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:

Solar Sailer

Given the events they had just witnessed, Tron had expected Flynn to leave The Grid as soon as they were back within the city's limits. But he was even more surprised when Flynn insisted that he accompany him on the ride to the portal. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth Tron had agreed. Plus, he figured it would give him the chance to talk to Flynn about Clu's deliberate sabotage of the Sea of Simulation.

The mode of transportation Flynn took for the trip however drove the initial processes out of his mind as he saw a solar sailer before them. It wasn't exactly like the solar sailer in the old system, but it was still beautifully rendered. The two of them had climbed aboard and Flynn had directed it towards its destination, using the guide line to head towards the east where the light from the portal shone like a beacon.

"This is how you returned to the portal each time?" Tron asked as looked around him, the glittering lights of the city slowly shrinking behind them.

"Not exactly," Flynn pressed his hand to one of the panels on the sailer itself and made a few adjustments before lifting his hand up and nodded mostly to himself, satisfied with whatever he had done. "It's a project I've been tinkering with on the side. Only was able to import the file itself recently. Figured you and I could make the inaugural trip."

"I appreciate it," Tron grinned, "does bring back memories."

"Ah ha!" Flynn's eyes crinkled with humor, "you said memories!"

Tron pursed his lips and nodded, "I guess I did. Consider this a successful effort then, in trying to make me say User styled words."

"Of course I'm considering it. It took you long enough, old buddy," Flynn reached over and hit him on the shoulder good-naturedly before leaning back and sighing loudly, looking around him. "Just wish Clu could be like you sometimes…"

Tron stayed silent, knowing Flynn would continue when he wanted to. It had been a while since he and Flynn just talked, but he still remembered the User's peculiarities in terms of conversations.

"Tell me Tron," Flynn suddenly leaned forward, a more serious expression on his face, "do you really believe that Clu had something to do with the poisoning of the Sea?"

"It was in his headquarters," Tron replied, "and while some may consider it indisputable proof, it is not entirely concrete. There could be discrepancies in the fact that someone could have planted the information there or it could be Clu really poisoning the Sea of Simulation."

"You seemed to believe it," Flynn stared at him.

Tron opened his mouth to protest Flynn's words an automatic reaction to try to protect his friend from the truth, even though it was painful. It was the only time he had ever gone against the command lines that Alan-One had programmed within him, to always tell the truth, no matter how much it hurt. But closed it again and considered Flynn's words. He could not scan Flynn like he could any other program, even the Isos or gridbugs. At least his scans told him that they were shielded. To him, Flynn came back with a complete and utter error message, an anomaly within the system.

So he had to rely on Flynn's words, demeanor, everything he had learned and observed about his friend. He frowned for a moment before deciding that Flynn needed to know the truth. "I believe he deliberately poisoned the Sea of Simulation."

"Even with what you said just before about not having concrete proof?"

"Hey may not be directly involved, but the Guards report directly to him," Tron replied, "and someone is changing the Guards' programming to commit acts such as these."

"Maybe it could be the presence of a virus within the system? One caused by the gridbugs?" Flynn pointed out.

Tron had not considered that possibility and nodded once, "I'll run a scan of the whole system when I return."

"Thanks," his friend replied, "but like you said, we can't discount the fact that Clu may be doing a few things that I didn't realize were part of his view of perfection."

"I believe in his eyes, it is the only way to achieve harmony in The Grid itself," Tron could see that Flynn was conflicted with what had happened, but made no move to defend Clu. In fact, he wanted to do the opposite, but knew that Flynn considered Clu like a son. And like Alan-One had defended him, Flynn would do the same to Clu.

"I guess I have a lot to teach him still," Flynn laughed, a sarcastic tinge to the sound, "he reminds me so much of Sam."

"Sam?" Tron asked, "is that the baby's name?"

"Baby?" Flynn looked at him, surprised, "dude, not a baby anymore! Sam's growing up…fast." For a moment his friend looked wistful before shaking his head and his infectious grin returned, "Tron, I wish you could see him. He's already six, nearly seven-years-old!"

It had taken a long time for Tron to understand the concept of aging, the difference between a young child, as Flynn liked to call small Users, and an adult, which was what his friend was. But he had noticed that between the times Flynn had arrived on The Grid, there was a slight difference in his features. For programs like him and the others on The Grid, there was no aging. Sure they were subjected to upgrades and the like, so perhaps that was a form of aging, but as far as Tron knew, programs' features never changed.

"Perhaps the next time," Tron would really like to see Flynn's real world son, this little Sam that made his friend look so happy when he talked about him.

"Yeah," Flynn looked out at the scenery before them as the sailer continued on its course, "maybe next time. I want to first make this the perfect place though."

"Then I look forward to meeting him," was the only thing Tron could say without voicing his own processes on how he thought Clu, Flynn's other "son" was utterly destroying the paradise and peaceful place The Grid used to be.

They sat in companionable silence for the rest of the way until the clouds parted enough through a rocky canyon for him to see the platform housing the portal's light. He stood up and stared in wonderment at the sight before him.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, the portal's pulsating light even more glorious than the I/O port he had used to communicate with Alan-One back in the old system.

"Yep," Flynn had also stood up, stretching his limbs before clapping a hand on his shoulder, "always gets to me each time."

The solar sailer slowed down and docked against the platform. Tron stood where he was, even though he could go with Flynn to the portal, he knew that as a program he should not approach the portal. He knew his place in the system and had no desire to even visit the real world that Flynn and the Users lived in. He was content with his world, able to help mould it into a paradise of his own.

"Hey, buddy, I don't know when I'll be back, but in the mean time, can you, you know, look into the codes and see if someone else is giving the Guards any new commands?" Flynn looked at him and Tron nodded.

"I will," he promised.

"I know Clu's probably over extending himself, that's probably why he's been so testy lately. He has too much to think about and make sure that The Grid's running smoothly. I finished upgrading the system so it should be stable for now and hold the Isos' code along with any others if they come from the Sea for now…" Flynn glanced back towards the direction where they had passed over the Sea of Simulation, but just as quickly turned back and released him.

"I've also programmed the sailer to take you back to the origin point so you don't have to worry about overriding its commands or whatnot," as soon as Flynn stepped off of the sailer and onto the platform, the sailer itself started to move slowly away. "See you next time Tron!"

"You too, old friend," Tron raised a hand in a farewell as Flynn waved his before turning and jogged towards the portal. Tron watched as he approached the luminescent beam of light and with a flaring burst that traveled up the column, he knew that the Creator had returned to his own world.

Tron turned back to the front as the sailer made its journey back to the heart of The Grid. Flynn still believed that Clu was somewhat infallible and while Tron was reluctant to point out otherwise, it was still his duty to make sure that the safety and peace of The Grid itself was ensured. He would look into what Flynn wanted of him, but if he found anything to the contrary, anything that pointed to Clu as the instigator of what had happened at the Sea and other things occurring, Tron knew that he would not hesitate to do his job.

He would protect Flynn from his own creation and if that meant eventually derezzing Clu, he would do so without hesitation. He would not allow Clu to become like the MCP.

Author's Notes:

Consider this the calm before the storm. 'Nuff said.