In Cyberspace No One Can Hear You Scream

Chapter 14: In Too Deep

"What has happened" Tron asked when the Recognizer came to an abrupt halt. He was in the upper level with the pilot's and Gabriel's friend. He had followed Yori up the stairs when their flight had turned erratic.

"They caught us," Jolt said glumly. "We failed."

"We can't just give up," Yori told him.

"She's right," Tron added. "We can still fight them."

Jolt shook his head. "There will be hundreds of them. Even if we do take out a good sized number we will still be derezzed.

"We'll die anyway if we do nothing." Tron removed the disk from his back. As soon as they are boarded he will take out as many soldiers as he can.

"Maybe we shouldn't fight," Yori said and grabbed his wrist.

"Are you giving up?" Tron asked her, especially after what she had told Jolt? He noticed there was something in her eyes that said she wasn't, a spark of a possible plan being formed. That was the Yori he knew.

"Never." She ran her fingers over his hand, the tips brushed against the circuitry on his fingers, sending a small tingle through his wrist and up his arm.

The sound of the platform being lowered echoed in Tron's ears. The movement caused the upper level to vibrate. He tried to go down to be with his friend but the door to the lower level was sealed.

"You can't open it when the first level is lowering or has been lowered," Yori said.

"Dean and Gabriel are down there," Tron said as he tried to scratch at the door.

"They are going to be the first to be taken," one of the other programs said. "Who's Gabriel?"

"He's our friend and your friend," Tron stared at the other programs and noticed the confusion in their eyes. "He's the one in the form of the game sprite."

"Oh you mean Skip," Jolt said and blinked. "His real name is Gabriel? Why hasn't he told us that?"

"Is he also a User?" Yori asked. Her eyebrows were raised in uncertainty.

"He's something else, something beyond a User." He wasn't sure if he could explain it to her or if it would be his place. He felt that Gabriel should be the one to tell her and everyone.

The sound of the platform rising again was heard and once again the upper level experienced the vibration. Tron placed his disk back on its harness as he waited for the arrival of the soldiers.

The door opened and they poured in. Each soldier grabbed one of them from behind and forced their hands behind. Tron watched as the others were cuffed and he felt the same binders placed on his own wrists.

"Down here, Program," one of them barked as they pushed Tron towards the direction of the stairs.

Neither Tron nor any of his companions said anything when the platform lowered. He kept sending sympathetic glances to Yori and he also thought about Dean. He hoped his friend did not risk death by fighting back against the guards.

Tron felt his circuits run cold when they were at level with the floor of the large ship and he stared into the stern eyes of Lieutenant Nyrii.

"Another escaped player," Nyrii said when she met Tron's gaze.

"Where is Dean?" Tron asked.

"Over here," Dean called. He, Gabriel and Lia were across from them also bound but it looked like they put up a bit of a scuffle. Both Lia's and Gabe's hair was out of place. There were several piles of derezzed programs on the floor in front of them.

Another figure marched up to them, flanked on both sides by sentries. Captain Kruz had a smug grin on his face as he approached Nyrii, only pausing to catch a glance of his new captures.

"What do we have here?" Kruz asked.

"We have found two of the escaped players from the game grid," Nyrii said as she walked down the line in front of them. "We also have the sprite that sprung them free, a traitor," she nodded at Lia's direction. "And several programs who assisted them. All of them rebels to his lordship." She stopped in front of Yori. "I knew we would eventually catch you."

"It took you this long, Nyrii," Yori said as she glared back at the lieutenant. "I always said your were as slow as a 56k modem."

"Slow and steady-" Nyrii began.

"Makes you grid bug fodder, although I'd think they would reject garbage data." Yori finished for her, earning a smile from Tron.

Nyrii's face twisted up into a snarl as she slapped Yori.

Tron tried to wrench himself free from the guards holding him and once he had he ran straight up to the lieutenant and ducked. He brought up his head sharply, striking her in the chin and knocking her back.

He felt a sharp kick in his side. The pain was enough to throw him off his guard. He felt several arms grab him, force him to stand straight and pulled back.

"That really wasn't smart now was it?" Kruz asked.

Nyrii rubbed her chin as she glared at Tron. She walked up to him and spat in his face.

Tron had turned his head at the last second and most of the spray hit him in the side of the face and his shoulder.

