Happy Tron Tuesday! Glad I'm not dead! XD Because my older brother drives to school, he's giving me a lift too. I just learned firsthand that he's quite the reckless driver as well. :( Not the best way to start the school year.
But since I'm still in good condition, I'm still posting this chapter! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 7 – ISO War [Ace's Story]

Ace's POV

Ace's circuits were glowing a cool blue. He was all business. If Clu had summoned him, then it was a mission (or a lecture he wouldn't be looking forward to). He was good at missions; Ace knew it, Clu knew it, and Tron knew it.

The other agents knew it…especially Zoe. Ace figured Tron and the others just hardly acknowledged it because they assumed you have to be serious all the time. Or maybe they were jealous that he could have a sense of humor too.

If anyone seemed to truly appreciate it, it would be Clu. It was why the System Administrator asked him to join him in the cause – the right path.

Wow, if he said it out loud, it'd sound like he was brainwashed or something. Ace couldn't help but smirk at the thought; it was ridiculous. But if it wasn't for Clu, Ace would probably be hunted, attacked, no one else would've given him a chance.

And now he stood outside the door leading into Clu's chambers. Always the same thing: Clu standing in the same area, staring out the same window, looking out into the same Grid.

But he always gave different orders to different Programs.

Ace walked into the room and blinked in surprise. Clu wasn't doing his usual thing. He was instead, sitting in a chair, massaging his temples, looking stressed.

If Ace wasn't already in a serious mood, he surely was now. Definitely wasn't a time to crack jokes, let alone smile. Seeing Clu like this wasn't a good sign. At all.

The System Administrator looked up and leaned back, resting his chin in his hand, once again looking somewhat like his usual self. Like Ace, Clu was good at masking emotions.

"Ah, good. Right on time." Clu eyed the Agent. "You seem to already know the drill."

"Yes, sir." Ace said stiffly, awaiting orders.

Clu stood up and started walking to his usual spot at the usual window. "If you haven't already heard from other soldiers," Clu drawled out, "Many ISOs have escaped the invasion in their Districts and scattered elsewhere. So I need someone who's good at tracking, someone who is properly motivated to do the right thing." Clu glanced back at Ace knowingly.

"Sir, I'll be happy to serve." Ace said genuinely. All Clu had to do was direct him and he'd take care of the rest. "You can count on me."

Clu nodded. "I know I can."

…

"Well, look who gets to go out on a special mission while someone else plays as the bodyguard of the benevolent leader?" A voice spoke to Ace from behind.

He stopped walking through the hall and smirked. "We'll both have our chances. Clu knows what we're capable of and will put it to use…unlike some others."

Liz sighed, leaning leisurely against a wall and crossing her arms. "Right then. Well, good luck on that mission. I hope you don't come back until at least a good few HiloCycles so I can take a break from your annoying personality."

Ace laughed. "Come on, admit it. You love me for my beautiful sense of humor."

"You wish."

"Well, I do admit that I have plenty of wishes up in this pretty head of mine." He bragged while dramatically brushing his brown hair with his hand.

Liz couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously, I don't know what to say to that." She remarked with a raised eyebrow.

He waggled his eyebrows. "One point for Ace." He said in third person. "Zero for Lizzie."

Without warning, Liz whipped out a small dagger and threw it. The knife buried itself in the wall behind Ace no more than a few centimeters from his head. The small scream he let out was priceless.

"Get outta here." Liz said, shaking her head with a small smile she couldn't hide.

Ace started striding down the hall. "Bye, Lizzie."

Liz threw another dagger at him, which whizzed by his head. And it may or may not have cut part of his hair. "Don't call me that." Liz said in a bored voice while Ace squealed and covered his hair protectively, running the rest of the way.

Of course at all times he had to act like a newly rezzed Program. Everyone knew it – they just didn't entirely accept it…because they were jealous that they couldn't be as fun as him.

…

He clapped his hands together. "Alrighty, let's see who's coming with." Ace said while looking through the rows of guards.

For this particular mission, he needed a small elite team; something that wouldn't attract too much attention but still strike fear into bystanders while they hunted down any ISO refugees.

