Thanks again for all the reviews...here's the latest chapter. For Cyberbutterfly, I decided to include a scene about why Sam dropped out of Caltech so enjoy! Also, fyi, the book Quorra is reading is Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Anyway, I hope you enjoy all of the plot twists that abound in this chapter, setting ya'll up for the epic conclusion. Enjoy and R&R! ~Moore12~

Twenty One

2002

I

"What the hell were you thinking?"

The last thing he wanted right now was to get in a debate with his "uncle" so he just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know really. Probably wasn't."

"I'll say," Alan muttered, shaking his head ruefully, looking down at him like he was a kid who needed to be scolded—which he wasn't anymore, thank you very much. "How could you possibly throw all that away?"

Now that was a good question, he had to admit. How could he throw away the opportunity to attend Caltech, to follow his old man's footsteps and become the best computer programmer he could possibly be? Right, that's a good one, he thought bitterly. I want to be just like Dad. Because he was as confused as Alan, he lashed out bitterly, "I don't know, Alan, alright? I didn't like it there. They would've asked me to leave because of my drinking if it wasn't for my name. I don't want to be a programmer. Just pick one!"

To his surprise, his outburst didn't seem to faze Alan. Instead, he had that smug look on his face, like he understood completely what he couldn't understand at all. "Sam," he said steadily, "I don't think you should throw your whole life away just because you're mad at your dad…"

"Last time I checked, I was still the majority shareholder of a Fortune 500 company. I think I'll be okay."

"Sam, that's not what I meant." Alan answered his sarcastic—though very true, he almost chuckled—quip with more seriousness, just what he didn't want. "I know you well enough to know that you want to be your own person, and that means that…"

Getting up off the couch to get a beer from the fridge—he was underage, yes, but being worth billions had its perks—he cut Alan off again: "Look, I'm not really in to pep talks, if you know what I mean. So just give it up, man. You're not going to convince me to go back there."

"Alright, Sam, if that's your decision, I'll respect it," Alan replied simply, a sad half smile on his face. And then he added softly, "You're just like your old man, too damn stubborn for your own good."

He almost didn't respond to that but then his anger got the better of him. Because he knew it was true even though he didn't want to admit it. Everyone who met him always said the same thing—whether it was to his face or behind his back. Everyone always wanted to believe he was the same as his father for reasons he couldn't fully understand. What do they want from me? he thought miserably as he tried to determine which comeback in his arsenal would be best for this situation. Do they think I'm going to walk in and save Encom or something? And…finally…the best response came to him: "You're right: I am," he growled, letting all of his frustration and anger out. "We both walk away from what's important."

II

She set the book down, entirely confused by what she was reading. Before this book, she had come to the conclusion that people were generally good. Confucius basically said that people were entirely good—their emotional side and rational side were both directed towards leading a good life—and Aristotle said that, while their passionate side was irrational and could easily lead them astray, their reason was directed towards the good and they could learn to lead a virtuous life through practice. But…this book seemed to be saying the opposite: that all people's actions were geared towards benefitting themselves, that people were, by nature, selfish beings that always put their own self interest first. "Flynn," she asked, setting the book down, "why does Thucydides believe that people are so selfish?"

At first, Flynn didn't answer, leaving her to contemplate why he had her read this book when he was trying to teach her all about the art of the selfless. According to Thucydides, even selfless acts are by nature selfish, she mused, waiting for the response. So what does that mean for me? Finally, the answer came: "Well, Q, not all writers agree that people are good by nature. As you pointed out, Thucydides does have a rather pessimistic view of us…"

Even though she could tell Flynn was about to continue, she cut him off because, well, she understood everything Thucydides was saying except one part: "I get that. But…why does he even say that acts we consider selfless are often really selfish?"

"Always cut right to the chase, don't you?" Flynn replied warmly. "Well, what do you think he's saying?"

"Well…" she didn't really have to try to interpret what the writer was saying; no, what she couldn't determine was how she felt about his ideas. "I think what he's saying is that 'selfless' acts are selfish when a person does them for the wrong reasons. But…he seems to think all people do things for the wrong reasons, like how they'll be remembered or what they value. That's where…I disagree. I think selfless acts with the wrong intentions are selfish, but I don't think all selfless acts are. Like…I don't see how giving up your life for someone is selfish if you're doing it just to save that person. Does that…make sense?"

