Chapter 21

WARNING: This chapter is LONG and VERY INTENSE. Sorry now.

When Nico opened her eyes again, though, she found was lying on a cool floor. Sighing, she got to her feet.

"Where….Where am I?"

The room was dark and quiet. But as soon as she had spoke, a voice like the one she had heard multiple times for announcements on the Grid spoke.

You are inside of Beck's consciousness. His core is within here, which you must insert your energy into to shut down the energy around his wound and retrieve the round out so they can heal him.

"Sounds easy enough."

You may think so, but his conscious is a heavily guarded thing. If you wish to stop this, you must make it past his safe guards.

"Which are…?"

You'll see. Soon enough.

The room brightened blindingly for one moment before the room shifted to one of a dark sky.

She turned to see a familiar figure run by, panting.

Beck?

"Hey wait!" She called, but he didn't stop. She heard the pounding of feet and turned to see a group of orange-circuited programs, led by three of the same color, one of who was familiar.

"Paige? What are you doing?!"

She ignored Nico too.

They can't hear you. This is just a memory, in case you haven't realized.

"A memory…."

Now go, if you wish to save your friend.

She said nothing more as she chased after Paige, who was chasing Beck in an odd uniform of white.

He skidded to a stop at the dock's edge. He looked back to see her stop with a satisfied smirk.

"Well well, looks you're finally cornered."

Beck didn't say anything. He wore a dark mask, and glanced back behind him.

She lunged and his head snapped up. He quickly dodged, but on instinct, his hand shot out to stop her from falling into the water and threw her back. Nico dodged as Paige stumbled back. She turned to him but he had pushed past them and down the street. Grunting, she went after him, hot on his heels.

He had to stop though, as soldiers walked out in front of him, covering the exit. He turned to see he was surrounded and they were beginning to close in. Nico was in front of them, but caught to watch. He glanced to one side, then the other, then pulled out his disc. Everyone stopped closing in, then it rippled and parted on the exit side. But Beck didn't try to run through, as a familiar program came to a stop right in front of him. Nico gasped.

Rinzler.

The Enforcer pulled out his discs but Beck was tense at the sight of him. He saw the T emblem on his chest, but it was a deep orange.

"…Tron?" He choked out.

Rinzler tilted his head, but otherwise gave no indication.

"Users…." He began to back up but the crowd of soldiers pushed him back in, beginning to jeer. Beck took on the attitude of what reminded Nico of a cornered animal, and took to defense.

Rinzler lunged forward but Beck was able to block it with his disc, and kicked him back. But Rinzler was on top of him again, twin discs slashing. Beck ducked the first one, but yelled in pain as the second scratched his arm. He gripped it, distracted for a moment. He quickly backed up though when one of the discs almost slashed his mask. He assumed another fighting position and threw a punch at his mentor. He caught Beck's arm and twisted his arm with enough power to stun him, then threw him at the side wall. He hit it with a THUD and barely regained his senses when Rinzler grabbed him again. He had dropped his disc and so it was forgotten. But that doesn't mean Beck didn't struggle.

In a blur, though, Rinzler had an arm tightly around his neck. He choked and then rammed his back into the wall. Rinzler loosened his grip and Beck slipped out with a slight gasp. But the move had come with a price; Rinzler had been quick enough to disarm the latches on his mask, so it was loosely on. Knowing this, he grabbed him by the disc dock and pulled him back, making him yelp loudly as he's pulled back. With a fist to the small of his back, Beck fell to his knees and Rinzler was able to fully pull of his mask. Paige gasped as it fell away and she knew the face. But Beck looked up to Rinzler in anger on his younger face and in a flash, pulled him to the ground. Rinzler, however, rolled his weight and turned the tables and used all his weight to hold down Beck, no matter how much he thrashed and tried to get out. Rinzler raised his hand and SMACK.

Then everything and everyone was gone.

Nico turned, looking for some sign of progress. But she had turned to see the scenery reappear as black walls with orange lines running along the sides.

I guess that counts….

Two guards suddenly appeared, led by a fourth and followed by a fifth as they dragged a familiar program along.

