Greetings, Programs! Happy Tron Tuesday, everyone. I just want to say right now that it feels good to post another chapter because that means I'm another Chapter closer to the last two additions I'll make to this "Book" as well as the new series I'll work on. I won't talk anymore about that though...it's a surprise! Anyway, here's chapter nine: Rainbow Bandits (Yes, that's its name). Enjoy!
Chapter 9 – Rainbow Bandits
Ally's POV
Ally closed her bike into a baton and pocketed it. She took a brief moment to admire the faint green glow of the City – it looked fairly welcoming, but Ally recently learned firsthand that looks can be deceiving. She clenched her jaw and pushed the negative thoughts away. She didn't need that now.
She'd came here as a refugee looking for a fresh start. Despite what she'd told Liz and Evelyn before she left, she wasn't planning on contacting them for quite a while from now. She needed time away from this to get her bearings, live a more peaceful life for a while. Then she could start thinking about rejoining the forces against Clu.
She knew she was being selfish, thinking that but her mind and body was too tired to think about that. Alpha walked past the borders and into the City limits. She went through the plans in her head.
Step one: Get a job.
Step two: Find a place to live (long-term)!
Step three: STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!
Ally thought about potential jobs. She could work as part of the police force…but she shot the idea down when she remembered that Clu was taking over the Grid and therefore the security Programs would answer directly to him.
That left her opportunities to either become a medic or a DJ. She thought long and hard about it. Because back in Tron City she'd decided to work with music, she hadn't received full training to work in a hospital. Her best bet was what she was most experienced with, she decided.
"Excuse me," She stopped a random Program in the street, he eyed her suspiciously. Ally ignored his rudeness. "Do you know where the nearest club is?"
"Are you stupid or something?" He asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "It's a few blocks down, then you take a right. You can't miss it." Without another word, he continued on his way.
"Well thanks," She muttered. "Oh, not a problem; I'm so kind and care about others." She said, pretending to be a better version of the guy she'd just spoken to. "Boys." She muttered in distaste. "Why do they always have to be rude, or crybabies, or cocky?!" She kicked a stone that ricocheted off a wall and hit her in the forehead. "Ow!"
She grumbled incoherently and followed the guy's directions. When Ally arrived, she assessed the exterior of the building and decided it was worth looking at. She found that it wasn't too trashy or run-down, which is a big bonus for her if she got the job.
Ally walked over to the bar and cleared her throat. "Is there any way I can speak to the manager?" She asked politely.
The preoccupied bartender turned to face Ally – it was an exceptionally buff lady who held an energy smoke between her teeth while cleaning a glass. She put the cup where it belonged and pulled the energy cigarette out of her mouth and held it casually between her fingers. She blew out a puff of vapor. "You're looking at her." She said in a scratchy, accented voice that made it obvious the Program had smoked over a long period of time. "What can I help you with?"
Ally struggled to speak properly in front of the intimidating woman, which was ridiculous. She'd spent the majority of the other night facing off several squads of black guards in defense of the ISOs. This should be easy! But it wasn't.
She took a deep breath, managing not the choke on the smoke puffed in her direction. "I'm looking for a job." She stated simply, straight to the point.
The bartender and apparent manager took another swig of smoky energy and coughed into her fist for a few nanos. "Programming?" She asked.
"Music." Ally replied. "I'm decent with most genres," She paused. "I only have trouble with the slower music."
The manager cackled. "The first thing you'll learn is there's no romantic music in here." She smirked. "It's supposed to be fast-paced and-" She took another swig of her cigarette, "Energizing."
Ally nodded, to show she was absorbing every bit of information the manager told her. "Yes, ma'am." She said in a way that wasn't sarcastic but not genuine or serious either.
The manager let out another dry and scratchy laugh. "I like you." She inhaled deeply from her cigarette, flicked away the now-drained energy wrap and blew her smoke in Ally's face, who didn't cough. "You start this evening." It wasn't a question, it was an order. She'd gotten the job.
Ally nodded firmly with a small smile and turned to leave when the bartender/manager called out to her. "You're new here, aren't you?" She takes the opportunity to ask now instead of earlier? Nonetheless, Ally nods again. The manager leans onto the counter speaking slow and carefully. "Mind the Crims – they're bad news." She pauses. "And call me Alyss."
With that, Ally strides out of the club and inhales the fresh air deeply. While getting the smoke out of her system, she thought about what Alyss said. Crims? As in Criminals? What the heck was she talking about? She rolled her eyes from the cryptic warning the club manager gave her.
She starts at a brisk and clipped pace down the street as she starts picking apart the warning about the so called Crims. She wasn't told to avoid them, but judging from her serious tone and choice of words, they weren't the best people to hang out with. It most likely meant they were unavoidable. Ally wasn't sure what the word Crim was but either it was a slang term for criminal or it was a gangster group.
Mind the Crims? Ally wondered what that was supposed to mean. Be careful? Avoid them if possible? Do whatever they want so they don't bother anyone?
She sighed and shook her head. Maybe she'd ask around later but for now, Ally wanted to find an apartment. That was the next step in her priorities. She can think about cryptic warnings later.
…
About three PectroCycles later, if Ally had to guess, she'd finally succeeded in getting an apartment. THREE PECTROCYCLES! The Programs here were so mean or picky, or leery. Ally shuddered. She was starting to consider that staying at Neon should be more temporary.
On the brighter side, the City can be quite beautiful and bearable if one knew where to look. She'd come across the sea on one side of the City. Poisoned – one of Clu's first actions against the ISOs to stop their production but it wasn't unsafe to swim in, she'd found. While exploring, she'd come across a very tall building along with a hidden staircase inside.