Ace quickly started walking between the rows, sending away anyone he didn't feel stood much of a chance at all. With the remaining Programs, he rubbed his chin. After 2 good Micros of thinking, he finally made his decision. "You, you, you, you, you, and you." He pointed to several soldiers scattered in the rows.

All six of them stepped forward and Ace nodded in approval. "Yeah, you guys will be my team. We'll leave in precisely one PectroCycle. No later." He turned on his heel and left.

In his dorm, Ace made sure he was stocked up on enough grenades and batons. Once that was done, he had nothing else to do so he sat down on his bed and waited.

As bored as Ace was at the moment, he wasn't ungrateful. He knew he could've ended up in worse situations if Clu hadn't given him a chance.

"Ace, look out this window and tell me what you see." Clu said to Ace. The Program did as he was told. Ace saw typical Programs walking or riding down the streets to or from work. But that wasn't where most of his attention was.

Ace saw groups of gangs all over the City from the room Clu had summoned him, attacking innocent Programs nearby, getting into fights, setting small buildings and vehicles on fire. And there were riots near the ISO Districts – every single one in sight.

"Chaos." Ace murmured. "I see unregulated behavior and crime. Actions that must be eradicated."

"That's what I think when I'm looking out this window." Clu replied. "Do you know why I called you here?"

Ace shook his head. "No, but I don't have much time before I need to get to the security tower for training. But from what I'm seeing, we're more likely to go out to dispatch the crowds near the ISO Districts and arrest gangs."

Clu exhaled slowly through his nose. "What motivates you to work hard, Ace? What keeps you ambitious?"

Ace was tempted to question the Administrator. Why did he want to know? But Ace knew better than to disrespect one of Flynn's top Programs. "I wish for peace, freedom, and order on the Grid." He answered slowly. "But I also want to be recognized as a good security Program. I want to do what I believe is right."

Clu smiled and nodded, as if the answer made him thoughtful. It most likely did. "Ace, I need to tell you something very important. This may not be something easy for you to believe but I wish for you to hear me out."

Ace inclined his head. "Sir, if it's important, I'll be willing to heed your words indefinitely."

Clu was silent for a few Nanos, the atmosphere around the room becoming tense. The Administrator turned to face the security Program with hard eyes. "Flynn has abandoned us."

Ace blinked in surprise. Of all the things he expected Clu to say, it wasn't that. He thought Clu would mention something about a terrorist threat or that maybe Flynn was brining yet another User to the Grid with him.

Flynn abandoning them? Ace truly did find that difficult to believe. But he said nothing, Clu had yet to elaborate, to explain what he really meant.

"The Creator has indeed been visiting the Grid more often than usual, but he's devoting less time in authorizing me to make decisions necessary to maintain perfection." Clu watched Ace's reaction carefully as he spoke. "He's pampering the ISOs and not seeming to care about order and perfection anymore."

Ace's eyes widened. Of course Flynn was constantly visiting the ISO District but that didn't mean he was abandoning his duties as a User…right?

He had to admit it'd been a while since he'd seen Flynn converse with Clu about what to do about the gangs and Grid bugs. "What about Tron?" Ace asked. "Haven't you spoken to him about this?"

Clu sighed. "Tron's duty is ultimately to the Users. He's blind to what Flynn's planning. I suspect he plans to take the ISOs with him out of the Grid and never return. Tron chooses to remain blind to that possibility, which means most of his security Programs are as well."

"But if Flynn doesn't come back…" Ace trailed off. It would end catastrophically. Clu wouldn't have all the power and permissions to take care of everything himself. Even with Tron helping, it would be in vain. They need a User to help keep things in check. "Is it possible that Flynn isn't thinking straight under all the stress? Or…" Ace hesitated. Asking this the wrong way wouldn't end well. "Could Abraxas have gotten to Flynn?"

Clu blinked and Ace could've sworn he saw a glint of something before it quickly vanished. "I wouldn't know, Ace. But my duty is to the Grid and its Programs. I'm supposed to create the Perfect system." Clu's hands fisted as he looked out the window. "But things keep getting in my way."

Ace followed Clu's gaze. He knew what Clu meant: the ISOs. They weren't organized, they didn't have a purpose, a function…nothing except living. They're just…random.

