Chapter 7

His eyes flew open as he felt himself come to. The room he was in was dark but unlike any he had ever seen. It was beyond clean; a large contrast from the grime and dust of some buildings found in the lower class levels of the real world. Aaron found himself lying down on a bed off in the corner. The room was quaint and had very little inside. Around the perimeter, an illuminating glow came from the lights. Immediately, Aaron felt control over his limbs flow back to him. He swung his legs over the bed and stood up. He still had on his jeans and leather jacket and his backpack was still slung on his shoulders. As he approached the door, it slid out of his way, revealing a large empty hallway. Doors went down on each side, both ways by ten. At the far end of the wall was another door. Aaron strode down to it. As he stepped through, he was amazed by the sheer brilliance that was the Grid. The dark stormy sky flashed above as the lights from the tall structures around the black street. Other pedestrians around him were also different too. Their skin was all pale and they wore dark clothing that wasn't a far cry from robes; they were programs. Aaron pulled the hood of his under jacket over his head as he attempted to blend in. As he followed the flow of the programs, he discretely examined around him. He remembered what Sage had said to him before he was digitized, about someone waiting for him. He wasn't sure how or where; but he couldn't help the feeling he was under observation. Aaron was about to turn a corner when suddenly he was grabbed by the shoulder. He jumped and turned to see who it was. A program, bald and so pale he almost glowed green, grinned up at him. His long black trench coat and orange circuitry was an outfit Aaron had never before seen the likes of.

"Lost aren't you?" he asked with a sinister grin. His voice was like a strained whisper.

"No, hands off," Aaron insisted. Suddenly another program snaked his way to Aaron's other side and grabbed his shoulder.

"Oh come now, we're only trying to help," he said. "It's quite easy to get lost here in Master City." The two programs forced Aaron into an alley between two large structures. They then shoved him into the wall and held him there. Aaron suddenly realized what a great mistake he had made. According to this program he wasn't even on the Grid. Never before had he heard of Master City. Kevin Flynn's creation had been dubbed as Tron City.

"Now our assistance doesn't come cheap," the first said as he extended his hand, greedily twitching his fingers. Two other programs joined from the other side and grouped around Aaron. "Give us your credits and then we can move on with our lives," he hissed.

"Don't have any," Aaron gritted his teeth and tried to pry off the wall but was shoved hard by the two programs.

"Well that's too bad," the first said. He reached behind him and extracted a disc object. With just his touch, the edge glowed and sizzled. The program held the disc up to Aaron's face. "Now we're gonna have to slice you up and search what's left." Aaron had had enough, laying low was obviously not an option anymore. Aaron shoved the program's disked hand out of his face with his arm then used the same arm to punch the face of the other program holding him down. Now with complete freedom, he directed his next attack at the other two programs. One of them pulled out a rod about a foot long which suddenly extended with an emitting glow. The program swung his baton up to hit Aaron, but the police trained fighter blocked the attack with his arm and followed through with an abrupt kick. The first program came at him again, leading his attack with his ignited disc. Aaron jumped back to miss the impact but the program swung both ways. As the disc came back down, the edge nicked Aaron's thigh. Maroon blood squirted from the wound as Aaron growled in pain. Aaron backed away again, the program's harsh expression dropped to utter shock. His breathing grew ragged as his eyes grew.

"A…a user," the program's face scrunched into an ugly hate as he swung his arm wildly at Aaron. Aaron dodged the attack and grabbed the programs arm. With a forceful snap, the program's arm shattered off and the body spilled into red bits of deresolution. Suddenly, a disc flew past Aaron's head in a blur. Aaron dodged out of instinct. He spun around to see the form of the other two programs derez as well. Red bits spilled on the ground as Aaron stood straight. He looked up and followed the disc as it returned to its owner, perched on the roof of the building above. The dark figure took no hesitation and jumped off the roof, landing in a crouch with ease before the user. Aaron didn't know what to say. The figure in front of him wore a similar outfit as the three thugs Aaron had encountered; save that this being sported blue circuitry. Next thing Aaron knew, the program lunged at him, catching him off guard, pinning him to the wall of the building. From beneath a hood, the program growled at him.

"You came here with someone, what's his name?" he asked with the disc under Aaron's chin.

"Sage," Aaron answered while gritting his teeth. There was no more hesitation; the program stood up straight and removed his lethal disc. The edge returned to its dormant state as the program reached back to store it away.

"I'm sorry, I had to check," he said. The program lowered his hood as Aaron did.

"Its fine, I'd do the same thing," Aaron replied. He looked into the program's face with surprise as he noticed the scar streak down his cheek.

"I'm Bril by the way," the program added with a slight bow.

"Aaron, Flynn," he added in hesitation. The program Bril's breathing shuddered slightly.

"An honor," Bril gasped. He reached down and retrieved the disc of the derezzed thug. "Take this," he demanded as he held it out for Aaron. "They attacked you because you were an easy target; unarmed."

"They obviously don't know me," Aaron smirked. He hefted the disc in his hand. Never before had he even held one, but it seemed so right to him. Suddenly a rowdy hum buzzed in the air above.

