I really hate auto speller. It keeps wanting to write Clu as Clue. XD

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Chapter 3

Flynn 2.0

Control Center, Tron City

A millicycle had passed before the chime announced that he had a visitor and therefore disturbing him. He waited several nanocycles before he allowed the Program admittance. The door snapped back to reveal one of his many lieutenants and the Program entered briskly. He gave his superior a sharp nod of the head as a form of a salute of respect. He was not Risk or even Jarvis, Clu had noted, which meant that the scouts he had sent to investigate had yet to return.

"What is it?" he inquired from where he sat, in his hand two Baoding balls slowly rolled against each other. Laying on a small table nearby were unlit databytes that he had read through earlier in an attempt to learn the status of the Grid.

Least to say, he was not pleased with what he had learned.

"A report from Risk has arrived concerning the Gateway." The Program approached his unmoving superior and held out a databyte for him to read.

Clu reached up and took it from the Program and immediately accessed the information written on it. What he found, he liked even less than what he had learned about the Grid's status. His grip on the meditation spheres tightened as he continued to read further until it angered him to the point that no mere ball could contain it.

"Find him!" I want him found and brought back to me alive!" the corrupted Program commanded in an explosive shout of frustration and anger. The lieutenant took a tentative step back after Clu stood and whirled on him.

He bowed quickly, "At once, Excellency!" Clu paid no heed to the man as he hurried out in an attempt to avoid the system admin's wrath. But Clu was not going to vent on one of his loyal Programs. He had someone else he could redirect his anger on.

Kevin Flynn had destroyed his greatest endeavor. Everything he had worked for and created for the last thousand cycles was gone and he intended for the User to pay for it. But after he forced the man to help him save the Grid.

The Outlands

He dreamed of his son.

This time, though, the images he dreamt were not of memories long lost with time, but rather of events that had transpired not too long ago. Events that had cost him his freedom, a price well worth paying when it saved his son and the last ISO from the tyrannical Clu.

"Dad we have to get your Disk," Sam said as the two walked across the maintenance walkways.

"No, we've got to get to the portal. You shut him down from the outside," he protested as he faced his grown son. The boy did not appreciate him changing the plan again and argued against him. But Sam did not understand, could not understand.

"Even if I I make it out, you won't last in here. Quorra won't last."

He reached out for his son, his hand resting on his shoulder. "Sam. Sam it will be alright, come on."

But his son shrugged it off as he stood his ground against his father. "Will you let it go, I am not going home without you!"

"Sam," he answered patiently. He was still as stubborn as he remembered him and it pleased him, made him proud even, to know that his son had not changed much in the last twenty years. He knew how to handle his son, knew how to make the boy think he was getting his way when he really was following what his father wanted. He just had to wait patiently until the lad was convinced his father saw it his way.

"Same team, remember?" his son had thrown at him his trump card to convince his father escape was the best plan.

"I was afraid you were gonna say that," he remembered answering and gave a resigned sigh.

"Meet me on the flight deck in five and get us some wheels." Sam commanded and started to walk away but not before he grabbed the young man by the arm in an attempt to find out what his son was planning.

"Wheels? What is your plan?"

Sam gave his father the Flynn grin as he answered, "I'm a User, I'll improvise."

They parted and he remembered hurrying down from the walkways to get to the main deck, all the while his mind raced on how he was going to pull this off without either Sam or Quorra knowing what he had done until it was too late. He knew his son would resent him if he ever found out, but there was no choice in the matter. Too much was at stake and even if his son managed to succeed in shutting down the Grid from his side, the time it would take him to do that, minutes, if not hours would have passed inside the Grid. Giving Clu or any of his minions a chance to stop the shutdown.

Therefore, he had to stay behind to delay any attempts to prevent a shutdown. He also had to stop Clu and his army from making it through the Portal as well. This whole situation was convoluted enough as it is without him making these necessities more complicated. If only he could be in two places at once.

"That's it," he said out loud in a near whisper. He had paused beside one of the many containers the solar sailor had brought to the carrier ship. He glanced inside one of them at the many programs that were going to be repurposed as the idea came to him and quickly formulated into a new plan.

He could be in two places at once.

Kevin Flynn looked up at the command ship on it's docking tower and spotted his son riding the elevator up. He only had a few minutes remaining to do what needed to be done before his son came looking for the 'wheels' he was suppose to acquire. There was no time for him to create a new program straight from scratch and Clu would notice such an event anyway. So that left him with the option of repurposing an already existing program.

The Creator hurried toward an access door to the container and with a few adjustments to the keypad, he was inside and making his way through the rows of inactive programs. He searched for one that was about the same height and build as he and stepped behind it. Quickly he removed it's disk from it's dock, erased the entire coding of the old program and attached it to his own dock to make it download everything he knew and that made him, him, before reattaching it to the chosen program.

A few more adjustments and he stepped back to watch as the Program began to change its appearance as the new coding uploaded into it and overwrote the old one. When it was done, it was still inactive and he had just a little bit more adjusting to do to make this version of himself as convincing as possible before he would remove the Disk one last and final time.

