cycles ago. Flynn and Clu won an equal amount of games, but they tied more often than either of them won."
Tron nodded. "Clu is basically a copy of Flynn. He currently holds the advantage, and he can anticipate every move Flynn would make, because it's exactly what he would do in the same situation. "
"Which means that Flynn's removed himself from the equation to deny Clu his advantage," said Ram. "He's relying on programs like us to band together and change the game enough that he can face Clu on an even footing."
"That sounds like Flynn," said Yori. "But even if we did beat Clu, Flynn would still be stuck on the Grid. The Portal can't be opened from the Grid, even by Flynn, who's the only person who can actually leave through the Portal in the first place. Another User has to open the Portal from the User World."
"Well, let's hope Alan-1, Lora-3 and Roy-7 can find a way to help," said Tron.
"You really believe they can help us?" Ram asked.
"I'm not going to give up hope," said Tron. "Our Users are friends with Flynn, so if they're anything like us, they wouldn't abandon their friends. And despite everything that's happened, I still believe in the cause I was programmed for."
Tron held his hand out, and Yori and Ram both placed one of their hands on Tron's
"We fight for the Users," Tron, Ram and Yori said in unison.
"Heh, it's been a while since I said that," said Tron, smiling as he lowered his hand. "Forgot how good that felt." He looked around, and saw that Beck and Paige were finishing their briefings.
"We'd better get ready to go," he said.
"Yeah," said Ram. "Good luck out there."
"Same to you," said Tron.
Ram walked off to join the programs gathered around Paige, and Tron turned to face Yori.
"Yori, if I don't-" Tron began, but Yori silenced him by pressing a finger to his lips.
"You survived the Old System's Game Grid," Yori said as she cupped his face with her hand. "You fought Sark and the MCP and won. You made it through Clu's takeover, and everything that happened in between. You'll make it back."
"You always know what to say," said Tron. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, and she desperately returned the kiss. The kiss ended quickly and all too soon, but there was work to be done.
"I love you," said Tron as he rested his forehead against Yori's.
"I love you too," said Yori. "Be safe."
"You know I can't promise that," Tron said softly.
"I know, but I had to try," Yori said. Her eyes darted to the side briefly, and Tron knew she was looking over at Beck. "You'd better go."
Tron nodded, then stepped back and walked over to join Beck. As he walked over to Beck, he changed his circuit-lines, shutting most of them off, including the distinctive T insignia on is chest, leaving only a few white lights on his arms and legs.
Fourteen light-cycles raced across the Outlands. As they approached Argon City, seven of the light-cycles split off from the group. Beck watched as Paige led her team to the north, towards the Sea of Simulation, then turned his attention to the snow in front of him. Beck turned his light-cycle and headed south of Argon, to where the Argon Tunnels began.
After driving for several microcycles, Beck slowed down as he came up to a massive wall of concrete with large holes cut into it. As he came to a stop in front of the entrance to the Tunnels, Zed pulled up on his custom light-cycle.
"Zed, you're the closest thing we have to an expert on the Tunnels," said Beck. "Think you can get us to the Coliseum?"
Zed looked around briefly, then drew his disc and brought up a map of the Tunnels. "This is the entrance we used to start the Argon Race, right?" said Zed.
"Yeah, it is," said Beck.
Zed nodded, and docked his disc. "Then I can get us to the Coliseum. Follow me."
Zed revved his light-cycle's motor and took off, with Beck, Tron, Mara, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup following him through the Tunnels.
Paige pulled back on the throttle of her light-cycle, coming to a stop as she approached the shoreline. She derezzed her light-cycle, and the metal quickly retracted into the baton.
"This is where we get in," said Paige, walking through the black sand towards the dark ocean.
"Clu poisoned the Sea to prevent new ISOs from forming," said Ada. "How do you know it's safe?"
"I tested the water a few cycles ago," said Paige as she formed her helmet and started wading into the water. "It's safe."
"If you're sure," said Ada as she derezzed her light-cycle and formed her helmet. Ram, Melissa, Alick, Backus and Simula also shut off their light-cycles and followed Paige into the water.
Once Paige was up to her knees, she changed the active subroutine on her baton from the light-cycle to the light-sub. She pulled her baton apart, and a wire-frame of light began to form around her. Squares of metal began forming from the wire-frame, filling the empty space between the lines of light. The light-sub finished forming, and Paige fired up the light-sub's engine. She drove forward, then began to dive as the water grew deeper. Behind her, six more light-subs entered the water and began to submerge. Once she was completely submerged, Paige gunned the engine, speeding through the water, with the rest of her team following close behind.