"Get back!" Bril growled. He lunged forward and pinned Aaron against the wall. "Head down," he added. Aaron did as he was told. As the rumbling hum grew louder, an arch like figure flew by overhead. From the figure, a spotlight darted through the city. As the vehicle flew away, Bril released Aaron.

"Recognizers," he said with despise. "They know you're here. Come this way, we have to get to the hideout." Bril took off into the street and raised his hood over his bald head again. Aaron too raised his and followed close behind the program.

"Who's they?" Aaron inquired as they strode through the city.

"The Disciples. Now that they know you're here, they'll rip the Grid apart trying to find you." Bril darted his eyes back and forth as he cautiously continued down the road.

"How's that?" Aaron pushed on. Bril patiently pointed into the sky. A bright glow illuminated from behind the clouds far in the east.

"The portal, It remains open for a mili-cycle after someone has arrived."

"Oh," Aaron mumbled. At the mention of the portal, Aaron recognized it immediately from when he read the record of Kevin Flynn. The portal was the cause of great strife from within the Grid; yet he couldn't help but stare in awe at its majesty. Suddenly worry struck him as a terrible thought occurred. "That only stays open for a mili-cycle."

"Open yes; locked no," Bril said simply. "Your ancestor changed that," he added.

"So then I'm not mistaken," Aaron reasoned out loud. "This is Tron City." Bril scoffed in agitation.

"No my friend, this used to be Tron City." Suddenly from further up the street, four light cycles zipped by. The sleek bikes glowed as they glided. "Keep your head down," the program whispered. As the bikes went by, Aaron saw the riders wearing militarized light suits with orange circuitry. From the descriptions of Kevin Flynn's stories, he recognized this appearance as the enemy. Without warning, the four bikes screeched, throwing up sparks on the black street as they grinded into a turn. Bril glanced back then bolted off into the next alley. Aaron followed his lead, and stormed down the narrow gap. Bril jumped without thought and kicked off the right wall. With his other foot, he followed through to kick up again till he could reach the edge. Bril pulled himself over onto the roof. Aaron snorted at the insane display. Then from behind him, three of the guards emerged. Aaron took off in a run again, charging down the alley. He turned the corner just in time to avoid a sinisterly humming disc. The weapon planted into the wall behind him. He continued his sprint through the alley. From behind, two guards chased with ease. He needed some way to alter his course. Aaron found a skywalk, spanning from building to building. Aaron leapt with all his might and with great ease, reached the lip of the walkway. Aaron with the boost of his momentum threw himself over the railing. He ran down the walkway till he reached the end. The stairs at the end led up to the roof. Aaron dashed up the stairs, skipping two with each stride. He finally reached the roof; in the distance, he could spot Bril. He took off again, careful for any unexpected drop-off. What amazed him was how much easier all of this physical assertion was for him. He felt he could keep running at the same pace for miles. His eyes finally caught a ledge closing in as he accelerated. This time, he didn't allow himself to think. He continued forward without stopping and pushed off the ledge with his legs, propelling him over the gap. With a roll, he crashed onto the roof of the next door building. He felt very little pain from the collision with the hard surface. As he eased himself back to a crouch, one of the guards launched up in front of him, disc ignited, intending to slice down his prey. Aaron rolled to the right as the disc swung and made no contact. He gathered himself back into control and stood in a low fighting stance. Suddenly, by a stray thought, he ignited the disc in his hand. Aaron risked a glance to see the razor-edge glow and sizzle. He was unsure on just how to use the weapon, an expression shown through the worry on his face. The guard lunged at him with a low, fast fist. Aaron used the disc to shield the blow. He then thrust his elbow into the guard's helmeted face. The militarized program keeled back slightly by the blow, but rebounded with a slice to the neck. Aaron threw his weight backwards to avoid the attack. With a quick maneuver of his arm, Aaron used his disc to slice the extended arm of the guard. The arm shattered as it derezzed into tiny bits, dropping the disc. The guard groaned with a digitized gurgle as he stumbled back. Aaron hesitated only slightly, before finishing the guard off with a quick jab of the disc into the programs abdomen. The rest derezzed, leaving Aaron alone, standing in a pile of glowing bits. As he admired the weapon grasped in his clutch, Bril came running to him from his left. Aaron hadn't noticed the rumble of a Recognizer, flying through the dark misty sky, straight at him.

"Flynn down!" the program shouted as his disc's glow intensified in his grip. He cocked his arm back and threw it with great force at the intercepting Recognizer. Aaron watched as the weapon hit the craft at the shoulder of the arch. With a thundering boom, the impact shuddered the atmosphere and the explosion appeared as a splash of white light. With a screeching moan, the Recognizer toppled in the air before splashing into the building with great force, causing the air around it to reverberate shockwaves. Aaron ducked from the explosion and waited till Bril approach, disc already obediently in hand. Speechless, Aaron rose to his feet as Bril motioned with his hand. "Let's go we got to get off the roof and to our supplier." Bril tapped Aaron on the shoulder before passing him and trotting to the edge of the roof.