"Lieutenant, was that really necessary?" Kruz asked her and turned back to Tron. "You must be Tron. I have heard so much about you. You have been quite the trouble maker in the past."

"I'm a highly developed security program," Tron said. "I do not cause trouble. I solve it."

"You have caused trouble for our leader."

"I monitor all programs in the system. I make sure everything is running smoothly for the Users."

"I have heard that was who you fought for." Kruz walked over to Dean. "Where did you find him? He's been out of this system for megacycles." He placed his hands on his hips and waited for Dean to answer. When the User said nothing he grabbed him by the collar. "I asked you a question, program. Now tell me, where did you find Tron?"

"On the corner of kiss my ass and go screw yourself," Dean answered.

"Such language." Kruz helped up a finger and waved it.

"Would you like me to convince him to talk?" Nyrii offered.

"Sheath your claws, lieutenant." He turned back to Dean. "I believe Master Control will know what to do with mouthy programs such as your self. Take them away and put them in holding cells."

"We are not going to have them derezzed?" Nyrii asked in a disappointed tone.

"That is for Master Control to decide," Kruz said. "But if he does get the order I'll allow you to have that privilege."

"Thank you captain." She walked up to Yori and gave her a menacing smirk.

Tron tried to pull away again but he was pushed to follow the others. The shove was enough to cause his left shoulder to jut out forward. Tron caught something on it. There were flecks of saliva from when Nyrii spat on him, but there was something else, blood. When he head butted in the chin he must have caused her to bite her tongue hard enough for it to bleed and if she could bleed then she wasn't a program. She was a User.

Kruz nearly skipped as he walked to his private communication room. They had caught the rogue programs that proved to be a threat to Master Control, including Tron. His master would be pleased with what he had done. He was certain of it.

"I wish not to be disturbed while I communicate," Kruz instructed his sentries before he entered the small room and faced the control podium and the visual screen. Once he made certain the door behind him was closed and secure he pressed his fingers along the control panel.

The glowing face of Master Control appeared on the screen. "Have you captured those conscripts yet, Kruz?"

"We have them aboard," Kruz answered.

"Good job. I even sense you have the tricky one aboard," Master Control answered.

"By the tricky one, you mean Tron"

"No the tricky one is stronger than Tron, even far more powerful than a User, but I have sensed his powers have been restricted."

"What would you like me to do with the prisoners?"

"I want Tron, the elf and the sprite to be delivered to me personally. You may derezz the others."

"I will have the orders carried out at once," Kruz said. He could imagine how pleased Nyrii would be to receive such news. She had a bit of pixel lust in her and enjoyed derezzing programs.

"There is something else," Master Control said. "Another has entered our world. He is like the tricky one, just as powerful but without restrictions. I want him, Kruz. I want you to find him and bring him to me." His voice had grown deeper and far more chilling at the last part.

"I will have several forces out to seek for any newcomer to the system."

"I will have him. End of line."

Castiel had paused when he and the others passed by one of the odd shaped buildings. He stared at his reflection in the obsidian like surface. It was interesting to see himself, or rather his clothes trimmed out in glowing neon circuitry. He was lost in this world, even more lost than he was on Earth. The buildings did help him feel like he was in a city, one with technology that was even more advanced than the cities he was used to.

He barely noticed the other programs that walked around, and drove around in their vehicles. They looked human, but they were not. He had trouble reading them

"This is the same." He removed the disk from his back. "Reading this is just like looking in their eyes." He turned back to his reflection. He looked like he could fit in this world and not one of the programs knew what he really was. He held up his disk over his head and let go. It hung in the air above him, held up by his own power.

"Cas?" Sam Winchester walked back to him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Castiel said as he replaced his disk.

"C'mon, Quorra said she found us a ride."

Castiel gave his reflection one last glance before he followed his friend.

Tron had begun calculating a plan on how to escape even before he was shoved into the cell along with Dean. There were a few factors that he had to consider. One was that he had to make sure everyone gets out, the second was to find a way to get everyone off the large aircraft, third was hopefully find a way to keep Kruz from following them and now there was a new element. He had to find away to take Nyrii with them.

"Where is Gabe and Lia," Dean said as the guards were walking away. "Where the hell are they?" He struck the barrier and received a charge to his hands. "Damn it."

"Relax, Winchester," Gabriel's voice was heard. "All the cells are in the same area. I can hear you loud and clear."

