I'm so sorry for taking sooo long! It's just school, finals, and life in general just got in the way. And it didn't help my computer kept crashing. I had to borrow my mom's computer to finish the chapter.
Anyway, thank you for being patient. And thank you everybody who reviewed and favored since the last chapter.
Thank you Kisara B. for the editing and help.
There is bonding time between Tron and Sam.
WARNING: FLUFF! Unadulterated Fluff! It will rot your teeth.
I do not own these characters (except Flux, Jewel, and Ziv). I'm just borrowing them. I make no money off of this whatsoever.
Italics-Thinking and Dreams
Chapter Twenty
"Flynn! Can you stop it? !" shouted Tron, as the elevator plummeted down. He was bent over Sam and Quorra, trying to shield them if they didn't stop.
"Shut up for a second and let me think!" Kevin shouted back. What can I do? ! Kevin thought in desperation. Eyes widening in realization, Kevin did a mental face palm, Duh! I'm a User!Without a second hesitation, he put one of his hands on the elevator window. Instantly, a small, white circle appeared. Typing in a new code, Kevin crossed his fingers. Please let this work. he thought.
Right before the elevator hit the ground; it started to slow down and came to a sudden stop.
Breathing in a sigh of relief, Kevin slumped a little bit. Thank god.
"That... was amazing Flynn." Tron said in amazement.
Turning to Tron, Kevin smiled slightly and said, "Hey man, don't sound so surprised. I have my moments!" Looking down at Sam and Quorra, his smile disappeared. "What can we do? With the kids hurt like this..." he continued, only to be cut off with the elevator doors opening up behind him. Turning back around, Kevin stuck his head out, and looked around cautiously. Seeing something interesting to his left, Kevin smiled. Turning back to Tron, he said, "I think I found our ride."
Looking at Kevin in confusion, Tron asked, "What?" Standing up, he went over to where Kevin was standing.
Pointing towards his left, Kevin said, "We're going to take that."
Seeing where Kevin was pointing, Tron said, "The Solar Sailor?"
"Yeah! It will take us straight to the Portal!" exclaimed Kevin. Looking around one more time, to make sure the coast was clear, Kevin went over to where Sam and Quorra were. Bending down, Kevin looked down at their wounds and cringed mentally. I need to fix those injuries right away. he thought. Feeling a presence next to him, Kevin saw that Tron had crouched down too. "Come on. We should get going. I'll take Quorra and you take Sam. I hate to say it, but Sam's just too heavy for me to carry now." said Kevin. Seeing Tron nod in confirmation, Kevin reached out and picked up Quorra bridal style. Standing up, Kevin waited for Tron to do the same.
Reaching out, Tron picked Sam up bridal style also. Seeing Sam's head loll back onto his shoulder, Tron felt something clench painfully inside his chest. Standing back up he looked at Kevin and said, "Let's go."
As both men carried their burden out of the elevator they heard a rumbling sound above them. Looking up they both saw a massive ship coming towards the top of the tower.
Eyes narrowing, Kevin thought, CLU's in there. "We need to hurry." he said. Picking up his pace, Kevin practically ran for the Solar Sailor, with Tron virtually on his heels.
-SC-
"Well, well, well. It certainly has been awhile…CLU." said Zuse, smiling his devious smile, but his eyes showing nervousness. He knew not to push CLU; it would only lead to disaster.
Jewel was a little ways behind Zuse, not wanting to attract attention to herself from CLU or his two Black Guards.
Smiling a small, but malicious smile, CLU answered back, "It's always nice to see you Zuse." Looking around the club, he continued, "This place is almost in ruins. Mind telling me what happened here?"
Huffing out a breath, Zuse pointed his cane of Flux. "Him and his little group of Black Guards decided to start a brawl and in doing so destroyed almost everything." he said in irritation. "Circuits know what it will do to business." he muttered to himself.
Looking at his Enforcer, CLU asked in a demanding voice, "Is this true?"
"Zuse said he hadn't seen Cypher or his group, which I knew to be a lie, since two of my Sentries saw Cypher and his group come in here. So I decided to look for him myself…with a little force." answered Flux.
"I see." was all CLU said. Turning back to Zuse, he continued, "Why were you hiding them?"
Going up to the bar, with Jewel following him, Zuse turned around and leaned on it, and said in a lazy voice, "Weeell, I had to lie. If they knew the truth, then I never would have gotten close enough to them to get this." Putting his hand behind his back, Zuse whipped out Kevin's disk. "The Creator's disk." Seeing CLU's eyes widen a fraction, Zuse's smile sharpened. "I know you've wanted this for a long time CLU, and it makes one wonder what makes this disk so special. What secrets it could hold." While saying this, Zuse started shaking it, making a funny face while doing it.