And Ace knew as well as Clu that random opposed perfection. And knowing that the Creator was close to making a regrettable decision meant they had to do something.

Ace personally met Flynn and held a deep respect towards the User but like Clu, his duty was to the Programs. He was meant to maintain peace and order. But if Flynn abandoned them, chaos would ensue. Everything Ace worked so hard for throughout his life would all be for nothing.

"I feel the only way to liberate the Programs is to create the perfect system." Clu told Ace. "But I can't do this without help."

Ace had been thinking carefully through this whole conversation and he knew what he had to do. He only saw one good option. "Sir, I pledge my allegiance to you on this mission. I will help you accomplish your goal to achieving perfection and order by any means necessary."

Clu turned to face the Security Program fully. "Do you?" He asked. "Do you really?"

Ace saluted the System Administrator. "Yes, sir. What are your orders?"

Not only was Ace given the chance to do the right thing, he was also given the rank of General. Quite impressive, in his opinion. He felt like he did the right thing joining Clu. And Ace was glad Liz did too.

Well, he'd heard that Liz put up a fight at first, refusing to believe anything as such about Tron and Flynn but she eventually accepted it when it started making more and more sense to her. Now, like Ace, she was completely devoted to Clu.

At least the two of them were able to see things clearly. A shame no one else under Tron's command truly saw it though…except Dyson.

Ace had seen Tron's friend quite a lot…when they weren't executing ISOs in the streets. Other than a slightly darker mood and a completely healed face, Dyson didn't change one bit. Like Tron, poor Dyson lacks the ability to loosen up enough to have some fun. His fate is sealed.

The only thing that really changed about Liz was her primary circuit colors – changed from white to orange to show her allegiance to Clu.

Ace never did that with his circuits; mainly because he can't. They change color between red and blue depending on his mood. Besides, it wasn't like Ace had to show his loyalty to the System Administrator through the colors he wore. It was clear he was dedicated to Clu's cause: perfection and order.

…

They'd managed to catch at least a couple hundred ISOs in the last several Cities visited the past cycles. Ace couldn't have felt more proud of ridding the Grid of the imperfection. He knew he was doing the right thing.

Not only was he doing Clu a favor he greatly appreciated, but he was keeping order with the Programs that witnessed the deletion of each and every ISO. Everyone had to know their place.

Ace certainly knew his.

Now their next stop was Beryllium. According to his sources, there was a generous amount of ISO scum hiding amongst the Citizens there. It was also reported that there were many sympathizers populating Beryllium, so caution was advised.

No duh.

It wasn't like Ace was just going to march in like he owned the place and pick random fights with Programs (even though the thought was tempting and Ace knew he could get away with it. But he wasn't here for fun.

He was here because it was his mission; what Clu personally asked him to take care of.

Ace halted his bike on the City's border and held up his hand as a signal for the others to stop as well. "We go on foot from here." He said firmly. "We need to be very thorough with our searches. The ISOs are getting good at hiding and there are many Basics here that are willing to help them. So, as usual, just do as I say and try not to do anything stupid."

He didn't need to tell them anything twice. They were good soldiers – quite skilled in handling combat and/or verbal quarrels. Plus they don't question their orders.

For some reason, when Ace was hunting the ISOs, his circuits turned red. Deleting these anomalies was an important and serious goal, which should turn his colors blue, but he got a thrill out of the experience. He supposed that in a way every order he follows for Clu gave him that feeling.

It was sort of strange. But it didn't feel like anything compared to that strange sixth sense he had. It was like he somehow knew when one was close by and where they were. And he was picking up something now.

Ace stopped walking and turned in the direction that weird tingling sensation felt strongest. He settled his gaze on a particular Program. Glancing down at the sleeve, he narrowed his eyes.

One of the soldiers accompanying him seemed to take the hint and quickly approached the Program; the others followed suit. While the Program was restrained, Ace tore his left sleeve to reveal the glowing mark of a male ISO – a hexagon with an arrow pointing backwards toward the triceps.

The female mark was slightly different. It was a hexagon on the left arm with a T turned 270 degrees next to it closer to the back of the arm.

