Tron Reformation

Chapter 4: Visiting America and Family; Flynn's Page and a Discovery

1 Week Later…

Los Angeles, California

LA Airport

The passengers all left the plane as soon as it landed, and all were showing their passports or just waltzing out. Chisame had arrived with only a book bag as her luggage, considering she wouldn't stay for long. After her passport was approved, she strode over outside at the front gate. When she got there, she was greeted by a familiar face to both sides of her family.

There, standing at the door, with a smile on his face, was an American Caucasian male between his forties and fifties. He had silver brown hair brushed to the left, glasses that hid brown eyes, and a face you could trust. Despite his age, he was physically fit, dressed in a white button up shirt, brown tie, blue business suit with brown shoes and a duster overcoat. This was Alan Bradley, acting Chairman of the Board for ENCOM, Kevin Flynn's trusted friend, and an uncle figure to both Chisame Hasegawa, and Sam Flynn.

When the two were nearly four inches away, Chisame gave the older man a hug, whom returned it. She pulled away as she smiled to him, "It's good to see you again, Mr. Bradley."

Alan chuckled as he patted her shoulder, "Call me Alan, okay? Your cousin does it all the time."

The two walked towards his 626 Mazda, as she asked, "Speaking of which, how is Sam?"

When they entered the car, and it started up, Alan answered her, "Getting in trouble, as always." The car then drove onto the road, as Alan continued with his answer, "Ed Dillinger Jr.'s got it in for him. He was prompting… nay, begging the company to cut him loose and rot in jail."

Chisame huffed at the name of the son of the man who nearly stole it all from Kevin Flynn. "I swear, that weasel's just as slimy and sleezy as his father."

"Luckily, as Acting Chairman, I'm able to speak over him and denied the vote on his side," Alan smirked.

Chisame huffed as she smirked, "I'm just glad you were able to convince them to let him go."

"Yeah, well, it make the company's image look bad if they let the son of Flynn rot in jail just for that," Alan quirked.

LAPD Station

As soon as the two had reached the parking lot, Alan immediately went to the front desk to convince them to bail Sam Flynn out. As he did so, Chisame waited outside the holding door, for that one person to come through those doors. Her arms were crossed, leaning on the wall, looking at the door, awaiting for her cousin to come out now. And finally, after what felt like hours, the desk cop shouted, "Okay, let him out. His bail's paid up; let Sam Flynn go."

Finally, the door opened, and out came the prisoner most talked about. The man that walked out was Caucasian, but of American origin. He had tanned skin, short tussled brown hair with blue eyes. He wore a black and blue shirt with blue jeans on and a brown leather jacket, along with black combat boots. He had a slim figure, but unlike ten years ago, he was now fully developed as he was now twenty-seven years old. He was known as Samuel Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn, and cousin of Chisame.

When Sam stepped out, he took notice of his cousin, as he smirked, "Chisame?" she stood back up, her arms at her side, with only her right fist balled up, and the light covering her eyes. He walked over to her, arms out with the expectation of giving her a hug, "What are you doing…?"

KA-POW!

A powerful side cut punch smashed right into the left side of Sam's face. He steadied himself as he looked at his cousin in shock as he saw she was pretty ticked off. Confused, he tried to ask, "Hey! What was…?"

But she only answered him with a barrage of punches on his head. Then on his back, and a couple of ridiculous punches on him, until he was nearly dazing out. Finally, with bruised knuckles, Chisame huffed at him, grumbling, "You dragged me halfway around the world… every year, on the same day… for some stupid stunt, just to get on ENCOM's nerves as you always do. And I always have to go to the Head Dean, who for reasons unknown has been generous to pay for my ticket and allow me to go to America with no questions asked. But I can tell he's getting enough of this as well." She groaned as she rubbed her temples in annoyance, mumbled, "You have no idea how much stress you're giving me."

Sam smirked as he got up, rubbing his sore cheeks, "Well, if you weren't such a prude packrat in your room, and visited whenever you could instead of never, I'd stop doing this stuff." he then sighed as he joked, "Though I'm guessing from the rest of those punches, you haven't gotten ENCOM OS 12 like I'd said you would."

She shook her head, as Alan walked in, "Luckily, the board and I worked up a good excuse for you, Sam. I told them it was part of a plan to use the free release of ENCOM OS 12 as a gift from the company." he then chuckled as they began to walk out of the place, "I guess what I find curious is the crazy charities; the annual prank on the company."

"I do my best," Sam shrugged.

Alan shook his head as he sighed, "Still you have an interesting way of being disinterested in the company, Sam."