When he was done, he rebooted the new program as he ticked off the seconds he figured he had left before Sam made it out of the tower with the master key and Quorra. While he waited, he took a few steps over to the transparent wall of the container and looked up at the tower. He could see signs of a battle going on up top as Disks bounced around inside and hoped that his son was not the one getting hit by them.

An audible gasp turned his attention away from the tower and Kevin quickly returned to the new program's side. "How do you feel?" he asked of it and his wizened face turned to face him.

"Apprehensive," it answered and Kevin smiled softly as he clapped the new program on the shoulder.

"You understand your purpose?" he asked, understanding the feeling perfectly well. He was feeling the same way and was not surprised the emotion carried over.

"Yes. I am to take your place and prevent Clu from escaping through the Portal while helping Sam and Quorra to escape. They will not like this should they discover the truth, Kevin Flynn." The other him pointed out and Kevin frowned. The Program seemed a little too stiff, too much like a program than a User.

"I know. One second before you go, my friend." He had Flynn 2.0 turn around and he accessed the Disk again. He inputted a couple commands and glanced over the program's shoulder. "How is that?"

"Man, this is weird," it answered and Kevin smiled. Much better. "What will happen to you?"

"I intend to get off this ship before all hell breaks loose when you stop Clu," the Creator answered as he removed the Disk finally and placed it on his own dock for safe keeping. "Hopefully I'll be long gone before then."

"You will be trapped in here again," Flynn 2.0 reminded him and Kevin sighed sadly at the thought.

"I know."

"Is there... anything you want me to say to Sam?"

Kevin was quiet as he considered what exactly he should have be said to his son. He walked over to the wall again and looked up at the tower. "Tell him goodbye for me." He turned back to the program and it nodded in answer before leaving him alone with the remaining inactive programs. Kevin followed after it as far as the edge of the container outside and watched as it hurried toward the flight deck and easily procured a light-plane.

He would wait to make sure his son made it out of the tower and escaped with his doppelganger before he would find a way off of the ship himself. Kevin glanced up at the tower once more just in time to see two figures break through a window and release a Tron chute to slow his descent.

"Radical, man." He wondered where his son had learned that move and wished he could ask him. But he couldn't and wouldn't. To do so would compromise everything he's planned so far. Instead, he forced himself back behind the container and out of sight as he heard the light-plane ignite it's engines and roll out onto the runway. He heard more windows shattering above and caught a glimpse of five figures leaping out of the command ship.

Clu.

He peered around to get a better look and watched as Clu and his Black Guard activated Lightjets and rapidly flew after Flynn 2.0, his son and Quorra. The fate of his family now rested in the hands of the program he had created. Once more he found himself wanting to do something to help them, but there was nothing he could do now except see to it that he escaped from the carrier ship and made it back to the Outlands and his Safehouse.

Quickly he turned away and stamped down on the guilt and regret that was building up inside him as he made his way to the flight deck to procure one of the planes for himself or something smaller. At least he had been able to meet with his son and spend a millicycle with him for one last time. Eight hours. He would have preferred to spend the rest of his life with his son back in the real world. He had hoped he could return with his son but with the revelation of Clu's plans, everything changed.

Sometimes life has a way of moving you past wants and hopes.

This was one time he wished that maxim was untrue. It is a choice you made, Kevin. He told himself while making his way over to a Black Guard sentry. The Program was unaware of his presence as he accessed it's disk and changed it's command prompts. Had you gone, you would have died stopping Clu. This way, at least there is a small chance that you can go back one day, however slim that chance be.

"Goodbye, kiddo." he whispered as he stole another Lightplane from the carrier ship and stole one last glance in the direction of the portal as the engines revved to life...

Kevin Flynn slowly opened his eyes as the dream faded and he awoke to the lingering sound of the Lightplane's engines roaring in his ears. But then he frowned as he noticed that the sound had not faded with the dream. Quickly he sat up and looked around at his surroundings before he spotted the source.

A Recognizer.

He scurried for cover quickly and glanced out from behind a rock face to see what was happening. The Recognizer had it's search light active and seemed to be following a search pattern. He wondered if the pilot knew where it was looking or if it was just a random search fanning out from the Safehouse. Either way, it was far too close for comfort and he needed to get away before it flew over his campsite.

Speaking of his campsite.

The bedroll and the digital campfire would be a dead give away as to where he had been and how recently he had been there. He took one more glance at the Recognizer before determining it was safe enough for him to come out of hiding to erase any and all signs of his presence in the area. He hurried in derezzing the campfire and grabbed the bedroll before he made his way down the ravine he had been following earlier in the evening.

It seemed Clu was actively searching for him this time instead of waiting for him to make a move in their game of chess. The only move he planned on making was remaining on the move until Clu gave up or his son managed to deactivate the Program from the outside.

For now he just needed to keep a distance between himself and the scouting Recognizer.

More to come in the next chapter! I hope Flynn 2.0's resolution was convincingly plausible to all of you.