Mandy watched, fascinated by her new surroundings. She was descending on a platform, her feet glued to the floor. The platform came to a halt in the middle of a bare room. Four men came out of sections in the walls and began to move about her. One of the men somehow fitted her with an identity disc then stepped back to let one of is fellows to fit her with other clothes.
"Uh-uh." Mandy said in a tsk-tsk voice. "No one messes with the leather and lace."
She freed her feet and jumped, doing a mid-air split in which her feet connected with the program's in front of and behind her, sending them shattering into a million micro-pixels. The other two programs looked at Mandy and backed away from her into their wall spaces.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Mandy asked.
The darker skinned of the remaining two replied. "Survive."
"Survive? Survive what?" Mandy asked frantically as she was lifted into the air by the same platform as before.
Mandy gazed about herself as she came to a stop once more and a different program came up to her and handed her a black stick.
"Round one," the program stated. "Light Cycles."
"Light Cycles?" Mandy asked as he left the arena.
She looked around and watched as several others jumped forward and a different, light-covered, enclosed, motorbike-looking, vehicle appeared around each program.
"Oh yeah," Mandy smirked as she did the same and took off. "I got this!"
She sped across the gaming grid, copying what her team mates did. They cut off the other team's members and they were, rather effectively, de-rezzed. The team then turned on itself, so Mandy stayed well out of the way until there was only one program left on the field.
His lights were green and he looked nasty. He meant business. They charged each other, head-on at full speed, meaning to slam into each other. Mandy pulled her identity disc off and turned at the last minute, smashing her opponent into smithereens with her disc in the process.
"Winner, Unknown Contestant." A deep voice boomed from overhead. "Identify."
"My name is Mandy," she replied after a moment's hesitation. "And I am not a program."
"What are you then?" The same voice boomed, slightly mocking now.
"I'm a user." Mandy stated loudly.
The entire stadium went silent for a moment, and then roared to life, with pockets of chatter reaching her ears briefly before armed men came down from a transport vessel –much like a spaceship- and then escorted her on board a vessel that floated above them.
"Master, the disturbance you requested to be brought on board is here." A follower stated, and Mandy just stared at the man she had been brought before…he was orange!
"Ah, thank-you." The man, presumably a figure of authority, gestured for Mandy to sit with him. She complied. "A User back in the system...and put on the gaming grid no less! What an opportunity has befallen us!"
Mandy found all this even more bizarre than the 'appear-out-of-thin-air' light-cycles. "Um, I don't wish to seem rude or anything...but, who are you? And... what opportunity?"
"Do forgive me, my dear," he smiled, but it wasn't genuine. "I am Lingdon, Grid Commander. Appointed after the demise of Clu. I continued some of the practises held whilst he ruled... such as the games."
"I see," Mandy replied, eyeing a program, who sat drinks in front of them both, cautiously. "What little I saw of the city, before I was taken to the games, you... are repairing some areas."
"Yes, Clu left much destruction after his demise." Lingdon, as he called himself, smiled again. He had his own agenda for her - and she knew it. "But now that your here, you can help us to rebuild our world quickly and efficiently. With your abilities, we could be normal again in...two hundred and forty cycles!"
"What! That's five days...I can't be missing for five days!" Mandy exclaimed as she figured out how long that was in her own dimensions time frame.
"Now, now, calm yourself, my dear." Lingdon ordered. "We need your help...and you will be allowed to explore our fair city...perhaps you could visit the End of Line club. It's the most popular place on the grid."
"But..." Mandy thought about arguing and decided against it, regarding his 'you will obey' tone carefully. "Okay." She replied reluctantly, already formulating plans of escaping in her head. He wanted to keep her around, perhaps as a weapon and Mandy wasn't having any of that. She was going to get out of here, one way or another.
"Excellent!" Lingdon said at length. "You will be shown to your temporary quarters."
"Actually, if it's okay... I would like to go and explore. You said something about a club?" Mandy asked, wondering exactly how far she could push this.
"Of course," Lingdon hesitated. "Do you need guides?"
"I think I'll be alright." Mandy replied, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"Hmmm." Lingdon didn't seem so sure.
"I'll go with her." A timid, yet distinctly male voice said from behind her.
"Xamec?" Lingdon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Very well, you will be her escort."
'Great,' Mandy thought. 'Now I have to dodge or de-rezz a body guard as well as find a way out of here!'
Mandy glanced about herself nervously, casting a sideways glance at her escort. She...they...so far, had nothing to say to one another.
"So...you do this often?" Mandy attempted small talk.
"No, you fall into a computer system often?" Xamec asked, a smirk crossing his face momentarily.
"Never." Mandy replied, a returning smile on her face.
"You're a User."
"You're a Program."
"You want to get out of here."
"Ten out of ten Sherlock." Mandy replied. "Of course I want to get out of here. I want to go home and go to bed."
"Lingdon is going to try to use you for his own ends."
"I gathered...why are you telling me this?"
"Because I don't want him to." Xamec replied.
"So you're going to help me?" Mandy was sceptical.
"Yes... as far as I can. I am going to take you to a person who will be able to help more...as long as he is still on our side." Xamec told her as they rounded a corner. "He's in there."
Mandy looked where Xamec pointed. The building in front of them just kept going up...and up...and up! "This is ridiculous."
"This is the tallest building on the grid...and also, it so happens, that your only hope is in there... on the top floor." Xamec replied.
"Na ah. I ain't going up there." Mandy was getting scared just looking at how high the place was.
"Afraid of heights, User?" Xamec asked, a cheeky smile appearing on his face.
"Yes...very." Mandy said honestly, as they continued towards the building. "End of Line."
...
R&R people! ;)