How she might've found that, one may ask? Well, a gang may or may not have noticed her, she may or may not have fought back, and they may or may not have chased her. In her panic to hide, she'd discovered the hidden door and went inside.
Ally sprinted up the long, long staircase until she found herself on the rooftop. The view was…breathtaking. She didn't mind staying up there a while to wait out the gang until they give up and leave. She wouldn't mind that at all.
In fact, Ally wished she didn't have to leave this spot to go to work. She could stay up here forever…if she could. She sighed and got to her feet. Strolling down the steps, she figured it's always possible to come back when her shift was done.
Ally opened the door and stepped out. "Hey you," Shoot. She started running. "Come back here! We're not finished with you." Of course they'd have known she was still around. It's not like she was capable of disappearing into thin air when she rounds a corner.
She glanced backwards; two of them were hot on her trail…and gaining. Ally cursed and turned down another street. Maybe if she managed to zig-zag sharply for a bit, she could gain more ground. Looking back again, she noticed one of the two wasn't in sight.
She frowned and turned to face in front again and her eyes widened. She crashed right into the other guy. Crap.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.
Instinctively, Ally tried pulling away but he tightened his grip on her arm. "None of your business." She snapped. "Now let me go."
The other Program that was chasing her laughed. "I think you're about to become our business." He smirked. She kicked him in the stomach and twisted her arm around to break out of the other's grip but he saw it coming. "Someone's got fire in them." He coughed. "I think you need to be taught a lesson or two."
He grabbed her hair and pulled her into an alley. She opened her mouth to let out a scream, a loud one. It only made them laugh. "No one's going to save you, girl." He grinned and reached out to stroke her circuit.
Ally clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. Clearly it was a bad idea to travel alone. Why didn't she just let Liz or Courtney tag along with her? She could've even looked for Avery and Reni. But no, she just had to be dramatically prideful and go out on her own like a stupid person.
She noticed another Program entering the alley, a typical gangster. Ally quickly averted her eyes. She hated gangsters. They were nothing but trouble and she refused to look at them the same way again. Both Programs were suddenly pulled off of her and she looked up at the third Program.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, helping her up.
She stared at him, surprised. "I- no…thank you."
He smiled. "Sure, anything for a damsel in distress."
That sounded so random yet appropriate that Ally couldn't help but smile from the humor.
He guided her out of the alley. "So where are you heading?"
She fixed him with a gaze and furrowed her eyebrows. "You could be a murderer for all I know." Ally pointed out. "I don't usually share personal facts with strangers."
He nodded slowly. "I can respect that."
Ally was silent until it was clear that he wasn't planning on hurting her – he would've already done it if he intended to. "Alright fine." She gave in. "I work at the club as a DJ."
"Which club?" He asks.
"Umm…" She didn't remember the name. "All I know is I work for Alyss."
Her savior smirks. "She's tough on her new employees. Be careful around her."
"Thanks for the heads up."
"I haven't seen you around before." He muses.
Ally shrugs. "Maybe that's because this cycle's the first time I've ever been here."
Her savior turns towards her so quickly she's startled and backs up. He takes a step forward when she takes another step back. They keep doing that until Ally's pressed back against a wall and he's standing so close he could be touching her but he wasn't.
He held such intensity in his dark brown eyes it was both frightening and captivating. "You need to be careful around here." He whispers. "It's dangerous."
Ally stared into his deep eyes. "I've been getting a lot about that – something about avoiding the Crims." He noticeably tenses up at that and steps away.
"Yeah," He replies. "That's a good idea."
"Who are the Crims anyway?" Ally asks. "Are they a gang or something?"
There was flash of an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes and he looks at her again with that intense look. "The Crims are a very dangerous group of Programs – ruthless and do not discriminate their victims."
Oh, that definitely wasn't something good to hear on any Cycle, especially when she was already having a bad time.
She started walking again and he stayed beside her, yet managing a respectful distance after the serious conversation. Ally knew it was crazy but she felt more secure in his presence that wasn't just warding off bad Programs, but also any fears she had.
They stopped at the Club entrance of where she worked. "Rainbow Bandit." He said suddenly.
Ally looked at him. "What?"
He pointed at the sign hovering over the Club's entrance. "That's the name of Alyss's Club." He gave her a quick smile and turned to leave.
"Wait." He stopped. Ally chewed on her bottom lip. "What's your name?"
He was silent for a while, seeming to decide whether he should share or not. "My name's Beck." He said quietly.
"It was nice to meet you, Beck." Ally said politely. He didn't say anything, just rezzed a lightcycle and drove off.
Not wanting to think about Beck anymore, she turned and walked into the Rainbow Bandit Club. It was kind of a funny name to her and she couldn't suppress the amused smirk.
Alyss, standing behind the counter as always, looked up and immediately caught Ally's eye. She raised an eyebrow and beckoned her new employee over. "Yes," Ally asked when she approached her new boss.
The manager deeply inhaled smoke from her cigarette and blew smoke in Ally's face. "You're late." She rasped. "Do you have a habit of silently rebelling?"
Ally clenched her fists. She had half a mind to go and tell her exactly what happened to her that caused the hindrance. But that wouldn't change the fact that she was late. "No, ma'am," She replied. "I rebel to extremes or nothing. I deeply apologize for being late; I'll see to never intentionally do so."
Alyss smirked. "Nah, I know you're not the type of person to be late on purpose." She took a swig of her cigarette. "So tell me what happened."
"I got chased around by some punks." Ally said curtly.
Alyss nodded. "And I see you got away unscathed." The boss was thoroughly examining Ally's face for any sudden change in behavior. She stuck the rolled up energy between and picked up a glass and rag. "Are you going to stand there the whole time?" She asked, not moving her jaw while speaking or she'd lose hold of her cigarette.
