Next one's up! In this one, Emily meets a certain Enforcer in a much different way, and she has to make a choice that will influence both of their lives.
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Over the next four months I went almost every night on the Grid. It was really fascinating, and I started to learn more and more about it, sneaking into Tron city and avoiding the Black Guard at all costs. Its history was both great and painful, as a program, Zorn, had told me from behind a drink at the End of Line club. He spoke about the first days, when Flynn and Tron and Clu worked together to build the perfect system: the Creator, the System Monitor and the Administrator.
"CLU looked just like Flynn, you know," he whispered, looking around us with caution. "And Tron... he was the greatest warrior that the Grid has ever seen. I bet he could derezz that Enforcer, Rinzler, in an instant."
I winced remembering the black mask, orange circuits and broken purring of the Enforcer.
"Too bad that he's probably dead," the program sighed. "What a waste."
"What happened?"
"One day, the ISOs came."
"ISOs?"
"Isomorphic Algorithms," he explained. "They appeared out of the Sea of Simulations, nobody knew where they came from, not even the Creator. Unlike us, they had no specific programming, they learned everything, were just as creative and versatile as the Users themselves. While Flynn saw them as a miracle, many, Clu among them, thought they were a blight on the Grid. One day, he overthrew Flynn, killed Tron as the Monitor protected the Creator, and set out to destroy the ISOs. It was a massacre; the Black Guard executing ISOs in the streets, Flynn and Tron gone. Imagine this entire city drowned in chaos. We call it the Purge."
I sipped from my drink, looking around for any threat, but there was none, so I motioned Zorn to continue.
"Since then, Clu controls the Grid. There are some among us who believe that Flynn and the Users could save us, but truth is that we have little hope left. Programs are disappearing, they have patrols everywhere, and many believe that by resisting we'll do more bad than good."
We exchanged more pleasantries and I left, pulling the cloak closer to my body. The Grid was cold tonight, the chilly rain making me shiver as I approached a door and knocked once, then twice then three times. It creaked open, and grey eyes peeked out.
"Were you followed?"
"No."
"Good, come in."
The Program opened the door and I hurried inside, taking off the cloak. Ori, the Program who answered the door, took it from me, and I followed her to the basement.
"I thought you won't make it," she commented. "What took you so long?"
"You know," I answered casually, "having drinks at the Club, hanging out, things like that."
"I hope you didn't over energize," she retorted, "we have some guys ready for an arse kicking waiting."
"Come on, Ori, I could take them in my sleep and you know that."
"I'm betting on you, so you'd better win."
I snorted, dismissing them with a wave of my hand. I had a natural skill with the Disk, and training made me even better. Ori and Zorn sometimes teased me, saying that I must be related to Rinzler, because I had the same kind of feline strength and lighting reflexes the Enforcer had, and many Guards had learned the hard way not to mess with me.
Ori opened a concealed door and I rezzed a black mask to cover my features, unwilling to risk letting the others see my face. The makeshift Disk Arena was crowded, and a Program was already in the ring, eager to start the fight. Five minutes later, he was on his stomach with my knee pressing on his back and my Disk at his throat. Ori was gloating, demanding the others to pay and I got up, heading to the exit.
"Let me know when you come again," Ori shouted. "Same hour, same place."
I nodded, and when I got outside I took out a baton, rezzing a Lightcycle and sped to a safe place for the transfer home.
I knew my mother was sick for some time; she had cancer, and went to many rounds of chemo and other treatments before the doctors declared that she was in remission. Nothing had prepared me for the day when I came home from Mike's and found the ambulance in front of the house, my mother being pushed on a berth by the medics, pale looking and weak. The doctors said that she was hiding the relapse, wanting to be by my side to the last day. She died three days later, with her hand in mine and a peaceful smile on her lips.
"What news from the hospital?" Mike asked when I entered the bike shop later that night.
I said nothing; if I opened my mouth I would start crying until I shriveled like a corpse and died too. Mike's eyes went wide and he pulled me into an embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Em," he whispered.
After some time, I pulled myself from his arms, tears streaming on my face.
"I can't stay in that house," I blurted. "It's empty without her."
You can come here," he offered. "You can put something up in that basement of yours."
"Thanks, Mike," I said, wiping my tears with a sleeve. "I'm going to..."
"The basement, of course. Go, kid, do your thing."
Later, I hoped that he hadn't heard me sob my eyes out collapsed on the bottom step.
When I entered Tron city, I immediately noticed that something was off. Black Guards and ordinary Programs alike were running aimlessly on the streets, the End of the Line club was destroyed and everything was in chaos. I grabbed a female Program that went past me, stopping her.
"What happened here?"
"Clu and the Maker are derezzed, a new User appeared, the Guard are derezzing us at random," she rasped.
