"There you are. Has the situation been explained to you?" Even was saying, gazing at the man of long blue hair who had come walking into the castle lab's control room.
Isa glanced over at Tifa. Then, he gave a nod. "Yes. I've been brought up to speed..." he murmured, glancing away, with his arms awkwardly at his sides. Then he looked up again, locking eyes with Even. "Like you, I'm willing to do whatever I must in service of atonement. If I'm asked to give my life, I will."
Ansem The Wise held up his hand, shaking his head. "The sentiment is greatly appreciated - but that level of dedication shouldn't be necessary." His amber eyes swept them over. From Cloud, to Tifa, to Aerith, to Isa...to Aeleus...and then to Kana. "Between those we have assembled here today, I have no doubt our goal will be easily accomplished...without any casualties. You are all brave, strong, skilled warriors."
"So then, our task...?" Isa spoke.
Ansem turned his gaze to a large, circular machine built into the back wall, with various small screens attached to it. In the center of the contraption, set several inches further back into the wall, was a large, dark red orb of reflective material. "Those of you who will be embarking on this journey - stand here, please. Those who are not-"
Kana immediately threw herself into the center of the room, facing the machine. She grinned, her body vibrating in place.
"-should stand clear," Ansem finished, raising an eyebrow at her - and then, at Even. Even coughed, and quickly stepped forth to join Kana.
Aeleus moved next to stand in the middle of the room, his head bowed. Saying nothing. Isa came last, standing on Kana's other side.
"Excellent. If we are all certain of our decisions..." Ansem went on, hesitant now.
"Can we go already?" Kana called out.
Ansem gave a small smile - and another pointed look at Even.
Even flushed, reaching up to tug at the collar of his shirt.
Ansem nodded to them, then turned away to access the main computer. A few taps and screen changes, and then-
"USER ACCESS TO TERMINAL DETECTED. IMMEDIATE ACTION IS NOW BEING TAKEN: YOU ARE NOW UNDER ARREST."
"Yes! Finally!" Kana exclaimed. She paused. "Wait, you think you can just arrest me-?"
Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Cid and Ansem watched as the red machine in the wall lit up bright, and then several laser beams flew out to strike at Kana, Even, Isa and Aeleus. Blue cubes of light floated around them briefly, before their bodies were lit up by crisscrossing blue light beams, forming a grid pattern over their bodies.
Then, those lasers expanded and began to sweep left and right, erasing them from existence, square by square - from head to toes.
"Best of luck...to all of you..." Ansem said softly to himself, turning away to monitor the computer in earnest now.
Even woke on the ground.
A solid surface.
Grayish blue...glass? With strange patterns beneath it that looked like the surface of a computer chip.
Even pushed himself up, staring around himself.
It was indeed some...new world they were now in. An entire, digital city. A cyberspace.
A place of platforms and walkways, glowing lights, sharp edges, and low polygonal objects that looked straight out of a terrible computer object rendering program. The sky was full of sliding, flat arrangements of blocks that seemed to be passing for clouds. Glowing red lines ran along the edge of the walkways. The steps of a nearby set of stairs were marked by neon bars of purple and blue, alternating each step.
Nearby, there was a flashing blue platform on the edge of the walkway. A circular pad of some sort.
Out into the distance, and far below, there were huge sections of blocks and rectangles cut out, looking like some low rendered city.
Even wondered whether it was all for aesthetic purposes, or if it was really the best the original creators of this place could do?
Not that it wasn't a remarkable accomplishment, of course. Credit where it was due, and all...But...
Said aesthetics of this place were already giving him a headache.
"He didn't arrest me! I came here because I wanted to be here!" Kana's voice came, suddenly, tearing Even out of his examination of his surroundings.
"Yes, yes, of course," Even said absently, waving a hand as he turned toward her. "Anything to preserve your sense of- Oh. Well, isn't this fascinating...?" He stared at his own, changed hand with wide eyes.
They were all different, he realized, as he scanned the ground and found Isa and Aeleus together - rousing now. Their skin had turned monochrome, their hair had become darker, and they were all wearing strange, blue neon versions of their normal clothes.
Except for Kana.
She wore nothing at all - she was simply bare. Though, her form was featureless (bereft of normal human anatomy), and her body itself was run across with neon blue lines and pulsing lights. Her hair ended in glowing tips, like candles.
"Where do we find these 'programs?'" Kana asked, excitement on her face. She looked around, as if expecting to see enemies popping out of thin air.
