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:
Arrival
Command Line: Activate Rinzler.
Command Receipt: Awaiting command.
Command Line: Games, Disc Wars.
Command Receipt: Understood. Protocol query.
Command Line: Derezzing of all losers. No change.
Command Receipt: Understood. Black Guards at optimal capacity.
Command Line: Your sarcasm is not welcomed, Rinzler.
Command Receipt: [unintelligible electronic feedback]
He fought, that was what he was good at. That was what he was created for. He ignored the random feedback and error messages he received from some of his runtimes and command lines. It was of no consequence to him. Nothing mattered except for the commands he received from Clu and defeating the opposition.
Scan Query: Error 404. Unable to scan. Suggest intimidation.
Command Protocol: Amateur program, attempted escape from Games.
Command Protocol: Gravity fluctuations resulted in strike against program. No data chips fallen.
Scan Query: Error 404. Possible upgrade needed to scanners.
Command Protocol: Trapped. Deresolution imminent-
He looked towards the wound given in the short fight and saw the red liquid drop to the ground, the program pinned underneath his discs grimacing in pain.
Scan Query: Blood.
Identification Protocol: User.
Search Query: User.
Search Return: Unable to complete query. Error. Error. Error. Error.
"User…" Rinzler resisted the urge to shake his head against the constant droning of the error messages and misfires of processes that his search query had gotten through his own command lines and processes. He hated when that happened and it only served to increase his anger at his own dysfunction. Clu had created him to be a fighter, and yet here he was misfiring on just the simplest of commands.
However, he could not help but shake the feeling that he knew what a User was. A new type of program?
Search Query: User, Clu, display results.
Search Return: False deity who enslaved The Grid. Any claiming allegiance with Users brought to Clu before placement in Games.
Rinzler hauled the program up roughly to his feet, spinning him so that he faced Clu's command carrier. Protocols demanded that Clu examine this…User.
Audio Scanner: Approval drop in Games-
Command Protocol: Approval drop noted, ignore.
"What's your name, program?" Jarvis' sycophantic voice boomed across the mostly silent Arena.
"I'm not a program," the voice was exhausted, but strong, "my name is Sam Flynn."
Command Protocol: ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERR-
Visual Protocol: Static.
"It's time I leveled with you. I'm what you guys call a User," Flynn's infectious grin was plastered all over his face as he-
Command Protocol: ERROR! ERROR!
Visual Protocol: Static.
"Baby?" Flynn looked at him, surprised, "dude, not a baby anymore! Sam's growing up…fast."
Command Protocol: ERROR! ERROR! Override. Flynn. Sam. Sam Flynn…
Command Line: -nzler! Rinzler! Report!
Command Receipt: Process interrupted, reporting as requested.
Command Line: I already told you; escort the User up to my carrier.
Command Receipt: Understood.
Author's Notes:
A little change in perspective since it is after all, Rinzler we are dealing with and not Tron. It's not going to be like this for the last three chapters. It was hard enough to write this chapter properly and put everything into context. In the movie, the things happen fast visually through that scene. So I tried to put in perspective Rinzler's processes and queries as fast as possible while he's in the middle of this battle. Hope that kind of clears up any confusion.
Musical cue is supposed to invoke a sense of hope from Sam's arrival into The Grid and Rinzler's first crack that he's not exactly who he was made to be.