"Does anyone have a plan?" Lia asked.

"We're all working on it," Dean said and turned to Tron. "You got something brewing in your microprocessor right?"

"I am trying to figure something out," Tron agreed. "There is also Nyrii."

"Yeah that bitch is pretty intense."

"She's a User."

"What?" Dean blinked.

"She had blood in her mouth when she spat on me." He held up his hand and showed Dean the few droplets of red.

"Are you serious?" The User rubbed his head. "Shit." He smacked his palm against his forehead. "That's how I recognized her. She's one of the missing kids. Well she's not a kid. I think she was taken from her dorm room."

"What's going on?" Yori asked. "What is this about Nyrii?"

"She's a User," Tron explained. "Luduserus is taking them through the Epic Frontier game and having them repurposed." He clenched his hands and whispered. "Just like I was."

"Luduserus?" Yori repeated.

"He's what Kruz calls Master Control," Dean explained.

"What kind of program is he?" Jolt asked.

"He's not a program," Dean answered. "He's a demon. I don't know how to explain this to you."

"We've read about demons," Yori said. "Evil beings that reign torment on the Users, but they are not real."

"They are," Dean said. "All those scary things you read about that are real. Ghosts, demons, zombies, vampires, shape-shifters, pagan gods, are all real."

"And one of those evil things is here?" Lia asked.

"Here and brainwashing both programs and Users," Dean continued. "One of them was Nyrii. I just don't get why."

"Users have power here. We see them as you see gods." Tron said and pointed at Dean. "You have power."

"I have power?" Dean blinked and pointed at himself. "Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier?" He snapped his fingers. "No." He looked around and snapped his fingers again.

"It doesn't work that way," Gabriel said. "I can hear you snapping."

"It's what you do, or did."

"You had power, Gabriel?" Jolt asked in an accusing tone. "You had the power of a User and you didn't tell us."

"I'm not a User," Gabriel said.

"He's not," Dean agreed. "You read about demons right? I guess you might have read about angels as well."

The other cells were filled with gasps and murmurs.

"Skip is the archangel Gabriel?" Yori asked. "And he's been with us all this time and didn't tell us?"

"Really?" Jolt asked. "We've been close. We have been friends. Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Several of the other captured programs had agreed with him.

"He didn't know if we would take his word," Tron said. He had remembered why Flynn didn't reveal the fact that he was a User at first. Who would have believed that the Users looked like them and was in their world.

"He couldn't tell you," Dean said. "He wasn't supposed to let you know. It was part of his assignment from Heaven. It was the reason why he couldn't tell. That's why he looked like Skip."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Tron said. He felt a little bit guilty, but also that wasn't the reason that Gabriel had given them. He glanced at Dean and saw him smile. That was why. Dean was covering for his angel friend.

"Don't sweat it," Gabriel said. "We just need to focus on getting out of here."

"Let me just melt the walls with my sizzling eye beams," Dean said as he gave one of the walls a tap. "Do I have that kind of power?"

"I don't think you do," Tron told him. "You might be able to turn the door off by touching the wall however. I have seen Flynn do something similar."

"Let me try." Dean pressed his hand on the wall. The constant electric hum had stopped. "I think I did something."

Tron placed his hand against the door. He felt nothing. He waved it up and down, expecting to feel a charge. The door was gone.

"He did it," Yori said.

"I did?" Dean blinked. "I was just trying to focus on our cell to see if I could."

"Gabriel also helped," Jolt said.

"That would do it. If he still has valium in his fingers he probably do everything a User can." Dean nodded and turned to Tron. "Why didn't you tell me when we were in our other prison?"

"We wouldn't have gotten far," Tron said. "There were guards all around."

"And we wouldn't have rescued those three other guys. Doors are down now what?"

"Follow me." Tron put his head out for a nanosecond and that was enough to see the four guards in front of the room. A second glance and there were four more in the back. "Get your disks ready." He jumped out and threw both his disks at the four guards in the front.

"Now," Dean cried out as he threw his disk and derezzed another.

Jolt threw another disk and derezzed the fourth. When Tron turned around he could see the others had taken out the other guards.

"Now where do we go?" Lia asked.

"We need to find where Nyrii is," Tron said. "And then we need to find a way out of here." The path ahead was hard, but he was ready to take it.

A/N: The titles is from a Sum 41 song