Love's Dawn

Pectrocycles. A measurement of time. Often, they feel too short when there's something to be done. Sometimes, they're long and drawn out, like a bad cold. Always thinking about the end when it's only just begun, and it drones on and on, usually at its worst in the middle. But when nearing the end, the anticipation of being free can make crossing the finish line that much more satisfying, or extend the time by another ten imaginary minutes. The only difference between a bad cold and a long hour though… colds usually wait a few months before coming back, long hours can repeat instantly. More like torture than a cold.

The Doctor of Death, Paige scoffed at the name, felt miserable. How many hours had she spent on top of her baton jet? 14? Three cycles of travel was basically a form of torture. She lost count of how many times she wished she could have stowed away on freight trains or other transportation. She had talked to Tron about her travel arrangements and every normal or subtle way of moving using public options were impossible. The guards were on high alert around the system, and nothing was more suspicious than a Program with two discs.

An unfamiliar beeping brought her attention to the small box that was magnetized to the front of her small dashboard. The box was Tron's mapping of the area and apparently alerted her to when she was in the vicinity of Flynn's hideout.

She scanned the area for the mountain that stood out against the flatter areas of the Outlands.

Brilliant place to hide, a mountain that's in the middle of an open area. At least Tron's is mixed in with other mountain ranges. Paige rolled her eyes. She could still see Tron city if she turned her head, so distance wasn't exactly the greatest either.

Soon enough, the small jagged edges of the Outlands stopped looking menacing and evened out. From there, she could see the lone mountain that stabbed up from the ground. Nothing made any obvious signs that it was inhabited but once she was within a few hundred meters, the light from a window or opening made on a plateau was clear. She had finally arrived.

Circling around a few times, she decided on landing on the road. No other entrances were clear from up in the sky and she assumed they didn't have a landing pad of any sort. In a few millis she was grounded and walking up to a low tunnel connected to the ground. The ceiling looked barely high enough to let someone on a Light Bike to get through, an odd design for sure. Thankfully, there was a small path parallel to the opening and the medic made use of it.

It was a long climb, but it felt amazing to finally stretch and open up her body. On her way, she preformed various combat moves and styles she developed, the waves of relief and familiarity washing over her. There was nothing quite like sinking back into a routine dance or formation. With it, problems and issues seemed to melt away and become insignificant. A reset of perspective.

Another half a pectro passed before she reached what was the beginning of a garage. The ground smoothed out until becoming formatted ground with walls to match. It was long, similar to the garage in Tron's hideout, perhaps narrower than the legendary Program's home. Near the middle, a four wheeler that Paige had never seen before was parked. It explained the odd dimensions of the tunnel.

The medic froze when she saw a person moving behind the car. They hadn't noticed her yet and Paige realized with horror, she had no plan on how to introduce herself to two people who were hiding from nearly every Program in the Grid. The person closed whatever panel she had open but was facing opposite of Paige, letting her get a great view of the Program's features.

Black short cropped hair, a taller fit frame, the circuit patterns and armor. It was Quorra.

Paige's immediate response was to cut her in half, avenge the Programs who were mercilessly slaughtered because of her, but she stopped herself. Her eyes closed and she breathed in deeply, maybe the disc mod was getting to her, maybe it was the long flight over, maybe it was a lot of things. Once she had calmed, she decided the best thing to do was to be forward and just get it over with.

Determinedly, she made her way over to the car, her footsteps alerting the ISO. Quorra immediately flipped around in shock before relaxing at Paige's presence.

"You scared me. I expected you to come in the same way Tron did," Quorra commented, her hand over her racing heart.

"What way did Tron come in?" Paige asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The window,"

"Figures," An awkward silence filled the garage as the two didn't know how to talk to each other.

"You grew out your hair," Quorra commented weakly.

"Yeah… Had it in a bun before this."

"It looks lovely," she complimented genuinely. Another heavy pause.

"About before…" Paige started hesitantly, her brown orbs a mix of emotions.

"I'm sorry about what I did," Quorra blurted out.

"It's alright, I understand why you did it. You… you saved my life," Paige admitted softly, her expressions softening up.

"No I didn't," the ISO muttered darkly, her eyes downcast, "I endangered you and killed everyone who was there."

"Tesler did that. Not you. Those losers who attacked you are more at fault than you," Paige countered sharply. Tesler… she couldn't believe how foolish she was to be lead by his lies.

"I know. Flynn tells me repeatedly that I'm not the one to blame. But… he blames himself for everything that's happened now, when it's Clu's actions that ruined the system."

"It doesn't matter now, we can't bring them back. All we can do is move forward," Quorra chuckled at that.

"Funny you should say that."

"Why?"

"I should let Flynn explain it. He's better at it than I am," Quorra motioned for Paige to follow as they stepped onto a platform in the middle of the garage. She had seen the large square hole in the ceiling and figured that it was an elevator of sorts, but when it started moving it still caught her off guard. The panels beneath them lit up as the walls surrounded them. It then dawned on her who she was about to meet.

"Oh my User..." Paige breathed out as she saw Flynn for the first time. He was seated on a cushion in the middle of a large room that looked out toward Tron City, the style bore an uncanny resemblance to the hideout in the Argon outlands. The room itself was the complete opposite, however, where most of the outer walls were made of the stone of the mountain only shaved and smooth. The room was lit primarily from the bright squares on the ground that started from the entrance and went to the opposing wall, as well as a set of two rows going toward the end of the room where the force field separated the warm inside air from the chilling mountain environment. Books were lined in shelves indented in the walls, with drawers under them. The covers and cases of the literature was dark in contrast to the near blinding white of the shelf.

It felt much more natural and exotic than the hideout in Argon. With its mixture of using the natural stone of the Grid combined with unique and intelligently designed furniture. If she took a moment, she could understand that a User would have nothing less.

"No, I don't think he's your specific User," Quorra noted quietly before she stepped over to Flynn. "We have another guest," she whispered quietly but with the silence of the room Paige could still hear her.

"A guest? The one Tron mentioned? Well, she's here sooner than I thought she'd be," the User said with a chipper tone. He turned slowly and peered at her through a sideways glance before Quorra motioned for her to join them.

"Hello, User," Paige said hesitantly, unsure of how to greet him.

"Hello, Program," he mocked her playfully. "You don't have to be so formal Paige, I'm basically no more powerful than you are," he waved off. The medic felt herself relax as she got a good look at the User now standing before her.

"Should I call you Flynn?"

"Kevin. Flynn. User. Whatever makes you happy, man," he said in delight as he walked over to the table. "Let's talk," Paige took the hint and made her way over to the table and sat across from him, with Quorra seating herself on the couch behind Flynn.

"So did Tron tell you why I wanted to meet you?" he asked gaining a much more serious attitude.

"No, he just told me that I needed to see you,"

"Ah, I see. Why don't we have a seat at the table and we can talk,"

"Tron spoke very highly of Beck," Quorra commented sweetly, her warmth radiating through her eyes at Paige.

"Yes, he seems like a great Program," Flynn added with his own soft look and smile, "Would you mind telling us more about him?"

"First, I want to know why," Paige countered, her expression hard and determined, which exerted a chuckle out of Flynn.

"Of course, this must be very confusing," Flynn responded before pausing to gather his thoughts, "From what Tron told me, you've been holding on to Beck's disc ever since he was derezzed," she nodded.

"Now, what I have in mind is only a theory. I've never been able to find the same circumstances as you're in. You have been able to hold onto his disc for far longer than is normal. Yes, discs are able to be stable without their Programs while Programs need their Identity Disc to function properly. It has to deal with memory and coding I won't get into. But that said, a disc will lose its shorter term information, and other experienced memories. What that means is that Beck's memories, the events and things he's learned over his life would have been lost. Tron also mentioned that at one point Beck had lost his disc and went through short term amnesia, something that would have damaged his disc's ability to retain memories.

"He also said that you had been going through Beck's memories, apparently up to the point about one year ago, sorry a xilacycle ago? When you two first met?"

"Yes, I still go through his memories. None of them seem to be missing or damaged," Paige responded softly.

"Would you mind if I looked at his disc myself?" The User asked softly holding his hand out, the beads hanging from his wrist jingling with the movement. Paige gave no vocal response as she handed him Beck's disc from her back.

Quickly, with practiced precision, Flynn had opened a series of panels and options before coming to the spiraling vortex of raw code. Code Paige had seen a handful of times as it was far too high of level that she was programmed for as a medic. Kevin quickly scrolled through the long spiraling branches of code until the white pins and stems of information had turned yellow and some parts a flashing red.

"Ahh, here it is," he noted as he continued to inspect the area, "I see there are some mends to the code, that's your doing right?" he asked looking at Paige.

"I… I had tried to save him after I…"

"It's alright Paige, we know, you don't have to say what happened," Quorra offered gently, reaching over and squeezing one of the medic's hand in her lap.

"Thankfully, or I guess it would depend on how you look at the situation, but you trying to save him wasn't the reason his disc was able to retain the memories,"

"And how are we looking at the situation?" Paige insisted.

"Thankfully. This just tells me that the reason the disc hasn't dumped any information is because of you, Paige. One thing I had started to wonder before the ISO's had come and taken my attention was the connection of Programs to other Programs. Humans are very emotional creatures, we crave companionship and the love of another. I was curious how much of that was transferred to the Programs we created and if the feelings of a User could be transferred to the Program. I think that thought process started because of Tron and Yori back in the old system, but now I can finally answer that question,"

"Love? Are you telling me that my feelings for him are what kept the disc stable?" Paige asked incredulously.

