Tron: Adagio

By: Shadow Chaser

Author's Notes:

This story covers the entire comic, Tron: Betrayal, and flashbacks from Tron: Legacy itself. The scenarios of the game Evolution are not mentioned in here as I did not play the game. All characters are not mine, they belong to Disney.

Story:

The Game Has Changed

"Clu, you can't do this! The Isos-"

"All evidence so far points to them being the cause of the increase in gridbug attacks!" Clu stomped through the central area of the Central Control, glaring at nothing in particular.

"We don't know that. All we know is that-"

"They are putting a significant strain on The Grid itself, I know!" Clu finished Tron's sentence as he followed the senior program in, a frown on his face.

That had been the point of contention the last time Flynn had been here, before he had left in a hurry without finishing expanding the code in The Grid, something about a baby. Tron had instantly understood that Flynn wanted to be there for the birth of his real world son and so did not voice his protest. He was, however, surprised that Clu knew nothing about this new baby or son that Flynn was about to have. The senior program had been focused on the fact that Flynn had been contacted by the real world outside The Grid.

He hadn't found it that unusual, after all, he was always able to answer Alan-One's summons whenever his User needed to give him some upgrades or tell him a problem area that he had missed on his initial patrols. He would have thought Clu would have this knowledge from Flynn, but apparently he did not. So he had tried to reassure him that Flynn knew what he was doing. The reply he had gotten back was even less encouraging than he had believed it to be, leading them to this latest confrontation.

"Clu, you can't go around and set up security barriers forbidding the Isos from the rest of The Grid!" he shook his head as the program circled around in a wild circle, his long jacket-like armor whirling around him.

Tron had seen him alternate between the two armors he had been given, his original short jacket that made him look like Flynn and this new long one that apparently was more authoritative. He had only worn it when he was making significant improvements, but lately it seemed that he only wore that and rarely went back to the old look he had been built with.

"If it will help stabilize The Grid, then I will do it," Clu stared at him, pressing his hands against the sides of the inactive projector in the control room.

Tron stood on the opposite side, his arms folded across his chest. "Clu, this isn't the right solution. You're only going to cause chaos and confusion in The Grid. We have trade and commerce with the Isos. What message would it send to the other programs if you do this?"

"I am not having this discussion again Tron. You heard what Shaddox said cycles ago, we need to address this gridbug problem and the solution to that is to isolate the Isos and if they are the source of the gridbugs, then steps will be taken to find a proper solution."

"And if they are not?" Tron dared not touch the other question that was lingering on the tip of his tongue. He did not want to do something he would regret. After his scare at the Sea of Simulation he had realized that the Sea was perhaps trying to show him not this mysterious Rinzler, but perhaps a past where he had been the MCP's lackey and be cruel, thinking everything just a game. After that scare, he had vowed to ensure the safety of everyone in The Grid, including the Isos themselves.

"The Isos are a product of uncertainty, a quantity we cannot control. The balance of order is getting out of hand and natural order needs some regulation. The bugs are a product of that uncertainty. The data we have been collecting since the appearance of the gridbugs have shown that neither you nor I can scan them. They are shielded, just like the Isos themselves."

"The difference is that the gridbugs never unshielded themselves, the Isos have," he replied shortly.

That immediately got Clu's attention, "When have the Isos unshielded themselves?"

"When the first of the Isos towers was under attack by the gridbug leader. Ophelia unshielded herself to preserve the stability of the tower," Tron replied, wondering what Clu was getting at.

"And?" the gesture the program gave him was eerily like Flynn when he was impatient, but Tron resolutely ignored it. Clu was not Flynn and will never be. He was created in his image, but the stark contrasts in their personality were so clear now.

"And what?"

"What did the Isos look like unshielded? I thought you would have submitted this in your reports!"

"I did not scan her!" Tron frowned, slightly angry. Granted it was the heat of the battle and he had been exhausted, but it was so easy for him to set one of his passive systems to scan the leader of the Isos, yet he did not, feeling that it would violate her privacy.

"Tron!" Clu was furious, "do you think that this is game? That this is-"

"Of course it isn't a game! I know the difference!"

"Well to you apparently it is a game!" Clu gestured violently at him, "and let me tell you, the game, the game has changed! We're dealing with a crisis situation here and you are telling me that you deliberately withheld information from me? That you did not scan the leader of the Isos because of what? Some sense of honorable morality? Because she's the leader of the Isos?"

"Because she doesn't deserve to be scrutinized for every action that isn't her responsibility!" Tron shouted back.

"Her responsibility?" Clu barked out an astonished laugh, "her responsibility? You're sounding like, like Kevin Flynn every day!"

"Is that a bad thing," he narrowed his eyes, his voice instantly cold.