"That makes complete sense, Quorra," Flynn smiled. "It's the same as Aristotle claims: if a person isn't doing what's right just by virtue of itself, then they aren't exactly virtuous."

And that was when it hit her: there was far more to being selfless than just doing acts that just seemed selfless…

III

He kept to himself anymore. He watched mutely as new programs were shoved into cells and then dragged out for the games…never to return like he always managed to. He had been broken too many times to count and had managed to bounce back but…this time it was different. Even after he was forced to kill the ISOs he managed to come back from it after a dark period where he completely lost all faith in himself only because he wanted to rezz up Clu by staying strong, by helping to fuel resistance…it was his small way of helping out the programs…and the only way he could.

But now he didn't care. Brushing his fingers over his badly damaged face—wincing as they moved over the exposed pixels—he sighed heavily. What's the point? he wondered. I'm never gonna get out of here…and if I do anything other programs end up getting hurt. Or I end up getting my face smashed in. Either way…nothing good comes of anything I do. Just like Flynn said.

Even before he had been berated by the User for daring to suggest that Clu wasn't the good little program he thought he was—couldn't even listen to me when it mattered, he thought bitterly—Flynn never seemed to respect him as much as the others. And…he figured he deserved it. Clu and Tron did stuff that mattered, he thought sadly. Me? I just went around and tried to figure out what the programs wanted from Flynn, and then he didn't want to hear it there at the end…

Snickering ruefully, he had to admit that, in a way, it was all ironic. I'm just an actuarial program, he thought, a smirk creeping onto his face. And Flynn was right to treat me like one even though, at the same time, he expected so glitching much from me. But…still…it's my fault for acting like I was more than I was, acting like I mattered.

No, he knew now, living the reality of these games—who would've thought they'd be so much worse than the Game Grid? he almost laughed—that almost everything mattered more than him. He had lost everything—including himself somewhere along the way—and he recognized that everything was so much greater than him. And, if I ever get outta here, he promised himself once again, I'm gonna make the system what it was before…

2009

I

Well, this was as interesting as she had thought it would be. Gem was a lot of things—Zuse's confidant, an "average" siren working in the games, a program that had recently chosen a side for the first time—and knew more than most, but this situation still fascinated her. Because it honestly didn't make any sense that Rinzler—who clearly was Tron again based on his white circuitry and his actions at the club—would have been able to figure out who he was again. Zuse had explained to her that Clu had repurposed him and, as far as she knew, no programs ever were the same again after that. Reminding herself to play it cool, she walked over to where Rinzler—no, Tron…well, Tronzler sounds ok, I guess—sat, staring at her rather maliciously.

"What am I doing here?" he demanded angrily, and Gem was more than a little relieved that he was too weak to attack her.

"Drink this," she said simply in response, handing him a small vial of pure energy. "You're system should be running normally soon."

Glaring at her, Tronzler (yeah, the name fits him, she thought, smirking) did what he was told. As soon as he was finished, though, he growled, sounding very much like Rinzler, "Let me guess. You've already sent word to Clu that I'm here, and I'll be shipped back there as soon as I can walk."

"And why would I do that?" Gem asked innocently, smiling coyly at him.

"Stop playing games with me, Gem," Tronzler snarled, reaching over to grab her only to collapse pitifully onto the bed again. Despite his position, he continued, still raging, "What in the name of the Users am I doing here?"

Trying her best to look scandalized, Gem responded indignantly, "A simple thank you would be nice, considering how difficult it was to get you here and fixed up."

Tronzler blinked in mild confusion before asking the question she was convinced he would never ask. "Wait…you're trying to help me?"

"Of course I am," she answered, a genuine smile playing on her face. "I've had enough of Clu's games. It's time for a change of leadership…"

II

The plan was relatively simple—and gave the User and Quorra a decent chance of survival at 60%—but Ram was well aware that things could easily go wrong. As the solar sailer came to a stop in the middle of the rectifier, he calculated the odds again only to find they had fallen to 45%. Got to stop doing that, he thought wryly as he got off the solar sailer, motioning for Sam and Quorra to follow him.