Ace had grown so familiar with the two symbols that whenever he sees them, he immediately goes into danger mode. He narrowed his eyes at the ISO that looked at him fearfully, face pale and body shaking in the grasp of the soldiers.

Without warning, Ace whipped out his disk and derezzed the ISO. It happened so fast he never got to cry out in pain. In fact, he probably didn't feel a thing; and Ace was okay with that. Even he had his limits; he was never quite able to stomach torture.

Then the wave of nausea hit him. It happened every time he derezzed an ISO. Luckily the guards accompanying him were just Basics so none of them were fazed by the death. They got into routine of covering Ace until he was able to recollect himself.

The downside of the unpleasant feeling was that it never got better or worse. It was there and then it wasn't. Same thing every single darned time.

Ace never figured it meant anything, he just found it annoying; something that constantly got in the way.

When the pain, without warning (as usual) went away, Ace glanced up and grinned deviously. "Well hello, Lieutenant Skipper." He greeted. "Fancy seeing you here."

The hunter merely blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Likewise."

"So…who's your target this time?" Ace asked.

"You."

"Ah, that's nice – wait. What?!" Ace squeaked.

It was the Lieutenant's turn to smirk, to which Ace smirked back. "I'm just kidding. Obviously. I can't believe you believed it. I'm actually looking for Zoe." Well, his smirk was wiped off a second time.

"She still hasn't been caught yet?"

"Nope. I've actually been tracking her for the past few MylaCycles. She's a slippery one."

That sounds like Zoe. Ace thought. "Of course she is. She was Tron's best." As much as he looked up to her as a superior and a good example, respecting her, he was also jealous and a little irritated from her lack of humor. Nonetheless, they were once good friends – no. They were more like friendly-ish allies that still liked to quarrel now and then.

But that was in the past. Ace changed for the better and he was fulfilling his duty to the Grid. He is the example now – except Zoe, nor were the others following it…except Liz.

Skipper let out a humorless laugh. "No kidding." He started walking away, followed by his small squad of soldiers. "Best of luck on your mission." He called over his shoulder.

Usually, Ace would say "you too" but he felt too conflicted for some reason. So he just said "thanks" and moved on by a few steps before he got that light tickle again.

He looked around. It wasn't an ISO but a Special. Whether they were sided with Clu or not was yet to be determined once he found him or her. Maybe he should call Skipper back to deal with it but another part of him said not to. That second part won the mental battle.

A scuffle happened to his right and he saw a few of his soldiers tackled a Program and pin him. "Sir, this Program tried to run." He reported.

Ace knelt down next to the civilian and examined him. He shook his head. "No, he's not one of them." He was released and the Program quickly ran away. "Keep moving, we need to eliminate as many ISO escapees as possible." The soldier all nodded in acknowledgment and moved on.

That prickling sensation caught his attention again and not only that. He was being watched. Looking out at the crowd of Programs, Ace let his eyes settle over a small, dark figure in a black cloak. A female. The cape went down to her mid-thigh and hung loosely over her shoulders, covering part of her neck and chest. The hood was also drawn, casting a dark shadow over her face so she couldn't be seen though Ace saw several strands of blonde hair uncovered.

The figure noticeable tensed – she knew he was watching her. Ace narrowed his eyes. She seemed to lower her head further. Yeah, she definitely didn't want to be recognized.

Glancing at her legs that weren't covered by the cloak, he noticed her circuit design. Primary white merging in and out of a teal and turquoise color combination. There was only one known Program like that.

It was Zoe.

Suddenly, it was like he could see straight through the shadow covering her. He could see her face. It was definitely her.

The look on her face was enough to keep him from calling Lieutenant Skipper over to deal with the runaway Special. It made him even consider overlooking the fact that he saw her.

She was just a mix of so many potent emotions: fright, anger, determination, melancholy. It was just the things to induce shame. Zoe was a former comrade, she used to be superior to him under Tron's command but she still respected him as an equal or sorts.

Zoe was always there to challenge him, not just to keep him in "his place" but to also push his limits, expand his strength and practices. She's one of the reasons he ever got so good in fighting.

In a way, he owed her. Besides, Clu ordered him to eradicate the ISOs, not to hunt the Specials; nor was he ever directly commanded to report it if he ever saw one.