Sam's Place

After driving from the police station, and at the impound station to where Sam's Harley Davidson bike was at, the trio had made their way to Sam's home. It was located near the bay river of Los Angeles, close to the Golden Gate Bridge made from an old boat house pier port. Luckily it was part of the main road, so they didn't have to worry about a dirt road messing up with their tires. They were currently in the living room area, which was a metal and glass coffee table, and two round couches surrounding it, with his bike parked at the garage door, and a big plasma screen TV with a desk with a ton of computer terminals. In truth, it was just like Chisame's room, though a bit more social.

Chisame walked in as she plopped herself on the couch, letting her brown jacket on the side. She slipped her shoes off, letting her sock-covered toes flex a little, groaning, "This… is the most exhausting day every year of my life."

Sam smirked as he went to the fridge, chuckling, "It's probably the most of a workout you'll ever get at all. Even at that fancy school you go to."

Suddenly, a small black and white bull dog jumped into her lap, startling her. Once the dog relaxed next to her, she sighed, petting him on the head, "Hey, Bruiser. Happy to see you too." she looked to Sam and noted, "He's gotten a lot bigger since I've been here." She sat up in her seat, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, "And can you not mention that school full of lunatics, please? At least coming here is the only chance I can get away from those weirdoes."

"They're not weird, they're just different," Sam defended, as Alan sat down in a lay-Z-boy chair for the moment.

"Well," Chisame stated as she sighed disappointed, "I've gotta prepare on going back soon, anyway."

Sam stopped, holding two orange sodas in his hands, "But you just got here."

"I know," she sighed, "But I already scheduled a plane ticket to go back tomorrow."

Alan finally got out of his chair, looking at the two cousin/siblings, and thought about what he should tell them. The news that he had found last night, would probably lead Sam to do something crazy as he always did. Chisame… he wasn't sure what she would do. Would she dismiss it, try something crazy, or simply shrug it off and go on ignoring things as they were? But whether or not it was right or wrong, they had the right to know what he had found out a night ago.

"I told you guys that I'd do anything in my power to find Kevin, right?" he asked them, getting their attention.

"Yeah," Sam stated as he gave Chisame a soda. "You found something?"

Alan nodded, as this got Sam interested in listening, as he sat down with Chisame. Bradley twiddled his thumbs for the moment, before finally answering, "Last night, I got a page from Kevin at the old Flynn Arcade."

This got them both sighing at this, as Chisame shrugged on it, scoffing this so-called source, "So?"

"So?" Alan asked, as he explained, "Chisame. Sam. The number to that building as been disconnected for ten years. Ever since Kevin disappeared."

He walked around going back and forth, not sure of what to tell them next. But like the lead, they needed to hear what their father/uncle was doing, "Two nights before he disappeared, he came to my house."

This caught both Chisame and Sam's interest, as she asked, "Seriously? Did he say where he was going?"

Alan shook his head sadly, but replied, "No, but he did say the same thing over and over, 'I've cracked it!'" the two looked confused, but Alan explained as best he could, "He was talking about genetic algorithms, quantum teleportation... he said he was about to change everything: science, medicine, religion." but he looked hardened as he replied to finish, "He wouldn't have left that, Sam, Chisame." He then looked to the two and finished with a serious tone in his voice, "He wouldn't have left either of you."

The silence in the room seemed like it could cut through steel at this point. Finally, Chisame huffed as she slipped her shoes on, and was about to leave, as she shot out, "He did leave us, Mr. Bradley. He's either dead or resting in Puerto Rico. Or probably doing both. Either way, he left both Sam and me. Sam had to have been raised by our grandparents and go orphan when they died. And me, I pretty much got had to choose either my mom or my deadbeat dad when they got divorced, never asking me what my choice was." she huffed aloud, "Luckily, I was accepted into Mahora to escape that mess."

Sam looked to his cousin disheartedly, almost feeling like a dagger went through his heart, as did Alan, "Chisame…"

She crossed her arms and huffed, as she went on to explain, finally calming down a bit, "Mr. Bradley… Alan, you're making it sound that we'll see him again." She then huffed again as she shook her head, "He's been gone for ten years, and I've grown up in ten years. I'm not that same five year old brat anymore. I don't believe in fantasy/science-fiction worlds, epic battles of good vs. evil, true romance, and all that non-reality stuff." she then shot the two a glare as she announced, "And I certainly stopped believing in his stories about his fantasy world, the Grid, or the hero, Tron."

After the tension finally let out of her, she sighed, letting her shoulders slump as she looked to Alan and Sam, depressed, but still had a small sad smile on her face, stating, "It's not like we're gonna find him there, in his old office at the arcade, and he'll say something like, 'Sorry, kiddo, lost track of time'."

Finally, after a moment of silence between them all, Alan walked over to her, and hugged her tightly. For Chisame, it felt like just how Uncle Kevin used to hug her. It calmed her down a bit as Alan pulled away from her, just so she could see his sad smile as well, "Wouldn't that be something." and walked towards the door, but not before he looked to the two as he tossed something to Sam. The son of Flynn looked in his hand, and saw a pair of keys, as Alan answered, "Kevin gave me those. It's the keys to the old arcade. I was planning to go and check it out myself, but I think you guys will have better luck than I will in finding something."

