"SARK!" the echoing, deep voice of the MCP boomed throughout the chamber.
Through the world itself.
A red light flashed from the center of the room - and suddenly the guards vanished in orange light. Sark was covered in an orange glow, himself, but he seemed to be frozen in place. The same was true for Tron; he was frozen in a battle stance, facing Isa and Aeleus combined.
"YOU HAVE DISOBEYED MY COMMAND. MY ORDERS WERE THAT THEY BE SENT TO THE GAMES FOR DEREZOLUTION!"
"I only sought to test Rinzler's combat capabilities-"
"THEN TEST THEM WE SHALL - WITHIN THE GAMES!" the MCP cut across. "AND REMEMBER THIS WELL, SARK: RINZLER BELONGS TO ME, NOT YOU."
"Sir, these Users are powerful - they should be eliminated immediate-" Sark began.
"THAT WAS NOT MY COMMAND!" the MCP interrupted yet again, forceful and, now, angry. "THEY WILL FIGHT AND DIE IN THE GAMES. END OF LINE."
"As you command, sir..." Sark acknowledged, bowing his head and vanishing in a flash of light.
Next moment, several pillars of light came down onto Even, Isa, Aeleus and Kana - transporting them to an entirely new location.
It was a vast, rectangular arena with massive walls. Walls with purple numbers and mathematical symbols on them. The floor was a grid pattern, stretching out in all directions.
Above those giant walls, large hovering crafts glided along the perimeter. They were dark green with red lines accentuating them. Their design structure was most curious: a wide, main cockpit supported by two "legs" on either side. There also seemed to be a cargo compartment below the cockpit's viewport, open to the air.
A red light shined high above, and it stretched out into a...a massive scarlet cylinder, with a giant, red...face on it?
This massive face gazed down onto the arena - to the very far side, where Even, Isa, Aeleus and Kana stood.
"I LOOK UPON THE USERS AT LAST," came the familiar voice of the MCP. So...this was it, then? "I WILL STORE THESE IMAGES IN MY DATABANKS TO BE RECALLED LATER - AGAIN AND AGAIN - AFTER YOUR DEATHS."
"WHATEVER YOU THROW AT ME, I'LL BEAT IT!" Kana suddenly shouted out, breaking free of Even and standing on her own once again - though, she did stumble quite terribly. "I DON'T LOSE!" she roared, clearly upset that she actually had.
"Kana, for all that is sacred in the worlds-" Even started furiously.
Laughter boomed through the world. It vibrated the very walls and the floor of this arena.
"SUCH CONFIDENCE FROM THIS USER!" MCP spoke again, amused. "VERY WELL THEN, USER: LET US SEE HOW FAR IT TAKES YOU."
Suddenly the white grid on the floor flickered and vanished.
Then, several glowing bars of blue light appeared in front of them all.
And far, far across the distance of this expansive arena...Even spied a glowing light of orange - and another pillar of white light that signified someone's arrival.
"THERE WILL BE NO MOVEMENT CONSTRAINTS: YOU WILL SURVIVE OR DIE ON YOUR OWN MERITS," the MCP warned. And then that face dematerialized out of the sky.
"What is this...?" Even said, staring at the floating neon bar before him.
Kana immediately reached out and seized on hers.
And immediately, wired lines spread out in front of and behind her - beneath her - solidifying into a...motor bike? A blue motorcycle with glowing parts?
Kana let out a startled yelp as she readjusted herself atop the motorcycle, planting her feet on the ground again for stability. She stared down at the controls, then looked over at the rest of them. There was something on her face, in her eyes... She glanced down again, caressing the controls, flexing her fingers and squeezing the bars...leaning forward over it as if it were natural to her. She lifted a leg up, placing her foot on the peg.
"This is...something I know how to do..." she spoke slowly, to herself alone, a small smile growing on her lips.
Even stared at her in confusion. He wanted to ask - but now was hardly the time.
Were they really to be expected to do this? Participate in such a game?
Of course they were.