"I have no idea," Even confessed. "For a 'digital world' you'd think it would be more...populated..."
Kana ignored him now, turning away and promptly performing a cartwheel. Then she did one right back the other way, passing Even, Isa and Aeleus by. She performed several more around the area, laughing high to herself.
"I can't believe you ever made someone so carefree and expressive," Isa muttered to Even. "Was it to contrast your own dour personality?"
"If we're talking about dour attitudes, you'd have more familiarity with that than I would," Even responded idly.
"At least I had good reason for it..." Isa said darkly.
Even paused. He glanced at Isa. "True, yes...you did." He raised a hand to snap his fingers, striding forward. "Ahem - KANA! We're all intrigued by this world - believe me, I'd wish nothing more than to stay here for eons studying it all - but we are here on a mission! Remember your promise?"
Kana came out of another cartwheel, turning to look at him. "I never promised anything," she said casually.
"Not in so many words, perhaps not," Even agreed. "But you gave me your word, didn't you? I would hope that means something to you..."
"You said I could give minimal back-sass, as long as I listened to you," Kana responded, her face showing actual thought for a change.
"Yes..." Even drew the word out slowly, eyeing her.
Kana came striding up to him, a smirk on her lips. She stopped before him, setting hand on her hip. "You look really stupid here. There: that was the back-sass."
Even stared at her, unamused. He gave a nod, crossing his arms. "Hmph. What an expert observation you've made; I hope it was worth it. Now come along. We need to locate this MCP - and it will doubtless have scours of programmed minions protecting it for you to just tear into to your Heart's content."
"Okay!" Kana agreed instantly, watching him attentively. Quite attentively.
"Have you figured out where to go?" spoke Isa, quiet and neutral.
Even glanced at him, annoyed. Flushed. He started forward across the walkway, pointing out to the horizon. "As a matter of fact - yes. See that pulsing column of red light? That must be something rather important. A source of power, perhaps - or some kind of mainframe or a core. The sort of place where a personified program would oversee its...digital world."
Isa's lips quirked, his green eyes glinting in a way that the golden eyes of Saix never had (Saix's eyes had been dead). "I'm grateful I have a Heart with which to enjoy how quickly you can still pull nonsense out of your-"
"I don't see you coming up with any better hypotheses!" Even cut across, huffing. "But then, you were never one for educated guesses, were you?"
"Perhaps if I hadn't been locked up in a cell and tortured as a child I would have been better educated," Isa growled back, his eyes glinting now in a very different way.
Well, Isa might have been enjoying his Heart's amusements, but Even damned his own's swelling of guilt. The shame and remorse, too!
"Well, I..." Even fell silent. He sighed. "Shall we just - proceed? Please?"
"By all means," Isa muttered, turning away. "Lead the way."
Even started off, then paused, turning back to look at Aeleus. He snorted. "You have nothing to say, then? Even for you, this recent silent act has been rather unusual."
Aeleus narrowed his eyes down at him, his jaw clenching. Then he shook his head and crossed his arms, looking away.
"So be it," Even murmured, mentally shrugging.
He led the way forward, across this walkway - toward a dizzying door of shifting colors, framed by walls with red and grey patterns stretching up and down it. Even had never been one for ingesting mind-altering substances, but this world, he felt, was what that experience had to be like...
The door opened up into a large...computer room.
A large platform floating in the air, with two large screens on either side - and a central terminal up ahead. There were green cubes and rectangles swirling around the outer edge of the chamber.
A computer room inside a computer system...what lunacy is this? Even thought, heading for the central terminal floating before the gigantic screen on the wall.
He began tapping away it it, glancing up at the screen with a frown.
Computers weren't exactly his area of expertise...but he was obviously more skilled with them compared to anyone else in this current group.
He searched the computer system quickly, until he found the information he was looking for: information on the layout of this "Grid" world...and the location of a "Central Core." It was a long distance away, but there were methods of travel here that would be suitable enough. One was nearby, even. Lastly, with a frown, he began to enter a single search query: Tron.
A series of logs scrolled down across the screen. Records of encounters, battles - programs "derezzed."
But the last and latest entry...
This "Tron" program was still...well, alive.
He had been imprisoned - somewhere nearby, in fact!
Master Ansem would be pleased. Very pleased.
"All right - I believe I've located both this MCP's location and the location of the security program-" Even began as he stepped back from the terminal.