Clearly dismissed, Ally turned and walked over to the music set while pulling out her favorite pair of sunglasses. She put them on and leaned over the equipment, taking the place of the other DJ that could finally leave his shift.
Pursing her lips, Ally started fiddling with the pace of the beat, slowing it down just a tiny bit while raising the pitch of the music. What made her excellent with music was the fact she liked to experiment and find new ways to improve things if possible.
As the Micros turned to Pectros, Ally noticed that the Programs seemed to be more into infrequent beats and a little combination of high and low pitches. For her, the first couple shifts are the hardest because she's trying to figure out what's best for the Programs based on their body language, how they dance, how long they're dancing, and then if the people who aren't dancing are at least bobbing their heads to the music.
Just when Ally thought she was beginning to get the hang of it, her shift ended and another DJ took her place. She sat down at the bar with Alyss and grabbed a shot of energy to refresh herself.
"That was an interesting jam." Alyss commented, handing her the glass. "What's it called?"
Ally shrugged. "I made it up." She smiled wryly. "I'm not exactly the type that plays by the same rules as other DJ's."
Alyss coughed and took a swig of her cigarette. "Clearly." She rasped, but the corners of her lips twitched.
If Ally didn't know any better, she'd assume that Alyss was quite proud of herself for hiring a new DJ. But that was just an educated guess. She felt eyes on her and she turned to watch Beck stroll into the club. She noticed several observant Programs looking at him warily and took note of it.
The two locked eyes and he walked over to the empty stool next to her. Ally noticed Alyss quickly lighting another cigarette while fixing her with an intense look that looked a bit more demanding and shocked than what the heck.
"Ally." She said to Beck.
He looked at her with a confused look while Alyss fixed him a drink. Clearly he'd been here enough times to have a usual order. "What?"
"I never told you my name." She explained. "My name is Ally." She held out her hand to shake, which Beck hesitantly took. Ally looked at Alyss to notice the cutthroat motion – a gesture to stop. She furrowed her eyebrows at her boss, who quickly stopped the motion and casually went back to cleaning glasses when Beck looked over to see what had Ally's attention.
Ally made the mental note to check in with her boss later regarding what she was trying to stop Ally from doing. Beck quickly downed his glass and turned back to Ally. "So how was the first shift?" He asked.
She shrugged. "A bit difficult considering I had to adjust my work to what fit the crowd best."
He nodded. "Sounds difficult."
"Well I think I started getting the hang of it near the end of my shift."
Alyss was smoking her cigarette out faster than usual and the smoke was getting to be too much for Ally. If she had to guess, it looked an awful lot like Alyss was nervous. "I need to get out for a while." She stood up and headed for the exit and Beck followed.
When they were outside, he asked a question that sounded like it bugged him for a while. "So what made you move to Neon, Ally?"
Shoot. The number one question she wanted to avoid. She didn't want to be asked that after all of what happened earlier. She'd had enough stress and danger to last her a lifetime. "I – um…well why do you want to know?" She tried to sound snappy but it came out shaky and made her sound nervous.
Beck furrowed his eyebrows at her. "It was out of curiosity." He turned so his whole body was facing her. "To me it almost sounds like you got into some trouble."
She sighed and sat down on the nearest bench, defeated. "Yeah, you could say that." She rubbed her upper arm. "It seems like I'm getting into nothing but trouble lately."
He looked down at the ground for a while, seeming to think hard. Beck sighed and sat down onto the bench next to her. "I can't say you're going to be avoiding trouble that easily." He said cryptically.
"Just how often do the Crims tend to bother people?" She asked, noticing him tense up once more from the question.
"It depends on their mood, I guess." He shrugs. "They're not a small group so people tend to bump into a member or two every other cycle."
Ally makes a face and looks down. "They…don't terrorize people all that often, do they?"
Beck sighs, "I don't know for sure, Ally."
Wow, the way he said her name. Ally wished it always sounded like that when people spoke to her. Her name sounded like more than just a designation, than identity but as who she was underneath, what she could potentially become.
She sighed. Where have you been all my life?
Beck frowned at her. "What was that?" Wait. No, he wasn't frowning – he was surprised.
Her eyes widened. "Oh, shoot." She tried to hide her embarrassment. "Did I really say that out loud?"
He laughed, trying but failing to hide embarrassment as well. "It's fine, really. I just…don't hear that a lot coming from others."
She laughs with him to save themselves the severe awkwardness of the situation. They couldn't laugh forever though…
"You know," Ally starts talking again, "If I went back in time and told myself that I'd meet a guy that didn't make me wanna tear my hair out, I would've laughed my insides out."
Beck raises an eyebrow. "A guy?"
She shrugs, "Well now that you mention it, I suppose it could be anyone. All I knew were crazy or annoying Programs."
"I'm not crazy?" Beck mocks disappointment. "Well I suppose if you want me to, I could change that-"
"No!" Ally interrupts him, "Please, please, I beg you, please don't." She giggles between words.
He smirks. "I'm just saying I can always change in favor of what you're used to. You know it's more comforting when a Program is around familiar people or objects."
"I guess I'll have to adapt to a new environment then." She smiles. "This is nothing, seriously; I've seen worse."
Judging from how quickly Beck's expression changed from playful back to guarded and concerned, Ally knew he was tempted to ask about what she endured. She had to dodge the question before it was asked because Beck looked like a very persistent Program.
"So, uh…what's your life like here?" She quickly tried to change the subject.
Beck wasn't fooled and his expression promised to discuss the previous topic later. He folded his arms. "I'll tell you about my life if you tell me yours."
Ally shrugged. "Okay, fine." She leaned back into the bench and thought for a moment. "Well, some of my friends were close to Flynn and Tron and enjoyed taking advantage of User holidays." She paused again, thinking.