"Partly, yes. The other part is that you two are a compatible match. Using Users as a analogy, humans have blood that flows through them, much like you have energy flowing through you. The difference, blood has different types and formations that makes it so that if someone needs to have a blood transfusion, they need to have the same or at least a compatible blood type given to them, otherwise it would kill them. You and Beck must have very similar coding structures to have had the disc stay in such a stable condition. It's almost as if you two are mirror copies of one another, a yin and a yang if you will,"

"What?"

"Chinese symbolism and philosophy. Yin, the black side of one half. Characterized as passive, dark, cold, female, and earth. Yang is active, bright, warm, male, and heaven. One cannot exist without the other. Most of the time, Flynn refers to the concept as good and evil, light and dark, or right and wrong. He also likes to remind me that the philosophy is old and that the definition I just spoke to you is not of the modern thoughts," Quorra informed.

"Yes, Yin and Yang no longer have sex associated with them," he quickly noted, "At one point, I wondered if that existed in humanity, if it did, I imagined I'd find it down here. I started by checking Programs with the same secondary circuit colors, but quickly found that they were not the same, but randomly coded. I found the same in colors that were opposite of one another," he chuckled and looked out to the Outlands from the terrace, "I believe it now to be personality. I could never find the code to prove it, but I noticed how certain colors acted and started keeping track of them in my head, even wrote it down at some point, but that data sheet is long lost,"

"So our personalities are what define if our coding structures are similar? That's what you're saying?" Paige asked, clearly lost in the whole topic.

"No... no, I just went off on a tangent about secondary circuits, sorry. How you are coded structurally is still a mystery to me. I can see it and open it, tinker, and manipulate the wires and stems if your data, but in the end, I don't know the science of it. Would you allow me to inspect your disc as well?" Flynn asked as he set down Beck's disc onto the table. This time, Paige didn't hesitate when she handed him her disc and watched in awe as he found the same coding sequence that he had in Beck's. Side by side, the two looked similar.

"It's so similar to human DNA..." Flynn muttered as he analyzed the two vortexes, his eyes narrowed in deep concentration and interest.

"Paige, when you first met Beck, how did you feel about him?" Quorra asked, deciding to fill the time.

"We, ah, well the first time I actually met him we were fighting. But the first time without the masks, I thought he was..." Paige hesitated as she realized how embarrassing it was going to be to admit her feelings, "...cute. And when I talked to him he seemed fun in a boyish way, hardworking yet carefree at the same time. I liked that," she reminisced with her heart in her voice.

"That's sounds very sweet. I've read a few studies in research publication that talk about how someone's initial feelings or impression are what stay with them, and if the initial response is positive, then the relationship has a higher probability of being long lasting and healthy," the ISO informed her with gilded pride and happiness.

"Well... I wouldn't really call our relationship healthy," she reflected bashfully.

"Not all relationships start with smoke and mirrors like yours. Under normal circumstances, I'm positive you two would have been happy to be with each other. You are happy right? You held onto his disc because of how much you cared for him," Quorra supplied.

"I-"

"Found it," Flynn spoke suddenly, not loud by any means, but the raw conviction in his voice gathered the other occupants attention immediately.

"Found what?" Paige asked.

"The reason Beck's disc hasn't been dumping information," Flynn presented the two discs, both aligned to the same sequence of coding. Beck's flashed yellow and red, but a chunk of coding stood against the flaring lights with the calm white of undamaged code, as Paige's was a healthy white.

"He's been living with your code. This section right here," Flynn pointed to the area of Beck's undamaged code, "That's the reason the disc isn't failing, it's just what I thought it was man! It's so amazing!" He exclaimed with a brilliant smile, "It was hard to find, your two codes are more similar that I originally imagined! This is just too cool!" he breathed out one last time before leaning back into his chair and looking up at the ceiling with an uncontrolled smile plastered to his face.

"What does this mean?"

"It means we have a beautiful opportunity for you and Beck, Paige," Quorra replied serenely.

"It means, man, that we can bring him back!"

"Could you say that again?" Paige couldn't tell if she was in a sleep cycle or if she was so exhausted that she didn't hear correctly.

"I can bring him back," the robed man reiterated, "Not just remake a new Program using his disc's coding blueprints, but give him a new body with all the same memories, thoughts, and consciousness. It will be the same Program,"

Paige felt her body receive a variety of overwhelming emotions, all struggling to take control and influencing her, a maelstrom. Elation first filled her, that fact that Beck would come back, that he could after her mistake, to be given a second chance. Her heart started to feel the adrenaline pumping through the energy, and all of her senses began to sing in anticipation.

Unfortunately, the joy was swallowed up by fear, if he did come back would he accept her? Killing someone was the greatest mistake anyone could make, was it possible for his forgiveness? In response to her thoughts, her stomach's butterflies and the tingling of heightened her senses turned against her to a sickening nausea that promised to expel her inner contents. The constricting second skin of her suit that felt as if it was trying to choke every pore of her body.

"Paige?" Quorra stood next to the dazed medic. She hadn't realized that she had stood up and was facing the table with her arms propping her from falling over. Everything was spinning, the world seemed to be moving too fast for her to comprehend, and her name sounded foreign to her.

The softer footsteps of a robed man coming next to were heard by her ears, but not registered in her brain. Nor did the snapping of her discs to her dock help her. Only when a new voice came to her did she snap out of her emotional state.

"What's wrong Paige?" his soothing voice called. It sounded as if he was in the room with them just at the other end, calling from a distance.

"I'm scared," she muttered. She wasn't sure if she was truly speaking aloud or in her mind. The small hand rubbing her hand never ceased and no other sounds or actions tried to interact with her.

"Of me? You're scared of what I'll think of you?" again his voice sounded far away, but real none the less.

"Y-yes…"

Am I scared of him…? She mused to herself, not trying to commune with the ghost that was inside her. Evidently, he heard her anyway.

"You're not scared of me Paige. You're scared of yourself," His words weren't false, but they didn't help that nasty pit in her stomach that grew with the statement.

"I…"

"Take the disc mod off, Paige. It's influencing you. It's not just anger it uses, it's far more subtle than you know,"

"How do you know?"

"I'm connected to you. I'm inside in you. I've been watching what it's been doing to you without realizing it until now,"

Paige took a moment to consider his words. If he was right, which he usually was and she was stubbornly against him, then she had to let go of her pride and remove the corruption. She calmed her mind with a deep breath.

"Flynn, my disc, there's a modification on it. I need it removed," she knew she had reached the User as her disc was quickly removed and replaced without a nano. Initially, nothing changed, her world still felt like it was breaking down, her mind felt as if it was tearing itself apart, and her body wanted to purge her stomach of its holding. But soon after the mods removal, she felt the tension leaving her, like breaking a fever. The sweat was beginning to feel cold on her body instead of hot, and her stomach finally relaxed. A sigh escaped her as she slumped back into the chair with Quorra's help.

"This is… from the old system…" Flynn sat with a horrid expression on his face, "Where did you get this?"

"…Shaw… A scientist named Shaw. Tesler had secretly been communicating with him ab… about another weapon that would make him stronger," Paige answered weakly. Flynn's expression didn't change.

"This… this coding is from…"

"What is it Flynn?" Quorra encouraged as she continued to sooth Paige with soft massaging hands.

"Sark… Master Control…" the User mutter in disbelief. The words had stopped the ISO's movements, inciting Paige to look up in confusion.

Who?

"Back in the old system, the first time I came here, there was a Program much like Clu. A dictator. A power hungry Program… He… It controlled everything in the Grid, and it was growing. It was going to come to the User world and take control there,"

"But Tron, with Flynn's help, destroyed the MCP," Quorra murmured.

"Then who's Sark?"

"Sark was the MCP's second in command, much like how Dyson is to Clu. When Tron had reached the MCP, it had transferred most of its functions and power to Sark in order to save him," Quorra explained.

"It was the Master Control's compassion that failed him," Flynn interjected, "If he hadn't transferred his power to Sark, I probably wouldn't have survived my jump into his I/O connection and Tron wouldn't have been able to enter past his barriers.

"After that, I went back to my world. Tron told me that he and Yori had escaped before the tower exploded. I thought that they were dead. If any part of them still exist then… we're in a lot of trouble man," Flynn explained in a defeated tone that didn't reassure Paige in the slightest.

"How is it even possible?" the ISO asked in bewilderment.

"I don't know… there isn't a connection to the old system, not one I made. Bradley helped me update Tron so he could function in the new system, but that wasn't a direct transfer, it wouldn't have made any connection to the original Grid,"

At this point, Paige was beginning to lose any comprehension of the situation, and her body was being to wan drastically.

"I need to rest…" she said, struggling to stand.

"I'll help you to a bedroom," Quorra quickly snapped from her reverie and ushered the exhausted medic to one of the far off rooms leaving Flynn to himself.

He studied the circular device before deciding to inspect its element. The code wasn't anything out of the ordinary, no single line spoke of destruction or control over the Grid. Sadly, he wasn't in an old campy superhero movie where there was a flashing button that stopped the life threatening missile from launching and destroying the evil scientist's lair. If only his life could be that simple.

Searching the code, he did find it's power and functional advantages, not without its consequences. Each line string or import array that would fuse the bearer with energy was connected to other groupings of code. This code was the raw source of the modification, the part taken from Sark and the Master Control Program. Personality coding and reasoning was far too complicated for Flynn to understand. He wasn't a psychologist. His understanding of why and how someone or something acted was rudimentary at best.

