Sora backed away as Clu and his Magnum Loader Heartless continued their approach.

"Let the games begin." Clu said before a helmet similar to Sora's formed over his head except his hid his entire face. He then threw the disk straight at Sora but Sora blocked with his Keyblade, counter attacking with a Thundaga and vaporizing one of the Heartless at the same time. He then turned and saw Clu's disk coming back around for another attack. He quickly blocked again and this time he fired a Blizzaga and took out two of the Heartless right next to Clu who leapt back with disk in hand.

"Come on, User! Your move!" Clu shouted as he spun around and hurled the disk at Sora who ducked just in time as the disk flew overhead. Sora spun around and blocked as it came back around. He then ran for Clu and leapt into the air before bringing down his Keyblade but Clu managed to block in time with his disk. He then started parrying Sora's blows with the disk until he took a swing at Sora who leapt back, allowing Clu the chance to fall back towards the Recognizer platform.

"Not bad, user. You seem to know how to play the game. Let's see how long you survive." Clu said as his helmet disappeared and he continued backing away towards the platform. He stepped onto the platform just as a pair of yellow Devastator Heartless appeared between him and Sora. The platform then started rising up into the air, back into the Recognizer.

"My regards to Flynn if you ever see him! Though where you're going, you won't ever get the chance!" Clu shouted down as he disappeared into the Recognizer and flew away, leaving Sora alone with the heartless. Sora stared down the Heartless, waiting for the right opportunity to strike but then he heard what sounded like an engine coming from nearby. He turned just in time as one of the walls exploded and a large, four wheeled, white circuited, buggy-like vehicle fishtailed in and slammed into a large swath of Heartless, destroying them instantly. In the driver's seat was a white-blue circuited program with a helmet on that looked similar to Clu's.

"Get in!" the program ordered with a feminine voice. Sora wasted no time getting into the passenger seat before the buggy roared off down a black and white roadway. Sora looked over his shoulder to see that the Magnum Loader Heartless were in hot pursuit.

"They're gaining on us! We're not gonna make it!" Sora shouted. The program didn't reply, pressing a button on the console, dropping a pair of mines behind them that destroyed the pursuing Heartless.

"Made it." The program said with a smug tone as she pushed a throttle forward. Instantly the buggy accelerated and started leaving a vertical trail of blue light behind it. The program swerved a couple of times, causing the trail to slam into the following Heartless, destroying them on impact. Sora looked dead ahead and saw in the distance, a number of towering black mountains illuminated by the occasional flash of lightning from the black sky above. Sora looked back again and saw the Heartless start to slow down and turn away.

"They're turning around!" Sora exclaimed. The light trail on the buggy then disappeared.

"Not by choice! They cannot move effectively off-grid!" the program said as Sora turned back towards the front and saw that her helmet had disappeared, revealing a youthful feminine face with black hair in a bowl cut. She turned towards him with a friendly smile and extended her hand.

"I'm Quorra!" She said over the buggy's engine. Sora shook her hand.

"I'm Sora!" He replied as they drove over the black rocky terrain around them, their path illuminated by the buggy's own headlights.

"Where are you taking me?" Sora asked as Quorra steered them around countless rocky obstacles.

"Patience Sora! All your questions will be answered soon!" Quorra replied with a smile as they drove up a steep ramp, made a sharp turn to the right, fishtailing again to avoid going over a cliff, and then further up another ramp. They continued on over the steep mountain path until before he knew it they were inside what appeared to be some kind of hanger hidden into the mountain. They came to a stop and as soon as Sora and Quorra had climbed out of the buggy, it suddenly became just a blue-white neon outline which flickered away into a simple rod that Quorra held in her hand.

"Whoa." Sora said in awe as Quorra grinned in amusement and attached the rod to her belt.

"Come. He's expecting you." She said as she led him towards an elevator. After riding the elevator up they entered into a room that was dimly lit but had a breathtaking view of the digital city before them. Quorra then turned to Sora.

"Please wait here." She said softly before walking into the shadows, the glow of her circuit lines showing her movements as she passed through the black room. As she walked into the darkness, Sora noticed that she also had a disk on her back like Clu had.

"Is he here?" a man's voice asked.