Beck snorted, "Sounds like you're from Tron City."
"I was." She was blunt.
He eyed her warily. "Heard there's some bad things going down over there right now."
She pressed her lips together tightly, "Yeah, that's why I left." She chuckled nervously. "You know, gang trouble over there wasn't so good either; and assuming I run into the Crims at some point, I could do a little comparison."
"Assuming they let you live," Beck replied stiffly, "At least the gangs in Tron City were regulated." He looked down. "Here, we practically own the place."
"What was that?" Ally asked, staring at him. She hoped she heard him wrong.
Beck immediately noticed the look on her face. "I-I mean, there's no security forces around here. The City belongs to the people – the Citizens."
Just from his slip, Ally noticed he was hiding something crucially important from her. He was dangerous but she reminded herself that if he was going to hurt her, he would've done so a long time ago. It was very uncommon for gangsters to gain the trust of their victims only to betray them – they usually had them when they were most vulnerable.
Plus, Beck didn't appear to have any intentions of harming her, he was just casually sitting by her side…on the same bench. His hands resting on the surface of the bench on either side of his torso.
They looked like they'd been worked often, used to the point of being taken for granted yet they didn't look rough. She knew they couldn't possibly be soft but maybe something in between.
She wanted to feel them – to know how they're used, to see the new potential ways he could possibly use them. Ally wanted to touch those hands with hers, to know what they felt like on her face…
She blinked. What? Ally wanted to slap herself for so much as thinking those stupid thoughts. She'd just met him – a potentially dangerous Program (or maybe a troublemaker) and she wants to feel his hands on her face? Ally snorted.
Beck seemed to misperceive her sounds. "You don't believe me?" He didn't look offended, but certainly not angry or annoyed either. More…studious, scrutinizing.
Ally shook her head. "No, no, it's not that it's just-" She felt her face heat up, "I was thinking."
He raised an eyebrow. "About?"
About your hands on my face… "About what job you might have." She lied through her teeth.
Beck scowled at a building across the street, choosing his words carefully when replying, "I fight against most gangs."
"Most?" Ally questioned, "How's that a job?"
"Well some of the gangs are unstoppable so there's no point fighting those guys," He pauses, how would that be a job? "There's gotta be someone to fight."
"That's true," Ally says, absorbing what he tells her. "And I take it the Crims are the unstoppable group?"
"Yeah," Beck replies, "There's no fighting the Crims."
…
Beck's POV
Beck knew how stupid and selfish it was of him to get close to Ally, to risk exposing her to the true horrors of Neon: the very group of Programs those Citizens feared, the gang he was part of. He saw the look on her face when he almost exposed himself for what he truly was: a criminal.
She'd detest him, resent even. He knew that she knew he was harmless but exposing that truth could change her opinion about him forever. Beck knew he shouldn't care about how she thinks of him – he doesn't mind anyone else's opinion, but can't hide the fact from himself that this new Program was charming him.
He didn't want to lose the curious, innocent girl that could brighten up his cycles. Her grace and attitude was endearing and captivating, those cobalt blue eyes enchanting, her full lips tempting him.
They looked so soft and plump and he wondered if that's what they felt like if he touched them, if he kissed them. He focused his gaze away from her and onto something else, anything but her – especially those eyes. Beck felt that if he stared into them too long, he could get lost in the trance they put him in.
She was a peculiar woman though, no doubt about it. Beck wanted to know about all the conflict she faced in Tron City, what troubled her so much about the past, what she truly thought about him. But he went for a much easier question.
"So…have you found anything interesting here in the City so far?" He turned and gazed into those bright blue eyes of hers. Oh, yes, he could stay like that forever.
Ally looked quite thoughtful from the question. "Well, I suppose I did come across a thing or two that says a million things about this City's true beauty." She smiled.
"Show me what you think about this City's beauty." Beck grinned. "I want to see how you perceive your surroundings."
Ally jumped to her feet and pulled out a lightcycle. "Well if you say so," She rezzed her bike and drove off. Beck pulled out his own baton and followed close behind her. After less than a Micro of Driving and nearing the border of the City, Beck had a pretty good idea of where she was heading – the Sea of Simulation.
Eventually she closed her bike back into a baton and started running the rest of the way. Beck supposed they were close enough to go on foot and did the same. "So what sort of beauty do you see in the Sea?" He asked when they'd arrived.
Ally smiled and turned to face Beck. Then she started to lean backwards…
His eyes widened and he lunged to catch her but she went tumbling into the water. "Are you crazy?!" He asked when she'd surprisingly resurfaced. "You're going to be poisoned!"
She laughed and started floating on her back. "Relax, that's just a rumor to keep Programs away. It only impacts the ISO production – it can't hurt you. In fact, it's quite refreshing in here." She closed her eyes and relished at the feeling of the water licking her entire body.
Beck shook his head. "You're bonkers." He muttered.
"Come join me." She urged, "It's fun; trust me."
Beck snorted, "Looks anything but fun to me."
"But you haven't even got in yet." She points out.
Wow, she knows how to wield her facts around and Ally can make swimming look extremely tempting. But, "I…" Beck bit his lip, "I can't swim."
One of the corners of Ally's lips quirk upwards in a reassuring manner, "I'll teach you. Just close your eyes and jump." When jumps off a cliff, would you do the same thing? If that person was still alive to urge one to do it too, would that impact the ultimate decision further?
Beck hesitated, then jumped off the edge. He felt the cold, suffocating sting of water all around his body. Beck wanted to breathe but all around him was water, he started to panic, to thrash around and reach the surface.
A dainty hand clasped itself around Beck's wrist and yanked him to the surface. He coughed and spluttered until he could breathe properly again. "Next time you urge me to do something like that again, I'm just going to turn and run away."