"Okay, we should be coming up on our exit," said Zed as he started slowing down. "Still not sure why there's an entrance into the Coliseum down here, though."
"From what I remember, they were going to use the Tunnels to transport energy from their mining operations in the Outlands into the Coliseum without having to bother with traffic in Argon," said Tup. "After the Renegade destroyed the drill, Tesler never bothered to have it sealed, and Dyson doesn't know about it, since it's not on the official blueprints."
"I guess that makes sense," said Zed. "Anyway, this is our stop."
Zed's light-cycle came to a stop, and the other six programs brought their light-cycles to a halt as well.
"Where's the entrance?" Mara said. "I don't see it."
"It's up there," said Zed, pointing towards the roof of the Tunnel. There was an opening in the roof, the same size as the rest of the Tunnels, that headed straight up, and a black ceiling was visible through the hole.
"Now how do we get up there?" Zed asked as he shut off his light-cycle.
Beck shut off his light-cycle, and loaded a new subroutine into his baton.
"Like this," he said, pointing his baton at the roof and pressing the button on the face of the baton. The tip of the baton formed into a grappling hook, and Beck fired the grappling hook up at the black ceiling above. The grappling hook embedded itself into the black wall above, and a light cable connected the baton to the grappling hook. Tron, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup also used their batons to fire grappling hooks up through the hole, and light cables trailed down to the batons. Kix, Hawkeye and Tup pressed the button on their batons again, and the cable started retracting, pulling Kix, Hawkeye and Tup up into the air.
"Do you two have a grappling hook subroutine?" Beck asked, looking at Mara and Zed.
Zed shook his head. "Never saw the need for it," he said.
"I've got one," said Mara, pointing her baton at the roof. She fired her grappling hook, and the hook embedded itself in the black ceiling.
"Good," said Tron. "It should be strong enough to carry two people."
Tron pressed the button on his baton, and he was carried into the air as the light cable retracted. Beck did the same, and soon he and Tron had joined Kix, Hawkeye and Tup on the upper level.
"Don't worry, Zed," said Mara. "It'll be fine."
"Okay," said Zed warily. He wrapped his arms around Mara's waist, and she pressed the button on her baton. The two of them slowly made their way into the air, and after a few seconds, they had reached the others on the upper level. Kix drew her disc, and cut a hole in the black ceiling. She stepped aside as the circular section dropped down. Kix reached through the hole she'd cut and pulled herself into the lowest level of the Coliseum. Once inside, she reached down and held her hand out. Hawkeye took Kix's hand, and Kix pulled her up into the Coliseum. Tup went up next, followed by Zed, Mara and Beck. Tron was the last one through the hole, pulled up by Beck.
"Okay, we're in," said Beck, forming his helmet. "We need to get to the generators and shut them down so we can set them to overload. There's going to be a lot of Guards between us and the generators, so we'll need to move fast."
"Understood," said Kix as she rezzed her helmet. "We're ready."
Paige pulled up on the controls of her light-sub, and her light-sub broke the surface of the water. Once she breached the surface, she shut off the light-sub, causing it to collapse back into her baton. With her light-sub gone, Paige was floating in the Sea of Simulation. As she was treading water, she looked up at the wall in front of her, and saw the dome of the Coliseum rising above. She glanced over her shoulder as she heard light-subs breaching the surface. The other six members of her team shut off their light-subs, leaving them floating in the water.
"Follow me," said Paige. "There should be a way up over here."
Paige formed her helmet and began swimming over to the wall, and followed it along until she reached a ladder that reached down into the water. She climbed the ladder up to the top, and slowly raised her head up. A quick look around revealed there were no Guards in sight, so she climbed up the ladder.
"It's clear," Paige called down to the others, and they started climbing up the ladder. Ada was the first program up, followed by Melissa, Simula, Alick and Backus, with Ram being the last program up.
"The north entrance should be unguarded," said Paige. "Once we're inside, we'll make our way to the prison and free the conscripts."
"How are we supposed to unlock all the doors in the prison?" Melissa asked.
"Let me worry about that," said Paige. "We need to move quickly. We'll be facing mostly Black Guards, but there shouldn't be too many of them."
"Got it," said Ram. "Let's go."
An explosion echoed throughout the generator room, blowing a hole in one of the walls, sending debris flying towards a Guard. A large piece of debris struck the Guard, derezzing him instantly, and sirens began to blare.