Kids wanted to have fun because they were energetic and… well kids. Alan and Lora loved each other because they could depend on the other, had similar interests, ideals, and intelligence. They matched and complimented each other in the right ways. Alan was hard working because he took pride and interest in working with coding and understanding the programs that worked, Lora was a scientist who used those programs to further her research, pioneering into new areas of science yet to be fully understood or even believed. Dillinger… wanted to rise to the top and he had the smarts to obtain it, but not from his own creation, but stealing the ideas of far brighter intellectuals such as Flynn, Alan, and Gibbs.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kevin knew that it all went back to human's route coding, or DNA. Primal functions and instructions to help survive. Affected and shaped over human's evolution and the stark contrast of mankind being sentient opposed to the wild species and mammals. It was far too complicated for him, for now. It was one of the reasons he loved coding. Zeroes and ones were simple. It was all laid out. Sentences of commands and functions that couldn't be interpreted a million different ways.

'When X reaches Y in quantity, transfer X's data to Z'

On a screen in the real world, it was that simple. A mathematical equation.

In the Grid, with Programs that had to transfer the data packages, that's where it became complicated again.

Flynn sighed out in aggravation. He was getting tired of running this exhausting cycle of thoughts. Being patient and understanding others was one thing, but learning how someone thought and why they did it was impossible. Hell, sometimes he didn't even understand himself.

He shut down the open panels of coding to the disc mod and stood to the middle of the room. He'd need to meditate, this was messing with his Zen, man.

Paige awoke to find herself in an incredibly soft bed, warm and satisfied. Her head unconsciously nuzzled deeper into the puffy pillow and allowed a contented sigh to escape her chest.

"Comfortable?" Beck's voice chuckled softly in her head. Her frown was his response.

Yes I am Mr. Ghost. Her ghost laughed.

"Good, but I think it's time for you to wake up. Flynn and Quorra are about to come in,"

How do you know?

"Trade secret," he teased.

Sure enough, there was a soft rafting on the door soon after.

Why are you always right? Her mechanic's laugh faded as the door opened and two people stepped in.

"Morning, Program," Flynn greeted.

"How are you feeling?" Quorra asked as she sat on the single chair in the room.

"Better. Refreshed,"

"Good, that disc mod must have been draining," Flynn said.

"About that-"

"We can talk about it later. Why don't we talk a little more about Beck?" Quorra directed softly. Paige nodded.

"This is all theory, so you know. Very possible, but I've never had the opportunity to do this before," Flynn explained.

"What is the procedure?" Paige asked professionally. She admired the User's attempt to cushion the gravity of the situation but she preferred it be factual and straight forward. From the look on his face, he got the message.

"It won't be quick. I'll be entering your code as a User. You'll be connected to the Grid at the bottom of this mountain, it'll let me tell the system to make a new body but without giving it a disc. Sounds simple, but it's tedious work. You'll be unconscious for all of it so you won't feel anything,"

"What's stopping the system from seeing the code, realizing it's mine and refusing to make a body? Won't it know he's derezzed?" Paige asked.

"I'll be binding you two together. There are Programs that share coding, usually partner Programs. I won't bore you with why, but it has to do with efficiency and saving digital space. Why make two when you can make them for the price of one? Anyway, my plan is to make you and Beck partner Programs, as minimal as the system will let me, that way you two don't just become a single mind. Does that make sense?"

"Yes… actually," she answered slowly, grasping the concept quite easily.

"Good. Basically, I'm tricking the system into giving him a body then combining the two of you," he paused as he thought about his next words, "You should know that once you two are partnered, if one of you are derezzed, the other will also die,"

"I'm sure we'll manage," Beck's voice called from next to her.

"We can handle it. We'll be more than capable once we're together,"

"Good," Flynn smirked as he proceeded to the door, "Why don't you get ready and we'll get this show on the road,"

"You didn't want to tell them that you could see me?" Beck asked as the three… and a half… of them went to the elevator to the lower garage.

I can't see you, can I? Paige shot back cheekily. Her mechanic scoffed and chuckled.

"Point," he acquiesced, "Does this mean I won't be in your head anymore?"

Hopefully, I would like to have private thoughts again. She imagined herself glaring at a charming Beck who grinned at her words.

"Says the Program who's been roaming through my disc," Paige couldn't stop herself as she audibly snorted, covering it up as a cough.

Point.

"But that's a shame. I will miss some of those thoughts. But I am getting antsy in here. Really miss having legs, arms, oh and a body," he joked. Images and memories of Beck holding her as they slept or enjoyed time together flashed through her mind.

I miss that too. I need more warmth at night.

"You seemed more than content not even a few minutes ago,"

Feet were still cold. She grinned at his deadpanned expression.

"Well don't worry, Princess. Your personal foot warmer will be available shortly," he bowed theatrically to her.

Classy.

"Paige?" Quorra inquired at the medics second chuckle.

"Sorry, just imagining something. Helps calm me down," she lied.

"No reason to be nervous, this will work," she wished she had the other woman's confidence.

"How can you be so sure?" Quorra gave a thoughtful expression as they all stood onto the elevator platform.

"Flynn calls it a 'hunch' or 'gut-feeling',"

"Sounds like User instinct,"

"It is instinct," Flynn interjected, the lights of the elevator bouncing off the few bright gray hairs starting to show in his hair, "but you have it as well. It's in every living being," the two looked at him with different expressions.

Paige had confusion and doubt while Quorra was in awe, as if learning something grand from a wise teacher. In a sense, that was true.

They were silent for the rest of the short trip down. Once they stopped moving and the lights through out the garage came on, the group entered into a hall perpendicular to the garage. When she first caught sight of the hall she felt it wasn't made for open space and comfort. No, the corridor was much more of a utility space or back entrance, a place rarely traveled and designed by that fact. Tight and narrow, with matte walls and simple lighting, comfort was not in mind when it was created. At the end on the right sat a doorway to another elevator, this one more common in fashion.

"This will take us to the bottom," Flynn said as they entered. It was wider than the other lift, but the bleak color of the interior walls made it confining and slightly worrisome.

A typical service elevator I suppose.

"Won't Clu notice what we're doing? We are accessing the system directly," As Paige turned in the elevator she was shocked to find a fourth person waiting for her. Reflexively, she gasped and jumped back. Flynn and Quorra both stared at her in bewilderment.

"What is it?" the other woman asked looking around the interior of the elevator.

"… It's Beck. I can see him," she muttered, unable to take her gaze away from the spiky haired mechanic.

He looked just as she remembered. The circuit lines, the armor configuration, his tall fit body, his dashing smile, bright eyes filled with vitality that looked directly at her with affection.

"Where is he?" Flynn inquired, his curiosity peaked. She timidly took a step toward the image, her palm reaching out towards his chest.

"Right here," she slowly uttered as her hand came into contact with him.

By the Users. He felt real. The warmth that radiated off him and soaked into his thin Grid suit was under her skin. Somewhere in the back of her mind it was telling her that if she moved or pressed into him he'd disappear, but just resting her hand on him was enough for her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Don't cry, I'm not back yet," he whispered, his hand taking hers and pushing it back from his chest gently. Still holding it with care and importance to let her know that he wasn't trying to push her away. His charming expression had turned soft and soothing, further a promise that they'd be together again. All she had to do was wait a little longer.

Quorra had enough of a mind to tap the floor level and begin their journey to the heart of the mountain. Kevin Flynn continued to watch in unadulterated interest as the medic interacted with an invisible spirit.

"Mind if I peek at your disc?" he asked, his eagerness getting the better of him. Paige nearly shoved it in his hands, her eyes never moved.

"Afraid I'll disappear if you look away?" he teased, getting closer to her. Another sense for the illusion of the phantom. His smell wafted to her and caused a fireworks of memories to flash through her mind. Times when they were close recycled through her, other times when he was the Renegade and his musk was apparent.

"Maybe," she answered with a flirty undertone, before immediately blushing. She chanced a look away from him to see Flynn too focused on her coding and Quorra unaffected by the odd gesture, as if she hadn't spoken at all.

"Are you so shamed to be seen talking to me?" he acted taken aback, burned. His hand held to her as he leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling with carelessness.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it's not healthy to talk to illusions," she snipped. He didn't turn to face her but the grin that formed on his lips told her he had heard her.

"I think you should keep talking, it's helping combine your code," Flynn murmured distractedly.

So he was listening. She could tell her blush had returned a little bit at the realization.

"It's alright Paige. It's nothing to get embarrassed over," Quorra input, not helping the warmth on her cheeks. At this point, the medic wondered how long the ride down was going to take and if she could take much more of the uncomfortable enclosure. Surely these walls were shrinking on her.

"How long are we going to be on this thing?" she asked.

"Well we are going to the bottom of a mountain," Beck noted.

"Shut it, mechanic,"

"Aww, you're so nice to me, medic," he beamed back at her. Ignoring the glare and harsher tone of his medic, figuring to kill her with kindness. It had yet to not work for him.

Quorra chuckled at Paige, no doubt conversing with her friend. Since the Program had come to their sanctuary, she had wondered about what it was like to be connected to someone else. Flynn had talked about having compassion, understanding, and love for others. But he had yet to talk to her about Love. She had read about it some of the books he had brought her from his world. From what she gathered… well… love was a very strange concept and it was incredibly difficult to pinpoint.