Ally laughed. Oh, that was music to Beck's water-filled ears. It was so light and airy, but not too exaggerated in that fashion. She also smiled when she laughed – it made her look prettier…if that was possible.
"Sorry, I should've thoroughly explained to you in great detail of what your first experience in water would be like." She smirked at him. "This would potentially last about 10 Micros-"
"TEN?" He asked, disbelieving.
She rolls her eyes. "Give or take." She elaborates. "Now start kicking your legs. Believe it or not, I can't hold you above water by myself for forever." Beck starts to work his limbs to keep himself afloat. "That's it, now start paddling your arms around to steer and add extra force to keep above the surface." As Beck starts to adjust to being in the water, Ally starts to loosen her hold on him, allowing Beck more and more of his body mass to deal with. "Good."
Ally pulls her hands away from him completely. "There, see? You're swimming all by yourself." She grins. "Congratulations, you've successfully managed yourself in water in a quarter of the time I had in my first experience. But try this out." She ducks under the surface and paddling underwater.
Beck takes a deep breath and follows suit. He finds the experience to be quite enjoyable as the water caresses his entire body and face. He's gasping and breathing hard when he comes back up for air.
"So, how'd you learn how to swim on your first time?" Beck asked when Ally resurfaces, "What led up to that anyway?"
Her smile turns into something a bit more forced and…embarrassed? Ally appeared to be fighting a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Um…no comment."
Beck smirks, unsuccessfully trying to appear serious and reassuring. "Come on, just tell me. I promise not to judge."
"No," Ally says, giggling.
"I'll be your best friend." He promised both playfully and seriously.
Her face shifts into something more wondrous and admiring. "Really?"
"Of course,"
"Okay, well…" She bit her lip. "It's really embarrassing." Beck manages to wipe his face clean of emotion and patiently waits for her story. "I made a bet with a friend of mine: Ace. I told him that he wouldn't be able to prank Tron on what the Users call "April Fool's Day." And as it turns out, he managed without much trouble." Ally smirks. "And the loser of the bet was to spend an entire PectroCycle in the Sea of Simulation."
"And how did that go?" Beck teasingly asked, unable to hide the smirk of amusement.
Ally pursed her lips. "Horrible. I almost drowned because I didn't know how to swim at first. In fact, I learned the hard way and almost passed out from lack of air." She winced. "And topping off that horrible experience with Ace standing on shore, laughing his ass off."
Beck raised an eyebrow. "And how did all that lead to you actually enjoying swimming?"
Ally smiles, "That's actually an excellent question. I suppose I should hate it but at the time it felt so good feeling water against my body so I always came back for more. I guess after the first couple of times I officially became passionate about it."
"It does actually feel nice." Beck says, "But uh…how do we get out?"
Ally paused, face blank. "Uhhh…"
He squeezes his eyes shut and sighs. "You didn't think about this before?"
Her smile comes back and she laughs. "Relax, the ladder's just over there." Ally points at it, "Every dock has one in case of…complications." She bites her lip to keep herself from laughing. "You didn't know that?"
"Not really, since I don't work anywhere near water…or knew how to swim." Beck answers as he starts swimming over to the ladder after Ally.
She climbs up first and offers her hand when he nears the top. He eyes it for a moment and Ally smiles. "It's okay, it's just a hand."
Right, just a hand. Nothing more. Beck wraps his hand around hers and she helps him up. He notices her staring at their clasped hands and when she looks back up, sees him staring at her. Ally quickly drops his hand and backs away.
"There…was one other place that caught my attention." She speaks up, "Ironically, I came across it when I was running away from the gang that you rescued me from." Ally turns and starts jogging in the direction of the tallest building in the City, which was only a few blocks away.
She stops just beside one of its walls and runs her hand over it. Beck raises an eyebrow. Then she finds the secret door and opens it. "You're very perceptive." Beck smiles, and follows her inside. "I never would've guessed there was a secret entrance."
"Well there is," Ally winks at him and starts sprinting up the stairs. "Shut the door behind you."
They go through another door at the top of the stairs. Ally opens it and steps through after him. Beck's breath catches when he sees the extraordinary view of Neon and even some of the neighboring Cities: Arsenic, Beryllium, and Iodine.
"So, what do you think?" Ally sits on the edge of the building and starts wringing out her hair, watching his face while waiting for an answer.
"I- well, it's impressive." Beck admits, tearing his eyes from the view and towards an even better one. Ally looked good with her hair wet.
Below, they heard a curse and shouting following the colorful words. Confuse, Ally turns around and gazes down, realizing that she'd dripped water down onto a Program below, a now angry Program.
"Hey! I see you two up there! Come down so I can kick your asses!"
Ally covers her mouth and steps away from the side of the roof, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back her laughter. Beck however, made no such attempt, which ended up encouraging Ally to laugh even harder. "I think someone's having a bad cycle." Beck remarks when he gets his breath back.
Ally glances back and notices the Program down below, who was now throwing objects at the building. And then some Programs exited the building to chase him away. "Poor guy," Ally comments, "I feel bad for upsetting him."
Beck shrugs. "Most Programs around here are much worse."
She raises an eyebrow. "After meeting you and Alyss, I find that difficult to believe."
"Surely you've talked to more Programs than just us." Beck replies.
Ally's silent for a bit. "Yeah, they're jerks."
"Don't value their opinions." Beck sat down and leaned back against a wall.
She raises an eyebrow at him, "Since when are you the one to conjure words of wisdom?"
"When people are jerks to you." He replies easily.
Ally sits down next to him and he wraps his arm around her.
"You never held up your end of our little bargain." She points out.
Beck turns to her, not removing his arm. "What?"