And the penalty for refusal was likely to be immediate "derezzing."
Even sighed, hesitating, then he went to Kana and cautiously climbed onto the back of her bike.
"What are you doing?" she said, squirming and shoving back against him in surprise.
"Just - drive. Don't pay me any mind," Even said to her, as he gingerly put his arms around her waist. "You can do this, can't you? With a passenger...?"
Why was he trusting her to know this? To know anything? Why did he even believe her?
How could she possibly know how to ride something like this anyways?!
Unless...
Instinct of Heart? Something copied over - muscle memory? Experiences ingrained?
Kana was silent for a moment. Then- "Yes. I can do it."
"All right. Then let's...do it," Even said tentatively.
He glanced over to see Isa and Aeleus had mounted their own vehicles as well. Though, Aeleus's was rather large and bulky. And Isa's was yellow, and of a longer, thinner design than Kana's compact blue one.
"NOW THE GAME WILL BEGIN!" the MCP's voices came from nowhere. "THE USERS VERSUS RINZLER!"
Ah, so that was who it was across the arena, with that other bike...the turned Tron, then.
Even felt a swelling of pity for the man. And perhaps, even empathy - for he knew now he had narrowly avoided falling to such a fate, himself...at the hands of Xehanort...
To lose one's self, to have your mind and body put under the control of another, against your will...
It was horrendous.
But what was the solution, the way to solve the issue?
End Tron's...life? Or perhaps contain him, find some way to...set him right again?
If he had been turned in the first place, or - reprogrammed, Even supposed, seeing as he was a Program...
Surely he could be deprogrammed?
Surely, Master Ansem would know a way to do that...if only they could get out of this alive, accomplish their mission, and return to the real world again.
So, simple task - wasn't it?
Kana's laughter pulled him out of his thoughts. She was leaning further forward, pressing herself to the motorcycle's controls - pushing it faster and faster as they began to streak across the arena.
And in front of them, coming straight at them, was Tron. The man was on an orange motorcycle, which was leaving behind an orange trail of light.
Even glanced behind himself, and saw their own vehicle had a blue trail.
Kana lifted one hand free as they drew nearer and nearer to the moment of collision - summoning her Keyblade. She held her arm out, the weapon swirling with energy...
Tron kept coming, seemingly ready to play this game of chicken with Kana!
They came closer and closer - until they were mere feet from each other, blazing past in a blur.
At that moment, Kana swung her Keyblade, swirling blue winds casting out across Tron's bike. Beneath and far out ahead of his bike, a trail of slick ice formed instantly.
Tron's bike warbled and spun out, the man tumbling off and rolling across the ground.
Kana let out a noise of pure triumph and joy. She took a sharp turn, coming back around for Tron. She thrust her Keyblade out, and a half dozen fireballs flew out for Tron, homing in on him in a line.
Tron glanced up, the firelight reflected in his V-shaped red visor. Suddenly, he leapt up into the air, going into a corkscrew as he flew over top the fireballs. The last two arced and swerved back around for him, while the rest struck the ground. Tron landed and immediately went into a twisting backflip, slashing his disc weapons at the fireballs, destroying them.
He landed on one knee, his gaze fixed onto Kana's bike - tracking them as they moved.
Isa and Aeleus came in from two different angles, swinging their weapons at Tron.
A wave of blue fire headed for Tron from one side, while the other three sides were blocked off by spontaneously erupting pillars of earth.
Tron leapt straight up into the air; Isa's blast struck Aeleus's rock constructs, shattering them.
Aeleus gave his weapon a twist of the wrist, and the broken chunks of rock burned with orange light and exploded violently all around Tron, obscuring him from view.
From out of an orange haze, Tron came flying wildly through the air. He hit, rolled, sprang up and regained his footing. His shoulders hunched, his legs unsteady still beneath him. Then he straightened up and began to run straight for Kana.
Kana sped up deliberately, aiming her weapon out once again. But this time, she sent out a massive stream of blue lightning. It curved like a snake as Tron dodged, grazing him, latching on and then racing across his body.