Eyes narrowing, CLU just kept smiling and went behind the bar. Once behind there, he started mixing a drink together. "Where are they now?" he asked in a pleasant voice.
Before Zuse could say anything, Flux cut in and said, "They ran towards the elevator. Unfortunately, it seemed to have crashed down towards the ground. There are probably no survivors."
Looking straight at Flux, CLU commanded, "I want you to go down there and see if they're alive. Knowing Kevin, he probably pulled something at the last millicycle."
"Yes sir." answered Flux. Turning around and leaving, Flux thoughts were in disarray, The one that looked like Master CLU was the Creator? Why do they look alike? And 'Kevin'? That's a weird name.
Once Flux had left, CLU turned back to Zuse, his smile still in place.
Swallowing, Zuse gave a strangled laugh and turned to look at CLU. "So, if I give you the disk, I believe I'm still in your good graces, because let's not forget CLU…you need me." said Zuse.
CLU just inclined his head. "I need you…" he commented, and offered Zuse the drink.
Hesitating for a second, Zuse took the offered drink and handed over the light disk.
Taking his treasure, CLU left the wet bar. Without even looking at Zuse or Jewel, CLU walked towards the entrance.
Zuse gave a sigh of relief, until he saw the two Black Guards putting two black circles with flashing red dots on the walls.
Without even looking back, CLU started talking again, "I need you, huh? Well, perhaps back then... but not now." with that CLU and the two red Sentries left the club, leaving Zuse and Jewel alone with only the beeping sounds coming from the black circles on the walls. Getting onto his ship and instructing his pilots to pull away, CLU didn't even look back when the nightclub exploded into a ball of white-bluish flames, shattering out the windows and walls. Hearing the explosion CLU smirked and looked at the disk he had in his hand. Now, he thought, to find Cypher.
-SC-
Making his way towards the elevator, Flux heard the explosion and looked up. Seeing the club in flames, Flux just thought, Good riddance. and went back to looking at the elevator. Looking at the supposed crash site, Flux came to the open doors and looked inside and saw… nothing. No injuries, no bodies, no wreckage, no nothing. Master CLU was right! Circuits! Where did they go? ! he frantically thought. Crouching down on the floor, Flux put his hand on the ground and instantly two sets of glowing footsteps showed up. They were leaving the elevator and headed towards where the Solar Sailor would have been. Standing back up, Flux put a hand to his helmet to get a connection. After a second, Flux's heard CLU's voice. "Did you find anything Flux?"
"No sir. It's seems they have escaped on the Solar Sailor." Flux answered. When he said this, there was a bit of static and mumbling over the connection. "Sir?" Flux asked.
"I'm sending a Recognizer down to you. Go after them, and bring Cypher back." commanded CLU.
"Yes Master CLU." with that the line disconnected.
-SC-
"Now that we have a moment to breathe, I need to fix their injuries." said Kevin.
Making it onto the Solar Sailor, without being detected, had been the break Kevin and Tron had needed. They had hid in between the cars, clutching Sam and Quorra in their arms, not even breathing until they were outside the city.
"How will you do that Flynn?" asked Tron, who still had a hold of Sam.
Looking down at Quorra, who was still in his arms, Kevin said, "With their light disks. I can activate them and find the damage inside and fix that. Externally their wounds will heal." Laying Quorra down, Kevin detached her light disk and it began to light up and show him what looked like a strand of DNA. As it continued to move, Kevin looked at it intensely, searching for something. After a moment he yelled, "AH HA! Found it!" Seeing part of the DNA strand flashing red, Kevin pulled the piece out delicately and started rewriting a new strand. Finishing, Kevin pulled his hand away and very gently locked Quorra's disk on her back. With that her arm began to piece back together. Looking up at Tron, who had a look of slight wonder on his face, Kevin said, with a slight smile on his face, "It will take a while for it to piece back together, but at least she'll have her arm back."
Shaking his head a little, Tron said softly, "It's still so surprising at what you can do."
Still smiling, Kevin moved towards where Sam and Tron were.
Laying Sam down, Tron moved away a little, so not to be in Kevin's way, but kept an eye on Sam, just in case something went wrong.
Looking down at Sam's cut; Kevin saw blood had started to leak through his suit. Kevin watched as a drop of blood fell from the cut, but before the drop hit the ground the blood turned into pixels, shattering all over the floor. Seeing that, Kevin's heart clenched in pain. How could I forget? Damn you CLU! he shouted in his head. Taking off the light disk, Kevin got to work. Just like he did with Quorra, Kevin found the damaged strand, however Sam's strand was different from Quorra's. Hoping and praying that what he did for Quorra would work on Sam, Kevin pulled it out cautiously, and started to re-write a new strand. Hesitating for a second Kevin reattached the light disk onto Sam's back. After a moment Sam's wound started to heal.
