Chapter 22
Nico shot up with a gasp. Yori stopped her by holding her shoulder.
"You're awake!"
Nico blinked and sighed, calming down, "How long did that take?"
"Not as long as you probably think; it wasn't even a full cycle."
She nodded and rubbed her left eye. She looked around, not recognizing the room, "Where_?"
"We're in the police headquarters. The hospital was destroyed in the attack."
"Then how_"
"Paige was able to scour some supplies from the hospital and her apartment remains. Almost everything is gone."
Nico looked wide-eyed at the ground.
Gone?
"How is Beck doing?" She asked after a long moment of silence.
"He hasn't woken up yet." Nico turned as Tron walked towards both women, "But we were able to get the bullet out of him."
Nico got off the bed and her legs shook as they took weight. She was honestly surprised she could as she began to walk off.
"Where are you going?" Tron asked as he stopped her by standing in her way with crossed arms.
"I'm going to make sure he's alright when he wakes."
"Not you're not." Yori said firmly, and she handed her a cup of energy, "You're going to drink all of this, or you'll collapse before you even to where Beck is."
"Why?" but she took it and sipped.
"Look at yourself." Yori said, and ushered her to the large mirror in the corner of what Nico now recognized as a locker room.
She gasped at her appearance. She was pale and her circuits were almost impossible to see. She turned her head to both sides to see a grey streak on both temples. She looked down to her left hand to see a scar across the middle of her palm.
"We couldn't make you let go of Beck's disc for a long while and all the other…additions appeared slowly while you were in comatose. They're probably permanent. I hope this isn't a problem."
She shook her head and turned away, "I'll get used to it." She said, grinning before she downed the rest of the energy. She was starting to feel better already.
"Now, let's go see Beck."
Everyone looked up as Tron, Yori, and Nico entered.
"How are you doing?" Roy whispered, coming up to her.
"…I'll be okay." She replied quietly, "How's he doing?"
He glanced over to the still program on the table, "I don't know."
Nico turned her head to the left suddenly as she heard a low buzz. Roy watched her in confusion.
"…Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The…buzz…"
Roy slowly shook his head, "I don't hear anything…"
The buzz began to slowly grow louder and she followed it to see Beck and the buzz seemed to follow his breathing rhythm.
Is that buzz….him?
"Nico….?" Roy was truly worried now.
"I think Beck might be waking up."
Paige glanced at Nico before checking over Beck.
He jerked up suddenly, almost colliding with Paige. He met her gaze as he sat propped by his elbows. From her distance, Nico could see his eyes were normal again, no longer the look of broken insanity that had been etched into her mind.
Paige gently grabbed his shoulders as he panted. His hands went on either sides of her face, right under her ears. Their foreheads met and Paige sat and their breathing synchronized. They both closed their eyes for a moment, quietly talking to each other.
"How did you know that?" Alan asked as he came over to Nico.
Nico shrugged, "I don't know….I just heard a buzz that kept growing louder."
"Was it annoying?"
"No…it was just there. As if I had just noticed it and it was hiding all this time."
Alan didn't know how to reply to that.
"You must have created a Bond with Beck." Quorra added, coming up.
"A Bond?"
"Yes. Usually only Users have it with their programs; like Alan does with Tron. But it seems whatever you did created a Bond between the two of you."
"…Is it bad?"
Quorra shook her head, smiling slightly, "No. It just means he'll be able to sense you and you'll be able to sense him. That buzz will probably be there for the rest of your life and his, depending on who lives longer."
Nico looked back to see Beck watching her, Paige sitting next to him. He gave a small smile and a nod. After a moment, she returned the motion.
Beck, Paige, and Nico walked among the rubble from the fight. All around, programs were dusting themselves off, remembering the dead, and helping the living.
"I can't believe all of this was caused by a couple rebels."
Beck looked to Nico at her odd statement, "There was more than just a couple rebels."
"I know. But all this destruction was started by one program ages ago. Who knew it would have led to all this?"
"Maybe that's the thing about it," Paige said finally, "No one knows what happens in the future because of one program. Maybe our actions now will lead to better things in the future."
Nico sighed as they got to the top of one of the rubble piles to look over the city. She sat, "I hope."
Beck and Paige stayed standing, their hands interlocking by their sides. Paige sighed.
"But now what?"
After a moment of silence, Beck answered.
"We start over. We start over and create the future we would want to live in."
All three of them continued to look to the skyline for a moment longer, before Nico got up and they started back down the rubble pile.