It appeared unique to each couple, set by their personalities. Some slowly progressed from a life long friendship into relationship, which to Quorra confused her the most. They were blind to the obvious choice, trying to make other partnerships work and always came back to their friend when it came crumbling down. Why would they try to find someone else when they were already with someone far more compatible? What defined a couple was the sexual activities allowed, sometimes. A handful of the stories she had read had characters with sexual partners but they were not in a relationship. It was… confusing to say the least.

Other couples that bewildered her were ones that fought endlessly. Why choose to be with someone who invokes so much frustration and hardship? Her eyes drifted over to Paige as she heatedly continued to talk to the wall. Her tones switching from a low sultry tone to bold and flippant. She definitely fit the trope of an arguing partner.

The ISO let her mind wonder over all the information she had gathered from the novels. More types of relationships, some confusing, others not so much. She hated feeling this way, and always yearned to make progress in understanding the concept of love. Her wheels spun but they gave no traction and nothing was solved. She wondered how many times she said the word confusing to herself when trying to figure out the mysterious power love.

"Quorra?" Flynn asked softly, his hand on her shoulder. So deep in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed they had reached ground level.

"Sorry Flynn, just-"

"Thinking I know. I've caught you like this over a hundred times," he smirked before heading out to the open box that was the heart of the mountain.

Seeing it for the first time, Paige was taken aback by how odd it looked to find the base Grid open but surrounded by walls. Looking down at her feet made it appear as if she was standing on the thinnest glass frame or nothing at all. The walls that made up the groundless room weren't as far apart as she expected, about 25 meters by 25 meters with at least five meters of comfortable head height.

"Welcome to ground zero," Flynn said as he past Paige. He proceeded to initialize and produce a flat surface with a disc port in the middle.

"Here. Lie down and give me Beck's disc," he instructed.

The two traded discs and watched as she lined her body so her disc would fit into the port. From the corner of her vision, Quorra approached, still distracted by whatever she was previously pondering about. Beck's image stood by the other head of the operating table, one of his hands lying on the top of her boot. He was calm, and she wished for all the energy in the Grid that he could give her that. Her heart felt too anxious, the beating sounding up in her ears and starting to drown out other noises. With it, her fear was creeping up on her, a rarity for the usually strong will Program.

"Paige," Quorra questioned, "What does it feel like?" the ISO's eyes were looking at her but she could tell her mind was elsewhere.

Hell of a question…

"The moment before a life threatening and experimental surgery?" the User next to her chuckled.

"I know what she's thinking about," he informed, "She wants to know what Love feels like,"

Paige hesitated before responding, not sure how to answer. "I- I don't know if I can answer that,"

"Of course you can," he stated softly. His eyes never drew away from the coding on Beck's disc and interface generated by the operating table, "Just tell her how you feel when you think of him,"

Her mind quickly reviewed everything she knew about the lovable mechanic. Their dates, the small moments they spent when they had free time. His smile, jokes, light hearted yet serious nature. His determination, the effort he put into what he believed, especially her. Just then, she realized how hard and how much faith he put into her. To make the right decision, to fight for freedom over 'perfection'. And when he died, he continued to support her, even death itself couldn't stop his determination.

"Complete," Paige answered with misty eyes. The wealth of emotion surging through her becoming too much for her to contain.

Damn my eyes… and damn you for making me cry! Her thoughts spiked, quickly glaring at Beck before looking away to hold her tears in.

"I didn't know how… empty I was until he came into my life," she chuckled and looked at his face again, "By no means do I need him. I can manage on my own without him…" his face fell, "…but… I'd have nothing without him by my side. I'm still learning what Love means myself. But I'm pretty sure I feel it for him," his features relaxed as he walked around Quorra to stand by Paige's head, his hand silently gripping hers reassuringly.

"It's all set. Ready?" Flynn asked as he looked down to her.

"But I…" Quorra started but stopped. Clearly, she hadn't made any headway in her musings, and more questions wouldn't help her.

"Ready," Paige strengthened herself as she shut her eyes. She would see him again. Only it would be real.

In her mind, she was standing in front of him. Back on top of the bridge in Argon, they were no more than a meter apart. The wind softly crossed by both of them, tickling their skin and hair. He stepped closer, his face smiling as he did so. Users, she loved that. He was almost always doing it, and if he was, she could usually do it too.

Suddenly, the feeling of being pulled backwards stopped. When her eyes had regained focus, she was on top of the pier. Her eyes scanned the area, no evidence of her mechanic to be found. He had vanished. And with him, their connection was gone as well. The presence of him tether with her had grown so strong as she possessed his disc.

Panic briefly swept over her before she steeled herself and reached out for the bond. It was like blindly reaching into dark, deep water, her mind's hand trying to find purchase on a tread of any sort. Hoping for a single thread to still exist in the dark, to find that light that kept her grounded.

His light, her hope.

And then she found it. The smallest sensation in the water, like a hair slipping on a hand. She tenderly closed her fingers on the connection and could see it. The soft blue glow illuminating the dark. She opened her eyes and found she could see it. Inside of fist, a small thread traveled through the lands to an unseen location.

"Connection established," the Grid spoke, her voice sounding clear but also thundering across the open air. Her breath slowed as she continued to hold their bond. Cautiously, she opened her hand, watching as the cord snapped from her hand and visibly connected to her chest, before fading from view.

"Connection catalogued," the Grid announced before the ground started to quake. Paige fell to her knees and tried to find stability in the chaos. The ground moved so quickly that it became nothing more than streaks of lines as it basically vibrated. Her head became dizzy soon after, and she felt sick to her stomach. The medic snapped her eyes shut as she desperately wished for the nausea to go way. The darkness slowly consumed the world around her.

When her stomach did calm down, she thanked it profusely and relished the bliss of just being okay. Minus the dizzy sensation. Slowly, she became aware that she was lying supine, her head's disorientation feeling much heavier than in her dream. Rich brown eyes cracked, before slowly opening at staring up at a dark gray ceiling.

She was back, alive. Under conscious decision, she filled her lungs to their capacity with air, a glorious feeling. She could feel each individual rib moving and expanding to make room for her lungs, her stomach following by example. Her toes and fingers twitched, the hairs on her legs and arms tingled, her joints felt relaxed and clean. A silly grin crossed her face as she continued to enjoy the sensations of her body.

It had only felt like a few minutes since she was put under, but her body told her she had been disconnected with her mind for hours. No wonder if felt so good to feel like she was back in her body. Testing out her head, she turned to her right and saw Quorra looking on curiously, her lips curved up faintly.

"Welcome back. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good," Paige muttered, surprised how weak she was for feeling so… normal. Maybe she wasn't good, just realizing how amazing it was to just feel okay.

"Flynn said I could give you some water or energy, do you want any?"

"Water sounds good," she answered, her stomach silently telling her that energy sounded too heavy. Her head turned as Quorra worked on getting her a glass of water. On her left was a slightly transparent barrier, she could see a large shadow on it, her guess was that it was Flynn sitting and leaning back on it. "Flynn?" she called. His head appeared from the side confirming her assumption.

"Hey man, feeling buzzed?" he asked casually.

"I think so. My first time so I can't really say for sure," she answered in similar fashion before getting serious, "Is he okay?"

"I've been monitoring the two of you for the last hour, no hiccups or signs of mistakes. I think you two will be just fine," Paige slowly tried sitting up, testing herself, "Take it slow, he's still unconscious, probably for a few more hours,"

"Why?" she questioned while Quorra helped sit her up and placed the glass of water in her hands.

"His body and disc just need extra time to sync up properly," she sighed in relief, at least it sounded simple. The water tasted like the best thing to ever grace her mouth as she drank.

"Can I see him?"

"Course," Flynn answered as if she was crazy for even asking. Quorra lined herself with the medic, hip and shoulders together as the two stood. She leaned heavily on the ISO for a moment, her legs shaking unsteadily. Taking her time, she tested herself and felt herself remembering how to walk. The two women walked around the table and as they rounded the barrier, she watched in slowed time as Beck's body came into view. Feet first, then legs, and the rest of him.

Her mind refused to believe what she was seeing. That out of body feeling flooded her and she had to remember that it wasn't a dream and he was there, sleeping on the table as if nothing had been wrong in his life. His face was serene, eyes shut and brow smooth, the spiky hair a mess, looking like he had rolled around in his slumber.

The joy had shined through to her face and only after her cheeks felt tight did she realize how hard she was smiling, she probably looked strange. It was her Beck, it had to be. No Program could look so peaceful after being brought back from the dead.

"I was planning on bringing you two upstairs soon, no need to keep an eye on you down here anymore," Kevin sighed, his exhaustion evident in his slouched shoulders.

"How long did it take?" she asked wistful.

"About 18 pectros,"

"Wow, it only felt like a couple of millis,"

"Ever have surgery before?" she replied in the negative. A silence took over as the three stared at the unconscious Program.

"Well, I'll get things set so we can move him upstairs," Flynn uttered as he rose from his seat and began playing a few digital interfaces. The operating table glowed before it dimmed and transformed into a hospital bed.

"Quorra, would you mind pushing?"

"Sure," the ISO stood behind the bed where Beck's head rested and began to follow Flynn as he strode to the elevator. Paige followed along side, her hand on the railing of the bed as they proceeded to leave the heart of the mountain.