Letting out a breath of relief Tron said, "Thank the circuits, he's healing."
Huffing out a breath of relief as well, Kevin said, "Yeah. Now comes for the boring part…waiting for them to wake up."
With that, Tron and Kevin waited.
Dream Sequence
He was running down a dim lit corridor. He had no idea where he was going, only knowing he had to get there and fast. Looking forward, Sam sees someone walking away from him. Speeding up, Sam shouted, "Hey stop! Who are you? !" The figure stops and turns a little and Sam sees that it's Tron. "Tron? What are you doing here? !" Sam yells, as he got closer to the Program.
"Sam…" Tron began, but then he turns his head back around, noticing something farther down the corridor. Whipping back around, Tron shouted at Sam, "Stay away! !"
Slowing down for a second, Sam asked in confusion, "What?" only to see Tron taking his disk off of his back, breaking off the other disk, and ran down the hallway. Sam can't see him anymore, but he hears clashing of disks. Picking up speed, Sam finally reached the end of the passageway to see Tron fighting CLU. Coming to a stop, Sam yelled, "Tron!" causing Tron to turn towards him, giving CLU the opening he needed to derezz him. Seeing his long time hero turn into pixels, Sam fell to his knees screaming, "TRON! ! ! NO! ! !"
Dream Sequence End
Sam bolted upright, breathing heavily, finally waking up from his dream turned nightmare.
"Easy Sam. Your wound just healed." came a soft voice next to him.
Looking over to his left, Sam saw Tron looking at him in concern. Letting out a deep breath, Sam relaxed. Thank God it was just a dream. was all he could think. "Where's Dad and Quorra?" he asked hoarsely.
Pointing to Sam's right, Tron answered, "Over there. Quorra's still healing and Flynn's watching over her."
Looking over Sam saw that Tron was right; his Dad was sitting next to Quorra. I hope she's alright. Sam thought.
Turning back to Sam, Tron's concern came flooding back. "Sam…are you alright? You were moving around a lot and it seemed you were in pain."
Looking back at Tron, Sam nodded and said, "Y...yeah. I'm ok. Just…a really bad dream." More like a nightmare, was left unsaid. Sitting up straighter, Sam started to get up, moving slowly because of his healed injury. Stupid light disk. Totally forgot how much they hurt. he thought in irritation.
Seeing Sam struggle a little bit, Tron instantly put his arms around his waist. "Put your hand on my shoulder." he instructed.
Trying to fight off the blush that wanted to blossom on his cheeks, Sam did as he was told, also putting his other hand on the arms that were around him. Very slowly he and Tron started to stand up. Once they were standing and steady on their feet, Sam glanced up at Tron's face and seeing him staring at him, Sam shot his eyes down to Tron's chest and stuttered out a thank you. Looking around, Sam had no clue as to where they were. "Where are we?" Sam asked in confusion.
"We're on the Solar Sailor. This will take us straight to the Portal." Tron answered, still not looking away from Sam.
Sam's head perked up at hearing that. Looking around even more, Sam said, "The Solar Sailor? Really? I've never really seen it up close."
"I admit it has changed since I've been here. Do you want to go up and see the front?" asked Tron.
Sam looked up at Tron and smiling a little said, "Sure."
With that said, Tron helped Sam up to the front of the Sailor.
Watching the whole exchange was Kevin, who was still sitting with Quorra, whose arm was almost complete. Chuckling a little bit, he shook his head and just thought, Young love. So confusing, yet so exhilarating. Hopefully they'll figure it out.
Finally making it to the front, Sam and Tron looked out in front of them. The Solar Sailor was at a slight upper angle. Around them were dark canyons. Out in the distance was the Portal, shining brightly in the dark sky.
Finally able to get out of Tron's hold, since it had loosen, Sam walked up to where the fins and motor was and stopped, just looking around. Eyes wide in wonder, Sam said quietly, his voice breathless, "Wow."
Coming up next Sam, Tron looked at him in confusion.
Looking over at Tron and seeing the look, Sam smiled a little and said, "I've never been this far off the Grid before."
Blinking in surprise, Tron said, "You haven't? Why?"
Sam's smile turned slightly bitter. Sitting down since his injuries still slightly hurt, Sam saw Tron do the same. Letting out a slow breath, Sam explained, "I was never allowed out of CLU's sight. I was too… 'precious' to be left alone. And when CLU had to go off and do whatever he did I was always left with either Jarvis or Flux."
