They say, you can never go home again. Alex has, only now she wants to leave. The real world is not her home any longer.
I do not own Tron or Tron : Legacy.
Ultimate Ally Chapter 37
In the real world
Alex sat until she couldn't stand it any longer. What was taking Flynn so long? Shouldn't he have been here by now? Alex rose from her chair, and walked over to the remote laser device. She ran her fingers over the length of it, grasping the slightly warm metal with both hands. Hurry up, Flynn. Hurry.
Something must have gone wrong. Could she get back in on her own? The Grid was repaired, right? She didn't really have to wait for Flynn to exit. But what had she been doing when she'd been sucked in the first time? She couldn't really remember. And without Flynn, she had no way of knowing how to go back. She wandered over to the computer, sat down, and stared at the screen as if some solution would miraculously appear. Instead, Alex saw only random lines of programming and a blinking cursor.
In the digital world
Flynn ran the rest of the distance over the now re-deployed bridge until he was standing on the transport platform. The beam had all but vanished, residual light briefly flared over the dais. "Noooooo!" he cried out to the sky.
Clu ran to his Creator's side. He too looked stunned as he helplessly spun around the platform, as if the answer were there, somewhere. "Why did it close so soon?"
Flynn turned sharply to Clu, anguish written on his face. "I don't know! I don't...know. The programming was complete. Paramax had double checked every line. We should have had more time." Flynn thought over in his mind every step, every diagram, every piece of data that went into their work regarding the portal and the Grid save. Had the ISO-2 miscalculated his own part involving the opening of the portal? Or had Alex accidently done something when she returned? Had she returned at all? Flynn grimaced, thinking of his friend's atoms scattered in limbo, similar to Star Trek transporters. He ran both hands through his hair. "We have to get back to the tower, Clu. Check the plans, go over all over it, and make sure everything was done correctly."
"And Alex?" Clu asked with obvious worry in his voice.
Flynn grabbed the program's shoulder. "I don't know, man. We can only hope she made it back safely."
Flynn and Clu headed back across the bridge to the Recognizer. They rode the cabin back up to its locked state, whereupon Clu ordered the pilot to return them to the tower headquarters. All the way, neither User nor Program spoke much. Nothing had gone as planned except that hopefully Alex had returned and completed the Grid fix. The only thing now was she hadn't come back, and Flynn appeared to be stuck here still. Unless Alex could figure out how to re-open the portal from outside, there was no help for Flynn.
The Recognizer landed outside the flight bay, with Clu ordering them to stand ready in case they needed the vehicle again. To Flynn he said, "I'm going to give Jarvis a few commands. I'll join you in your quarters as soon as I finish." When he saw Flynn nod numbly, giving him a 'yeah, you do that', Clu took off in the opposite direction. While he headed to the control room, Clu ran the entire history of his time with Alex through his memory, right up to the last kiss, the last smile. These would be locked inside him forever. To never have these experiences again, would it have been better not to have known them at all? No. He wouldn't have wanted that. He never should have let her go.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Clu strode into the near empty room to a much surprised Jarvis. "Your Excellency, you're...back. Have the Users left the Grid?"
Clu stood near his aide, a dark look on his face. "I want you to keep a constant scan on the area surrounding the portal. Alex returned to the outside world, but the portal closed before Flynn could leave."
"The Creator is still here?" Jarvis asked hesitantly. That was not what he wanted to hear.
"The ISO-2 managed to open it and Alex left, but...just scan the area in case she comes back. I want immediate word if anyone appears at the portal. Don't fail me, Jarvis," Clu said, an open threat in his voice. As he turned to leave, his aide stopped him.
Thinking quickly, the Intelligence officer offered his master a different theory. "How do you know the female User hadn't intended to stay in the outside world all along?"
"What do you mean?" Clu asked, his eyes narrowed.
Jarvis continued. "Well, Your Excellency, what if it had been their plan for her to escape the Grid, and only by unfortunate happenstance did the Creator end up being left behind. Or perhaps...he made sure your consort was gone before he took over the Grid again."
"Go on," Clu ordered, listening to Jarvis' words.
"Perhaps Flynn wanted you to lose the one person who could be of help to you in completing your glorious plan, your initiative. Think about it. Another User. Someone who might be as strong as the Creator, but who was loyal only to you. Perhaps Flynn never intended to leave the Grid, Your Excellency."
Clu calculated the possibility that Flynn had deceived him. But had he not said he wanted to return to his son? He curled one hand into a tight fist as he thought of the lies he had accepted as truth. He couldn't blame Alex. He knew she loved him and wanted to remain here with him. She had left in good faith, and now with the portal closed, she would never be able to return. Even the ISO-2 seemed sincere in his desire to help. No, this had to be Flynn's doing. He sacrificed both the ISO and Alex to regain control of the Grid. Clu turned to Jarvis. "Continue scanning the portal!" He left the room, anger etched on his visage. He would confront Flynn with the truth, exposing his true goals. Then, he would kill him.
Jarvis smiled, knowing that he had placed the seed of doubt in his master's thoughts. The rest would be up to Clu.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
While Clu was talking with Jarvis, Flynn had reached his room. He went to the table, grabbing up data cubes, expanding them, scanning the information they held...and finding nothing amiss. He dropped to the couch in frustration, his head in his hands, unable to figure out what to do next. He didn't even look up when Clu entered his quarters.
The Administrative Control Program looked at his Creator when he entered the room. For the moment, he remained silent in his thoughts. He walked across the room, hands behind his back. Finally, turning and facing Flynn, he ventured a question, just to see what the answer would be. "Why did she choose you...over me?"