"Perimeter breach!" Another Guard yelled as he and the other Guards began running towards the sound of the explosion.
"Security alert," said the Voice of the Grid as Beck and Tron charged through the hole created by the explosion with their discs at the ready. Beck threw his disc, knocking a Guard over, while Tron used his disc to cut through the staff of a nearby Guard. Kix, Hawkeye and Tup were next through the hole, and they drew their discs and started attacking the Guards. Mara and Zed were the next two through the hole, and Tron, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup positioned themselves between the two mechanics and the oncoming Guards. Hawkeye grabbed a grenade from her leg and tossed it at the Guards that were running towards them. The grenade exploded, derezzing a few of the Guards and knocking several more off their feet. With the Guards disoriented by the explosion, Kix, Hawkeye, Tup and Tron ran towards the Guards and engaged them, while Beck made his way over to the generators with Zed and Mara. Mara had drawn her disc, and was fighting a pair of Sentries, while Zed had taken his baton and formed a pair of shock rods, and was using them to fight against a Guard. Beck slammed his disc into the head of the Guard fighting with Zed, knocking the Guard out. Mara ducked under the staff of one of the Sentries, and rammed her disc into his throat, derezzing him. Zed then jammed his shock rods into the neck of the other Sentry, stunning the second Sentry. Beck looked over his shoulder, and saw that Tron, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup had the remaining Guards occupied, though Beck could see more Guards arriving.
"We need to get to the generators and shut them down," said Beck. "I'll handle the main generator, you two take the backups."
"Got it," said Mara. She ran over to the smaller generator on the left, while Zed ran over to the generator on the right. Beck made his way to the larger generator located in the centre of the room, and pulled out his multi-tool. He connected the multi-tool to the console connected to the generator, bringing up the display. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, and saw Tron, Kix, Hawkeye and Tup had separated slightly, and were each fighting against a different group of Guards. Beck turned his attention back to the generator, and began working to shut the generator down.
Paige held her disc out in front of her and blocked the disc thrown at her. The disc rebounded off hers and returned to the Black Guard that had thrown it. Paige charged towards him and slashed at him with her disc, but the Black Guard blocked the blow. Paige powered up the prosthetic arm on her left hand and punched the Black Guard in the face, causing sparks to fly as he was knocked back and slammed into a wall. Behind her, Ram threw his disc at a Black Guard, derezzing her. Melissa grabbed a Black Guard by the throat with her left hand, then rammed the claws of her right hand into the Black Guard's chest. The Black Guard's circuits flickered and died as Melissa used her claws to drain the Black Guard's energy, and the Black Guard crumbled into a lifeless pile of dull cubes. Melissa then used the stolen energy to form a ball of energy in her hands, which she then lobbed at another Black Guard. The ball of energy hit the Black Guard, and he screamed in pain as the pure energy burned into him, derezzing him.
"How are we going to free the prisoners?!" Ada asked as she sliced her disc through a Black Guard's neck, derezzing him. She ducked as a second Black Guard ran up to her and attacked.
Paige opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak, all the lights in the corridor died, leaving only the circuit-lines of the programs to provide any illumination.
"That's how," said Paige. "Ram, go!"
"On it," said Ram. He dove forward as a disc came flying towards him, and rolled back to his feet and threw his disc. Ram's disc hit the Black Guard that had attacked him, derezzing him. Ram's disc bounced off the wall and into his hand, and he docked it and ran for the prison cells.
"Okay, power's offline," said Beck as Tup ran up to him. Tron, Hawkeye and Kix had defeated the all the Guards that had arrived, and were standing at the ready, waiting for the next wave.
"Now all I have to do is figure out a way to overload this thing," Beck said.
"Not so fast, Renegade," said Tup as he activated his disc and pressed it against Beck's back.
"Tup! What the hell are you doing?!" Tron yelled as he turned towards Beck.
"Good soldiers follow orders," said Tup as his circuit-lines switched from white to orange, and his helmet formed over his head.
"You were repurposed," said Tron. "That memory you showed us was a fake."
"That's right," said Tup. "And you all walked right into Dyson's trap."
There was an explosion from above, and chunks of the ceiling rained down on the programs below. As debris fell from above, a squad of Black Guards dropped down through the hole, using their wing chutes to glide down to the ground safely. They were joined by a program wearing a Black Guard uniform with unique circuit-lines on the chest and helmet, signifying his position as Supreme Commander.
"Welcome to the Coliseum," said Dyson, collapsing his helmet. "So glad you could join us."