The world felt heavy. A massive force forcing him to its surface, attempting to crush his body under it's gravitational force. He was stronger, however, and he felt the muscles ripple under his skin, pressing against the bone of his skeletal system. They twitched and flexed as they were used for the first time, tendons and ligaments lining up properly and allowing the energy to flow through them. It felt good.

Once his body had its check, his other senses were tested. No sounds came to him, it was eerily quiet, and for a moment he wondered if he had gone deaf. But when he twitched his hands, he could hear the faint rustling of thin fabric sheets. There was a clean, almost sterile scent in the air, mixed with something familiar of his past, but his head and memories were fuzzy, so he focused on how soothing and sweet the fragrance was. His mouth was dry but the lack of taste, rather than the numbness of it told him that he could enjoy meals. Last, he cracked his eyelids open and found the room he was in not as bright as he imagined it to be.

The walls were dark, appearing to be uncoded by purposefully cut stone of the Grid, a sight Beck had never seen before. The floor was formatted, along with the wall that the door stood in, basic grooves and a doorknob. Nothing special, but it still spoke of a symbolic peace only found in simplicity. The rest could be said about the rest of the room. A desk and chair, also white and see through hard plastic, or possibly glass. Pictures of colorful meadows and a bright blueish green ocean hung on the wall on each side of the door.

Looking down, he found he was in a medical bed of sorts. Light blue sheets covered him and most of the railing, comforter, and bulk of the frame was a light gray. His mind loosely acknowledged the bed as his eyes were drawn to someone far more important than the description of his room.

A woman with long cascading brown hair was resting on her arms on the side of his bed. Her face was turned in his direction, and from his point of view her body looked very uncomfortable. Her back was arched in a odd looking bend and her legs had somehow found purchase under the bed so that she wouldn't fall off her stool if she fell asleep.

The mechanic slid his hand from under the sheets, a few centimeters from where she was asleep, and gently tucked the hair that was blocking her face aside. The rest of her face, brought his mind into focus and the memories came rushing back.

The statue at the park. Bodhi. The Renegade. Tron. Tesler. The Occupation. Argon. Abel. Mara. Zed. Cutler. The Super Recognizer… Paige… Death.

He closed his eyes as the hardships returned to him. Instead of letting them continue to circle inward of themselves, he broke the vicious cycles of memories by looking at the sleeping face of the Commander. Though, on second inspection, he realized she wasn't in the standard Occupation orange, but the medic green. His lips tugged upward into a smile and he found himself admiring the color. It suited her well.

As he continued to admire the woman next to him, he wondered what had transpired in his absence. He knew what had happened. He had died. While he had no clear memory of the event, only the sight of Paige attempting to save his code with his disc in hand, he knew he had been derezzed. Questions quickly piled up.

Sensing his disturbed aura, the rich chocolate eyes previously closed, opened slowly before realization dawned and Paige sat up.

"Beck!" she exclaimed. Her face filled with shock, joy, and…

She's crying? He thought as he saw the tears slowly roll down her cheeks. Paige was hardly one to shy away from emotion, but he had figured her too strong and proud to let someone else see her cry. Before he could get a word out, her body crashed into his in a hard embrace. Her arms slid underneath the back of his ribs and squeezed uncomfortably tight as her head nestled into his upper chest.

"Hey, it's alright," he soothed, not sure what else to say in the situation. His hands wrapped around her frame, one stroking her hair, the other making long strides on her back.

She stayed like that for quite sometime, and he felt his questions screaming at him. Eventually, she did pull away and sat on the side of his bed, her hand wiping away the tears on her face as she regained composure. When it stopped moving and sat at her side, he clasped it in her own. Though most of her face was covered by her hair, he could see her smile.

"Sorry, it's just…" she started but stopped again as her voice wavered.

"Don't apologize. It's alright… but I'm a little confused. Where are we?" he inquired softly.

"We're at Flynn's hideout,"

"Flynn? You mean the User?" Beck asked incredulously. Paige nodded and turned slightly more toward him, one of her eyes now visible to him.

"Yeah, it's… a long story, and I know you have questions. So, whatever you want to start with,"

"I take it you figured out who I am?" he guessed, holding his breath in for the rage.

"Yeah. I should have known," she smirked with a glint in the one eye he could see.

"Ouch!" he whipped his hand away from hers as he felt her pinch it violently.

"You should be happy I'm not doing worse," she muttered darkly, the small grin letting him know he wasn't in serious trouble, yet. Slowly, he placed his hand back with hers. Her fingers rubbing the bruise she had caused.

"I'm sorry about not telling you…" Beck's eyes averted from hers as his guilt crashed over him, "I just… I was going to, but could you-"

"I know, Beck," she interrupted him gently, "I've had time to think about it and I know you didn't have much choice. But next time, tell me before we…" she trailed off, her head turning away again as she sighed.

"Right, sorry. Uhh… have you met him?" he moved on, hoping that moving to a different subject would help her. She turned back.

"Tron? Yes. Seeing that we're at Flynn's, it's safe to assume. I know everything, Beck," she stated.

"Just being cautious. You are dangerous to my health," he joked, regretting it the moment he said it. Paige gave him a blank expression before breaking into a smile.

"You're damn right, Mechanic," she glared again. He had become accustomed to that expression. A menacing glare, with dark intention in her eyes, along with a playful grin, sometimes lips pursed tightly. It seemed very her. Deadly, powerful, but fun and beautiful. Similar to a dancing fire. Powerful, but in control. Deadly, but with beautiful precision. Serious, but fun if played with correctly.

"I missed that look," he answered with a smile, "Is Tron here? How is he?"

"He's in Argon leading the Defiance,"

"Defiance?"

"It's what they're calling themselves now. No longer an Uprising," the medic answered.

"I see…"

Probably after I got derezzed… he mused, "What about everyone else? Mara, Zed?"

"They're doing okay. As well as they can be. It's been ten hilocyles since you died. War has broken out in Argon. Clu's forces have locked down the city. They've been doing what they can, attacking military installations here and there, but nothing of value. So far, they only managed to destroyed the Super Recognizer and damage a few capital ships and frigates,"

"They destroyed the Super Recognizer? I thought I did that when saving Tron,"

"The Occupation repaired it, that's when I ran into Tron again after I found the disc mod,"

"Shaw's disc mod?! Paige, you have to-"

"I know. It's gone. Don't you remember?" she asked him.

"Remember? Remember what?"

"You don't remember talking to me? I started holding onto your disc, and I could hear you. You were with me while I was kinda… losing my mind… but you kept me from losing myself completely,"

"I…" he tried to recall. Fuzzy memories came back to him, like a long forgotten dream being brought back. Sounds, scenes, and sentences were jumbled together and disorganized, no clear path.

"I- It feels like a dream. I feel something, but nothing makes sense,"

"Maybe I can explain it if you tell me," she encouraged. He nodded and concentrated.

"I'm fighting… Programs… endless amounts of them,"

"I… uhh… That might have been when I was rampaging through the city against the Occupation," Paige admitted solemnly.

"No, that's not it. These Programs look different. They're armor is white and bulky, and their circuits are red, not orange," he explained, his eyes shut tightly, "I keep derezzing them but instead of breaking into voxels, they're turning into these bright rings and floating up,"

"That sounds like the old system," a new voice called out. The two looked up to see a robed man standing in the doorway. "Sorry I knocked, but I guess you guys were busy. Mind if I come in?" the two nodded and he proceeded to occupy the chair at the desk.

Beck could tell by looks alone of the man's wealth of knowledge and wisdom. The power all held in check in the look of his soft eyes, similar to Abel.

"Your dream sounds like the old system, and you're fighting the MCP's army, not Clu's,"

"No, they weren't an army, it was just one face. They were the same person!" Beck started slowly but ended in exclamation, realization coming to him.

"That makes sense. It would explain why the disc mod wasn't consuming Paige as it did with you," the older man rubbed his chin in thought, "You must have been fighting off the Master Control's influence,"

"What's the Master Control?" Beck asked.

"The MCP, or Master Control Program, was the Program used to keep the old Grid in order and working condition. Over time, it had grown in power and was planning on taking over my world. Before Tron and I stopped him,"

"Sounds like Clu," the mechanic noted dryly.

"I thought the same," the User agreed.

"So, what's the MCP have to do with the disc mod? How is a Program from the old system able to influence us?"

"The modification is formed from the MCP's original power. Sark, the MCP's second in command was given its power to stop Tron but at the end, he exploded at the tower," Flynn explained, not much of it making sense to Beck, "We can talk about it later, for now, how are you feeling?"

"Uhh... good!" Beck responded a little shocked.

"That's good. It appears you two are going to be okay, but just to make sure, can I look at both of your discs?" Beck looked to Paige who nodded and the two handed them over. Flynn turned and set them down on the desk, immediately pulling up the raw code and inspecting it closely.

"How am I alive?" Beck questioned, looking to his partner for the answer, who explained in the way she understood it. A few micros later and the mechanic's eyes were wide as he looked disbelieving at the User to Paige.

"Flynn preformed an operation," Paige answered, "Our unique situation allowed him to give you another body while keeping all your memories," Beck took a moment to digest the information.

"What makes our situation unique?" He watched as his medic blushed and a nervous smile crept onto her face. It made her look adorable.

"What?" he laughed softly.

"Because I held onto your disc and our coding was so similar, it allowed for your disc to use my life coding to retain your consciousness. That's half of it. The other part of it is from our personal connection with each other," she explained carefully.