This was his way of repaying her. A chance.

He sighed and shook his head, pretending like he didn't see anything at all, that it was just a false alarm. Ace turned on his heel and walked away, only looking back once to see how she'd respond to that.

Zoe was moving in the opposite direction, clearly avoiding him. Ace managed to suppress a smile. Next time he wouldn't hold back anything but Ace also couldn't help but feel happy for her.

She was still as free as her spirit.

"There's a Special! Get her!" And that's how skilled Skipper's soldiers are. Just as good as their squad leader. Ace had to admit that he was impressed. The fact Zoe was spotted though wasn't Ace's fault, he gave her a chance. Therefore, he was no longer in Zoe's debt.

Somehow though, Ace could resist watching the chase go down. Of course, Skipper's soldiers may have seen her but that didn't mean she'd be captured easily. Turns out he was right. Zoe managed to shake them off and disappear.

Obviously, the agent's skills haven't dulled the tiniest bit.

"Sir, I think we caught one." Ace was shaken from his thoughts. Without a word, he approached the prisoner and checked for the mark. Sure enough, there it was.

He grabbed his disk and derezzed the ISO. "Let's keep moving." Ace said, putting away his disk.

…

"You're the worst System Administrator in the history of System Administrators! I bet you only attacked the ISOs because you were jealous of all the attention Flynn gave them!" The prisoner shouted at Clu. Wow, this Program had guts for sure. Not only was this guy caught for attacking guards on the street, but he had a history of helping ISOs into hiding.

"You have no right to rule the Grid as a Dictator! And if you think everyone's just going to willingly follow you right after committing genocide on one-third of the Grid's population, then you're a fool!" Okay, this sympathizer had a death sentence for sure. No one dared to insult Clu like that. Ace glanced to his left at Liz. Sure enough, he could see her shock through her posture.

Ace glanced at Clu, who didn't look the least bit amused from the Program's words. The System Administrator turned to face the Basic fully. "Anything else you'd like to say?" He sneered.

The cuffed Program kneeling before Clu simply glared and remained silent. Clu stepped closer and circled the prisoner like a predator stalking prey. This wasn't looking so good. "I'll ask you one last time, Program." The Administrator leaned closer so he was in his face. "Where are your ISO friends hiding?"

"Go jump into the Sea of Simulation!" He snarled back.

Ace would be lying if he didn't find those words ironic, seeing that Clu recently poisoned the Sea to stop the ISOs from manifesting. Plus it's not entirely certain if it would be safe for a Program to be in the Sea. But then again, what Program against Clu didn't want him to derez?

Clu smirked and straightened up, his eyes looking at the Basic in cold amusement, doing well to hide the anger and frustration burning underneath. But Ace knew better.

"Dyson, I think this one needs to be better acquainted with you, don't you think?" Oh, Ace knew that look. "Why don't you see if you can…coax anything out of him?"

Dyson smiled. "Of course, sir." He hauled the Basic to his feet and pushed him out of the room.

Ace knew what the General had planned. The ISO sympathizer was going to become very familiar with Dyson…as well as the torture chamber.

He was grateful that he never had to witness anything such as that. If anything, he was squeamish with that stuff. He had his own limits of what he'd commit himself to in Clu's name.

"Tron will find you and knock you into the next MylaCycle! You're going to wish you were never brought into existence!" Ace heard the Basic's insults echo through the hall as he was dragged further away from Clu.

Dyson was for sure going to make sure the rebel pay for what he said to Clu's face. A Program could be severely punished saying less insulting things behind Clu's back but saying that stuff to his face?

Ace would be surprised if he made it through to the next cycle.

If the Program wasn't so bent on opposing Clu, Ace would've felt sorry for him. But he had it coming.

Ace couldn't help but wonder what Zoe would endure if she was brought back here-

Wait what? Ace shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about her. He knew he should be thinking about his next move on how to find a more effective method of wiping out the ISOs.

But for some reason, he couldn't keep Zoe's face out of his head. The image from Beryllium when he could've turned her over. It was like she was trying to tell him something.

He knew that he betrayed her but she was on the wrong side in the conflict…right?