"Hello? Anyone here?" Ram asked as he walked through the prison.
"Who's there?" a voice called out.
"Bartik, is that you?" said Ram. "It's me, Ram. The Uprising rescued me, and now we're here to rescue you."
"We're free!" said a second voice. "See, Bartik? I told you we were free!"
"Yeah, yeah," said Bartik. "Shut up, Hopper."
Two male programs walked into view. The program on the left, Bartik, was bald and had dark skin, while the program on the right, Hopper, was shorter, and had black hair.
"How many of you are here?" Ram asked.
"Not many," said Bartik, as four other programs emerged from the cells. "After you were taken away, most of the programs here didn't stand a chance in the Games."
"Yeah, there's only six of us here, including me and Bartik," said Hopper. "Conscripts have been dropping like grid-bugs."
"Users," said Ram quietly. "Okay, so, the Uprising is here to rescue you. You don't have to feel like you need to join us, just because we rescued you."
"We're all in," said one of the Conscripts. "Nobody here is fond of the Occupation any more."
"He's right," said Bartik. "We all want to fight with the Uprising, especially if you're with them."
"Well, that was easy," said Ram. "Alright, come with me. We'll meet up with the rest of my team and-"
"Wait!" a female voice called out. Ram turned, and saw a group of female programs dressed in white grid-suits running towards him.
"Sirens?" asked Hopper. "What do they want?"
"We want out," said one of the Sirens, glaring at Hopper. "Do you think we enjoy constantly sending programs to their deaths?"
"Okay, sorry," said Hopper.
"What's your name?" Ram asked.
"Aurora," the leader of the Sirens said.
"Okay, Aurora, do you and your friends just want to escape, or do you want to join the Uprising?"
"We're here to join the Uprising," one of the other Sirens said. "We want to get rid of the Occupation as much as you do."
"Okay, then, welcome aboard," said Ram. "We're going to have to fight our way out. You programs ready?"
"Absolutely," said Hopper. Bartik and Aurora nodded in agreement.
"Then let's go!" said Ram.
"Tup! How could you do this?!" Kix asked, drawing her disc and throwing it at Tup. Tup blocked Kix's disc with his own, and Beck used the distraction to slam his elbow into Tup's chest and knock him back, allowing Beck to get some distance between them and draw his disc.
"You think I'm happy about this, Kix?!" Tup snarled. "Believe me, I don't want to hurt you and Hawkeye, but my loyalty is to Clu!"
"Look, this is all very touching, but we have work to do," said Dyson. "Tup, take the Renegade alive. Kill the others."
"Yes, sir," said Tup. He threw his disc at Zed, but Zed dodged the disc, and Tup's disc hit the console Zed was working at, carving a large gash into it as it bounced off and returned to Tup's hand. Tron drew his disc and charged at Dyson, and Dyson charged at Tron with his own disc drawn. Tron and Dyson's discs collided in a shower of sparks as Black Guards charged at Beck, Zed, and Mara, while Kix and Hawkeye ran up to Tup and tackled him, trying to hold him down.
"Tup, I know you're still in there!" Hawkeye said. "I know you can break through your repurposing!"
Tup screamed as orange lines of light crept into the edges of his eyeballs, and his circuit-lines started flickering between orange and white.
"Come on, Tup, fight it!" Kix yelled. "That's an order, soldier!"
"I... I don't think I can..." Tup said through clenched teeth. "You... you have to... kill me... please..."
"No!" said Kix. "I won't do that."
"Then... I'm sorry," said Tup, his circuit-lines still flickering. "I have to do this... while I still can."
Tup managed to free his right arm from Hawkeye's grip, and pushed her aside. With his arm free, Tup rolled onto his side so he could grab his disc. Tup pulled his disc free, and there was a snapping sound as the cutting edge of the disc was activated, and he raised the disc up.
"Tup, don't!" said Hawkeye.
It was too late. Tup brought the disc down hard, and just before his circuit-lines flashed orange, his disc slammed into his chest, leaving a gaping wound. Angular orange cracks spread from the wound, and Tup began to break into orange cubes as he derezzed.
"No..." said Kix, her hands buried in the pile of voxels that had once been her friend.
Hawkeye managed to get to her feet, and ran over to Kix.
"Kix, come on, we've got to move," Hawkeye said as she tried to pull Kix to her feet.
"Grab his disc," said Mara as she ran up to Hawkeye and Kix. "We can't let Dyson find our base."