I let her go, flinching as a Guard jammed his disk into a Program, derezzing him a few streets away. I took to some shortcuts and got out of the city, hiding carefully and avoiding the Guards at all costs, until I found myself on the shore where I first rezzed into the Grid. A light caught my eye on the beach below. I climbed down to the shore, retrieving an Identity Disk that glowed faint blue-white. I looked around for its owner and there he was, laying on the black sand face down, gentle waves rolling over him. It was male, obviously, and I approached him cautiously, Disk ready to strike. I rolled him face up and jumped back in horror when I saw the black mask and the four pixels on his throat.
"Rinzler!," I gasped, assuming a defensive position.
The Enforcer groaned pitifully, and I noticed a gaping wound on his side.
"Not... Rinzler... anymore," he rasped. "...know... you... Enyo..."
"Identify, Program," I asked, still ready to strike.
He barked a laugh that turned to a strangled cry of pain, and he arched his back off the sand.
"I was... Tron..." he finally said.
"Tron's derezzed many cycles ago," I growled.
"Why don't... you look... my Disks..."
He pointed weakly to the Disk I had found, and I turned on the memory files. His whole life passed in front of me, from the time Flynn brought him in the system, to the Coup, and then...
I gasped, almost dropping the Disks in horror when I saw what Clu had done to him. The Admin had almost killed Tron, but he escaped. He had helped Beck, the Renegade, training him, but he was caught again and Clu repurposed him and sent him after the Renegade. I watched the fight, Beck falling, Tron delivering the final blow and realizing what he had done as his friend derezzed in his arms.
I looked back at the wounded Monitor, just as he derezzed his mask. A horrible scar went from his left eye all the way down his suit, and his eerily handsome features were drenched in sweat, his reddish hair sticking to his head.
"Believe me now?" he asked wearily.
I nodded and offlined the hologram, lifting him from the sand to put his Disks back to the dock.
"Can you stand?"
"I don't know," he said.
"Come on, I'll help you," I replied, grabbing his arm.
He gave another cry of pain, but got to his feet, and we made our way to the cliff.
"You're wounded badly," I commented a while later.
Tron gave me the "you don't say" look, and I chuckled.
"I'll fix you when we get to safety."
"Are you a medical Program?"
"Nope," I said, making him frown.
"Then how are you going to fix me?"
"I know your code," I deadpanned.
"You know my...? Where from?!," he blurted, eyes wide in shock.
"Well, it's complicated, I'll tell you..."
A familiar thruster sound cut off my explanation, making both of us to look up.
"Recognizer," Tron hissed, reaching for his Disks.
"Uh-oh, that's not good. Definitely not good."
I felt Tron's hand tighten its grip on my shoulder as the Recognizer closed upon us.
"We have to make a run for it," I shouted over the thruster sound. "Can you do it?"
"Do we have a choice?"
"Stand and fight sounds better?"
The Monitor growled.
"Actually, it does."
I whipped out my own Disk just in time as the platform lowered and six Guards came down, weapons ready.
"Surrender your weapons, Programs," one of them ordered.
Tron twisted his Disk revealing the second one and I made a mock bow.
"Come and get them," I hissed.
The guards lunged at us, and I soon got into the usual clarity I experienced in a fight. Block, hit, derezz, leap in the air, hit again. Behind me, Tron was finishing a guard when another rammed into his left side, where he had his worst wound. The Monitor faltered, crying in pain and collapsing to his knees, as the guard raised its Disk.
I threw mine, derezzing him, and helped Tron to his feet.
"Duck," he ordered and I rolled out of the way as he stabbed the guard.
I picked the Disk of the one I killed, and amazingly it activated in my hand. I didn't put too much thought in it, finishing the last guard before tossing it on the ground and hurrying to support Tron again.
"Can you fly one of these?" I asked, pointing to the Recognizer.
"Yes," he answered with a grimace of pain.
We boarded the platform, going to the pilot stand where the Monitor took the controls, getting us airborne.
"Where are we going?," he asked after we put some distance between us and the city.
"Far from the city, somewhere where we can hide."
"There's nothing in the Outlands."
I stood silent, trying to make up a plan.
"Enyo?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
The words were quiet, barely audible, but I nodded. I knew what was unspoken.
"Thank you for not derezzing me when you had the chance, and believing in me."
We stood silent for some time, Tron piloting while I sat cross legged on the floor looking at the barren landscape around.
"There," I said, pointing to a rocky hill. "Land there."
He did what I asked, taking the Recognizer down to a natural platform and we got out, the Monitor still leaning on my shoulder.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
A grimace twisted his features again before he fell on the ground, howling in pain, eyes shut firmly.
Tron POV
Argh, Users, it hurt so bad!
I had gotten the wound when the light jet I drove slammed into Clu's, sending us both tumbling to the Sea of Simulations, and it was as bad as it looked. The fact that the Black Guard had slammed it didn't help, neither did the viral code of the Sea.
I opened my eyes to see Enyo leaning over me, worry painted on her face.
"Shelter can wait," she said, pulling me up so she could reach my Disks.
I cried again, and the world went black.
Enyo POV
I worked as fast as I could, searching for the broken code, mending and replacing it. There were still traces of repurposing attached to his code, but attempting to take them out would make it unstable or even reactivate the Rinzler, so I left them alone, focusing on his wounds instead.