"In this case yes!" Clu roared, "he is too busy with his real world to deal with ours! Tron, I'm trying to ensure our survival here! If you won't scan the Iso, then I will! I need to know whether or not they're behind the gridbugs and the increasing instability in The Grid!"

"Don't," Tron suddenly felt the same flash of fear that he had felt back at the Sea of Simulation and stepped forward, his hand held towards Clu, placating him. "I'll go and ask her, all right? Just...don't make things worst than what they are."

There was a very User-like snort of contempt from Clu before he ran a hand through his hair and whirled around to stare out at the rest of the city and The Grid. "Fine. Do what you need to do Tron. I'm giving you this chance to make up for your...lack of efforts. Just bring back the information."

Tron resisted the urge to bristle at Clu's implied slight about his abilities, knowing full well the program had done it to try to goad him into another shouting match. He knew all of Clu's capabilities and Clu knew all of his; the deliberate insults hurled at each other would only serve no other purpose than to waste cycles and potentially exacerbate any emergency situation that arose. They needed to work together, that was what Flynn emphasized, for the greater good of The Grid.

He left without another word, and half of a centicycle later was at the Isos' section of The Grid. Frowning underneath his helmet at the Guards stationed by the borders of the section he rode past them and towards the main tower of Sector 105. He stopped by the base of the beautiful tower and got off of his lightcycle, sticking the baton back into its regular spot on his suit.

Walking up the majestic stairs he had to admit this section of The Grid was beautiful, even beyond his own words. He wished Flynn could have seen this before he left. His friend and mentor would have been so proud of the Isos and their accomplishments, no matter what Clu said. "Tron here to see Ophelia," he spoke to one of the Isos who stood by the door.

"Standby," the Iso pressed his finger up against a column by the door and a few seconds later Ophelia's voice spoke from it.

"Yes?"

"Giles here, ma'am. The security program Tron wishes to speak with you," the guard, Giles, replied.

"You may send him up," was the reply.

"Scans-"

"Are not necessary Giles. Tron is an old friend," the rebuking tone in Ophelia's voice was evident and Tron saw Giles shrink back before lifting his finger away from the column and gestured gruffly for him to continue in.

"Elevator to your right will take you directly to her quarters," Giles seemed a bit embarrassed.

Tron nodded his thanks before proceeding in. He took the elevator the Iso had told him to and prompty arrived at the seventy-second floor. Stepping out of the elevator the first scene to greet Tron was a spectacular view of The Grid itself, glittering like a shining jewel in the dark expanse of the Outlands and the multiple ripples that was the Sea of Simulation in the far distance.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ophelia spoke up and he turned to see her walking towards him, the same gentle smile on her face that he was used to seeing now.

"That it is," he had to admit that even Zuse's bar had nothing against the panoramic view that had greeted him when he stepped out of the elevator. "Did you design this?" he asked.

"Yes," her smile brightened a bit as she gestured for him to follow her, leading him closer to the windows. "One of the first things I noticed when I was assigned to Sector 105 for my housing needs was that all of the buildings had bare walls and nothing to emphasize the beauty of The Grid and the city itself. I wanted to show Kevin Flynn this, but he has not been here for a very long time."

"He arrived several cycles ago, but had to leave again. He said that his son was being born," Tron knew that it was no apology to Ophelia, but hoped that she could take his words for what they were.

"Oh, a son! I remembered learning from Kevin Flynn about them. Please, if you do see him, convey my wishes and hopes that his...son...would be able to grow like we do and learn everything," she had furrowed her brow slightly, trying to find the right words, but Tron nodded, understanding what she was trying to say.

"I'll do that," he replied before clearing his throat slightly, "Ophelia, I have a request I wanted to ask you. That's why I'm visiting..."

"Ask me anything Tron. You have done so much for me, for my people, for The Grid. I should have been the one to ask if you needed anything in return long ago instead of having you come to ask me!" Ophelia laughed lightly and as much as Tron wanted to keep the smile on her face, he knew that his next question would probably wipe it completely away.

He didn't want it to come to this, but Clu had backed him into a corner and he did not want the senior program to hurt or even create unneeded tension that was not already there between him and the Isos. That was why he had agreed to Clu's request...if it was coming from him, he hoped that Ophelia would not put up much of a fuss as if it was coming from Clu.

"I..." Tron scratched the back of his head, "I need to scan your code."

The smile on her face froze for half of a nanocycle before just as he had predicted, it disappeared into a puzzling frown. She looked at him, curious, "Why?"

"We...I need to establish," Tron hesitated before plunging on. He had always been honest and truthful with her and it wasn't in his nature to lie to anyone, not even to Flynn or to Clu. His User had taught him to always tell the truth; even if it did hurt the ones he loved, because if the truth was shaded, then it would be the first step in destabilizing the integrity of the system. "We need to establish that the Isos are not the cause of the gridbug problem and it would help us to patch the integrity of The Grid itself."