But suddenly the screen turned red, and lights began flashing everywhere.
And then, a dozen pillars of light rained down around them, lifting to reveal...Heartless?
Emblem Heartless.
But they were unlike anything Even had ever seen before! They were unfamiliar variants. Variants that looked like they belonged in this world, in fact. Like they themselves were...digital creations?
There were Soldiers, yes, but there were other types as well - including some very large, intimidating, armored purple ones with four limbs, and what looked like dangerous cannons attached to their undersides.
Kana's Keyblade appeared in a flash, and she wasted no time at all in throwing herself at one of those large purple Heartless! She slammed into it with her entire body, pink magic radiating off of her. Light exploded between her and the Heartless in a large sphere, sending the Heartless flying back across the chamber. She flew forward in a single leap, pursuing it, coming down on its head slicing her weapon in an overhead strike.
Even stepped backwards and conjured his shield, then lashed out with a line of icy constructs to freeze another purple Heartless.
Isa summoned his Claymore and darted forward, swinging for the frozen Heartless, shattering the ice and sending it over the edge of the platform to plummet into the void below.
Aeleus spread his arms and radiated powerful orange energy, calling his giant axe to hand. He gave it a great sweeping motion, and a wave of energy flew out to slam several Heartless against the wall. Most of them were destroyed on impact.
"Let's not waste time here - we're only letting ourselves get boxed in!" Even called out, starting forward after a moment of hesitation. He blocked a Heartless's strike and shoved it away, continuing on toward the exit. "I know exactly where we have to go!"
He turned back, staring as Kana ran along the wall, dodging energy blasts with exhilarated laughter. She stopped and twisted on a dime, then leapt out to slash at a Heartless as she passed, destroying it. She landed on the platform with an eruption of magical, purple ice that definitely would have impressed Even in any other situation. Her icy constructs rotated and spun around her before flying outward, blasting the Heartless surrounding her away.
"KANA - COME HERE, NOW!" Even barked out, as Isa and Aeleus fought their way over to the exit.
The woman was ignoring him - which, admittedly, was nothing new for her, but he'd hoped she would at least-
"Grrr, Aeleus - grab her!" Even snapped out.
The massive man nodded and charged back across the platform, bashing away a large Heartless. He ducked and shouldered another one into the far wall, then heaved his weapon in an overhead strike to rock the chamber, energy erupting to send the Heartless around Kana scattering once more.
Kana stopped, glancing up at him in surprise. Her completely high expression faded somewhat. "Those ones were mine," she said, annoyed. "I was going to-"
"You need to come with us," Aeleus grunted at her, his face hard.
"I'm not done here yet," Kana retorted, rolling her eyes and turning away to slash at several Heartless at once, cleaving them with an energy beam.
Aeleus rolled his neck and stepped forward, snatching her up and tossing her bodily over a broad shoulder before she even realized what had happened. He turned back with her and ran for the exit.
Perhaps it was the completely unfamiliar situation - the total inability to process what had just happened to her - but Kana hardly even tried to break free.
Which Even considered to be a blessing.
They escaped out of that computer chamber, onto the walkways again.
Even led them down the steps and around a large building, then across another walkway to the end. They stepped onto a pulsing blue platform together.
It shuddered and began to move, gliding away from the walkway on a set path - framed by twin, glowing cables or lines of orange light.
Even sighed with relief, turning away from the receding structure.
Aeleus had lowered himself down onto the platform - and was setting Kana down onto it as well, flat on her back.
It was then that Even realized she was unconscious.
"What- what happened to her? What did you do to-" Even started, panic gripping his Heart, in all its irrationality.
"It was only a sleep spell," Aeleus spoke quickly, looking up at him calmly. "She wouldn't have cooperated."
"Yes," Isa spoke up in agreement. "We wouldn't want to be blasted off this platform, would we?"
Even glared at the pair of them. But he nodded.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring Kana, after all...
Would she ever really learn?
She, out of all the Replicas he had created, had the greatest capacity to do so!
Yet, ironically, she, out of all of them, seemed the most determined to stay the same...
Even sighed as he gazed down at the young woman.
What am I ever going to do with you?
AN: Tron mini-arc part 1 chapter lol. :D Part 2 is next! xD Maybe a part 3...wanna do the Light Cycles and shit before going to beat the crap out of the MCP. And they have to rescue Tron lol! :D