Tron was limp and unmoving while I worked, and if it wasn't for his shallow breath and pulsing glow of the circuitry I would have thought him dead. After I finished fixing his Disk I lifted him again carefully, docking the Disk and allowing his systems to reboot.
I got up, wiping some gravel from my armor as I looked around. The rocky formation was perfect for a hideout, so I took a deep breath, kneeling on the ground and putting my hand on it. The code shifted, bending to my will, creating walls, rooms, furniture and everything we would need for an extended stay in the Outlands.
It was the first time programming something that big in the Grid, and man, it was amazing to see everything generate in front of my eyes. The hideout was half buried underground, with a garage/flight deck level, living quarters that could accommodate 2 people, a Disk Arena, training room, med bay and a huge common room with a view to Tron City. Apart from the normal facilities (yes, I even put a pool and jacuzzi), I got everything I could think of: Lightcycle and Lightjet batons, a Lightrunner, even some kind of laser guns in the eventuality of having to defend ourselves. It was a fortress, really, and I loved it.
When I finished I half dragged, half pulled the rebooting Program to one of the rooms, depositing him on the bed. The horrible gash on his side had closed almost entirely, and finally his face lost the grey shade it had. After checking his vitals one more time, I sleepwalked to my own room, crashing on the soft mattress before I passed out.
Tron POV.
The first things I noticed when I woke up was the high ceiling over my head and the lack of pain from my side. I ran a quick scan and all the systems were online, but where in Flynn's name was I?
I couldn't recognize the room, but I was lying on a bed, without any restraints whatsoever. I went to the door, tensing to anticipate any threat, but the hallway was empty as far as I could see, with a half open door at the far end. I pushed it open, Disk blazing and ready, only to see the Program who saved me earlier, Enyo, sprawled on a bed sleeping. I accidentally nicked a vase next to the door and she bolted up, reaching to her Disk and looking like she was still caught in a dream.
"Take it easy," I soothed. "I'm sorry for waking you up."
The girl finally relaxed, dropping her hand.
"How long was I out?"
"It's been a little more than a milicycle since you fixed me, I guess," I shrugged. "Where are we?"
"We needed shelter, so I got us shelter," she said, waving to the room before adding "or more like I encoded it, to be exact."
Only then I pieced what she had said about knowing my code earlier.
Enyo POV
Tron looked like someone had struck him really hard.
"What?" I asked.
"User," he exclaimed, "you're a User!"
I took a bow, grinning like a maniac.
"How do you think I could fix your wound, or build this place from scratch?"
"That's why you ran away when Clu ordered me to bring you to the Throne Ship, you couldn't let him, or me for that matter, know what you were."
"If you would have got me to Clu, I would have been derezzed by now," I deadpanned, "but it doesn't matter. You are not the Rinzler anymore, and Clu is dead."
Tron sat on a couch, looking still shaken and pale.
"Another User," he whispered for himself. "It's the best news I heard since I saw the explosion that took Flynn. What do we do now?"
"'We' do nothing. I'll go back to the city and find out what's happening while you stay here."
The Monitor bolted up outraged.
"You can't expect me to rot here when the Programs out there may need my help!," he shouted, already striding to the door. "I'm coming too."
God, I was expecting that he wouldn't take it easily. With one leap I blocked the doorway, getting into his way. His steel blue eyes were hard and determined, burning into mine.
"You aren't going anywhere," I growled, "or I'll put you flat on your back and lock you in here."
He snorted, and I raised an eyebrow.
"What, don't you think I can do it?"
"I'd like to see you try," he provoked. "The last time we fought you almost got yourself derezzed."
Oh, he didn't say that.
With one swift movement and a flash of limbs I knocked his feet off the ground and pinned him under my knee, with an elbow pressing on his throat.
"Can't put you down, huh?," I said, my face a few inches from his.
Tron laughed from under my grip, wriggling free and spinning me backwards. His hands caught my arms in a viselike grip, pressing me into the doorframe with his weight.
"First lesson: mind your surroundings," he chuckled in my ear, "and most importantly, don't get distracted. Why shouldn't I go with you? You could use my help."
He released me and I turned to face him again.
"One: I can handle myself, and two: they'll make the same mistake I did."
"And what is that?"
"They won't see Tron, the System Monitor, they'll think you are the Rinzler, who has derezzed countless programs and..."
I sighed sadly, looking away from his hurt gaze.
"You get the picture. They'll hunt you down."
"I'm sorry for what I did, but technically it wasn't me. It was Clu's virus."
"I know, Tron, I really do," I pleaded, "but you can't blame them."
The Monitor bowed his head and finally nodded; I could see that he was dying to go.
"Okay, you go," he sighed, "but if it takes you more than a milicycle I'm coming for you. I don't care if I have to tear Tron City apart to find you, you understand?"
I nodded and sprinted to the deck, rezzing a Lightcycle and speeding away to the city.