1.3

Nitro couldn't believe his eyes... but he could believe his sense of touch and hearing. It was suddenly so much colder and quieter than he was used to..

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"AAUGH!" Nitro nearly lept two feet from sitting and had to pound his own chest a little to make sure he was still capable of breathing and his heart beating. He turned slowly and his eyes fixed on a helmet of some kind. "T-tron?" He reached out a little and managed to stroke one of the figures crossed arms.

"The figure, Tron, nodded as... holy cow this was really happening. He was a program wasn't he? But there he was, standing in front of Nitro and breathing. A computer program was breathing and standing in front of him.

Nitro took a step back and perched his bum on the desk "This... is really happening isn't it..." he asked aloud to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He jumped a little again when Tron 'spoke' to him, only it was a little more controlled, a little softer than he had become used to "We need to get you an identity Disk." Tron reached for his disk and showed it to Nitro briefly.

"Well... sure..." Nitro nodded, made sense to take Tron's lead, he knew the world they were now in. He was led to and gently pushed onto a huge flying thing he would later learn was called a Recogniser.

The armoury was a cold looking place and it gave Nitro the creeps to be there. Not that the sirens helped in any way as they moved in unison to surround him and, holy crap, they cut away his clothing. He could have sworn he heard Tron laughing as he tried to somehow cover up.

He didn't realise how futile it was at first... then a layer of digital fabric wove its way up his body. It left his arms bare as he poked and prodded his stomach, it was odd for sure. The sirens held out fingerless gloves for him that when pulled up reached and remained past his elbows, while the others pressed what he could only guess to be armour on him.

Nitro ended up preoccupied running his fingers over the backs of his hands, odd how his No and Mars ( ) symbol tattoos were now lit up through the fabric. Too busy to notice the he had missed the speech about the Identity disks -not that he needed to listen as his head flooded with code, in a near instant he knew that he knew what an Identity disk was... and he knew exactly where he was.

"Follow me." Tron walked down a corridor expecting Nitro being up to the task (even though his head was still spinning) and pointed out some racks on the walls "You're no fighter. We will have to fight." He hinted toward the more commonly used batons and a few grenades. All built to do minor damage in the game arena, but then... Nitro had Tron, a champion among programs... and an identity disk of his own to use.

Nitro grumbled a moment but saw little point in arguing. He had told Tron enough about his days of being bullied and other occasions for them both to know he needed defence and distraction. "... Why is all of this here anyway?" He picked up a belt of flash grenades and slapped them on, good thing everything was labelled...

"The Games" The program seemed to mull something over and made the follow me gesture again. He led them to an elevator that while rising asked for their identity disks to be placed in a stand of sorts Tron placed his disk in the holder and he stopped Nitro doing the same.

"Backups. We derez, die... we are restored to pre game point" Tron looked over to Nitro as he was clearly confused. "Something Sam Flynn worked into the Grid. This... The Games" something resembling a shudder ran down the programs spine. "Think Gladiator Arena" Nitro didn't understand Tron's feeling of dread. He hadn't learned about Rinzler yet, and while Tron had never been derezzed... he knew of a pain far worse.

"Safety net... got it... but..." Nitro didn't want to think too much about a society that sent its people to the death and called them games. Didn't work out too well for those that employed such value on life in the past. He wondered why he didn't have to do the same but didn't bother asking. The elevator stopped and Tron's disk was released. "So... um..."

"Disk Wars... Extreme Frisbee, only... lethal..." Tron had learned a few things from Sam Flynn and intended on filling this user in from the start. And... he intended to push him to see what this user was capable of. From their communications Tron didn't have his hopes on a high peg.

"B-but-!" The pair were split up by the rotating randomiser and Nitro ended up face to face with another program whose helmet wasn't as complete as Tron's... odd, why-

A better idea for Nitro would be to run first think later as a disk whizzed by him, he felt the heat from that warning shot and squeaked. A good old classic 'meep', before he grabbed the disk from his own back. To his sides he could see programs becoming voxels and realised this was as serious as Tron was trying to make it sound.

A helmet of sorts whizzed over his own head to protect him and he tried flinging his disk at the program across from him. It went wide, horribly so. "Oh come ON!" the other bouts were over and everyone was waiting on him. Waiting on him to destroy another being or be injured badly... Nitro preferred thinking of the former and after claiming his own disk back he hoped programs were built like humans...

He ducked the disk before running toward the program, it was stupid and risky but hell was it worth it. He kicked the program in the crotch and on the recoil he stabbed the poor male in the chest. He crumpled into voxels and the crowd loved the carnage.

It was awful. His shin was throbbing and he hated the sympathetic pains from his actions. Oh, and to top it all off, there was another round. Such fun... His last tactic wouldn't work on this one, she was ready for a fight.

And she was faster too "uh-uh..." Nitro said more to himself in somewhat of a whimper as he high tailed it from the female. It didn't take long before he was floored and part of him realised at that moment he may well have been made of flesh and blood, but the program would have seen him as another program.
He let himself scream... then a spray of voxels crumbled atop him. While he may not have been killed by a fatal blow... it would have hurt and injured him for sure. He was still reeling from the thought as a hand firmly grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. A familiar growl reached Nitro's ears and comforted him to no end.

A disgruntled crowd seemed to watch on as the Disk Wars had been disrupted by the main challenger making his way through bouts other to his own. Taking out more programs than he was required... all to get to the cowering one that surely had to be destroyed. It dawned on some of the crowd that this one Tron was protecting could be a user. After a while of confusion most of the arena went quiet. Was there another user beside Sam Flynn?