"I told you about my life, now tell me about yours."
So he did, at least to a certain extent. "I live it rough with a bunch of other Programs that tend to get into a bit of trouble, but we ward off other gangs that threaten the City. But sometimes they get a bit…daring and I usually get caught up in it."
"Sounds exciting," Ally comments, "And are you guys well known?"
Beck pauses, and then "Yeah, the Programs know who we are."
She nods and leans into him.
…
Ally's POV
"Okay, what was with the hand gesture when I talked with Beck? He's a perfect gentleman." Ally says.
Alyss, coughs into her hand and chuckles. "Oh, sweetheart, of course Beck's a charming young man. It's not him I'm worried about. It's you." She pokes her finger into Ally's chest. "You're very perceptive of your surroundings, but blind."
She furrows her eyebrows. "Who are the Crims?"
"A gang."
"Yeah, I got that down." Ally replies, "But who are they really?"
Alyss looks at Ally with a raised eyebrow. "As it so happens, you've already run into a member or two of the group. Just keep in mind that not all of them have the nasty habit of terrorizing Programs every time they encounter one."
Ally frowns. "Well no, of course not. Otherwise the Citizens of Neon would be so afraid that they'd rally against the gang and kick them out of the City."
Alyss slams her hand down on the counter so suddenly it startles Ally. "Damn it, girl, you're missing the point!" She snaps, deeply inhaling through her cigarette and flicking it away. She exhaled the smoke through her nose, ran a hand over her hair and scowled. "Like I just said: you're blind to the Programs around you!"
"I don't understand what you-" Ally starts but Alyss doesn't have it.
"Oh Users, I could be a Crim for all you know! Maybe to you I'd pass as Kevin Flynn's Mother!"
Ouch. Alyss knew how to offend a Program.
"Could you say anything other than cryptic hints about this blasted City?" Ally retorted. "Help me not be blind?"
Alyss sighed and turned away, lighting another smoke. "You're already beyond any help."
She huffed and stormed out of the club. Ally wasn't hopeless, she wasn't blind. Clenching her fists, she kicked the wall of a building in a brief fit of rage. Pain shot up her leg and she yelped, clutching her foot and hopping on the other. Despite that, she for sure wasn't beyond anyone's help.
"I have to wonder what led up to you hurting yourself." A very familiar voice drawled out, amused. Ally whirled around with a hand on her hip.
"It's not nice to sneak up on people." She admonishes him. Technically, they were best friends, as Beck promised for sharing each other's secrets. On top of that, they'd been hanging out frequently for the past four Cycles and have argued but never exceeded playfulness.
"Seriously though, what was that all about?" He gestures to her foot.
Ally sighs, "Alyss is just cranky and thinks I don't know a Crim when I see one."
Beck rubbed the back of his neck, "Well I don't think you've run into a sadistic one then."
She was silent for a while so Beck wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they walked together to their building. Climbing to the roof was slower than usual as they walked the whole time.
And when Ally got to the roof, shutting the door behind them, Beck placed his hands on either side of her face and leaned in to kiss her.
She froze up when their lips made contact – Ally had never kissed anyone before so it was new to her. She wasn't sure about Beck though.
Ally pulled back for air, and Beck moved in for another kiss but she buried her face into his shoulder. "Too fast," She murmured. "I haven't done this sort of thing before."
He fell back to patting her shoulder and they turned to look out into the distant Cities. The view had never gotten old for them.
Ally elbowed him in the side gently. "Hey, wanna try a different look?"
The question was strange enough to tug him away from the sight and to look at her in surprise and confusion. "Why?" He asked, "Is something wrong with my looks?"
She shook her head quickly. "No, I just thought it'd be fun to experiment with appearances a bit. I've done it a lot in the past…" She looks down and an almost melancholy look crosses her face as she remembers why she'd done it in the first place.
"I'll try it," Beck's voice brings her back to the present and she smiles.
Going straight for the disk, Beck almost reacts to her move as an attack but quickly forces himself to keep still. It wouldn't help their friendship if he attacked her for no good reason.
Ally pokes around the menus for outfits and then one catches her eye. It was listed as his programmed attire at the time of his creation. She selected it and touched up on the outfit with a few extra circuit lines to personalize him in her own way. She smiled when that was done and moved onto his messy, flattened hair.
Running her finger through it, Ally thought about the possible ways it could be styled. She thinks back to how Ace liked his hair – it was much longer than Beck's but it was spikey and loose around his head in a shaggy way.
Spikey…spikey…
Ally smiled and started layering the strands towards the front of his head and spiking it up a bit. Then she steps back, observes and nods her approval. "I like that," She says, and twirls her finger as a gesture for him to turn around.
Beck looks at himself at the reflective walls at first with a blank expression but then starts admiring the details of his new appearance – his hair, the new circuits on his old outfit. "It's great," He says genuinely.
Ally smiles at the way he said it – not an opinion like she put it, but he talked as if there wasn't any question about it, that it wasn't anything short of being great.
She steps closer and places a hand on her hip. "You should look like that more often," Ally pulls a loose strand back into place on his head and he leans in to kiss her. This time she doesn't pull away.
…
Beck's POV
Over the last 19 Cycles Beck had known Ally, he could no longer deny anything about her. She was smart, enchanting, and did things to him that no other Program could dream of achieving.
She was his angel, as Users would put it; kissing her was like tasting how he'd imagine the sun to look like – to feel. And Ally was making him go softer than he already was, making him not only feel like he was no longer Crim material, but truly wasn't.
He could no longer deny that he didn't belong with that group anymore.
…
Ally's POV
She wasn't blind. Ally knew she could see everything perfectly. Laying down on her bed and closing her eyes, she thought about Alyss. That chain smoker couldn't possibly know that Ally saw and understood everything perfectly. Though she never encountered a cruel Crim of the sort, she had no doubt that she'd met one.
