Chapter 24
As the Battles intensified and raged throughout the city, the forces of the Disciples began to withdraw. It was soon becoming apparent among their ranks that leadership was nowhere to be found. The First Chief was gone too. With no strategy to rely upon, the guards instead fell back onto defensive measures. The bulk of their security, collected to the Central Command Tower established in the far northeastern corner of Master City. Light Tanks secured the main gate. Guards patrolled the perimeter keeping watch over the primary lift. Recognizers orbited the tower in the dreary sky. The guards taking post at the gate watched from nearly thirty feet away as flashes of light both red and blue clashed against each other. the air was filled with the constant pound of the light tanks' cannons, holding down a line and keeping any invaders at bay. From a far, a collection of blue lights suddenly came closer and closer. A guard paused its patrol, watching intently as the lights closed in. Before the guard could process what it saw, it was too late. The pack of lightcycles zipped down the black street and pounced above the line of tanks. Sage, mounted on the head cycle threw down a device the size and shape of a hockey puck. The grenade latched onto the top of the tank with a metallic clang. Before the charge had blown, the lightcycles had cleared the tanks. One by one, the four tanks were swallowed by eruptions of light. Sage dismounted his cycle in midair, allowing it to fold back away into his baton, which he then activated as a staff. He twirled in the air and crashed down on the courtyard of the Central Control tower. Two guards derezzed from the blows as the other three programs with blue circuitry landed. Two at a time, guards were dropped by the blows dealt from the revolting programs. Sage dodged a soaring disc before whipping his body around and launching his own disc at the guards posted at the foot of the main lift. The guard deflected the attack, with its own. With a defying growl, it zeroed in on Sage. Through the haze of the battle, Sage noted the different appearance of the guard. A single orange bar of glowing circuitry ran down the right side of their armor. Sage recognized them as Nexor's personal taskforce, far deadlier than the average guards. The guard to the right backed away onto the lift while the guard to the left did the same. By a wave of his hand over the control terminal, the lift's exterior circuitry flashed as the platform parted from the courtyard. The middle guard tossed his disc at Sage before leaping and flipping backwards. Sage deflected the guard's disc, narrowing his gaze as the guard retrieved his disc before landing on the ascending lift.
"Grapples!" Sage shouted. He retracted the ends of his baton before aiming the end at the rapidly ascending platform. He fired the grapple and watched as his own and three other glowing cables soared upward. He felt the vibration carry through the cable as the end latched to the bottom. Immediately, the four programs were carried off their feet. Sage thumbed a control on his baton which reeled them toward the platform. Once he had only five feet of cable left, Sage shifted his weight and swung out from under the platform and flipped onto his feet, his disc out and ready as he landed on his feet. On his right, Tyree too landed on the platform with his baton and disc in hand and blazing threateningly. One of the other programs landed between them, obviously shocked by the rush of action. Sage engaged the guard to the left, lunging with his disc in hand. Tyree, spun round, closing the distance between he and the other guard with his staff. The guard was quick, easily dodging each of Sage's jabs and punches. The guard kicked Sage back into rail of the platform, using the distance and time bought to draw out his twin wrist blades. The guard growled before lunging both blades first. Sage leapt in the air just in time, launching over the guard who tumbled over the edge of the platform. Sage then tossed his disc which derezzed the guard to his left. The other program sheltered his face as the guard's crystaline bits showered over him. Tyree utilized a distracting technique with his staff, disorienting his guard before sweeping its legs out from under him. The guard tumbled as his legs derezzed out from under him. As the lift closed in on the entry slot at the top, the guard collapsed to his knees and received a sweep at the neck. Sage caught in the corner of his eye, a blur of orange rising from behind the lift platform. Sage leapt in the air and spun, releasing a charged disc which struck the airborne guard dead center before he could react. Sage landed in place and retrieved his disc just in just enough time. The platform slowed down to a stop as the hatch above them opened to allow the lift entry inside.
"We're missing someone!" Tyree bellowed. Sage's eyes widened before he darted to the edge of the platform. Quickly he fired his grapple at the deck of the platform and leapt over the edge. Still hanging onto his baton, their fourth companion held on tight. Sage in mid momentum swung towards the program.