"Got it," said Hawkeye, reaching into the cubes scattered around her feet. She grabbed Tup's identity disc, and also drew her own. She activated the cutting edges on both discs, and charged at the Black Guards.
"We have to fall back!" Beck yelled. "There's too many of them, we can't overload the generators like this!"
"Agreed!" said Tron, punching Dyson in the head. Dyson staggered back a few steps and shook his head while Tron turned and ran towards Beck, who was standing next to Kix and trying to get her to stand up.
"I've... I've lost almost everyone..." Kix murmured, staring blankly at the pile of cubes that used to be Tup."
"Hawkeye, Mara, Zed!" Tron yelled. "Get out of here! Beck and I will cover you!"
"Copy, sir!" Hawkeye replied. She kicked the Black Guard she was fighting in the face, then slashed at him with Tup's disc, derezzing the Black Guard. She ran over to Zed and Mara, and the three of them ran through the hole they had made while breaking in.
Tron derezzed another pair of Black Guards, and ran over to Beck and Kix. Beck was fighting against a pair of Black Guards with his disc, while Kix was still catatonic. A disc came out of nowhere and sliced through Kix's head, and she too was derezzed. Tron turned and threw his disc at the Black Guard that had killed Kix, and derezzed him. Tron caught his disc as it returned to him and docked it, and looked up in time to see Beck grab one Black Guard and throw him at the other, knocking them both to the ground.
"We have to get out of here," said Tron as Beck knelt down and grabbed Kix's disc.
"Go," said Beck, handing the disc to Tron. "I'll distract them while you escape. I'll catch up later."
Beck turned and ran towards the Black Guards, drawing his baton and pulling it apart into a pair of shock rods. As he ran, Tron noticed that Beck's disc wasn't docked on his back. He looked down at the disc in his hands, and as he pushed the disc, he realised he was holding both Kix's disc, as well as Beck's own disc.
"Beck, no!" Tron yelled as Beck began fighting the Black Guards.
"Go!" Beck yelled back. "Tron-!" he began, but he was forced to stop and dodge a swing from a Black Guard.
"Tron Lives!" Beck yelled, striking a Black Guard with his shock rods.
Tron's vision blurred as tears formed in his eyes, and he blinked them away as he turned his back on Beck and made his own escape.
Beck fought valiantly against the Black Guards, knocking several of them out. However, he was outnumbered and exhausted. A disc slammed into his face, smashing a hole in his face-plate. He collapsed his helmet, and jammed his shock rods into the Black Guard that had destroyed his helmet. The Black Guard went down, but another one took his place, punching Beck's arm and knocking the shock rod out of his hand. Another Black Guard approached from behind and tackled Beck, slamming him into the ground. Black Guards piled on top Beck once he was down, trapping his arms and legs.
"Well, well," said Dyson. "So much for the infamous Renegade. I'm sure I'll find all sorts of wonderful secrets on your disc."
"No you won't," said Beck with a smug smirk. "My disc is long gone, now."
"What?!" said Dyson, angrily pushing a Black Guard aside to look at Beck's back. Sure enough, there was no disc attached to the dock on Beck's back.
Tron dropped down through the hole that Kix had carved earlier, and landed in the Argon Tunnels to find Zed, Mara and Hawkeye waiting for him. Hawkeye had docked her own disc, and was still carrying Tup's disc.
"Where's Kix and Beck?" Hawkeye asked.
Wordlessly, Tron held out the black disc in his hand out to Hawkeye, and Hawkeye gingerly took the disc.
"She's dead," said Hawkeye. It wasn't a question.
"And Beck?" Mara asked. "Tron, where's Beck?"
Tron didn't answer. Instead, he just looked at the white disc he was still holding. His grip on the disc tightened in anger at the thought of Beck suffering at Dyson's hands. He wouldn't let Beck go through that. Not while Tron Lives.
Two chapters in one week. I haven't managed that in years.
Anyway, the scene in the medical bay with Tup and Hawkeye was a lot of fun, especially due to the dramatic irony of Hawkeye saying Tup isn't indoctrinated when he most certainly is. And even though he is able to break through briefly, he wasn't able to stay free. In the end, he died as a loyal servant of the Occupation.
Beck giving Tron his disc and sacrificing himself to let Tron escape is pretty much a direct copy of what Lux did in Identity. The only difference here is that Beck wasn't killed during his sacrifice, he was merely captured.
Can Tron and the Uprising rescue Beck before he becomes a Stray and Dyson orders his execution? Find out in the next episode, Liberation.
-ShortyBoss.