No! Stop it! Ace shook his head. Thinking anything like that was treason. But he had to wonder who was really right in this conflict. Was it really right to kill off the ISOs? The nausea that followed their derezzolution should've tipped him off that it was wrong but it could mean anything other than that.

And did Flynn really think about abandoning them? That couldn't have been right. He worked so hard to build this utopia that he couldn't just leave it all behind, even if he really did intend to leave the Grid with the ISOs.

It was then that Ace realized something. It was never decided if the Specials were going to leave the Grid. The ISOs weren't the only ones being pampered but Flynn never said anything about taking any Specials with.

Ace knew that Flynn wouldn't just abandon them even if he did take the ISOs with him out of the Grid. The Creator would still have something here to come back to.

Clu was wrong. Flynn was just temporarily distracted with other priorities but he would never abandon them. Ever.

The System Administrator sighed, grabbing Ace's attention once again. "You're both dismissed." He said tiredly. "I need to think."

Ace didn't hesitate. He strode right out of the room and didn't look back. Of course, he knew he couldn't just leave that poor Basic here at the base to be tortured, so he figured he'd bust him out too.

He found him strapped down to a table in the dark, cold chamber, marred with some nasty wounds on his face and body. He was also missing a hand now.

Ace derezzed the restraints and hauled up the unconscious prisoner. Now all he had to do was play as the casual guard until he got out of the base.

Seeing that he didn't have any belongings he needed before he left, he just went out to the hangar and outside. He needed to find his old pal, Cutler.

He could trust the Basic to explain himself without getting derezzed by him.

…

"You picked one heck of a time to suddenly switch sides." Cutler said pointedly. "What made you change your mind about Clu?"

Ace chose his words carefully when he spoke. "Clu manipulated me into thinking Flynn would abandon all of us if he had his way with the ISOs. He…tricked me. I just happened to get a fresh perspective from a few individuals."

Cutler considered the answer and seemed satisfied. "I'd believe that." He said. "Unfortunately, not everyone else will." The Basic stood up. "You can't stay here. Even if you appear to be deserting Clu, you won't be so easily forgiven." Glancing at the prisoner Ace busted out, he added, "Clu will also be upset that you committed a crime right before leaving." He shook his head. "You really burned the bridge, Ace."

The Special managed to crack a small smile. "Lately, that's the only thing I've been good at. I know this isn't going to be easy but I'm glad to still have you around, man."

"But I'm still not very happy about your decision making earlier." Cutler shook his head. "That won't be so easily forgotten even by me. I only listened because it was only fair to hear you out. Be glad that I did."

Ace stood up. "I know an apology won't fix up every problem I caused but I'm still going to say it." He sighed. "I'm sorry. And from now on, I'm going to work to redeem myself. Hopefully I can at least regain the trust of some of the friends and allies I've lost."

Cutler shook Ace's hand. "I wish you the best of luck, old friend."

"Yeah," The injured Basic added, followed with a fit of coughing. "Me too. Thanks for busting me out. I think Dyson was only going easy on me that time." He shuddered. "I don't even wanna know what I would've had to face if you didn't help me."

Ace nodded. "You're welcome." He started walking out, "And I hope you get better real soon, because I don't think Clu's letting up anytime soon." Ace managed a small smile to both Basics before he disappeared.

Ace was nervous. He knew he wouldn't be easily forgiven or welcomed back. And to top it off, he'd have to work extra hard in gaining back everyone's trust.

But it was a challenge. Ace liked challenges.

He was ready.

Ace rezzed his lightcycle and drove away without looking back.

Also, very good news, my trial net results came back. No early signs of type 1 diabetes so I'm good with that too. ;)
I should also mention now: since school has started, my homework and projects (there will be a lot of them) may interfere with my writing time. So if I miss posting one week, at least there's an explanation and fair warning for you all.
Up next, we'll find out what's happened with Reni and Avery during the Purge. I'll even later explain what happened to Avery, since he was only mentioned once in the entire series. When I say I intend to tie up loose ends, I'm not kidding around. ;P
Also, a big thank you the guest reviewer: The Chosen One, who seems to be an old friend. Thank you for the flames! XD
And as always, comments, feedback, constructive criticism, and flames for usage purposes are always welcome!
TRON LIVES!