"You mean if we weren't together that I wouldn't be alive?" Beck phrased awkwardly.

"I think there's more to it than that, but yes," she drawled slightly.

"The fact that you two had such a strong bond made the most impact," Flynn added while turning around and handing their discs back.

"Everything looks in order. I'd say you two are good to go after some rest," he continued.

"Thank you, Flynn," Beck gave his gratitude, reaching a hand out and shaking the older man's.

"Thank you Beck, and you Paige. You two have shown me that Programs can be so much more than their basic code and function... You two are more human than some I've met in my world," He paused for a moment.

"I hope, when I get out of here, if I get out of here, I can meet your Users. Maybe they'll share the same fate as their Programs," he finished with a grin.

"That one of them kills the other?" Beck joked, earning him another pinch and knowing glare from his partner.

"Wouldn't that be something?" Flynn laughed.

"Why don't I let you two rest? Quotes and I will be out in the living room when you're ready," he said, giving them one last smile before departing.

It was nice to feel her against his body. The reassurance of having her pressure, her warmth. The beating of her hearth though their bodies, bouncing off each others skin. Like the beat of a song, always flowing keeping the music steady and stable as other melodies and instruments drop away or change. She was a constant. A constant he hoped would never change.

When the two calmed down and lead back, that beating rhythm slowing to a conformable background of the soft song of simply being together. Beck's hand moved along her form. His left gliding across her shoulder, down her arm, her hip, and returning to her shoulder to complete the circuit. Her other hand kept to her hair, stroking it with his fingers reaching to her scalp and massaging it gently. A few times she sighed, her voice going so low it sounded like a purr. Her fingers contracted on his chest, uncurling to press her palm into him, kneading him.

His right hand eventually started to venture further down the length of her hair. It was nearly twice as long as he remembered, another reminder of how long it had been.

"What made you grow out your hair?"

"I wanted a change. I needed to rethink myself after I realized how wrong I was about Clu," she answered strangely, her voice of mix of hope and sorrow.

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Probably. It does get in the way when fighting though,"

"Ponytail could fix that right? Isn't that why you had the bun?"

"Partially. That was also me changing, a time I can learn on,"

"Wait, didn't your hair get in the way back then too? It covered your eye!" Paige let out a curt laugh at his words.

"It did, but I wanted to look menacing. So stubbornly, I learned how to deal with the disadvantage of a blind spot,"

Her body pillow laughed and teased her. The two went on like that for hours, talking about nothing to anything. Smiling at all the topics they picked. He had returned, and she had let go of her burden.

Her hatred and anger. Every emotion she had used to strengthen herself in the past. Now, her joy and determination to protect what she held most dear fueled her. She had thought she lost what she wanted back in Gallium, but now she knew what it meant to lose everything. She would never let it happen again. She couldn't, it would kill her.

Learning from him how powerful the strength of friendship and love could empower someone to fight to their truest potential. He had taught her so many things, changed her perspective on life, saved her from herself, and gave her a new purpose. And she knew, she had saved him too. From his own demons that he kept in his head, telling him he wasn't good enough. That he was failing when all he had done was succeed after countless losses against an impossible foe. They had saved each other.

Yin and Yang calmly dancing in circle of each other.

Sleep had come and past. The two having fallen asleep very quickly after their chat. For the first time in a while having dreams that felt good without an undertone of something was missing.

"So…" Beck started, wanting to get some clarity on a subject, "You said I was with you the entire time you had my disc?" Paige looked at him over her shoulder from the other side of the room where she was stretching.

"Yes. I could hear your voice, and sometimes I could see you in my dreams. The dreams were far more vivid than any others I've had in my life, and without them… I don't know if I could have gone on. I was… in such a dark place, Beck. I don't think you know how bad I became after I killed you," she relented passionately.

"I can feel it. Like a dream you can't remember, but you know the general outline of what happened and how you felt. Tell me some of the times I talked to you, I want to see if it comes to mind," Beck asked as he stepped closer.

And so she recounted some of the horrific events that had occurred to her over the past months of time. Beck watching in keen interest and she exposed herself further than she ever had, the story of her darkest moments and weakest points. If his presence hadn't already been there and he hadn't already experienced it in some way already, she figured it'd be near impossible to tell him.

"You had saved me. Because you were there I didn't lose myself completely. All I wanted was to destroy everything. Clu, Tesler, Tron. Just- just… rip their hearts out," his eyebrow raised at her sudden passion, "You were slowly opening my eyes to Tesler and Clu's perfection, I was so blind and ignorant to it. But when I saw you as the Renegade, it all kind of clicked into place. I felt so alone, betrayed by everything. Even you. But you came back, and calmed me down. Then I realized what you were doing," she held his head gently and looked at his as her thumb softly caressed his knuckles. Beck held his tongue, wanting to apologize again but figured it was overkill at this point.

"I… I should probably tell you something else…" Paige started, her face red again.

"What?"

"I… went through your memories," she admitted meekly. Instead of the anger, she found him more embarrassed, his eyes wide and frame tense with worry. She was going to have fun with this.

"What did you see?" he asked, his voice sounding dry and nervous.

"I saw a lot. But there was this one memory that stood out," she grinned at her prey, his look of defeat bringing a urge to kiss him from her heart. He was incredibly adorable at times.

Crap… he thought as he could tell exactly what she was talking about.

"The Renegade was reviewing all his run-ins with a certain Commander," she teased and he could feel the skin on his face literally burning with embarrassment. He groaned and looked away, not able to stand looking in her direction, only to have his face turned back with soft hands and his lips captured by a warmer pair.

"I thought it was cute," she whispered lovingly, her affection shown through her rich brown eyes.

"Still embarrassing," he noted quietly.

"You seem more shy than I remember, Mechanic," she teased, giving him another peck on the lips before resting her head on his chest and holding him. His arms wrapped around her, the two simply held each other once more.

"Maybe it's because one of the last memories I have before waking up is my girlfriend derezzing me,"

"Worried I'll do it again?" she muttered.

"Little,"

"Don't worry. I may beat you up… but I can't lose you. Not again,"

When the two entered the main room they saw Flynn meditating on a white cushion, small particles gliding upward toward the ceiling. Quorra was on a couch, reading an age worn book, its presence along with the small library that lined the wall odd in the Grid.

Flynn, in all his User glory, must have sense their stares, because he turned to them with a warm smile.

"Greetings. Did you two sleep well?" he asked, bringing Quorra's attention to them.

"Very," the two responded in sync, looking at each other in surprise before chuckling.

"Do you two plan on returning to Argon?" Quorra asked as she walked over.

"We hoped we could stay a couple cycles before heading back," Beck answered.

Flynn nodded, "Sure, we wouldn't mind the company,"

Being lead by Flynn, everyone sat at the dinner table once more.

"So, Beck," the User started, "I've been wanting to meet you ever since Tron gave me a visit,"

"Me? Why?"

"Because Tron's never talked about a Program the way he has with you," Flynn explained, his fingers coming together and his hands coming to rest a few inches before his face. Beck's expression clearly said he had not expected that.

"Don't looks so surprised, I'm quite impressed with you myself,"

"But I'm just a mechanic!" he blurted.

"Nah, man. You… you're something else, whoever wrote you, and you Paige, they're incredibly intelligent. You two are on part with Tron," Flynn almost laughed at the couple's expressions.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Paige asked skeptically, Quorra snorted and covered her face with a sheepish look in her eyes.

"Perfectly fine!" he announced jovially, "Don't you see? Beck, had you not been strong enough, Tron's missions, being his replacement? Oh come on, he wouldn't let just anyone run around with his suit," he paused and enjoyed Beck's slack jaw, attempting to refute the logical claims, "And Paige, I don't think anyone lesser could match so perfectly with Beck. But think about what you've gone through. Managing two discs, fighting Clu's army by yourself, and yet, you didn't lose yourself. Even with the disc mod. Not only does it show control, but strength of character,"

"But it was Beck who helped me! He was there, it was just me!" she refused. Flynn simply shook his head.

"Tron didn't stop the MCP alone. Even with the power transferred to Sark, if I hadn't helped him, he would have died. The two of you stood against a force so powerful, the greatest Program of that time and a User were the only ones able to stop him,"

The two stared on in shock. What could they say? Arguably, the most famous figure and person in the Grid had told them they were on par with him and the greatest Program every constructed. It was a lot to swallow.

"What are you trying to say? That we're basically Users?" Paige asked.

"Almost. I get why you call me and any programmer a User. But you could be a User if you came to my world," Flynn explained.

"But we weren't created there, how could we be?" Beck countered.

"You see… it actually doesn't work like that. This is the whole reason why I'm not fighting Clu, he already knows,"

"Know what?"

"That if I can be in. He, and all of his army, can be out there," Their breaths stilled as the realization came, "Lucky for us, even if he did have my disc, he couldn't leave. The Portal closes after a certain amount of time, and like a safe, it can only be opened from the outside,"

"So, that's why you haven't left then…" Beck muttered in understanding.

"Exactly. But still, it's good Clu doesn't have my disc. The MCP had access to my world without one. I wouldn't put it past Clu to have found a similar way to do so,"

"You think he'd be able to activate the portal that way?" Paige suggested.

"Possibly, but I can't imagine how. And with this disc mod, I'm even more worried he doesn't already have some connection with the old system. It might be outdated but it still runs and I could never close that up completely. Programs were much more reliant on User updates and commands to function," the User reminisced.

"About the mod," Paige started, inclining Flynn to explain more about it.

