Rebirth

The Xilacycles would all soon pass. The shambles of the city that they had returned to would once again flourish into lights and glory. The first few Hilocycles were filled with cycles of no rest, little energy and no places to call home.

But they had made it that far, and if it meant they would have to carry on, whether there was an Admin or a User or not, then so be it. They would carry on. Besides, as time passed, their two Monitors proved themselves worthy of their positions. They would have many brushes with death, but they would live beyond it. They always do.

And now, on this cycle, everyone waited. It was with a baited silence, as Beck looked out the window to the crowd below.

"You don't have to wait here with me, you know." He said finally, and turned away from the window.

Anon shrugged and leaned back in his chair, [You seem nervous]

"I've been nervous before. It's nothing to worry about."

[This is a different kind of nervous and you know it]

He sighed, "Maybe you're right. I don't know…" He sat down next to Anon, "But the Grid needs you more than I do."

Anon shook his head and put a hand on Beck's shoulder, [I think all of the Grid is waiting the same thing you and I are.]

"Beck?"

The Monitor looked up at his name and the medic entered the room. She nodded, "You can come in now."

He stood, and noticed he was trembling. He looked back to Anon, who nodded, before taking a deep breath and entering.

Yori and Paige were within. Yori rested in a chair and Paige in the bed, her eyes closed. Yet as he approached, they fluttered open, and Yori looked up to him and smiled.

"How are you doing?" He whispered, gently taking Paige's hand.

Paige didn't answer, so Yori did.

"She did well. She is exhausted by now, I'm sure."

Gently, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She gave a small smile, her eyes closing again.

The door opened again and Beck turned at sound. A medic approached him, and Yori did as well. The medic held the bundle out as an offer. He hesitated, having reached out but withdrawn. Yori put a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry. You won't drop her."

Her….

Gently, he nodded, and took the young child into his arms. He held her close, and she turned into him in her rest.

Did Tron feel like this when I was born? If so, what an incredible feeling…

Yori's arm squeeze brought him back to the present. He blinked and pulled the baby girl closer to him, making Yori chuckle slightly.

"I see she's got you wrapped around her finger. I was just going to ask if you wanted to show her to the programs waiting outside."

He thought about it, then nodded. Yori led him to the window and opened to where he could be seen easily.

"You remember the name you and Paige decided on?"

He looked back to Yori and nodded, before looking back to the young girl.

She was it. She was the renewal he knew was coming. His own daughter….his own child…his own….

To many, this would be the start of a new program's life. But, if you looked close enough into her eyes and watched as she would grow, you wouldn't say quite that she was born. No, perhaps you would say she was a program's rebirth, the continuation of a legacy that she would hear throughout her whole life; her father's father had her eyes, they will say. That and more.

And if Beck could see this now, it was not the forefront of his mind. Rather quite the opposite. For at that moment, he looked up to the crowd.

"Ava." He said, gesturing holding her out, "Her name is Ava."

End