"Jump!" Sage shouted. The program hesitated before shifting his weight and releasing. Just as Sage began to swing back, the program threw himself towards Sage. Sage stretched as far as he could, locking wrists with the program just as they were carried by the upswing. Sage swung the program from under him out and over the edge of the platform, allowing the momentum to carry both he and the program as he let go. Sage stayed as low as he could to squeeze through the last few feet of clearance. Both he and the program tumbled on the deck, landing in a kneel just as the lift platform was swallowed by the entry. Tyree and the assisting program had readied themselves, launching their discs as soon as the guards came in sight. The tower's lobby was just as bleak as the rest of Master City had been, dark with black walls, lit only by the edgings of orange lights. In the center of the open space was a reception terminal ring manned by another program. Upon seeing the Defenders emerge from the lift, the program ducked behind her terminal. After quickly subduing the guards inside, Tyree vaulted over the terminal, leveling his disc at the frantic program's throat.
"The Central Hub, where is it?" the Defender demanded. The program was hysterical by his intimidating commands, breathing with difficulty and unable to deliver her words straight. Sage watched with a look of distaste, she was no more loyal to the Disciples than he was, just simply an assigned program in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"T-terminal, u-up-upload," she struggled to say. Tyree released as Sage immediately placed his disc on the top of the flat, glossy terminal. The terminal pulsed with a blue glow as a visual projection hovered above the center of his disc. Sage took no time at all navigating the inner systems of the installation. Before long, the entire schematic layout was uploaded to his disc. With a grin, Sage retrieved the disc and motioned for the rest to follow as he took off down the left side door which would carry them to the west corridor. With his disc secured on his back, all the information uploaded to it was instantly processed in his brain. He lead them down various turns, speeding through the dismal, dark maze of the tower. Like a projection before his very eyes, the entire layout of the tower was seen perfectly in his mind. Suddenly, the black of the walls flashed violently with a bright red flashing light. A single toned alarm blared through the halls. Sage hesitated for only a millisecond.
"Jump!" he shouted as he dove forward as far as he could. Behind him, he heard the digitized wail of a program shatter away as he dissipated into hundreds of crystalline bits. Just behind him, only two feet away from where he stood, a blazing orange wall of pure energy cut the hall apart. Sage jumped back to his feet. On both ends of the barrier laid piles of the remains of the program. At the far end of the hall, a door opened and five guards surged down with their discs and batons primed. Tyree stood ready against the barrier.
"Go, we'll keep them off you!" he said while looking back at Sage. Sage nodded briskly before taking off down the hall again, making his way around the corner to an awaiting elevator shaft. Sage primed his disc, using the razor sharp edge to cut through the hatch. With two crossing slashes, he kicked the center point in, creating an entry. He stepped inside the shaft to find the car of the elevator two floors below. Sage winced at the minimal amount of time available should the elevator be activated, but he couldn't think of that now. With his baton in hand, Sage fired his grapple once again. The glowing cable launch high up the shaft, dimly lighting the dark interior. The cable reeled in, launching him up the shaft. In mere seconds, he reached the very top of the central lift. Still hanging from the single foot of slack of the cable, he reached to his belt and primed a charge. He underhanded the puck-like object and waited to hear the metallic clank. Having minimized the concentration of the blast, the splash of light shattered the hatch and left him unscathed. He tossed his weight sending him through the opening. Baton still in hand he activated the backhand extension, as he crashed into a roll on the glossy, black floor. Before him, two guards jumped at his arrival. The stepped forward, securing the entry to the lift across from the elevator, the very lift Sage had to get too. Moving extremely fast, he spun round and round to evade the guards' attacks. he swung his baton about as he spun and ducked out of the direction of a disc armed punch. His baton sliced straight through the gut of the first guard while the other reeled back for a better attack. Sage on the other hand was too quick, one of the fastest programs on the Grid. He spun about to face the guard as he chucked the baton which planted straight through the mask of the guard's helmet. The guard went rigid as his red circuitry flickered out before shattering into derezzolution. With the lift unsecured, Sage easily swiped his hand over the panel to open the transparent doors. He slid inside, impatient as the doors eased closed. The open feeling of the transparent lift suddenly closed away to darkness, teased with a red glow as the it was swallowed into the shaft above. The short climb was over before it began, and the distinct hum of energy and machinery thrummed through the transparent doors of the hatch. Sage's mind immediately snapped to the memory of the portal in the heart of the Temple of Flynn upon seeing the Central Hub. The structure within the large dome consisted of a large bridge and walkway which ringed the about the dome. In the center was a grand pillar of pure, raw energy, blazing red and malicious just as the programs sporting the color. Below surging from large turbine like processors was a complex web of the energy, sending it throughout the entire city directed from