"We need to establish?" Ophelia's lips were pressed into a thin line, "You mean Clu, don't you?"

"Yes," Tron grimaced. He knew things were already testy between the Isos and the Guards assigned to the Sectors the Isos inhabited. "Clu just wants to make sure-"

"That we are not a threat?" she whirled around, glaring at him, "Tron, we are not!"

"I know, I know," he held up his hands to try to placate her, "I know you're not a threat, but we just want to make sure and the best way to do this is to at least have an Isos' code in the central system so we can make sure that better measures are taken to protect you and the others in the system in case the gridbugs do come back in full force."

"Then tell Clu to take the Guards away from our Sectors! He has us under constant surveillance and asking for each one of my people's whereabouts each time we step out of the Sector! What's next? Will they ask us where we are going in our own buildings and homes?"

"No...I don't no, no..." he shook his head, throwing up his hands in frustration, "I know you resent the Guards-"

"No you actually do not," Ophelia cut him off stepping up and tapping a finger in his face, "you do not understand because you have not been here the whole time. Your duties take you everywhere in The Grid and you have not experienced it! You are free to roam The Grid, not be trapped like us, having someone question our every move."

"That's not fair," Tron trapped her fingers with his hand and tried to reason with her, squeezing her hands gently, "Ophelia, that's not fair."

"Of course it is not," she scoffed, but did not pull her hand out of his, "it never is."

"I just," he released her hand as he ran a hand through his hair, the frustration building in him again; "I want to make sure that the Isos are safe, that the other programs are safe. Clu has a valid point. The gridbugs have been attacking Iso sectors with a lot more frequency than the other Sectors." He looked away, towards the glittering expanse that was The Grid, "I...thought I found evidence of gridbugs coming out of the Sea of Simulation."

"What?" that got Ophelia's attention.

"I don't really know, but all I do know is that the gridbugs are shielded, like you are to me. Even with the upgrades given to me by my User, I can't read you well," he admitted, not knowing how she would react to his confession that he had been trying to scan her.

"And what about that time when you saved my tower?" her back was towards him, her arms wrapped around her white armor.

"I didn't," he replied, "my concern then was to make sure that all of the Isos were safe before the tower collapsed."

"You had your chance, why did you not take it?" she asked, her voice neutral.

"Because..." Tron looked down at the ground, "I cared for you, more than I probably should. Because I didn't want to violate the privacy you had and I wanted to ask you properly, but never did because Flynn said that the natural order of things should not be categorized and I believed him."

The moment of silence stretched between them and Tron heaved a sigh. He should not have asked Ophelia in the first place. He should have put in a formal request or even gone back to the Sea of Simulation and waited for an Iso to appear before quickly scanning the program before they were able to get their natural shields up. Maybe he should have found a nest of gridbugs, ripped their shields apart as best as he could and scan those things instead...

"Tron," he looked up to see her standing before him, her expression neutral, but he noticed that there was a sadness in her eyes that he never noticed before, "in the spirit of the friendship and all that you have done for me, including the security cover you have provided me, I will give you this." She took her disc and held it up before calling for an image to appear in the middle of the disc.

He noticed that it was her unique code, yet there were so many unfamiliar lines that he did not recognize. However, he understood what was being given to him and reached a hand out, spearing through the image, his own security protocols absorbing the brief information he had been given. He knew that it was not the scan Clu wanted, but it was some information on the Isos and it would have to do.

As soon as the information was downloaded onto his disc, he retracted his hand and watched her put her disc back onto her mount.

"Ophelia-"

"Please, never return here. Our friendship has change and it has ended," she looked sad, but resolute and he nodded in understanding. His asking of such information had forever changed who they were to each other. He had asked her to give him the ultimate sacrifice and she had done so out of the remnants of what was once was that was between them.

They were now strangers, he the security program within The Grid, her, the proud leader of the isomorphic algorithms.

He headed back to the elevators, taking one last look at the view before him, and of Ophelia who stood by the window, a sad expression on her face. There was no wave of goodbye or much of anything else as the doors closed behind Tron and sent him back down to the ground floor. If anything, he felt even lonelier.

Clu was right, the game, if it could be called that, had changed and he had helped change it.

Author's Notes:

Yes, yes, Tron needs a hug. (Hugs Tron). There now, can I continue your story? (Receives a slight glare from the program…) ^_^

The music track to this chapter sort of matches if you want to look at it in a very dramatic slow-motion way. By the way, soundtrack wise, this is one of my favorite music pieces. Next chapter continues the whole disintegration of the Tron/Ophelia pairing!