Please read: check out the (final - omg it's really over lol) author's note at the end. Enjoy and R&R please guys!

Epilogue

1985

It all held so much promise. His digital frontier would change the world, change the course of the human existence forever. Looking out over the city that was slowly expanding—growing in size and in grandeur—he couldn't help but beam. Everything was coming together exactly as he envisioned it would, and he figured it was time they kick back, relax, and celebrate all of their achievements.

"You guys are the greatest!" he exclaimed when he finally turned away from his creation to address the three co-administrators who had helped him make his dream a reality, who would, in the future, help him introduce his creation to a world that probably wasn't ready for it. "Man, would ya look at it?"

Grinning his own lopsided grin back at him, Clu replied enthusiastically, "It's looking better every cycle!" For a moment he paused before tacking on seriously, "But, of course, there's still work to be done. The grid bugs keep…"

"Come on, Clu, lighten up, will ya?" Ram broke in, a bright, earnest smile on his face. Turning to him, he chuckled lightly, happiness glittering in his eyes, "It's…really amazing. Never thought I'd see anything like it."

"Hell, only three years ago I didn't even know any of this existed!" he just laughed, walking over to where three programs were standing, all watching him intently, albeit slightly confused by his reference to "years." I'll have to teach them more about my world, he made a mental note, before continuing, "I mean…the old Encom system is nothing compared to this, but still…"

That was enough even to get a laugh out of Tron who, like his User, was always a bit of a stick in the mud. Still laughing, the monitor just shook his head. "User, Flynn, this coming from the guy who needed to be told to watch out for the force fields…"

"…and wanted to know what his 'dream' was all about," Ram added mischievously, glancing from Tron, who just nodded knowingly, back to him.

"…and didn't even know what pure energy was."

"…and thought he could take down the MCP, just the three of us."

"Glitching, wasn't he, Ram?" Tron howled, and he knew that the pair would continue having a good laugh at his expense—even though he had to admit that the two programs were right (and absolutely hilarious)—if he didn't cut them off soon.

"Alright, guys, give me a break," he cried in mock indignation even as he threw his arms around both Ram and Tron's shoulders, drawing the two laughing programs in. "You win for now at least. But don't forget I designed this system, and you may find yourself in my position…completely confused by what in the world's going on around you…"

"Not a chance, man!" Ram, who had finally stopped laughing, exclaimed, the bright grin returning to his face. "The odds of that happenin' are slim to none."

"Says the actuarial program," Tron, still trying to calm down, he could tell, chuckled. "You better listen to him, Flynn. He has a 99% accuracy rate."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, trying to sound as incredulous as possible, as he turned to face the little actuary. "What's the statistical probability this system's going to be everything I crack it up to be?"

"Well…" Ram said thoughtfully, pausing only for a moment as if to calculate the odds officially, "I'd say ya got a near perfect chance of making your—what's the word?—'dream' a reality."

Grinning—clearly the co-administrators had faith in him and their directives based on their smiles—he beckoned for Clu to join them in a group hug. And, after they finally broke away, he realized the whole system held so much promise and would, one day, be perfect.

Perfect enough to introduce to the world…and to his son…

2009

He emerged from the Grid a different man than he had been when he entered it all those long years ago. He emerged broken and beaten, aware that his creation had destroyed almost everything he had held dear, aware that he was returning to a world that might not be so welcoming. Flynn didn't really know what the future held for him—he understood everything must have changed during his absence—and, for the first time, he was afraid. Afraid of what the future might hold, afraid of not being accepted by the only people he truly cared about anymore.

He understood betrayal now, and he had paused before entering the portal, remembering the look on his program's face; the hatred, the anguish, his clear belief that he had been done wrong. It was the same look his son had given him when he returned to the Grid to save a program he knew even then probably couldn't be saved. Would he accept him? Would he still love him after everything that had happened? Would he understand why he had to go back? Sam wasn't the only one he betrayed, after all…Ram needed him more in that moment, and he needed him to understand why everything had gone so horribly wrong and that he appreciated all the sacrifices he had made…

All those questions were about to be answered, he knew. His son—the son he had abandoned (not willingly, he reminded himself to keep from bursting into tears again)—was staring at him incredulously. Finally, a small, hesitant smile formed on his lips: "I knew you'd come back," he said resolutely, walking over to hug him. After he pulled away, he continued, his voice becoming (thankfully) more enthusiastic with each word, "Come on, let's get out of here! There's so much you need to see and…"

Flynn's near elation at being forgiven by his son was immediately dampened when he looked over at Quorra and saw her lip was trembling slightly. Cutting off Sam in a small, already miserable voice—clearly she knows what happened, he realized with a pang of regret and grief—she asked the question he was hoping to avoid: "Ram didn't make it, did he?"

Shaking his head, he responded solemnly, trying his best not to remember all the damage, all the pain in the little program's eye, "There wasn't anything I could do."

Quorra bowed her head then, and even Sam's—who admittedly knew very little about the Grid—enthusiasm appeared to have been greatly diminished because of the news. After a moment of respectful silence, Flynn continued, not even trying to mask the hitch in his voice, "Ram was…a good kid. He would want us…" He didn't even finish his sentence; he didn't need to, and the tears had caught up to him anyway. But then he remembered the small smile on Ram's face as he slipped away, remembered his last request. But then he looked at Sam and Quorra and saw that the love they had for him in their eyes. The fear began to dissipate; the scars began to heal…

The past was the past, Flynn realized then. The future, even though there would definitely be many challenges along the way, was still his; he could shape it in any way he wanted. He had Sam—his son, who he had spent all those years missing more than anything—he had Quorra. He knew there would be other people glad to see him. And the Grid? He'd fix it. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be the best it could be. For the programs. For Tron. And for Ram most of all. The next time around, it would be worthy of being introduced to his son…and to the world.

But that was for another time; right now, he had some catching up to do.

It all held so much promise.

Please read: First of all, I just want to thank everybody who reviewed. You all were the reason I kept writing this even though I was really tempted to stop around chapter 15. This has been quite the journey, and I hope you all enjoyed it even though the ending was sad (yet, I hope, hopeful as well). Also...since this is my first full length Tron fic (or fic of any kind for that matter) that I actually finished, please give me your feedback. Am I good at this? Did you enjoy it? What did you think of the characters? Who was your favorite? Etc. Etc. I'm thinking I maybe will write a sequel sometime (not soon) or write another Tron full length fanfic, so I want to hear what you all think. Finally, I really do hope you enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time working on it, so I hope that was apparent. I wrote this for you guys, and I'm happy to say it's been a great ride. So thanks for reading, and please tell me what you think. ~Moore12~ P.S. For everybody who was sad/cried when Ram died, I just wanted to let you know I got a little misty eyed writing that scene myself. I already miss the little bugger...