Tron stood there, convulsing, his weapons at his sides.
Kana swung for his head as she passed him - but Tron suddenly dropped straight down, avoiding the blow.
The lightning faded from his body, and he rose up again, falling into a battle stance.
Suddenly, dozens upon dozens of Heartless were appearing all around the arena. All types - but most notably of all, those large purple ones with the cannons.
They began firing immediately, locking onto Kana, Isa, and Aeleus.
They all began to circle and scatter, avoiding the hailstorm of blasts.
Even could only hang on and hope Kana was as good as she thought she was!
Apparently, she was: as more blasts came her way, Kana twirled and leaned so far to the side that she was practically laying sideways on the ground, and the barrage of energy blasts flew over her head and struck the wall. A huge explosion rocked the arena - and then a massive hole formed in the wall. It stretched on and on through, becoming a tunnel! Kana stopped, glancing back over her shoulder, surprised.
"THERE - GO, NOW!" Even ordered. "That's our exit!"
Kana straightened the bike up again - paused, sighed - then spun back around and sped for the hole in the wall.
Isa dodged and weaved as now, not just Heartless, but walls and pillars, began to materialize within the arena, seeking to block his path! He narrowly avoided them, and Heartless energy blasts, as he came speeding over to the newly made exit.
Aeleus turned sharply around to make his way toward them as well, his weapon held in one hand. He was last into the hole; several large Heartless fired at him, and he responded by swinging his mighty axe to block them, tanking the explosions as he sped out of the arena.
Kana and Even were the first ones out, zooming out and turning in to a...a tall, narrow, rocky canyon.
They sped onward as two of those large, two-legged ships glided overhead, aiming spotlights down into the canyon.
Kana took them into an open area, swerving around a large rock formation with ease, not breaking her speed.
She was actually doing this - she could actually do this!
The ships suddenly began firing red laser beams that swept across the ground, distorting it and sending cubical fragments into the air.
Kana avoided them all - easily!
Isa caught up to them, zipping along beside them. He turned to them, his long hair whipping in the winds. "Was this spur of the moment, or do we have a next phase of a plan in mind?" he called out loudly, over rushing winds, humming engines, and the roaring ships above. And their scorching lasers.
"Spur of the moment, clearly - at first!" Even responded. "But now I think I do have a plan, yes! I still possess the knowledge of the MCP's location, and seeing as we're now free to roam this world again, I say we don't abandon this mission! We are going to find the Central Core, and we're going to destroy it!"
"If there's still a chance, then let's hear it - quickly!" Isa shouted out, as he suddenly slowed down and swerved right to avoid a roaming laser beam.
Even glanced up at the ships in pursuit of them. Large, yet fast and quick to turn. And they had those wide open cargo decks beneath the cockpit...
He glanced right, at Isa, then left at Aeleus.
"Kana - I have something exciting for you to do!" Even shouted in the woman's ear.
"More exciting than this?" the woman exclaimed, laughing.
"Yes, in fact! See that ship up there? When I give the word, I want you to jump up there and board it. I want you to take it. Get into the cockpit above - find the controls. Buttons, or a steering wheel or joystick of some sort! And then I want you to figure out how to slow it down and land it so that myself and Aeleus can also get on board! Just - press everything until it works! Are you up for the challenge?"
"Yes - tell me when!"
"Alright, then!" Even drew a breath, watching the ships as they swept low over the canyon again, to begin firing as the walls opened up wider now. They came lower still, dipping into the canyon itself. Perfect! Almost, anyways. Just a bit more... "Okay - Kana - slow down, turn, and JUMP! NOW!"
Kana immediately hit the brakes, spinning the bike around as she climbed up onto it to balance on the seat - and then she kicked off, flying up in a burst of speed and magical power! Pink energy swirled around her, trailing behind her as she soared up for the oncoming ship! She slowed in the air about half-way there, but then she jumped a second time on a briefly materialized magical platform, getting her the rest of the way there. And, of course, she was laughing the whole way, her voice carrying on the winds.