He smirked before he left and finished, "If that page did come from the old Arcade, I'm pretty sure you'll find some clues as to who sent it."

And with that, he left the two alone, as he closed the door behind him for them both.

Later that Night

Riding faster than a bat out of hell, jumping from one street to the next on the darkened roads of Los Angeles's city district, Sam Flynn was flooring it on his bike. Unfortunately, for Chisame, she was the unfortunate passenger clutching on to him for dear life. Sam had convinced her to at least check out the place before she left to go back to Tokyo. In the end, she lost the fight and decided to tag along with him. And now… she was regretting the choice of letting him choose the way to get there.

"AAAAH!" she screamed in her helmet, groaning, "I'm gonna throw up!"

"Quit your whining," Sam shot out, "We're almost there." He then made a sharp turn on a street, nearly causing them to topple over. Luckily he swerved back up, heading straight down the street, with Chisame sicker than ever.

"Seriously, I'm gonna throw up," she persisted.

Sam rolled his eyes, and criticized his cousin dearly, "This is coming from the girl who could beat me at Light Cycle."

She shot out to him, her eyes blazing with annoyance, "That's a videogame; this is real life! There is a difference between the two, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam groaned.

After what felt like a while, the bike stopped at the location they had arrived to. There, right in front of them, was Flynn's Arcade. The building looked pretty good for its old age, even with its neon light sign still off. And on top of the two story building was an old billboard sign of the game, Tron.

The two got off the bike, but still didn't tear their eyes away from the board up there. Then, Flynn joked about as he asked, "Makes me wonder."

"Wonder what?" Chisame asked him, turning to his direction.

"Whether or not you'd date this character, eh?" Sam joked, earning a glare from his cousin, as he shrugged, "Well, you did have a huge crush on the character, right?"

Inside

Getting into the arcade was easy, considering Sam had the keys that Alan had given them for the door. Once they entered into the old arcade, Chisame had to admit it was kind of creepy. The lack of light in the room, all the arcade machines covered in plastic, and no one around at all, it was like something in a slasher movie. Sam was right behind her as they went in with flashlights looking around. She jumped as soon as old eighties music began to play just like that, causing her to jump up like that.

She turned and looked to see Sam, at the DJ controls. He gave her a sheepish smile as he apologized, "Sorry. It was too quiet."

She turned away, looking around with her flashlight as she grumbled, "Apparently not quiet enough to drown you out."

As she went further, with Sam looking at the other end, she stopped as she looked at one gaming console at the back wall. There, covered in plastic, being preserved from time, was the old Tron arcade game. And atop, on the wall, was a neon sign written Tron on it. She walked close to it and stopped three inches from it. Her face conveyed not of cynical nature, nor annoyance… but longing and fond memories.

She had remembered first coming to the arcade for the first time, and immediately spotted this game first. When she had started playing, she was good at it. She was so good at it, that she had admired a crowd all around her, and that was when she was at the age of five.

"Good job, Byte-Girl," Kevin stated to the little girl that was Chisame, "This was your first try and you got a score of 5000 just like that." he chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Hard to believe a five-year-old beat my old score."

The young five-year-old girl that was Chisame, smirked at her uncle's praise and nodded, "Thanks, Uncle Kevin."

Kevin ruffled her hair as he complimented, "I think you might have a future at gaming, Kiddo."

She smiled to him, and seemed shy about something as she looked away for a moment, "Well… Uncle Kevin…" Kevin looked to her a bit confused, as she went on, "… there is something else I wanna be when I'm old enough."

"Really?" Kevin asked, "What's that?"

She looked to him, smiling brightly with a blush on her face, "A master hacker like you."

Kevin seemed a bit stunned by that, but then suddenly chuckled full heartedly by this choice in lifestyle for his niece's future.

It was her fondest memory, because her Uncle Kevin stepped through the crowd, standing beside her and coaching her on the sides. That was perhaps the first time the two had bonded, and in some way for Chisame, she had a real father figure in her life.

"Uncle Kevin," Chisame whispered, with sadness written all over her face, "Where are you?"

"Chisame," Sam called to her, getting her attention. He was standing on the spiral stairway, signaling her, "I found Dad's office."

Flynn's Office

Chisame had joined up with her cousin as they now entered into the office. From the look of it, it wasn't just an office, but also a lounge pad. There was a end table with beanbag chairs there. In one corner was his work station, which was his desk and computers as well. All in all there wasn't much anywhere in the room at this point.

Chisame walked over to the desk, looking around for any clues whatsoever. Sam did the same as he looked around any thing that showed someone had been here. She looked to her cousin and asked, "Find anything?"