Ally had also made a legit friend: Beck. She wasn't sure if Alyss counted. But Beck was so sweet and gentle and romantic, despite his lack of experience with socializing. But still, it was clear he could be quite affectionate under that armor of that mysterious aura of his.
She thought about what he'd told her about himself. How he was part of a group that fights other gangs that tend to terrorize the people. It was kind of funny how he put it that way instead of saying him and his pals don't defend the innocent.
Unless they actually don't defend the innocent.
"You need to be careful around here." He whispers. "It's dangerous."
"The Crims are a very dangerous group of Programs – ruthless and do not discriminate their victims."
"My name is Ally." She held out her hand to shake, which Beck hesitantly took. Ally looked at Alyss to notice the cutthroat motion – a gesture to stop. She furrowed her eyebrows at her boss, who quickly stopped the motion and casually went back to cleaning glasses when Beck looked over to see what had Ally's attention.
Beck replied stiffly, "At least the gangs in Tron City were regulated." He looked down. "Here, we practically own the place."
"There's no fighting the Crims."
"I live it rough with a bunch of other Programs that tend to get into a bit of trouble, but we ward off other gangs that threaten the City. But sometimes they get a bit…daring and I usually get caught up in it."
"Sounds exciting," Ally comments, "And are you guys well known?"
Beck pauses, and then "Yeah, the Programs know who we are."
Alyss looks at Ally with a raised eyebrow. "As it so happens, you've already run into a member or two of the group. Just keep in mind that not all of them have the nasty habit of terrorizing Programs every time they encounter one."
Ally sighs, "Alyss is just cranky and thinks I don't know a Crim when I see one."
Beck rubbed the back of his neck, "Well I don't think you've run into a sadistic one then."
It clicked in her head. Beck never directly said it but he implied that he was part of a gang that tended to get into trouble and fought off other gangs that threatened the City's power. They were well known too.
Alyss had been trying to warn Ally not to introduce herself to Beck because even though he was a perfect gentleman, the group he was part of tended to rope him into their problems.
She remembers the wary looks Beck got whenever he walked around in public, how he implied that not all Crims were sadistic or enjoyed hurting other Programs.
Ally's eyes snapped open and she sat up.
She had finally realized the big reason behind all of it. Beck's a Crim.
Ally jumps out of bed, grabs her lightcycle and heads outside. Arriving at the Rainbow Bandit, she closes her bike into a baton and heads into the club. Sitting down at the bar, she locks eyes with Alyss, who never seemed to take a break from working or smoking cigarettes.
As it so happens, sleep wasn't a necessary thing for a Program, just an effective way to save energy and refresh their internal code.
The manager takes a long drag and exhales. "Judging from the look on your face, I'm assuming you've finally figured it out." Ally doesn't reply. "Let me just say this, okay? Beck's not a bad person, I'd bet you my own disk that every other girl in this club dreams of being with him but there is that one problem."
"The Crims tend to rope him into their troubles." Ally whispers.
Alyss nods. "That's right. And everyone knows Beck doesn't belong with them but he doesn't really have good choices available to him."
"What do you mean?"
Alyss inhales deeply through her cigarette. "Once you join their gang, there's no going back. No Program flakes out of the group and lives. They tend to plan big bad things to ward off rival gangs and refresh the fear of Programs here." She shook her head. "If he left, they'd hunt him down past the borders of the Grid to derez him." Alyss sighs, "Once a Crim, always a Crim."
She looks up and past Ally, raising an eyebrow. "Well what do you know?" She drawls out, "You know, giving undetailed explanations to questions doesn't help to keep secrets, Beck." Alyss jerks a thumb in Ally's direction, "She knows everything."
Ally turns to greet Beck with a blank gaze. Of course her feelings never changed with him, he'd been honest with her about everything except the group he was part of that threatened to make him look like something he wasn't.
"I figured that." Beck replied, glancing around nervously.
Alyss seems to notice. "What in User's name happened?" She asked, surprised. "You never cause trouble with anyone."
"I…uh, well." He looks behind him for a moment and leans forward. "I left the group."
Alyss's face pales. "You idiot!" She hisses, pressing her half-finished cigarette into the counter, there was a sizzling sound from where it was burning her hand but she paid it no mind. "Now they're going to kill you!"
"They tried," Beck's serious expression was set in stone, "And they failed."
"They'll be ready next time," Alyss narrows her eyes. "Do the Crims know about Ally?"
Ally stiffens when her name is mentioned in the same sentence as the Crims. "Yeah," Beck answered sadly, "They'll be coming for her if they don't find me first."
"Um, I'm right here." Ally interjected. "Can you guys speak to me directly?"
Beck ignored her question but turned to her, "Go to your apartment and get your stuff. We need to leave the City as soon as possible if we want a chance."
"Sounds like they take these things very seriously," Ally muttered as she stood to follow him out.
"They do," Beck replied gruffly as he pulled out his baton and rezzed a lightcycle. Turning to her, he wore a sad expression. "I'm sorry we had to leave Neon together under these circumstances. I think Purgos is the perfect place until we come up with a more permanent location."
Ally blinks, Did he imply he wanted to leave Neon with me in a different way? It was sweet of him to think of things like that but at the moment their lives were in mortal danger and she couldn't allow herself distractions.
Rezzing her own lightcycle, she leads Beck to the apartment in which she assumes he doesn't know where it's located. When they arrive, they close their bikes into batons and race into the building. Beck looks around the rooms of the apartment wile Ally packs what few belongings she has. "How much time do you think we have?" She asks.
A low, scratchy voice chuckles out of the dark, "Not much, sweetheart."