"Isa - you go for the other one - just bring it down!" Even ordered quickly.
Isa nodded, and then acted without hesitating: he slammed his Claymore into the ground and swung his whole bike around, then let it go, twirling his body itself around his weapon before it exploded with fiery blue energy - which propelled him through the air in an arc, bound for the second ship just rising back up out of the canyon for another angle of attack.
Even fell forward over the bike's controls, gripping it and doing his best to just get the thing moving again - infernal contraption! He wobbled and sped off toward the nearest wall. He growled and threw himself off, rolling and coming up on a knee. The bike hit the canyon wall with a great crash, pieces falling off of it.
Aeleus took that as the cue to abandon his. He took it up in one hand, gave a spin and a mighty heave, and tossed it at the ship Isa had just landed inside of. It struck the left leg of the ship, to the left of the cockpit window - and exploded. The ship rocked in the air, and lost a little altitude.
A deep thrumming noise sounded behind them, and lights shined on the canyon walls.
Even and Aeleus turned to see several...tanks gliding into view! Tanks that were absurdly large - as big as a small house!
Who needed vehicles of destruction that large?!
Aeleus stepped forward and slammed his weapon into the ground, sweeping it right to left; a huge wall of magical rock formed in front of them, rising as high as the canyon itself.
Just in time; an energy blast struck it with a great flash of light.
But Aeleus's barrier held against it, thankfully.
Even turned to crane his neck, anxiously watching the two ships in the air.
One ship suddenly swerved and dove, coming down to crash against the top of the canyon. It skidded and scraped its way into open air, and then it fell down sideways to land on the canyon floor with a crash.
The forward window exploded outward in a blast of powerful fire magicks, and Kana flew out of those flames to land on the ground before Even.
"Okay, ship destroyed!" she announced happily.
"I'm not even surprised," Even said flatly, turning away to look for the other one. Ah, there it was!
Isa's ship wobbled and spun briefly before coming back under control. Then it lowered itself into the canyon to land on its two legs properly.
Even beckoned Aeleus as he ran for the ship.
Kana sped after them, outpacing them and leaping up into the cargo bay first.
Even and Aeleus followed with high magical jumps.
Even immediately strode to stand on a small platform in the center, which rose up and took him into the cockpit.
It was a surprisingly dark, surprisingly cramped area of the ship, all in all. Though, it did have three separate stations. One on each side, and a central one.
Isa was there in the center, grasping the controls. If one wanted to call them...controls.
Who designed controls that looked like that? It was as if someone had welded a couple of bars together, all sticking out strangely!
"Do you have a good enough grasp to get us back in the air again - and moving?" Even asked Isa.
Isa flashed a small grin. "I think I can manage it."
"Good. We have tanks waiting to blow us apart out there, so speed would be appreciated."
"As you say."
Isa wrestled with the controls (rather literally), and the ship shot up into the air like a cork.
Even grabbed the nearest object for support.
Isa spun the ship around, aiming toward a distant beam of red light, and pushed the controls forward to send them speeding off above the canyon.
Even let out a breath of long-held relief. "Good - just keep us going where we need to be."
Isa nodded, focusing on his task.
Even strode away, back onto the little elevator to descend into the hangar.
He spied Aeleus leaning against a wall, his arms crossed.
Kana was sprawled on the floor, on her back, her arms resting on her stomach.
Even went to her, and sat down beside her.
"Thank you," he said, in a quiet voice. "For listening to me."
She glanced at him in surprise. She smiled, warm and true. "It was fun. I didn't you could do anything fun."
Even frowned, shaking his head. "I suppose if we are to go solely by your definition of 'fun,' yes."
"All of that was fun!" she went on, breathless and exuberant. "It was far better than killing Heartless."
"Was it? So you enjoyed the motorbike riding, then?"
"Yes! It was so easy - and it was so fun."