Hearing the name Flux, Tron tensed a little bit. Pushing down his feelings for the particular Program, Tron asked, "Whose Jarvis? I've never heard of him. Is he important?"
Hearing that, Sam just snorted, "Jarvis? Important? Pfft! No way! He's just a Program that sucks up to CLU every chance he can get. He just basically runs errands or carries things for CLU. He's basically CLU's lap dog." Shaking his head, Sam continued, "Sometimes I feel sorry for him. CLU just uses him and he doesn't even realize it." After that Sam became silent. Looking over at Tron, Sam began to fidget a little. He's so close. With all this running and fighting I never really got a good look at him. Sam thought. Making sure not to get caught, Sam began to look Tron over, from head to toe. Strong chin, straight nose, sharp eyebrows, shining blue eyes, and short, dark brown hair. His body was muscular, but lean. His dark armor and speckles of light had enhanced his body in the right places. All in all he was quite handsome. WAIT! ! Han…Handsome? ! Where did that come from? ! Sam shouted in his head. Shaking his head a bit, he went back to his staring at Tron. He pretty much looks the same. A little wear and tear, but who wouldn't after all we've been through. But…there's something there that wasn't before. Thinking of something, Sam tilted his head a bit. Is it him that's different, or is it…me? So lost in his thoughts, Sam didn't realize that Tron had caught him staring at him.
"Sam? Are you all right?" Tron asked.
Seeing as he was caught staring, Sam blushed and stuttered out a lie, "Ye..Yeah! Just…um…thinking is all."
Lifting an eyebrow and giving Sam a look that clearly said he didn't believe him, Tron asked, "Thinking about what?"
Damn it! He caught me! Think! Think of something!...AH! I got it! "I was thinking of how much the Real World must have changed since I last saw it!" Sam exclaimed. I thought of something good! Sam thought, mentally patting himself on the back. Eyes shining in hope, Sam turned fully to Tron and asked, "Can you tell me what it's like over there?"
Taken a back a little at Sam's outburst, Tron smiled at his request and said, "Sure." And with that, Tron began to talk about the Real World, how technology had changed ("What's Wi-Fi?" Sam had asked at one point), and about how he and Kevin had lived during those twenty years without Sam's presence. "It just wasn't the same without you there. It nearly destroyed your Dad." Tron said softly.
Swallowing thickly, Sam asked with hesitation in his voice, "Wh...What about you?"
Looking straight into Sam's eyes, Tron said, "Every day, I blamed myself. Every day, the guilt would get worse. Every day, I would think 'If only I hadn't dropped you'. It was the worst kind of torture, not knowing what happen to you, not knowing what was happening. It was…It was…" stumbling over his words Tron just stop talking, unable to go on. Dropping his gaze from Sam, Tron bent his head down, as if ashamed at looking at Sam for so long. It looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Unable to speak, Sam looked at Tron with wide eyes. He hadn't realized his absence had affected the two so badly. Without thinking, Sam got up on his knees and threw himself at Tron, hugging him tightly. His body started to shake.
Shock coursing through his body, Tron instinctively put his arms around Sam's waist. "Sam?" he asked in confusion.
Shuddering out a breath and tightening his arms, Sam said quietly, "You came back though, didn't you?"
Breath hitching at Sam's statement, Tron hid his face in Sam's chest and tightened his hold as well.
All the while, Kevin had been watching the two, keeping silent, as to not ruin their moment. Hearing a slight groan, Kevin immediately looked down at Quorra. Seeing her eyes flutter, he knew she was waking up.
With another groan, Quorra finally woke up and started to look around. Seeing Kevin, she asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are we?"
Smiling gently, Kevin helped Quorra sit up, as seeing as she was struggling to get up, he said, "Don't worry, we're safe. We're on the Solar Sailor, heading straight for the Portal."
Not seeing the other half of their group, Quorra asked, "Where's Sam and Tron?"
"They're up by the front of the Sailor." answered Kevin, pointing to where they were.
Looking to where Kevin was pointing, Quorra sucked in a breath. She could see Tron and Sam in a tight embrace. Something inside of her clenched painfully. Sam likes Tron? ! How could that happen? ! How could Sam end up liking Tron? ! I've been the one to help him! And I'm the one who has gotten him through all of the crap that CLU put him through! Tron hasn't been here for cycles! ! Who does he think he is, waltzing in here and taking Sam away from me? ! she shouted in her head. "I don't understand." Quorra said in a whisper, even though she was screaming inside, on the outside her words were quiet, "How could he…" but she couldn't go on, bewilderment and hurt swirling inside her.