that single pillar. At the foot of the ring where it branched off to the entry bridge, was a terminal. which regulated the flow of the power according to the will of the administrators. This was the source of the persecution of the programs, the Disciples' tool of controlling the Grid. Never again, it ended now. This would be a victory that would ensure the end. Sage removed the disc given to him by Dep, having forgotten the true weight of the disc of Flynn. He approached the terminal, taking slow calming breaths as the anticipation crept up on him. With a wave over the display, a transparent barrier flickered away from around the pillar of energy. Without the constriction of the protective barrier, its true power massed. It nearly expanded licking against the edges of the bridge. He had to admit, though he had faith in its purpose, what he had to do next truly scared him. Grasping the weighted disc tightly in both hands, Sage took one last deep breath. With heavy steps, he staggered to the pillar then without thinking twice, shoved the disc horizontally into the midst of the large beam. The surging energy nearly ripped the disc from his fingers, which to his surprise, felt no different than outside the beam. The sheer flare of light was difficult for him to look at. Soon, the light became bearable. He noticed the beam also begin to constrict as it fit through the hollow center of the disc. Suddenly, the disc emitted a magnificent aura of bright white light. The emission expanded, swallowing the pillar of red energy. The brightness was again too much for Sage to handle, causing him to turn away again. The light continued to expand until the entire dome was completely filled. Again, the flare of white light eased to a bearable exposure. A smile crept on his face. The pillar of energy was now a pure light of white, surging and spreading to the turbine processors below. Sage couldn't begin to explain the majesty and purity of the flow of brightness. It was just as the older programs had described. Sage wasn't purposed until a cycle after the Disciples' takeover. A sudden thought struck him, causing him to shake away the splendor of the view. Sage traveled back down the lift to the floor below to the elevator shaft. He dived down the shaft headfirst, finally reaching out to grab hold at the desired floor. He tossed another grenade which blew the door clean open, allowing him to pull himself up and down the hall. With the schematics still fresh in mind, Sage navigated through the now bright halls of the Central Control Tower still in absolute wonder. The closest to the glory days of the Grid he'd ever seen were the dilapidated ruins of ancient Tron City in the confines of the midst of Master City. Sage ran till came across a window spanning the entire wall. The Defender placed the end of his baton on the clouded transparent surface. He triggered the extension then sheltered his face from the shower of thousands of bits from the shattered window. Sage brought his arm away from his face and approached the shattered hole in the wall. He felt the sudden flow of the cool breeze as the storm ridden sky rampaged above. The battle above however was inconsequential compared to the struggle on the streets. Far below on through the haze at the feet of the towers, the flashes of battle subsided as all over the city, the orange and red burn of Master City flickered away. Like flashes of lightning across the sky, the City's lights flared involuntarily. Suddenly like a wave, the red lights flushed away to the pure glow of white. Sage gazed over the cityscape and watched the change spread far into the distance from one edge of the city to the other. Sage smiled at the awesome view. Suddenly, the air grew thick and loud as a roar louder than the thunder above rumbled from the streets. The programs shouted and cheered with a joy which glowed greater than the Grid. Pride swelled in the Defender, the end was near and hope was high. Sage leapt from the floor, falling freely through the air. With his baton still in hand, he broke the two ends and allowed his light jet to materialize around him. His helmet materialized from his collar, closing around his entire face. Sage straddled the seat and leaned forward, speeding his descent to the street. He pulled out of the dive and soared over the city, passing over the wall surrounding the Central Command tower. As he flew over the battle, his thoughts immediately focused on his companions. Tyree and the other program was still holed up inside the tower. Sage's gaze then spotted Dep. Down below on the open streets, Dep singlehandedly engaged guard after guard. showers of orange crystalline bits erupted around him as he spun and ducked. Sage terminated his light jet, dropping from fifteen feet away as the jet dematerialized around him. With his baton ready he activated both extensions, slamming down an approaching program. Dep took little notice as he punched down a guard with his disc.
"Well done," Dep said as he dodged another blow. Sage took place behind him, and joined in the engagement. Their movements were seamless, as the two Defenders held off the quickly diminishing forces of the Disciples. A rumble carried through the air as the glide treads of a black, sleek, orange circuited tank drove through the rubble of the streets. The Defender watched as the top half of the tank rotated, directing its main cannon directly at them. Dep registered its presence but Sage was preoccupied. It felt as if time had slowed down as it happened. An orange flash erupted from the end of the long barrel. Dep turned around and seized Sage by his shoulders. He then heaved the bewildered Sage as far as he could. As he crashed into a nearby wall, he felt dazed and confused, disoriented from the crash. Even through hazy eyes, he saw it happen. Dep was swallowed by the blast of light. Sage growled in anger as the blast faded away and nothing stood in its wake.