"Yes. He is." Quorra replied. Sora then noticed a ring similar to the disk on Clu and Quorra's back appear but it was a white one like Quorra's. The room suddenly illuminated with panels of white light on the floor and ceiling, revealing what looked like a strange hybrid of the digital world and the real world. A white chandelier to the right, a number of white tables and chairs, and a row of books behind him, gave the room an odd feeling to it when compared to the digital world. Along one wall was a long shelf full of old looking books, and to his right was an old looking Light Cycle. But standing before him, was a man in a white shirt, pants, and a white beaded bracelet on his right wrist. He stood barefoot on the floor. His face was familiar and Sora's eyes widened when he recognized him.

"Clu!" Sora yelled as he dropped into his battle stance. Quorra quickly leapt in between them with her own disk raised.

"Relax kid, I'm not Clu. Clu is a program I created to try and oversee things here on the grid." The man said. He looked almost exactly like Clu but he was noticeably much older and had a beard and mustache. Sora hesitated as he lowered his Keyblade.

"Then…who are you?" Sora asked.

"My name is Kevin Flynn. I'm like you, a User from the outside world. But I never expected that a kid would find his way inside. Who are you?" The man asked. Quorra by this point had put her disk up.

"I'm Master Sora of the Keyblade. You're the guy from the message in Professor Von Drake's lab." Sora said as Flynn nodded.

"I found out that Clu was stealing something from the real world but I was too late to stop him. I suspect it has something to do with whoever it was that reprogrammed him. He was initially the system overseer for the Grid but something went wrong. Someone reprogrammed him from the outside, hacking into the system and inputting a number of new commands to him. I was here on the grid at the time so I was trapped." Flynn explained.

"Then do you know Tron?" Sora asked, surprising both Flynn and Quorra.

"Tron? How do you know him?" Flynn asked curiously.

"He's a friend of mine. I helped him defeat the MCP a few months ago." Sora explained.

"The MCP? What is he talking about?" Quorra asked.

"Before your time, Quorra. The Master Control Program was deleted from the grid by Tron several years ago. Then Tron was killed by Clu when he went renegade." Flynn replied, surprising Sora.

"Tron…he's dead?" Sora asked, hurtfully, as Flynn nodded sadly.

"Yeah. Clu really likes messing with my Zen thing, man." Flynn replied.

"So what do we do about getting the information that Clu stole? I really need it. A friend of mine is in danger and I'm here to try and save her." Sora asked as Flynn scratched the back of his neck.

"Well buddy, that's the thing. Clu's probably got that data stored in the data space." Flynn said but Quorra stepped up.

"Um while in route to assist Sora, I intercepted a message saying that Clu was holding the stolen data as a prize for the winner of the Game Grid tournament." Quorra explained.

"Then I need to enter the games and get it. It's got information to help me find a friend of mine." Sora said as Flynn nodded.

"That's why I had Quorra send you that message. So you could find your way here to reclaim what Clu took from you. Quorra?" Flynn asked as he turned towards her. She looked up towards him with a curious expression.

"Can you get Sora to the Game Grid and give him a hand? I feel like he might need it." Flynn said as Quorra grinned excitedly.

"Sure." She replied.

"Once you get to the Game Grid, you'll need to defeat the programs that Clu has set up as your competitors." Flynn said as Sora summoned his Keyblade and rested it against his shoulder.

"I'm not worried." Sora said as he and Quorra started to leave. Flynn sighed as he watched them depart.

"I am though." Flynn said, glancing at his Light Cycle for a moment before turning towards the window.

…

"So do you know how to ride a Light Cycle?" Quorra asked as she and Sora entered into the hanger.

"Yeah, they move in straight lines, right? They can only make sharp left or right turns and the walls they leave behind them are deadly." Sora explained as Quorra walked up to a locker on one wall and opened it up, putting the rod the Light Buggy had vanished into inside the locker and pulling out two more. She tossed one to Sora.

"Close. These are newer models but I'm sure you'll get the hang of them soon enough." Quorra said as she broke the rod she had in two but from the two fragments of the rod, formed a blue neon outline of a motorcycle looking vehicle before it materialized into an actual Light Cycle underneath her.