Listening to the broken sentences, Kevin said softly, "Quorra." waiting for her to look his way since she had been staring at Tron and Sam the whole time. At hearing her name, Quorra turned towards Kevin with confusion and hurt shining in her ice blue eyes. Wincing at the look, Kevin knew he had to dredge carefully. Conversations about love were always tricky. Taking a deep, calming breath, Kevin began, "Quorra… do you have feelings for Sam?"
Looking away, Quorra only nodded her head in confirmation.
"Ok then. I want to first off say thank you. You were able to help keep my son's humanity. I don't even want to know what he could have been like if you weren't there for him." Kevin said, "But when it comes to love, well…you just can't help who you fall for, even though you've been there when Sam really needed it..." only to be interrupted by Quorra.
"But WHHYYY? !" Quorra nearly shouted (but not enough for the other two to hear her); she finally allowed her emotions to snap. "I did everything for him! Not only was I there for him when no one else was, I'm the only one who understands what he went through! How could he just go and have feelings for Tron, who hasn't even been here for him? !"
"Whoa! Quorra! Calm down. I understand you're upset. You have every right to be, but you can't force someone to love you." said Kevin, trying to pacify the upset ISO.
"But…it's not fair." Quorra said quietly, brokenly.
"It may not be fair, but…that's life." replied Kevin, putting strength behind those words. He knew it would take time for Quorra to get over her love, but he wanted to see his son happy, and if that was with Tron, he would support that.
-SC-
Not too far behind the Solar Sailor, Flux had been following it at a distance in a Recognizer.
-SC-
Back over with Tron and Sam, they had finally pulled apart from their hug and were now sitting in a comfortable silence.
Wondering if Quorra was awake yet, Sam looked over to where she was, to see that she was awake and sitting up. Eyes lighting up in relief, Sam exclaimed, "Quorra!" Getting up too quickly, Sam accidentally pulled at his side. Pain erupted from his injury and he stumbled a bit, only for hands to come up and support his shoulders. Looking behind himself, Sam saw Tron had gotten up as well and was the one supporting him. Blushing a bit, Sam smiled slightly and said, "Thank you." Getting out of the loose hold, Sam walked over to where his Dad and Quorra were sitting, with Tron behind him.
Standing up slowly, Quorra and Kevin waited for Sam and Tron to reach them.
Coming up to Quorra, Sam instantly hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're ok." he said strongly.
Hesitantly, Quorra put her arms around Sam returning the hug.
Wow. Like that isn't awkward. Kevin thought. Looking at Tron, Kevin asked, "Is he alright?"
"Yes for the most part. He seems to still have a little problem staying steady on his feet, because of his side. I didn't think that the reconstruction would work as well as it did." Tron said. "Quorra looks well." commented Tron.
"Yep. She fixed up really well." said Kevin. "Hey. How much longer do you think till we get to the Portal?" he asked.
Thinking for a second, Tron shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. I would say thirty minutes to an hour."
"Oh! Really? That's it? That's not very long." said Sam, who had popped up next to his Dad.
Jumping a little at Sam's pop up, Kevin exclaimed, "Good lord! Don't do that! Do you want me to have a heart attack? !"
Laughing a little, Sam said, "You may be old, but you're not that old."
Tron just smiled at their bickering, while Quorra just looked on with a blank look on her face.
Turning away, Quorra looked to see how much farther they had to get to the Portal only to see something up ahead. "Umm, you guys. You might want to see this." Quorra said, urgency coloring her voice.
Coming to see what was up, Kevin, Sam, and Tron, saw what Quorra was referring to. In front of them it looked like a place to transport things. It was all made of dark grey, and blackish metal, with orange lights lining the walls.
Knowing those colors, Tron quietly, but harshly said, "Everybody get down and don't say anything!"
Without hesitation, all four duck down in between the cars.
"I've never seen this before." Kevin said quietly, looking around in confusion. "What is this place?" As he said this, the Sailor came to a complete stop inside the building.
Right in front of them the cars lit up to show dozens, upon dozens of sleeping Programs.
With a gasp, Quorra recoiled back. "What is going on?" she asked in disbelief. "Why are all these Programs here?"
Narrowing his eyes at the cars, Sam said with realization, "They're part of CLU's plan."
Cliffhanger! Don't you just hate me?
What could be CLU's plan?...Well, if you've seen the movie you already know, if you haven't you'll just have to wait. Will Quorra get over her love? Will Sam and Tron realize theirs? ! You'll just have t owait for the next chapter to find out! Which I promise won't take as long as this chapter!
Working on chapter twenty-one, please be patient.
Please Review! I love reviews!