Beck's was bruised, probably from the backhand and he walked as if sore from being dragged and thrown around. The guards held his arms behind him and nobody said a word. Quietly, Nico waited until they had passed her before following.

They continued down the corridor until they had reached a door that, after a few moments of verification, opened.

Inside, a masked figure with yellow circuits sat on a throne lazily, watching them enter. Once they were of good distance, they forced Beck to his knees with a grunt. Nico turned to see Paige and male program she presumed to be Paige's colleague stand at the door. Paige's face was tight, as if she had better prepared herself to see him in his position. Meanwhile, Rinzler stood on one side of the program, while another male stood on the other side.

After a moment, the program stood and knelt in front of Beck. His helmet came off with a click and Nico gasped at the familiarity of the face.

Kevin Flynn?

He gripped Beck's chin and moved it to look over Beck's face.

"Well…" the program tutted, "Could be worse, couldn't it? Such a shame you had to be bruised up."

The program made Beck look up at him but Beck did with a cold glare.

"CLU." He growled.

CLU smirked, "Well, you've certainly been a celebrity of sorts." He stood and walked over to the male opposite of Rinzler as he was handed a data pad, "I must say it was impressive, that a contemptible mechanic such as yourself was able to convince so many programs you were Tron. But now, everyone realizes how much you had duped them."

"At least Tron's alive." Beck said, "I hadn't been lying about that."

CLU laughed and shook his head, "Beck…I can call you Beck, can't I?"

It was a rhetorical question that Beck answered with a glare.

"Ah anyways, in case you haven't noticed, Tron is dead, and only Rinzler remains."

"Liar." Nico muttered, but of course, no one heard her.

When Beck could think of nothing to say, CLU smirked in victory.

"Now, I believe the usual sentence for sedition and overall terrorism is execution."

Rinzler looked to CLU for instructions at the word 'execution'. Beck's head snapped up, watching carefully.

"However….I feel a better example should be made. Rather than death, your sentence is…life. In prison. Doomed. To be forgotten until you die."

He gave Rinzler a signal. He walked over and jerked Beck to his feet, then turned and ushered him out by his locked disc dock.

Nico turned and Beck was suddenly thrown into what was now a dark room. He grunted as he sat up and the door opened. Paige walked in alone. As he sat up, it was easy to see how much time had passed. Not only was his face still bruised, but he had a black eye and stains from a nosebleed, along with the fact that he had winced as he had sat up. Paige stared at him, no expression showing on her face. He watched her carefully, wary.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said finally.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Would you have turned me in if I had told you?"

She looked down, and he took that as her answer.

"Then telling you would've been counterproductive to my mission."

"Your mission?" Paige turned to him, furious now. "Is that all any of this was? Your mission?"

Beck looked down, "Yes. No. I don't know!"

"Was our relationship apart of your mission? To try and turn me?"

"…it might've been at first. But it stopped quickly I promise you_"

"Then what did it become?! A game?"

"No!"

"Some sort of sick practice?"

"NO!"

"Then what was it? What was it that made you choose that_"

"LOVE!" Beck blurted, tears brimming.

Paige stopped and Beck looked down.

"It was…it was love. But obviously that's not the case anymore."

Paige was silent for a long moment. Then she turned and walked out quickly, and Nico could see the tears fighting to show in her eyes. Beck sighed and looked back down.

He disappeared for a moment, then returned as he was dragged along the corridor from earlier. His head was down, his shoulders slumped.

However, as they walked alone, he struck. His head snapped up and he elbowed one of the guards in the mask. He fell back and before the other guard could react, he managed to get his cuffed hands in front of him and swung them connected. He fell back as well, and Beck tore down the hallway. If he was correct, the Games were going on now, and CLU would be watching.

Time to make a scene.

Nico sprinted after him as the alarms began to go off. Beck was almost there and five guards were in the way. He pounced and quietly took them down, and slammed one of the guards into the button. It clicked and he ran in. He saw CLU stand and turn in alarm but in a blur, he had the chain around CLU's neck.

"Release me. Now." Nico was surprised at the darkness of both Beck's words and actions.

CLU dared, "Or what?"

"Or I could kill you now. With all these programs watching."

"You're bluffing."

He tightened the chain, "Oh am I?"