"Oh man I wish Riku could see this." Sora mumbled as he broke the rod he had in half and sure enough the Light Cycle formed beneath him only his had white outlines. Before he knew it, they had exited the outlands and gotten onto a digital blue-circuited highway.

"So where are we going?" Sora asked as they raced towards the heart of the digital city.

"We're going towards the Game Grid! My job is to get you in and help you from the outside!" Quorra replied as they headed towards a large conical structure that looked like it was missing the tip.

"Okay, so then let's go!" Sora shouted as they arrived at the base of the building.

"I'll try and locate the prize for you, Sora." Quorra said as Sora nodded.

"Thanks, I owe you Quorra." Sora said before he turned towards the building and started walking, before he could get more than a few steps away however…

"Sora!" he heard Quorra say. He stopped and turned towards her curiously.

"What is it?" He asked, concerned. He noticed that she looked like she was nervous.

"Um…I wanted to ask you something before you went in." Quorra said as she approached him.

"Ask about what?" Sora asked back.

"What…" Quorra started but then paused nervously, "…what's it like? The User World, I mean."

"Oh." Sora said, putting his hands behind his head in thought.

"Well…it's kinda hard to explain. I'm not sure I know of a way to describe it for you. I guess it's something that you would have to experience yourself." Sora said as Quorra looked contemplative.

"Thanks anyway Sora. Just getting to meet another person from the outside world is enough for me." Quorra said with a smile before she ran off towards the arena.

"She's just like you, you know."

"Huh? Xion, where did you come from?" Sora yelped as he turned and saw Xion standing next to him only she lacked the circuit lines and looked like she normally did in her Organization XIII robes. Xion turned and smiled towards him.

"I'm a part of you, silly. Don't worry, only you can see or hear us." Xion said, causing Sora to arch a curious eyebrow.

"Us?" Sora asked curiously before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Roxas, also without circuit lines in his Twilight Town garb.

"Quorra's just like you, Sora. She knows there are other worlds out there and she wants to see them." Roxas said as Sora tapped his chin.

"Yeah. She is, now that I think about it." Sora said as he started walking towards the arena, Roxas and Xion literally floating along beside him.

"I think that Nixe girl feels the same way. She knows there are other worlds out there and she wants to see them too." Xion added.

"But unlike Quorra, she's not allowed to leave the city until she's a master." Roxas said, causing Sora to pause.

"What do you mean? Quorra's a program isn't she? A program like Tron. She can't leave the grid…can she?" Sora asked as both Roxas and Xion paused to think.

"Can't you feel it Sora? Quorra's not like other programs you've met. Remember the MCP and Sark? What did they feel like to you?" Roxas asked as Sora pondered.

"They…they felt like…like Heartless. Like they didn't have hearts but they weren't actual Heartless." Sora said as Roxas and Xion both nodded.

"Yeah and what did Tron feel like?" Xion asked.

"He…he felt the same way. He felt like a Heartless too only he was on our side." Sora replied.

"And Quorra? How does she feel?" Roxas asked.

"She…" Sora said before his eyes lit up in realization "…she has a heart! But how?"

"I don't know. We probably should have asked Flynn." Roxas replied, not noticing someone approaching from behind.

"Yeah, I probably should have asked Flynn." Sora said, scratching his head.

"Asked me what?"

Sora spun around to see Kevin Flynn decked out in a black variation of his robes and with an extra, hooded robe on over it and shoes on his feet. His disk was still visible on the back. The edges of his outer robe glowed with a white neon light.

"Flynn! What are you doing here?" Sora asked, Xion and Roxas vanishing from his sight in an instant.

"I wanted to talk to you in private about something. I didn't want Quorra to hear." Flynn said as Sora looked at him concerned.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"Quorra…I'm sure you've noticed that she's no ordinary program by now." Flynn said as Sora nodded.

"Yeah, now that you mention it." Sora said as Flynn sighed heavily and turned to look out towards the outlands where his hideout was.