"Yes," he pulled it from his robe, "It's exactly as I thought. The source coding comes from the MCP. I can't say of where it came from, but it's definitely part of Sark's disc," he flipped it in his hands, everyone stared at it for a moment, brain storming on the mysterious object.

"No idea of where it came from?" Beck pressed.

"Not that I can tell. It doesn't hold much. Just the power from the MCP and the necessary coding to keep it intact. I plan to look into it more but there's only so much I can discern from it,"

"Is there anyway you could remove the personality? Or whatever causes the influence on your mind?" the mechanic hoped.

"I'm not sure. The power is dependent on the code to activate and function properly. I don't know how Dillinger coded the MCP either or how mutated the Program became from his original form. That's what I planned to learn more about today. Before I got trapped in here, I imported a new System Monitor. With some help from Tron's User, I managed to find a way for the System Monitor to provide himself with extra energy and the ability to conjure a personal arsenal. He's derezzed now, but I know how to replicate his abilities. Maybe I can use that to work this mod,"

Beck and Paige nodded in understanding.

"What did you two want to do today?" Quorra asked. The couple gave each other a quick glance at each other before shrugging.

"Not sure. We just wanted to take a couple cycles to rest before jumping back into it,"

"Tron told us you were one hell of fighter, care to show me?" the ISO asked a small challenge. Paige looked over at Beck, his eyes filled with a determined gleam of motivated fire. He was eager, and she felt the same flames lapping at her mind.

"I'd be glad to,"

"It's a little cramped for a duel," Paige commented as the three Programs walked into the heart of the mountain.

"Will that be a problem? We can always go to the surface," Quorra offered in her usual manner.

"No, that's okay I'm…" the medic looked at her left hand. It was odd not having Beck's disc with her anymore, "It'll be okay," she stated firmly.

"Why don't you two spar? I'll sit and watch,"

The Commander and Renegade looked at each other before competitive grins broke out on their faces.

"You're on, Medic,"

"Bring it, Mechanic,"

The two stood apart from each other, battle armor engaged as to not seriously injure each other. The hum of their discs broke the silence and they readied themselves.

Paige was first to charge, her disc making a slash at his chest area, which Beck dodged easily. Her mind flashed back to the night when she had killed him. She squashed the fear before it could take refuge in her mind. Beck reacted with a backflip, his feet extended outward to strike her face, but she moved to the side to sweep his feet when he landed. He rolled the moment his back hit the ground and launched himself to his feet.

Their discs sparked as she assaulted his defenses with strong deliberate slams and slashes. His feet slid on the floor as his body absorbed the momentum of her strikes. After a few dozen hits, Paige held her disc pressed on his and grew close. Their faces centimeters apart, intense with alert concentration.

"That all you got, Renegade," she taunted playfully through gritted teeth.

"Just getting warmed up," he grunted, his trademark grin lining his lips.

"I've seen all your moves, you can't win," she said matter-of-factly. He wasn't phased.

"We'll see,"

They broke apart and started to slowly circle each other, their lone audience member long forgotten. After a while, Beck decided it was his turn to make the first move. His first step forward, he flung his disc at her head. He continued when she ducked under his disc and swung upward, expecting him to be attacking from the front. She was shocked however when he saw him sliding on his knees under her. A feint memory of their first encounter flashed in her mind when he had done the same move, only to be caught around the neck by her grip.

By the time she had flipped around, he was already swinging his disc at her. Reacting quickly, she flung her main hand to meet his. Her parry was deflected but it achieved its goal of knocking his attack in another direction. She had forgotten about that move, and she approved of him pulling out old tricks. But she hoped he had more in stock than just the one.

She threw a quick jab at him with her off arm, baiting a grab from him she could use against him. Instead, he let go of his disc, using his now free hand to cup her wrist in his palm and shove it back towards her. With the strength of his arm, her arm was awkwardly against her chest and blocking her right arm from swinging. As his one arm held her, his other bashed the center of her chest with the palm and knocked her back. She flew backwards and saw him catch his disc before it reached the ground.

Wow… when did he get so fast? His movement and attack had been faster than she could have imagined. If she had blinked during it she would have missed what he had just done.

"That all you got?" he challenged, his demeanor cool and steady as he put his disc away and held his hands out. His left fully extended in front of him as the right stayed closer to his chest. His left leg was extended forward as his right seemed to hold most of his weight. This was not Tron's fighting style and she had no idea where it came from.

She flung herself to her feet and rushed him while putting her own disc back. She needed to test this new fighting style of his and get back into it. In the back of her mind she wondered if the disc mod had made her perception of time faster and without it she was much slower.

Her fist snapped at his stomach, an odd opening that would hopefully show her some choices while not allowing for him to make an easy grab and control the fight. His hand knocked hers out of the way expectantly and she threw a punch while his arm was extended downward. His muscle rippled as the energy traveled through it. Sadly, he grasped her wrist and spun in a 180 to launch her over his back. Her fall wasn't as bad as she predicted, her body sliding across the floor before coming to a stop a few meters away. She managed to get back to her feet only to have Beck's fist knock her back.

Out of breath, this was not how she thought it would go. He was supposed to be rusty, but maybe the time spent fighting the disc mod had made him stronger.

Paige stood back up and focused, waiting for him to make the first move.

Beck charged her, her skin tingling with anticipation. It was eager, willing to listen to her commands and win the fight. He started with a kick aimed at her legs, but her foot was faster and kicked his shin down. He replied with a punch. She held it and elbowed him in the face. The mechanic stumbled back holding his chin.

She was feeling back in the game and advanced in with unrelenting force. No longer was she taken off guard by his hidden set of fighting skills. Whenever he countered or made an opening for himself, she quickly used his push to make her own opening. Kicks would followed by jabs, blocked, and after the cycle of parrying each other, one would land a hit, often at the price of a hit themselves. Even when they preferred combos or highly skilled unique assaults the other managed an escape.

The entire time Quorra watched in awe as the medic who she had last seen a crumpled mess on the floor in Gallium, now fought with such tenacity and tempered combat training. It was hard to believe it was the same person. The Renegade was equally as talented. Never did his focus wave and his ability to keep up, matching Paige's speed with brute strength. Speed and nimbleness combatted with power and control.

Eventually, they did bring their discs out again. Light blue clashed with green, sparks flew and showered the two in golden lights. Like a show of handcrafted fireworks.

When the two decided to stop they were clearly drained. Covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and their body language indicating their exhaustion. They stood a few feet apart, staring at each other. Smiles greeted their faces and the two started chuckling before breaking into full blown laughter. Quorra wondered what was so funny. Maybe it had to do with their Love. Again, her mind wondered to the concept. The two were here, maybe now was her opportunity to ask, but upon looking at their exhausted states she thought against it.

Let the two have their fun with each other. That's what Flynn would want. She decided as she slipped into the elevator unnoticed.

Beck sat at the edge of the bed and stared out to Tron City. The city seemed like it was farther away than Argon was to the Outlands hideout. Thoughts of Tron flew through his head as he tried to imagine how Tron would react to seeing him alive and breathing. He let out a small scoff.

He'd probably just tell me there's a lot of work left to do and would send me off to do some more missions.

Beck let the grin play on his lips. Mara and Zed were next to came to mind.

Mara would probably squeeze the life out of me. Bet she'd cry too. Zed… I hope he wouldn't be too mad.

He was still lost in thought when he felt a small hand glide from his shoulder, across his back, and come to a rest on his side. He turned his head to see Paige was now sliding down to sit on the bed with him.

"What are you thinking about?" Paige asked light heartedly.

"I was just thinking of how everyone would respond once I showed up," Beck leaned into Paige, her body seemingly molding to his as she pressed back. His hand rested on her knee while his thumb lazily drifted back and forth.

"Hey, I was wondering. When we were on the island, why didn't you say anything when you went to get the boat?" A soft chuckle came from Beck.

"That's a random question don't you think?"

"Well, I was just thinking that if you said something I might have listened to you later. Who knows I might have-"

"You shouldn't think like that," Beck cut her off solemnly, "We can't change what's happened, and to be honest, I wouldn't change a thing," he looked directly into her deep brown eyes, another trait they shared.

"Alright, but can I know anyway? For… curiosity's sake?" Paige flashed him a teasing smile, one that he couldn't refuse.

"How can I say no to that smile?" muttered under his breath, not intending for Paige to hear, but feeling she had when her smile turned less teasing and more warming.

"I just didn't think about it. Most of the time I'm usually saving a normal Program, I don't usually explain what I'm about to do because there just isn't time. So I just hope they trust me. And while we, or mainly me, were working on the boat I kind of felt you weren't the commander in the enemy's Army, but just a regular Program I could meet walking around Argon," Beck took a small pause and looked at the treated black stone that housed the room they were in. His eyes shot open when he reanalyzed his words. He instantly turned to Paige, who was intently looking at him with emotional filled eyes.

"Not that you're just some normal, run of the mill Program. You're different from the rest. In a good way of course!" Beck started to notice his voice level changing per sentence with nervous reactions, reacting was not something he liked to be doing. Paige didn't stop him only for the amusement it brought her to see the usually silver tongued mechanic stumble over his own words. It would have been a tragedy to let this one in a life time opportunity go.

"Different huh?" Paige hid her smirk and asked with a less than expressed tone, hoping to provoke him into more of his ramblings. It wasn't the nicest thing to do, but she was still getting back at him for leaving her alone for so long.