He looked out to the crowd. Rinzler was usually locked in a match with some unfortunate program or another.

But he wasn't there.

"What….?"

"LOOK OUT!" Nico called.

But Beck couldn't hear her and yelled as pain went through his body. He lost his grip on the chain and CLU was able to slip out of it, leaving him to fall to the ground with a groan. He looked up to see Rinzler above him. He grabbed Beck around the neck suddenly and slammed him up against the wall, with his feet not touching the ground.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you attempted assassination is rude?"

Beck didn't answer, struggling to get a breath in. He grabbed Rinzler's arm, trying to lessen his grip. CLU watched him for a long moment, then nodded.

Rinzler dropped him and he collapsed, coughing. Paige had just entered the room quickly and saw Rinzler towering over Beck. CLU turned and Nico saw in his eyes. He knew and had heard everything that had been discussed between them.

"Make sure you cut off his energy supply. That should teach him not to pull a stunt like this again."

He looked to her, his eyes demanding proof she was loyal to him.

She nodded, "Yes sir."

Two guards, followed by backup, came in and dragged Beck out. Rinzler gave a low rumble, then followed. Paige was the last to go in the memory, but Nico followed her out.

Then they were gone. Beck was curled up in a ball on the floor, trembling. His lights flickered and the door opened. He lifted his head to show his skin was very waxy and his eyes sunken in from lack of any energy. CLU came in, followed by Rinzler and an entourage of guards.

"Well," CLU stopped in front of him and bent down to meet his gaze, "I hope you learned your lesson."

Beck narrowed his eyes. With much more effort than it should've taken, Beck spat in CLU's face. Rinzler tensed but didn't move, a growl rising. CLU calmly wiped the spit off his face, "I see not."

He stood and began to walk off.

"Discipline him." And like that, he was gone.

The guards drew closer as Rinzler pulled Beck to his feet. Beck stumbled slightly, but managed to stay upright. They dragged him out and down multiple hallways until they reached a dark door. The hair on the back of Nico's neck stood up as the door opened and all that was in there was a metallic chair. An image flashed in her eyes of Beck chained to one similar to the one there, lightning flashing all around him.

It disappeared just as quickly as it came and the guards fought to put Beck in the chair. It wasn't a hard fight, as Beck was too weak and exhausted to put up much of a good one.

Cuffs sprung over his wrists and he tensed.

Rinzler faced him, growling, then flipped a switch. Energy, the cruel kind, rushed through and injected itself into him. Beck's head tilted back and images began to flood Nico's line of sight, all too fast to be seen clearly. But to Beck, it must be an agonizing pace because just of sight, she could him start to pant. Then as he escalated, a sharp pain started in her head. She winced and her hands went to her temples as Beck began to grunt, then give small yelps, that escalated finally to its breaking point: a loud, piercing scream. The pain exploded and Nico fell to her knees, screaming as well.

Then they suddenly stopped. Everything. In exhaustion, Nico lay down, her face against the ground.

Panting brought her back to her senses. Slowly, she looked up to see a familiar figure on the ground just in front of her. He trembled and she could hear sobs at his curled up form. Grunting, she got to her feet and stumbled over to him, the after-effects of the 'discipline' still shaking her.

Immediately, she could tell this was the real inner Beck. He seemed…broken. Nothing she never pictured Beck as. But he was covered head to toe in injuries, counting his gut injury. She looked to his eyes, and saw the broken form of insanity had consumed him.

He shrunk away from her, "N-No…..let me die."

This startled her. This was not like him at all.

"Beck…it's me. Nico." She put a hand on his shoulder and he pulled away.

"N-No….no, you're not real!"

"I am real. I'm here to help you."

"If you are, then let me die easily. I-I can't…"

"Don't you dare say that Beck!" She said harshly. "You can! You will! We're waiting for you on the Grid!"

"I can't…" he grunted in pain.

"Don't give up now! I refuse to lose my friend!"

She touched his chest and he looked to her.

"W-what do you want?"

"I need to get to your Core. It's vital I get there. Help me find the way."

"W-why should I?"

"You've still got a life to live. It's not your time. Even an aimless User like me can sense that much."

He looked to her, "I-I'll help…"

He tried to get up but winced and fell back down, "I-I can't w-walk…."