Someone grabs Ally from behind and she screams. "Beck!"
She hears struggling in another room that Beck entered, confirming they've both been ambushed. "Take 'em outside," the voice orders.
Beck's subdued and taken outside, immediately transported somewhere while Ally was still trying to fight them. That's when the Program who had spoken strides forward and slaps her across the face, dazed from the blow, Ally stops fighting.
The Program, Gage, grips her chin and forces her to look at him. "You've been causing a bit of trouble for us." The leader tells her, "What have you been saying to Beck to convince him that it was a wise choice to leave us?"
"I didn't tell him anything." Ally defends herself, only to be slapped again.
"Don't talk." He admonishes her and turns so his back was facing Ally. "I sometimes wonder how exactly a Program derezzes from explosions," He drawls out, "Could it be from the sudden burst of energy or heat? Maybe it's a combination of both."
"Actually, it's-" Ally is slapped by Gage halfway through her sentence.
"That was a rhetorical question!" He says, irritated, "The point of bringing that up is because we took our little defector, Beck, to that warehouse." He points in the direction of the deserted building. "Very soon, it's going to explode, and your boyfriend will be no more."
"No…NO!" She shouts and twists around to pull out of the grip of her captors, but they were unrelenting. Gage grips Ally's chin and forces her to look in the direction of the building.
"I want you to watch the explosion that kills Beck," He whispers into her ear. "Let it be a lesson to not ever toy with the Crims."
A burst of white and blue flames engulfs the warehouse and gradually eat away at the material the building was made of. Her eyes moisten and she tries to look away but Gage holds fast to her chin. "Watch it." He orders, and she has no choice but to until he allows her to stop.
After 10 long MicroCycles, the flames start to die down and Ally is released. She sinks to her knees and covers her face with her hands to hide the tears pouring from her eyes. The image of the explosion seemed to have been permanently burned into her eyes and all she could see was the fire.
"Now leave Neon and never come back." Gage orders.
Taking a few deep breaths, Ally stands, looks around the City one last time. Her eyes linger on the smoky remains of the warehouse only for a moment before she pulls out her baton, rezzes her lightcycle and drives away. Ally wasn't going to Purgos – Beck was dead. Being there would only make her constantly dwell on what just happened.
She stops at the train station and sits on a bench with her knees drawn up to her chest. Ally didn't have anything with her – she'd left all her belongings back at her apartment but she didn't care. There was no way she was going back there and she wasn't staying in this City any longer.
Desperately trying to distract herself from her own thoughts, Ally tunes into other people's conversations and one of them catches her attention.
"Did you hear that Clu's spreading his influence farther than Tron City? Apparently he's already taken over Selenium and Polonium as well. Rumor has it that he's unsatisfied with even that!"
The other Program snorts. "Not if I have a say in it. I've heard about this Resistance Movement against Clu founded by some remaining members of ISO Sympathizers that haven't gone into hiding."
A Movement founded by unhidden ISO Sympathizers? Ally looks up and stares at the Programs. "E-Excuse me," She says, "Where is this movement located?"
The second Program shrugs. "Somewhere in Bismuth, I guess. You need to find them on your own because their location isn't just blabbed around."
Ally nods, "Okay, thank you." She boards the next express to Bismuth and sits down with a sigh. Ally missed Beck.
Of course it was Gage's fault for killing him in the first place but Ally felt it went further back than that. If Beck hadn't met her, he may not have been tempted to leave the Crims in the first place. And the only way Ally wouldn't have met Beck is if she didn't leave Tron City in the first place.
But Ally knew she had to leave because of Clu.
Clu.
Ally curled her hands into fists. It was Clu's fault. Of course Ally knew that she shouldn't have gotten attached to Beck in the first place but he was so charming and kind…technically her only friend in Neon that she could somewhat open up to.
And now he's gone.
Ally relaxes into her chair as the train starts moving. She'd go to Bismuth and join the Resistance Movement. She'd do anything to keep her mind off of Beck and focus more on liberating the Grid from Clu.
Users knew what other misery he'd cause if things got out of hand. But Ally wants to be there to stop him if she can, no matter what the consequences are.
Ally will do her part to rid the Grid of Clu – she'll avenge Beck in whatever sane way possible.
She wasn't going to give up easily, because she is Alpha.
Now I need to make some announcements - they're a big deal and I feel you guys need to be informed about the issues I'm facing.
1. I'm raging about the changes of the plan test for this year's High School Sophomores in the State of Minnesota (The test now has high-stakes and is a graduation requirement. On top of that, you have to get a "good score.") The thing is, the State of Minnesota hasn't decided what that "good score" should be yet...and I'm taking that test TOMORROW! Tomorrow...right away in the morning...meaning I'll be missing my Chemistry and Human Body Systems classes.
2. I have been accepted into the Creative Expression category for my School's Speech Team, (Creative Expression people are the only ones to write their own papers) so I'll be spending a lot less time writing fanfiction and more time coming up with a random story that should last about 10 minutes.
3. I'm learning the hard way that I might've taken some classes that aren't necessarily difficult for me, but still hands out shitloads of homework with short due dates, meaning I have yet another thing to keep me from writing. :(
(One of the classes that hand out so much work would be my Human Body Systems class...something I'll be missing tomorrow). :( :( :(
With all that said, updates are going to become very, very...very infrequent but I vowed to never abandon stories. I will still be around to read other people's work and offer my support but it's going to be hard getting around to doing my part but I promise to do my best.
Up next: The Next Job (as it will be titled) - After Beck and Ally were separated in Neon they struggle to get on with their lives and block out the painful memories. Meanwhile Courtney escapes Tron City and begins her life anew far away in the Outlands. She faces one small problem...Grid Bugs.