He stopped as he looked to her and shook his head, "No prints, no follicles, not even a butt groove. No one's been here for a while now."

Chisame huffed as she turned her attention to the computers. "This doesn't make any sense," she told herself while trying to solve this mystery, "Uncle Kevin sent out a page to Alan. And it was from here, despite the fact this place is virtually a dead zone." she leaned on the chair, looking rather distraught about the whole thing, "So who… or what… sent that page from here?"

When she thought she and Sam were gonna leave, she spotted it on Flynn's desk. It was a small white memory stick on top of some odd blueprints. She picked it up, and with a cocked eyebrow, carefully examined it. It looked pretty important, but it seemed pretty careless to just leave it out like it had been.

Suddenly, her phone rang for a moment, catching only her attention. She pulled it out, answering it and wondering who it was that had called her, "Hello?"

"Change of plans," a familiar voice answered on the phone. "Stop what you're doing and forget what me and Morpheus told you that night."

"Wha?" she nearly gasped, remembering who it was on the phone. She turned to see that Sam hadn't paid attention to her little chat. So she turned her back to him and whispered on the phone, "DRU-1, I presume? And what are you talking about? Change of plans?"

"You remember what I said about you being watched," DRU-1 stated, "Well, it turns out those who are watching you are one step ahead of us."

"Okay, what are you getting at here?" Chisame asked, not sure of where this was going.

"Look," DRU-1 said, sounding firm about this decision, "The memory stick you have, and don't ask how I know, I find these things out. Whatever you do, don't use it."

"What?" she asked, "Why? Does it have something to do with my uncle?" a silence was heard on the phone, as if DRU-1's tongue was caught. She smirked, as she stated, "I knew it. It does. So what is it? Why can't I…?"

"Chisame?" Sam spotted her talking on her cell phone, as he walked over to her, and asked, "What's up?"

Immediately she hung up the phone before DRU-1 could even give her an answer about the stick, and turned to face her cousin. "This," Chisame stated as she showed him the memory stick, forgetting DRU-1's warning. "Must be something important. I mean, it's just gotta be if it was just lying around here," she half-lied to him, unsure of he would buy the fact of a mysterious caller warning them of the memory stick that she had found on the desk. She looked to him and held it out to him, "You should take it."

Sam looked at the stick, and then to his cousin. Then, he gave her a sincere smile as he gently shoved it back to her, "You take it. You found it so it's yours."

"Yeah, but…"

"Chisame, I've spent the last ten years trying to find him my way," Sam confessed to her as he explained, "And I know in your own way, even your Net Idol persona, your hacking, are the best ways for you to do it. But if you can crack the code or find whatever you can on this, I want you to be the first to do it."

Chisame looked at the stick warily, and to Sam as she tried to plea out, "But you're his son. If anyone should have that kind of right, it's …"

"And you're practically like a daughter to him," Sam sincerely confessed to her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder, "So shouldn't a princess like you find her father? I'm pretty sure either me or you, he'll be happy to see one of us."

She was about to try and say something, but the words couldn't come out. In truth, she wanted Sam to try and find him with this, but she wanted to find him even more. She had been trying so hard, what with all the hacking and using her Net Idol persona on any leads from other hackers and bloggers. But so far, nothing had come out. And now a mysterious page, two warning robots who say they knew her uncle, another warning on the cell phone just now, and even more so now the memory stick in her hand seemed like the only solid lead they had. And if Sam insisted on it, then she didn't have a choice on it.

She sighed in defeat, and let a small sigh out, "Alright, I'll keep it."

Sam smirked as he replied, "I knew you would… Chiu."

Chisame grumbled as she roared out at him, "ARGH! WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME CHIU?"

"Okay, okay," Sam said, holding his hands up in defense, sighing in the process, "Jeez, not only are you cynical, you've gotten pretty abrasive."

Downstairs

The two were heading out, as Sam switched off the lights and the games. He exited first, with Chisame following after him, considering she wanted one more look around the place before they left. The very arcade she stood in was full of so many memories of her, Sam, and Uncle Kevin just having fun around the place. But those were just memories now, and this was the Now she lived in. she sighed, turning away for a moment.

Sam…

Chisame…

She whipped around, hearing the voice of her Uncle Kevin echoing in whispers in the abandoned arcade. With anxiety and hope in her eyes, she scanned around the room, hoping that it wasn't just the wind. But the empty arcade pretty much answered her silent question.

Sam spotted her just standing there, looking around, and asked her, "Hey, what's wrong?"

She snapped out of it, and turned to face him, simply answering, "Nothing," and looked back at the arcade, whispering, "It's just the wind."

She walked away, as the doors to Flynn's Arcade closed up once again, abandoned and in the dark, as it had remained for the last ten years once again.

Next Chapter: The Digitizer, the Martial Artist, and the Genius; A Timer for What