"I don't care. I'll carry you, as long as you don't give up on me."

It seemed like an insane thought. She wasn't that strong.

But he nodded, "I-I will."

"Alright. Stay still for a moment."

She slid her hands underneath him and with surprise ease, she picked him up.

"Where do we need to go?"

"J-just ahead." He winced as he held his head again.

"Hold on. Think of something good."

He nodded, and faded suddenly. She gasped and turned when she heard a door open from where she was just facing. She turned back to see Paige run in towards Beck's broken form. Something was different about this time, though. It was urgent, and she looked over her shoulder a couple times before kneeling next to Beck and shaking him.

"Beck!"

He shuddered and looked up.

"Come we need to go now!"

"What? Why_"

There's a loud sound of chaos outside the door. Paige turned for a moment, "Just trust me."

When Beck didn't say anything, she pulled him to his feet where he almost fell back down. She caught him though, "I got you."

The rest was a blur. Somehow, Paige had gotten past the chaos and he was leaning against her as she drove a jet away from the ship, the alarms going off.

"W-Why?" he asked suddenly, very weakly.

"Not now." she said, "Just try to rest."

His eyes closed slightly and it was dark.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"He's taken a lot. I'm surprised he got away with some sanity intact."

Beck stirred and opened his eyes to see Quorra and Paige standing over him. Paige noticed and nodded, "How are you feeling?"

"I…I think I'm okay."

"Well thinking will work for now. It's better than dead." Quorra said and helped him sit up against the wall. She handed him a cup of energy, "Drink."

He did and almost choked at the cool feeling.

"Easy." she said, barely glancing up. "You don't want to overload your system by drinking too quickly."

He nodded, "T-thank you."

She looked up and gave a small smiled, "Least I could do, Beck."

She looked to Paige, "I'm going to go in the other room and get some more energy. I'll be back."

Paige nodded and she walked out. Paige turned back to him once she was gone.

"How you feeling?"

His hand holding the energy trembled slightly so he gripped his wrist to keep it steady.

"Alive."

"Good."

It was silent for a moment.

"…Why did you do that? I thought you hated me, after all I did to you."

She looked down, "I thought I did too. But my eyes were opened and time helped me realize something."

"What's that?"

"The Occupation isn't bringing order to the Grid. The way CLU looked at me as he ordered me to withdraw your energy rations, dared me to disobey him. He's gotten too much power, but that's not all."
He watched her quietly. She sighed.

"Every time I saw you…it hurt. To see you like that. Almost driven out of your mind. I could practically feel your pain. It drove me crazy. It's hard to explain…but I couldn't take it. So, I defected."

He was silent still. Then he finally asked.

"…Now what?"

She sighed, "I've never been one to stand aside while the dominant programs try to destroy others, Quorra knows that much of me. I guess…I guess I'll start fighting. What about you?"

"I have to finish what I started. CLU needs to be stopped."

As he said this, he moved his legs over the edge of the med bed. Paige set a hand on his.

"Be careful. We still need you."

"I can't be certain of that." He stepped off and almost collapsed. Paige caught him as he grunted. She met his gaze.

"Then I'll stay with you. Every step of the way."

Beck tilted her head, trying to figure out what she was implying out of everything.

"It'll be dangerous."

"I know."

She gently kissed his head and he looked to her in surprise.

"But it'll be worth it."

They met gaze and just beyond them, Nico saw a pillar of white light appear. They faded away and Beck was now leaning against her.

"There it is. My Core."

"Good." She gently set him down. "I need to overrun it with energy from me for your system to shut down momentarily while they get the round out of you. You'll start back up after a moment, once they get it out of you. From there, my energy should help start you back up until you can run on your own again."

"Will it hurt?"

She looked at the Core and braced herself by locking her arms out towards it. "I don't know. I would brace for it, though."

She saw him nod out of the corner of her and slowly, her hands made contact with his Core. Instantly and painfully, energy sparked out of her hands and into his hands, making it grow brighter and brighter. She heard him grunt and she grit her teeth.

"Almost….there….."

The light was growing blinding. She closed her eyes and she felt the light consume her whole before she was plunged into darkness.