The most important thing, he knew, was keeping Flynn's disc safe. That was why he had Quorra take it—somehow he knew that she would do a better job defending it than Sam, that he could trust her with it. "What is this place?" he heard Sam ask, his voice filled with shock.

For the first time, he really looked around. Wow, the rectifier really does live up to its name, doesn't it? he thought, staring through the window at all of the helpless programs that soon would be repurposed…into what he didn't really know because, well, Clu had deemed him a hopeless case. I got to help them…wait…I can't.

That was when he heard something. Quietly removing his identity disc from his back, he pressed a finger to his lips—that's how Users tell each other to be quiet right? oh well, hope they get it—and turned around to see a guard staring at them, seemingly stuck in standby because he wasn't doing anything. Seeing him seemed to wake him up because he opened his mouth to yell something, but Ram was too fast; he sliced through the glitching program with ease before he could get a word out. "Come on, let's go," he mouthed, beckoning for them to follow even though he wasn't entirely sure where they were going.

"You don't have a clue where you're going, do you?" Sam asked a little too loudly for comfort after he led them in a ragged circle just to keep them moving while he tried to calculate where to go.

"Working on it," he growled softly in response as he looked around again, trying to see if there was anything he had missed. Looking up, he realized there were walkways above them that had to lead to…well, somewhere. We don't got anywhere better to go, he thought when he found the nearest staircase. So let's go.

They had to go out into the open to reach the staircase, and that made him fairly nervous. User, I hope there aren't any properly functioning guards around, he thought, calculating the odds again only to found they had fallen to a poor 30%. User, stop being such an actuarial program…

Pointing at the staircase, he nodded to Quorra who, to his relief, went first, followed quickly by Sam. Slinking out behind them—relieved that there seemed to be nobody around—he froze when he heard the alarm go off, well aware it was all over.

III

"Well, Flynn, you should've known better," Clu grinned triumphantly even though his eyes were still glittering with malice. "You should've never trusted Ram."

What's Clu playing at now? Flynn wondered, well aware that wherever this was going, it couldn't be good. And, he felt more than a little helpless—Clu, being a reflection of himself, knew exactly what to do to keep him from escaping—because, after being removed from his cell, he had been unceremoniously tied to a table.

Before he could snap back a biting retort, Clu continued, spinning his identity disc idly, "I mean…he's a good actuary and all, but he's as weak as a program can be. It wasn't hard to break him, and, well, he's helped me a lot throughout this whole process…"

Clu paused, clearly wanting to let his word sink in, but Flynn couldn't really believe what he was saying. Because it just didn't make sense that Ram would ever help Clu, not after everything Clu had done to destroy the system he loved and his life as well. If I know Ram, he told himself, pushing all of the negative thoughts from his mind. He told Clu to go frag himself.

"It's a good thing you made it so he could contact Alan-One because that page he sent him worked better than I had calculated it would. And now…now he's led your son right back to me, just as I expected he would."

Flynn didn't want to believe him, but part of him was beginning to. Ram sent the page? he thought bitterly. And…he did try to kill me, didn't he? And now he's led Sam and probably Quorra here instead of taking them to the portal like he should have! Damn it…can't he do anything right?

But he stopped there because he knew assuming such things and believing Clu—who had so many reasons to lie to him and probably was just playing with his emotions—was stupid. I have no reason to trust Clu and every reason to trust Ram, he told himself, glaring defiantly up at the monster he had created. And now…I just have to hope he gets them out of here in one piece and to the portal.

"He tried to warn me, the fanatical fool. He said that—what was it he said?—that I would just make you angry. Like making you angry would do anything." Clu paused and walked over to where Flynn was lying to loom over him (he's not as intimidating as he thinks he is, he would have laughed in any other situation). "You're just as pathetic as he is, you know that? Afraid of your own creation! Afraid of perfection even though you claimed you wanted to find it! Well…none of that matters now. The time has come, and there's nothing you can do about it."

And, more than ever before, Flynn wanted to destroy him…