"Well, perhaps that can be your non-combat-oriented past-time. If I were to acquire a real motorbike for you, would you like to ride it around the town? No, outside the town only," Even amended quickly. "We seem to have plenty of canyons and pathways of our own now, similar enough to this place, actually. You could go out there and do whatever insane, dangerous tricks you want to."
Kana sat up quickly, staring at him. "You'd...give me something? To have fun with?"
"If you'd actually use it - and if it would actually be a viable alternative to you constantly looking for fights," Even replied seriously. "Your obsession with battle must be curbed, Kana. You must learn to restrain yourself. You must. Sparring is perfectly fine, but actual fights to the death? Risking injury? No. That must stop. You cannot live like this. No one can. It's just the way to an early grave. Do you understand? You have so much potential...and I couldn't- bear to see it all cut short."
Kana frowned, looking away and drawing her knees in. For a long minute, she was silent.
Even hoped she was actually thinking it all over.
He hoped...
"Okay," came her quiet, simple reply. "Get me a bike, and I'll stop fighting all the time. Except for sparring - I'm still doing that. I did that, when I was king of England, you know. Killing your opponents just means you can't ever fight them again. And that was a real disappointment."
"W-well - as morbid as that admission was - I'm glad you've...realized that," Even stammered. "Excellent, then! Yes. I will...find a way to get you a- motorcycle. And...you may feel free to ask others to spar with you from time to time. Daily, even, if you find a willing partner. But they must be willing, Kana. And if they are not, you must accept that. Can you do that? There will be no more throwing yourself at someone and attacking! Your impulses must be controlled."
Kana looked at him at last, thoughtfulness in her eyes. "I understand..."
"Why are you looking at me like that...?"
"You can fight-!"
"No," Even said firmly. Then he paused. On second thought...would it not be best if he were the one to spar with her first? At least at first, for a time? To continue teaching her, instructing her, impressing upon her...what was important? And he could keep her in a more controlled environment that way, as well. Not let her wander off when he didn't even know if she could handle it...or what she would do to anyone else. "All right," he amended. "But as you're well aware, I have other, important scientific endeavors to accomplish! I will not be fighting with you more than once per day. And you will be doing your best to listen to everything I say, and take it to Heart. Do you understand? That is my condition."
"Yes. I'll keep listening to you. Mostly..." Kana added, with a small smirk.
"I suppose that's good enough for now," Even replied, nodding to her.
When the ship had neared the source of the red energy beam, Even could only stare.
The structure looming in front of them, surrounded by tall hexagonal pillars, looked far too similar to the Castle That Never Was, in some ways.
Even went up to the cockpit to relay the plan to Isa, and he did as instructed.
The ship soared around the massive Central Core structure, and landed on a large rock platform near the front entrance. Isa had figured out how to make the "legs" of the ship snap closed, creating a thick, singular strut for it to land on.
With the ship parked, they leapt out onto the platform, and made their way quickly toward the entrance.
They entered the structure with weapons drawn, ready for practically anything.
Inside, it was most definitely a core of some kind.
It was a huge, circular chamber, with an outer ring walkway that surrounded a massive, red pool of energy in the center. Lines of orange light crept up the walls in unison, while others bled down into the burning red core from over the outer walkway.
The red core burst with light, and the massive face of the MCP appeared in the center of the chamber.
"FOOLISH USERS. YOU COME TO CHALLENGE ME DIRECTLY?" the MCP spoke. "YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DEFEAT ME HERE - TO DESTROY ALL THAT I AM."
"Permission to destroy?" Kana spoke, glancing at Even with barely, barely restrained excitement.
Even raised an eyebrow at her. "You're actually asking for once?"
"I can learn," she said proudly, smirking at him and tossing her head.
"Well, since you have learned something, I suppose I should reward you," Even responded, with a small grin of his own. "Permission granted. Get crazy; give it all you have. This being a true life and death battle, I want you to hold nothing back."
"YES!" promptly turned, raised a hand, and fired off a massive stream of lightning for the MCP's face.