"Back before I arrived on the grid, I was working on trying to find a way to better mankind through the computer. Years ago, I was pulled into the computer and met Tron. Together we defeated the MCP and I escaped. I then made Clu. He was supposed to help me create the perfect system. With Tron's help as my guardian and with Clu to oversee everything from the program's perspective, we worked to create that perfect system. But then…then a miracle happened. I made a discovery that could have changed everything." Flynn said before he turned towards Sora with a smile on his face.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"I discovered a new race of program…only they weren't ordinary programs, they were something else entirely! ISOs, Isomorphic Algorithms. They were…their own creation. They were programs…with hearts." Flynn explained, causing Sora's eyes to widen in surprise.

"They have hearts?!" Sora said in shock. Flynn nodded sadly.

"Yeah kiddo. They did. Quorra's the only one of them left." Flynn replied, further surprising Sora.

"What? Why?" Sora asked.

"Clu. Remember when I said someone had hacked into the system and changed his programming? Well whoever it was learned of the ISOs and reprogrammed Clu to steal their hearts, transforming them into…I don't know what to call them. Monsters?" Flynn asked but Sora shook his head.

"Where I come from, they're called Heartless." Sora said as Flynn shrugged.

"Heartless huh? Sounds kinda apt. Well, all the Heartless you see here on the Grid came from the lost hearts of the ISOs. Clu went around stealing their hearts and sending them somewhere. They'd come back as those…Heartless." Flynn explained.

"And Quorra?" Sora asked.

"She's the last ISO. I remember seeing her in a dream once. Then I managed to rescue her during Clu's purge of the grid." Flynn said before he put his hands on Sora's shoulders.

"Sora, if anything, I want you to try and get Quorra out of here. Take her away from here. Since she has a heart, she can leave the grid." Flynn said as Sora looked at him curiously.

"If I can't then someone else will. Now that I know you're here, then others can come and rescue both you and Quorra if I fail. You have my word, the word of a Keyblade Master that Quorra will make it out of this world alive." Sora said as Flynn gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks man. I really appreciate it. Now let's get you into the games. Clu won't be able to find me in that crowd." Flynn said as they walked towards the arena.

"What are you going to do in there?" Sora asked as Flynn smiled back at him.

"I'm gonna knock on the sky, listen to the sound." He replied, leaving a confused Sora behind. Flynn disappeared into a crowd entering the arena while Sora continued onward towards the arena. He then stepped on a platform that entrapped his feet within a glowing blue energy field.

"Oh come on!" Sora groaned before the platform started sinking quickly into the ground down a long shaft. After a few seconds of traveling down the shaft, he came to a stop within a tall hexagonally shaped room. Almost instantly Sora felt his feet released from their restraints and a door ahead of him opened up, revealing a blinding white light. He then started walking towards the light as it grew even brighter until he could hardly see. He then felt the ground beneath him shaking and the light suddenly vanished, revealing that he was within just one of a number of clear almost plastic looking box-like containers arranged in a floating circle around a central area. He could hear the sound of a roaring crowd and soon he saw that the containers were floating upward into the air, surrounded by a sea of cheering blue, green, orange, and yellow programs in a bowl shaped stadium. He then heard a loud klaxon blare. He turned and saw Clu standing on a platform nearby. Clu silently scanned over the containers, every other container holding a program while the rest were empty. His eyes then settled on Sora and his dark smile widened. Sora silently glared back at him, resisting the urge to summon his Keyblade until he knew the time was right. Finally the containers stopped spinning and Clu stretched out his arms in welcome.

"Greetings Programs! We have a special treat for you tonight! One of our competitors, is a User!" Clu shouted and much to Sora's shock and disbelief, the entire crowd started booing.

"So then let's see how well this young User stands up to our top program! Rinzler!" Clu shouted. The crowd then started chanting Rinzler's name as Sora then spotted a black armored program drop into his container. The program had orange circuit lines, a solid black helmet, and an oddly familiar group of four orange squares near the neck arranged in a T shape. Sora had an odd feeling that he and the program had met before but he couldn't tell why. Rinzler reached over his shoulder and pulled off his orange disk, dividing it into two disks. Sora smirked as he saw the two glowing disks in Rinzler's hands.

"Two huh?" Sora asked as he stretched his hands out to his sides and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, both Keyblades taking the semi-digital appearance of the Grid. With a flourish, Sora dropped into Roxas's battle stance.

"Alright Rinzler, let's see what you've got!"

End Chapter 15.

Who will win? Sora or Rinzler? Find out in the chapters to come.