"Ice caps are melting," Sam mumbled. "War in the Middle East."

His father had asked for him to bring him up to date on the outside world.

"Lakers/Celtics are back at it." He sighed and wracked his brain. "I don't know. Rich are getting richer, poor are getting poorer. Cell Phones, online dating, Wi-Fi."

"What's Wi-Fi?" Flynn asked in a confused tone.

"Wireless interlinking."

"Of digital devices?"

"Yeah."

"huh. I thought of that in '85."

Sam grinned at his dad. Who knows what today would would have been like if CLU hadn't trapped him down here.

"Mom and Dad are…" Flynn paused, sadness lining his silence. "I assume that…"

"Yeah," Sam answered. The faces of his grandparents filled his head. "Mac when I was 12. And Gram 5 years later."

"And Alan?" Flynn asked optimistically. Sam's chest tightened at the name. What would his father say about his and Alan's relationship? What could he say?

"Alan is…uh…"

His father whirled around with a concerned look on his face.

"Alan's gone too?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed quickly. "No, no. He's fine, Lora's fine. Their good."

His father sighed in relief. Emotions akin to anxiety arose in Sam with that sigh. What would his Dad think of Alan's conduct? The last thing that Sam wanted was for his father to lose a friend on the other side. But what Alan had done… Flynn's voice interrupted Sam's thoughts.

"Did he take care of you?" The old man asked, smiling expectantly.

"What?" Sam responded.

"Did he take care of you?"

"What do you mean?" Confusion overrid Sam's thoughts. "You expected that?"

"I orchestrated it." Flynn walked to the other side of the Solar Sailer and watched the dark sea below them. He had a look of hopeful contemplation on his face as he continued.

"I knew that there was always a chance that I would get stuck in here. So, I made Alan promise that if anything were to ever happen to me, he would take care of you. Guide you, help you find your way through Encom, if that's where you ended up. My greatest fear, wasn't that I would be trapped." Sam felt his dad's hand on his shoulder, warmth penetrating his suit. "It was that you would grow up without a father."

Sam turned his head, attempting to hide his shock and the tears begin to seep into his tired eyes. What had he done?

"Did he keep his end of the deal?" Flynn asked.

"What is wrong with me?" Sam whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"I'm a complete idiot!" His grip on the rail tightened as he tried to force away the memories of those conversations with Alan. "Dad, I messed up," he mumbled. "I thought… The way that Alan just swooped in… I ruined everything. I'm so sorry."

"Woah woah, kiddo. Slow down." Flynn already had a guess as to what his son was talking about, but the result of guessing wrong would hurt more than help. "What happened?" He simply asked.

"I jumped to conclusions. Dad, Alan and I… we don't talk, and… I misunderstood why he was helping me, and now I've messed everything up. What is wrong with me?"

Sam could not see the look of understanding on his father's face, but a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder told him his father's thoughts.

"I'm afraid, Sam," his father began. "That the only thing wrong with you is that you are a Flynn through and through. We've always had a tendency to leap before we look. Protect ourselves at all costs. We get high strung, say things we don't mean, but we're too proud to take them back. So we keep on saying it until we believe it. Why do you think I lost the Grid? I needed help, so I made CLU without a second thought. I was so sure that I ignored Tron's warnings. I said things and did things. Refused to learn from my mistakes. I lost you Sam. That's the price I paid for being a Flynn. I don't want that for you."

"I don't want to be that guy." Sam whispered, sadly.

"If its any comfort," Flynn continued. "I've been in here a thousand years, and I still haven't figured out how to not be that guy. But the good news is, its not too late. If I know Alan, he would probably love to talk."

"How am I gonna explain this to him?" Sam mumbled, as he ran a hand over his face.

"You leave that to me, kiddo. The Grid takes quite a bit of explanation."

Sam paused in thought. Him, his father, and Alan. Like old times. He liked the idea.

"You remember that night?" He asked, turning towards his dad, finally able to see the contemplation on his old face. "When you didn't come home. You said-"

"I said I'd show you the Grid," Flynn finished. "You should have seen this place back then. I couldn't wait to show it to you. Could not wait."

"Must have really been something before CLU screwed it up."

"No, no, he…" Sam could hear the pain in his father's voice. Guilt lined every word. "He's me. I screwed it up. Chasing after perfection. Chasing after what was right in front of me."

Turning to look at his son, Flynn felt all the regret he had shoved aside the last thousand years whell up in him. "Right in front of me."

"Dad," Sam sighed. "This place, the possibilities. I can understand what you wanted. Look at what you've accomplished. It's incredible."

"Sam." A hand rested on the Son of Flynn's shoulder. "I would've given it all up for one more day with you."


Author's Note:

Greetings Programs! I hope you all enjoyed the latest episode of Revamp. My first episode explored the idea that Alan and Sam were on bad terms by the point of Legacy. This episode explores what could have transpired between father and son if this were so. I honestly wish we had heard more about Alan in Legacy (as you can probably tell.) Well, have a great day and hope to see you in the next episode!

I do not own anything, I was just experimenting and having fun. Super fans, again, please don't hate me!