He knew he was in trouble, or at least he hadn't done the right thing. Really, since Tron wasn't talking to him at all. Even when they were moving from one location to another the program... the man, he was silent. Well, quiet with the occasional clicking noise from under that helmet.

The destination was high up, a penthouse almost, with huge panes of what Nitro could only presume was glass. It had a few booths on one side, a bar in the middle... oddly vacant... and other benches and drawers on the other side that looked used. "this is cheery.." Nitro spoke up, overlooking the Grids bleak landscape. It was pretty and chilling at the same time.

"End of Line." Tron clapped a hand on Nitro's shoulder and paused a moment "Sam Flynn, uses this as a... headquarters." Nitro was pulled to face that dark helmet and it seemed an eternity before either of them spoke "I. Should not have made you fight" The program finally let go of him and went to the bar.

"It happens... now we just know i suck as much as I thought." Nitro found he could laugh and went to one of the windows, looking out at the cold light on the horizon. It was just... one big freakin test. He didn't appreciate being messed around like that, but then... it was done for valid reason. Programs were inherently logic in many ways, emotion as far as Nitro gathered was such a human thing.

Tron tapped his shoulder with a glass of some shining blue liquid, after some hesitation he took it and drunk it. There would be no sense poisoning him if he was needed after all. It tasted odd... but he felt so great, he almost missed the flare up of Tron's light patches before that helmet closed on the head of hair he could see.

"Say... what's with that helmet?" Nitro watched Tron turn around to face him and there was an ominous pause. That helmet slipped down into nowhere and boy, his answer was staring him in the face.

All up the left side of Tron's face was a scar of red and black, almost like pulsing circuitry... it seemed to start at his jawline... possibly a little under the suit... and branched out a little as if Tron's face had cracked and was showing his true self. His mouth seemed clamped shut through sheer will, and his eyes were on the floor.

"... Tron..." Nitro stepped closer and gently put his left hand on the clear side of the man's face. Sod it, he was a man, there was too much regret on his face to be just a simple line of code... "Why won't you look at me?"

"... Rinzler" Tron stepped from under Nitro's grip and the helmet went up again. Nitro was a little stunned at that voice... the first time he had heard it, and it was so pained. It would be better to ask Sam what he knew about this... Rinzler, it was too painful for Tron.

Nitro took a plunge "So... all of that's damaged code right?" He was met with a nod "Right, then... all I have to do is fix you..?" it sounded right in theory... but then he'd have to ask Alan for everything he had on the program.

Tron held out his Identity disk flat in-front of himself in both hands, his holographic head appeared for a moment before fading into the disks circle. Part of Tron didn't want the similarities in Alan's and his own appearance to be obvious yet, not yet. He was too uncertain about Nitro's admiration for the man and Kevin Flynn had once mistaken him for Alan.

Nitro paused and nodded, all he would have to do is reach in and... look at the explosion of code and alterations. This would be a source code solution there was so much to... He looked up at that helmet and put his hands over Tron's.

"I can't, not yet... I have to talk with Alan." Nitro thought it best he was honest, Tron was just relieved not to have to explain more about the monster he had become at Clu2.0's hands. It took a while for Nitro to realise he was still holding Tron's hands, the program had made somewhat of a cough noise and twitched his hands a little.

"Soo... it's awesome meeting you 'n' all that... but... there was more wasn't there?" Nitro guessed back to business would help them both at the time. But then, while his own cheeks reddened he had no idea what went on under that tinted protector.

"The I/O towers... We need access to more of them." Tron held out a small data card for Nitro... who had no idea how to read it "put it in your disk, you will know." Tron demonstrated by putting the card in his identity disk and watching it spin round madly. Once it stopped he plucked it out then placed his disk back on his back, this made his eyes flash a moment and it was clear the information had been synchronised.

Nitro obeyed and found out all he needed to... which was freaky... but he was full of one hell of an idea. That portal over the sea was a sign the Users were on grid. It was also the best place to get any signal so to speak... He had a brainwave and started babbling out his ideas and plans.

Tron could only step back out of the way while the User paced... Humans were odd and impulsive, but... he fought for them and admired them. They were the perfect flawed gods, making most up as they went along. Able to admit their mistakes, unlike most programs he happened to know.

He neglected to mention that some of the existing towers were overrun by an enemy of the grid. Sam would help him take care of that when he next visited, while Nitro would gradually alter things for the hopeful future.

Thinking of the future... Tron grabbed Nitro's arm and pulled him onto one of the small elevating panels. It wouldn't be favourable for the two users to meet at this time and not because of Sam.

Nitro just went along with the ride, all the way to the portal. He stepped backwards closer to the light "... I... I'll be back when you want me." He dared to leave that vague. This man was someone he had been talking to for quite a while, someone he considered a close friend.

As instructed on the journey he removed his disk and stepped into the light. He didn't want to leave just yet, but he knew for his task he would need to be in his own world.

Nitro's phone was ringing. He reached out for it and after some half asleep fumbling managed to see who was calling, unfortunately it was just telemarketers that kept pestering him about a new contract...

Fortunately he managed to read the time. Which made absolutely no fecking sense... It had only been what... a hour? He didn't want to dwell on it all that much as he decided it was time for some chamomile.

One nights sleep and pow. His laptop would need a new keyboard in no time, though he wasn't convinced it would be a good idea. Better by a roll up one and make sure everything was backed up, and he needed to talk to Alan about Tron some more, he needed to steer clear of Sam, he needed to be able to get back..