Chapter 19
Beck paced back and forth in the other room. Roy, Sam, Quorra, and Nico sat on the couch and floor, watching him.
"Beck, it's going to be fine." Quorra said after a long moment.
When he didn't answer, she stood and stopped his pacing.
"Now listen to me, Beck. Tron's in there with his User, one of the best medics in New Argon, and his counterpart. He's going to be fine_"
"Wait." Beck looked to her, "Did you just say_"
"Yes. You didn't know that?"
"…No….he never talked about it."
"Well, now you know. He's in more than capable hands."
At that moment, the door opened and Paige poked her head in.
"You can see him now. He's sleeping, though."
Beck nodded and let the Users past him before following.
In there, Tron was breathing deeply, eyes closed. His mask was off, showing how scarred his face had become over time. Beck stopped quietly a couple feet away from where Tron was.
"Quorra."
She turned at the whisper of her name to be gently hugged by the female program. She smiled, "Yori. It's good to see you."
"It's been a long time."
"Yes." She turned and gestured at Nico, who had distanced herself from the others. After a moment, she joined the two women.
"Yori, this is Nico, who's a User. Nico, this is Yori, which I think you know who she is to Tron."
She nodded, "Hi."
"Good to meet you."
Yori glanced at Alan and Roy, "He looks like Ram."
"Who?" Nico said, looking to where she had been looking. Roy looked up at the familiarity of the name.
"Ah. What happened to Ram?"
Yori looked sad, "He died. On the Encom system."
"Wait." Nico was shocked, "Is this Encom system like this?"
"Yes, but everything's older. Plus the programs were not as…lively at times. Plus all of them had different User, instead of everyone sharing one."
"Wow. Wait, then how did you get here?"
Yori looked even sadder, "Flynn transported Tron and I here."
"You mean…Sam?"
Quorra shook her head, "Sam's father."
"…Kevin Flynn?"
Yori nodded.
"But he's been missing."
"Not missing. He's dead now." Quorra said sadly.
"How…" then it her, "did he cause the explosion?"
"Yes." Quorra nodded, "He had Reintegrated CLU into him, and the portal exploded."
Nico didn't say anything, to in shock to do so.
"He's waking."
Everyone turned to Beck as he said this and they grew closer to the table. But not close; they were unsure what his first reaction would be.
Slowly, Tron's eyes opened, a bright blue-grey, like his Users. He shook his head, closing his eyes again, before opening them to meet the faces he knew of most. He began to sit up.
"What…" His voice was raspy from a lack of actual use.
"You made it." Tron turned his head to Beck, who now seemed relieved.
"…Beck…."
He nodded. There was something in the warrior's that only few could understand until Tron pulled him into a hug.
"You're alive. I thought…."
Beck shook his head, "No. I survived."
Tron sighed, "Thank the Users."
After a moment longer, they let go and Beck moved slightly, "There's someone else you may know."
Yori began forward and Tron noticed her, eyes wide in shock. Yori could barely contain herself any longer, so she tackled him in a hug. He grunted slightly, but embraced her, gently pulling her up on the table beside him. He hid his face in her hair, "You're okay…"
"You too." Yori whispered, beginning to cry softly in happiness. He gently hushed her and cupped her face with his hands. She gently held one of his hands, looking to it once before returning her gaze to him.
But his gaze was pulled away from her at the presence he recognized. He turned to see Alan approach. At the change in his expression, Yori gently took his hands from her face and held one gently. Tron looked down and she squeezed it as Alan stopped in front of him.
"Tron." The sound of his name made the warrior look up, his eyes full of regret and sorrow. He couldn't read the User's expression, which made him more fearful.
Alan put a hand on his shoulder and he tensed.
"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't control what_"
He stopped at Alan's gaze, but then sighed.
"I failed you."
Alan's eyebrows furrowed, then made Tron look up at him gently.
"No, Tron. You have not failed me."
When Tron didn't say anything, he continued, "You have made me proud. I saw how you fought off CLU's orders to save the Users. I don't blame you for anything that happened when you were Rinzler. And I'm certain no one here does either.
If anyone's to blame, it's CLU. If he was still alive, he wouldn't be for long when I would find him. He'd regret ever chasing after his 'perfection'."
Tron looked up and saw that every word his User said was true and he relaxed. Finally, he gave a small smile and his User mirrored him.
Alan sighed, "I'm glad to see you're alive."
Beck, who was smiling at the scene, suddenly raised his head, his smiled gone and replaced with an analytical expression. He wasn't the only one to hear it, as Tron looked up to.
"What's going on?" Paige asked.
Neither answered. Beck rushed to the door, opened it, and ran out. Tron followed, hot on his heels.
"What are they doing?" Nico asked.
"Both are security programs by measure. Beck was given the sense to know if something happened to the city while Tron always can tell…"
Beck ran back in, eyes wide.
"We need to go. Now."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Argon's under attack." Tron said, coming back in.
Everyone exchanged a horrified look before running out to where the skyline was visible to see the explosions and fire consuming the city.
"Oh my god…" Nico muttered.
The mentor and apprentice were already running down the hill, towards the city. Everyone followed as they pulled out bikes and sped towards the city.