"Different as in… special. Special to me. I think, in the short time we… actually talked and got to know each other, instead of trying to kill each other I saw what you really were deep down. I don't know how, but instincts told me to have faith in you, that you were simply mislead. When you showed me that spot on top of the bridge and you decided to let me in about your problems with Pavel, and when you started talking about wearing a mask… That was all I needed to know I was right. That you were someone who learned new things even if it wasn't in your coding, that you fought for the good of Programs even if that meant you might lose yourself to that cause, that you wanted to be free just like the rest of us,"

Midway through his speech, Paige had found his hand that rested on her knee and laced her fingers with his. Her heart was beating faster than any time she had been in a fight. The pounding in her ears was almost deafening, but she still managed to listen all the way through to the end. The medic looked away for a moment trying to calm herself, knowing she was blushing from the heat that her cheeks were feeling.

"I…" she started but didn't know what to say.

No words could explain the way he made her feel. How knowing he was, it was frightening to think of someone who could almost see right through any barriers a Program might have and see the person underneath. Unguarded, open, and completely vulnerable. That's what it was; he made her feel vulnerable, yet completely safe at the same time. Those feelings had mixed and fought each other in the beginning, her fear winning over in the end. Now, it was her courage and trust that won the fight. And somewhere deep inside her, she felt pieces of her become whole once more. Longing something she hadn't known she missed, companionship. However, Paige knew that she and Beck were more than just friends, more than just rivals on the battlefield, more than just two Programs who shared far too many similar thoughts and wants about the Grid. They were becoming something Paige had never felt or experienced before, and allowing her intuition settle an idea in her mind she figured Beck was also thinking the same thing.

Beck, who was staring at Paige for the whole duration of her deep thinking, was satisfied to wait.

"I, really didn't expect a speech like that after your stuttering mess," Paige looked up to Beck. Her smile held a combination of laughter and sincerity. When he looked into her eyes, he was lost on the word he would use to describe what they were projecting. The look made his heart skip a few beats, while hypnotizing him into their rich chocolate spheres. The two heroes stayed locked in their positions for a long blissful moment, neither aware of time nor place.

What is it that I'm feeling?

Is there a word for this feeling?

Beck was the first to break the connection.

"I had to redeem myself," Beck quipped halfheartedly, instantly regretting it feeling he had ruined the moment.

"You know, sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut Renegade. Helps keep the moment," she whispered the last part wispily into his ear as if reading his mind.

"Did you just…" Beck trailed off as he realized what he was about to ask was rather outrageous, and would probably go further to break the mood.

"I think it's one of your flaws, ruining the mood," Paige teased. Beck simply huffed in response.

"But I think I can handle it, and…" she edged closer to him. Both had their eyes shut, enjoying the heat and presence the closeness brought them.

"I think I'll be the one to bring it back," acting on her words, she closed the millimeter distance of their lips. Both allowing their emotions out in their heated yet chaste kiss. Paige had wrapped her arms around Beck's neck while he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her body closer to him.

Lost in their own world, the two failed to notice that their secondary circuits had started to glow brightly. A mix of Beck's sapphire blue and Paige's ruby red had replaced their circuits with a brilliant violet shade for a moment.

Their time at the hideout was spent quickly. Two cycles was a terrible time frame, leaving the people just enough time to rest and start work again, but not to fully recover. Thankfully, that wasn't the case for Beck and Paige, restoring their bodies and minds. Their last day was spent the same as the first, training and learning from each other, sometimes with Quorra.

They had come along since their first encounter. New styles, a sharper sense of the battle area, opponents, faster reflexes, harder hits, etc. Building on each other. As was common in war, the development of combat, technology, and person.

"Are you ready?" Beck looked toward Paige who was looking around her area of the room to make sure it was tidy.

"I wish we had more time," Paige's voice was deflated. Beck walked over and put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a light embrace.

"Me too, but the others need you, they need us," Paige let herself sink into Beck's hold.

The door opened to reveal an oblivious Quorra standing there.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Beck chuckled in response.

"Is she always like this?" Beck whispered to Paige.

"Yes, always," she groaned back.

"No, we were just getting ready," Beck and Paige pulled apart from each other and turned toward Quorra.

"Wonderful, Flynn wanted to see the both of you before you left,"

"We'll be right there," Beck answered curtly. Quorra closed the door leaving the two Programs to themselves once more. Beck looked at Paige and felt the sorrow that she was expressing.

"Let's go see what Flynn needs," Paige sighed.

"Right," Beck led the way out of their room and headed straight for the outside balcony of the mountain. Kevin Flynn could easily be seen sitting on his legs with his arms lying on top of them. Quorra was sitting cross legged on the ground nearby looking around her environment as if trying to fully understand it.

She saw Beck and Paige walk out from the barrier. Quorra quickly stood and silently left the area as Flynn continued to keep his head tilted upward but his eyes closed.

"So, you guys are about to fight with your Uprising again, feeling butterflies in your stomach?" Flynn said after a moment. He looked over to the two Programs who appeared calm for a pair about to head back to war.

"Butterflies?" Beck asked.

"Oh right, they're from my world. They're beautiful little creatures that have a bunch of colors and seem to float around, you'll have to see them one day man," Flynn looked back toward the sky once more.

"You wanted to see us before we left?" Beck inquired, trying to get back on pace.

"Right, I wanted to give you something," Flynn slowly stood up and walked over the two.

"I held on to something from my old life, or at least I couldn't find a good time or place to let it go," Flynn started. "In my world, you find someone you love, and you propose a vow of undying love and devotion to this person," Flynn looked back and forth between the Programs.

Beck and Paige were taken by surprise at the direction in which the conversation was going. The two had their eyebrows raised in surprise as they were taken off guard by the direction of the conversation.

"I found my soulmate, the one person I didn't think I could live without," Flynn took a moment as if recalling an old memory. "She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen… so full of life, people thought I was alive, but she was… she was something else man,"

Unknowingly, Paige moved her body closer to Beck's until she was brushing up against him. Beck felt their hands brush and started to twitch his fingers in nervousness, causing them to touch Paige's more.

"Sadly, she was taken from me in an accident," Flynn once again paused, as if to let the gravity of the situation set in. Paige pulled her hand away from Beck's fidgeting one for a brief moment, leaving Beck momentarily disappointed before sliding her's into his and holding on tightly. "It was hard at first, but I found meaning to life again, in my son. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have carried on," Kevin drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.

"But enough of the back story, let me get on with it," Flynn reached into his white robes and pulled out two rings. "These are our wedding rings. These rings signify the bond that two people have with each other, they are devoted to each other until death separates them," he held out a ring to both of the Programs. The two took the rings in their free hands.

"I wanted to give these to my son when he was old enough but I don't believe I'll be able to do that, and Tron wasn't… his love wasn't right, and I haven't seen Yori since the old Grid anyway, I'm sure she's gone."

"I think Tron's mentioned her before," Paige said with sympathy and interest.

"She was from the old system, back when I first came here. Her user and I were friends along with Tron's. If it wasn't for Yori we probably wouldn't be here," Flynn answered gently.

"Are Tron and Yuri's Users married?" Beck wondered. Flynn laughed.

"Yeah," the User answered with a chuckle "Lora and Alan got married a few years ago. After everything that happened in my first visit and the risks they took in the real world, they stopped dancing around their feelings and he finally asked her out."

"Are they happy?"

"When I last saw them they were. I hope they still are," Flynn replied listlessly.

"I'm sure they are," Paige smiled brightly.

"Back to the rings, they're worn on the left hand on the ring finger," the two Programs looked at Flynn, confused.

"Ah, right you guys wouldn't know what that is either. It's this one," Flynn lifted his left hand and pointed to his ring finger. Quorra walked through the barrier and looked toward the group.

"I believe we should be leaving," she announced. Flynn looked to Quorra.

"Right, timing is important," Flynn turned back to Beck and Paige. "When you two are ready, you should put the rings on each other's hand."

Beck and Paige both looked at Flynn with wide eyed expressions. Kevin simply laughed in response.

"Kids, they never see it do they?"

"Hey, we're not the young!" Paige protested. Beck started to laugh at this point.

"Paige, we are pretty young for all of this," Beck looked at Paige with amusement. She returned her gaze with annoyance.

"We should be going," Quorra stated once more.

"I'm glad to have met others who still believe, now go! Start a revolution and bring balance to the Grid!"

AN: Hello, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a pain in my ass to write. I wanted it to be right, and with characters that I have no true reference on love and heart felt sentiment, it's hard to make sure they are doing what they're supposed to. I had about three different things written out. So in light of making this chapter the best it could be I finally asked for a Beta Reader.

I made sure there were as little grammatical errors as possible. I felt my writing got very repetitive in style, and instead of trying to rework it I left it. So if you feel the same let me know, just helps me work on weak points.

A special thank you to Krisdaughter of Athena for reading it and lending a hand. Direct feedback is a lifesaver to overthinking.

Another thank you to Gabenator5 for their idea on this chapter. I had a simple plan for this chapter and with the idea, I rewrote almost everything I had, for the better.

On a personal note, Your Name is an amazing movie that illustrates how I feel on a daily basis. A longing for something you don't know what's missing, but you're aware that it is.

And the new season of Samurai Jack. Especially with how it's going, it leads a similar path to Paige's. I highly suggest you watch it if you haven't already.

But enough rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and thank you again Kris and Gab for help on this one!

-Rose's Requiem.