Flynn hadn't been paying attention to his sudden companion as he pondered his own current situation. "Huh? What did you say?"
Clu stepped in front of Flynn, staring down at the User whom he'd once believed in. The User he'd looked to for guidance, and often times, found none. It was because of Alex that he'd even let Flynn back into his city. "Why did Alex choose you over me?" he asked again.
Flynn looked up at Clu, noting the look in his eyes. Was that anger he saw? Of course, his concern was understandable. But Flynn could have sworn there was more there. "What are you talking about, man? Alex choosing me over you? Naw, she wouldn't do that. Hey, pal, we'll get this figured out, I promise."
Ignoring Flynn, Clu went on, asking, "She didn't mean to leave the Grid permanently, by design?" He stepped away from couch, standing in the middle of the room, isolating himself from his Creator. One hand clenched and unclenched several times.
Flynn stared at Clu, noticing his change in attitude. This was the old Clu who stood in front of him. Flynn rose and faced him. "She didn't choose anything except to save the Grid. I'm sure if she could, she'd come back. It's just...I don't know, she didn't know how she got here in the first place. That means she has no way to get back, and I can't get outside to make that happen."
In a low voice, Clu said exactly what was on his mind. "You planned this." Now both his hands were in tight fists.
Flynn glanced around the room, suddenly feeling trapped. "Planned what? You were there. You heard everything."
"Come off it, Flynn! I was left out of a lot of the planning! It was as if you didn't trust me. Or perhaps, you wanted to keep something from me."
"Clu, buddy, that's not true. I had no reason to keep anything from you. I'm not hiding anything. Whatever happened out there was not my doing." Flynn realized that without Alex's softening touch, Clu could be as ruthless as he ever was. That was apparent in his eyes and demeanor. And Flynn was here, right in the backyard of the enemy, with no way out. "Clu, can we work this out together? See what went wrong?
Clu smiled grimly at hearing the word 'together'. Once, Flynn had said they would be changing the world, together, and that hadn't turned out well. He was through working with the Creator.
In the real world
Alex stared at the blinking cursor. She tried typing in a command, with no response. After attempting several different commands, she typed 'Flynn, are you there?' and 'Where are you, Clu?', then laughed at her deperation. Of course, they wouldn't be able to respond, not having access to computer, or whatever they'd need to communicate from the Grid. She should have asked Flynn before she left, but none of them had looked beyond expected success. "Damn it all!" she cried out, pounding the keyboard once with her open hands. She wondered how much time had passed, in there. Remembering that time moved more quickly on the Grid, she realized that Clu might think she wasn't returning. He would not be happy about that. And that left Flynn alone with his creation, one who already didn't trust him, and who might hurt him if he felt betrayed in any way.
Typing more commands, Alex knew it was ridiculous to assume she knew what she was doing. She couldn't remember what she'd done the first time. Rubbing her eyes, she wondered how long she should wait here, before calling it a night. Without Flynn, and without knowing what to do herself, Alex had to accept that she wasn't going anywhere.
In the digital world
Clu faced his Creator, fury compelling him to act rashly. But something in him stopped him from actually harming Flynn. "Because of what you meant to her, I'm going to give you a chance. Leave the city...now! If I ever see you again, I won't be so generous."
Flynn was taken aback by Clu's threat. "You don't mean that. We were making a go of it, man. Groovin' to the music. There's no need to..."
"Shut up, Flynn! Leave my city. You're no longer welcome here. No User will ever be welcome here again. And one day, I'll find a way to leave the Grid. When I do, I'll take your world away from your kind, and perfect it." A dark smirk had replaced the usually pleasant smile that had been there before Alex had left. "I will make it over...in my image."
Flynn backed up as Clu approached him. This wasn't happening.
Clu shoved Flynn hard. "You have one millicycle to be beyond the city borders. Go back to your hiding place in the Outlands." Clu turned and left the room.
Flynn glanced around. He had no choice, but to leave. He entered the corridor, and seeing no sentries about, found his way to the flight bay. Still, he saw no one around. Clu must have ordered his programs to let Flynn leave unimpeded. It would be a long walk, but at least he was being allowed to leave, alive.
As he neared the first tunnel leading to the place where he had created his safehouse, Flynn spied the lightrunner heading for him. It stopped next to him, Quorra at the wheel.
"I saw you returning, Flynn. I've been watching for you since you sent me away. I guess things didn't go as planned."
Flynn leaned back in his seat. "No, Q, it didn't go as planned. Let's just go home."
In the real world
Alex sighed. She hadn't realized there would be a difference on her return. Being mortal again didn't feel good. She was tired, hungry, had a migraine, and her eyes ached from the light. Maybe it had all been a dream, and she'd never met Flynn or Clu at all. And if she had, why was it so important she go back? That world had no sun, trees or flowers. If she and Clu had become a pairbond, they couldn't have children, not real children. Paramax had been a fluke, an unknown. But did she even want children? Her life with Clu had been fulfilling enough, and they hadn't even started working on making the Grid a better place. She brought her hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. The truth was, she loved him, she loved a program, pure and simple. And she wanted to go back to him.
Alex stood, about ready to turn off the computer, but she hesitated. She'd better leave everything as it was for now, just in case Flynn was able to return. She turned off the light as she left the room.
Alex wasn't giving up. She would continue to see if she could get back in. After she rested a couple of days, she'd use the computer to check for any of Flynn's notes or files that might hold an answer to her dilemma. Somehow, she would find a way to go back...home.
A/N: Up next, the epilogue.