The MCP let out a yell of pain as the electricity covered its...cylindrical body, shooting down to fill up the core and burst back up out again, shooting out the top of the building's open ceiling along with the red energy beam.
The MCP glared down at her as it recovered. Suddenly, dozens of large, grey panels materialized in a ring around the core pit.
Kana raised a hand, gathering pink energy to form a huge magical sphere, swirling with several smaller spheres, and then she cast her arm down with gusto.
The magical attack struck the panels directly in front of her; the smaller spheres exploded first, one after another, and then the main one blew up afterward. Seven panels were obliterated.
Isa stepped forward beside Kana and swung his Claymore upward, sending out a line of blue flames for the MCP. Kana grinned and thrust her weapon over her head, creating a burning fire orb above herself. The orb promptly began spitting out dozens of fiery projectiles per second, all of them homing in on the MCP to barrage it.
A barrier rose up around the MCP, and the missing panels rematerialized. The panels glowed brightly, and then they all began firing off thick laser beams. Then, they began to swiftly rotate, sweeping the circular walkway with scorching energy.
Aeleus simply raised his weapon and hunkered down, a shroud of energy around him, blocking it all.
Kana leapt up and stabbed her Keyblade into the wall, hanging from it with one hand, her feet kicking at the air as if she were actually bored.
Isa mimicked her strategy, jumping high and impaling the spikes on the end of his Claymore into the wall.
Even was left to quickly raise his hand and surround himself in a thick cocoon of ice while keeping his shield raised - just in case.
The MCP's energy beams swept past several times per second, burning at his icy construct at an alarming rate.
It stopped soon enough, however, and he was able to dispel the construct without worry.
Though, it had been close. Far too close.
This process, this dance of theirs, was repeated several more times, methodically, until finally...the MCP froze, turning blue, and began to fade.
As it did, Kana suddenly stepped forward, raising her Keyblade. An energy beam flew out to strike the MCP, and a distinct image of a Keyhole appeared briefly before fading. Even heard the distinct, echoing noise of a lock being turned.
"What did you just do?" he asked her, staring.
She turned to him, concentration on her face. Then, she shrugged. "No clue."
"Well...let's hope it finished him off for good," Isa remarked, breathing rather heavily as he dismissed his Claymore. He looked to Even. "Where do we go from here? Rather, how do we get back to the real world?"
Even glanced away, thinking. "There was that terminal inside Tron's cell...and that DTD computer system, of course. If we were to access an internal...terminal...we might be able to communicate with Master Ansem and the others on the outside."
"Is that an educated guess?" Isa said, his lips curving.
Even smiled back, just so. "Yes. It is. But it's also backed by simple logic: the MCP was able to communicate with us out there by some means, wasn't it? We should be able to do the same...somehow."
"Let's give it a try, then," said Isa, nodding, turning to limp toward the exit. "I think I've had enough of this place to last the rest of my life."
"I quite agree," Even murmured, stalking forward to follow the man.
The group made their way back across the world without interference.
It was strange - much like their arrival, the city seemed empty.
They flew back to the area they'd arrived in, and crossed the platform to the prison cell building.
They ran down the hall and turned left, entering the small cell with its strange windows - and that terminal in the corner.
Even was surprised to see it was powered on now.
Perhaps destroying the MCP had freed up power for the rest of the city...or something along those lines?
Even accessed it, tapping away at the keys to navigate menus and windows.
He frowned, then did some more quick navigation until he found it.
Laser digitization initiation protocol.
Even activated it, and a light began to glow in the room immediately.
He turned to look at the others, smiling in relief.
It was finally over - time to leave this world behind.
A glinting reflection caught his eye, and he looked past Isa to see, in the hallway, Tron standing there.
The light flashed, and the world changed before Even could even get a word out in warning!
AN: Pure hectic Grid fun is now over! But is the Grid done with THEM yet? xD Muhahaha! :P Told you there was still gonna be action lol.