Press Conference # 8

[digitalariel]

"Excuse me, Quora, can you tell us why Mr. Flynn has avoided almost all public appearances since taking over Encom?"

Quorra forced a smile, her unusually white teeth gleaming towards the sea of reporters and photographers. Even after seven press conferences in the past eight months, the public was still calmoring to know anything and everything

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[changedthegame]

Sam let his arm slip off the back of the couch to settle around Quorra's shoulders. His eyes closed again and sighed deeply. Work. He hated talking about work. Almost as much as he hated being there sometimes. The whole thing just made him so... tired. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He'd been at Encom for months, now, yet there were still people screwing around with him and trying to drive him out. Encom had stopped making as much money as it used to, with Sam at the helm. He only wanted to make enough money to keep the company running, and he wanted the money to pay his employees. He wasn't as concerned about the big payout as they were, and they hated it. Sometimes he just felt like walking out the door and never looking back, but that would be allowing them to win, and Sam wasn't about to do that.

Quorra always asked him about work, though, and he always complied. He didn't know if it was because she was genuinely curious, or of it was because she just felt obligated to ask him how his day was or something but- "Work was exhausting. Work is always exhausting." To the point where he'd actually started cutting back on his own hours here and there. Though it helped that he had more than his dog to go home to every night.

"Next time there's a press conference, I'll take time off of work-" Which he usually did anyway. He always left work early or went in late whenever Quorra had a conference. He didn't want her to have to deal with it alone. "-and I'll do it. You could use a break from them." And it wasn't the first time that Sam had said something like that, but he always backed out again.

[digitalariel]

Quorra hated how tired he sounded. His job took so much out of him, more than it ought to. Or so she thought, but then again, she knew relatively little about work. She did occasionally go to Encom with him as a part-time personal assistant and something of a PR, but she still hadn't spent enough time there to know how it should really work.

"They still aren't taking well to you running the company?" she asked shrewdly, idly tracing circles on his chest with her fingers. "You would think by now they'd have figured things out."

Quorra laughed softly. She knew how likely that was. "Don't bother, I know you hate them. I don't mind. It's me they want to talk to anyway."

[changedthegame]

In all honesty, Sam probably was more tired than he should be but it wasn't all work related. Not sleeping well at home was a big issue there. Between thinking about work and everything else, and dreaming of his father's death, sleep wasn't something that generally came too easily to him. Despite everything, he was managing without the sleep.

"They gave it a rest for a while, which meant that they were going to be at it again sooner or later. Besides, we're in development of a new operating system and they all think that we're going to lose money on it because of me. I may not be the business man they want me to be, but I'm not as terrible as they think I am, either."

Sam sat up a little and looked down, simply watching her fingers on his chest for a few long, quiet moments. "They want to know about you, yet they just keep asking the same questions over and over again." And they pry into her personal life. He hated that. That was not asking questions about her, as an ISO.

[digitalariel]

Quorra watched him as he spoke, sighing a little. There was nothing for it. The User world was giving them both problems and it was a lot to handle.

"You've got the company to handle, and I've got the press. It's nothing I can't do," she said softly.

Then she voiced it, the idea she'd been thinking about for days, months, almost this entire year now.

"Maybe we should visit the Grid."

[changedthegame]

That was something that Sam hadn't thought about for a while, but when he did think about it, it was all he could think about. Going back and just escaping for a while. Seeing what had changed since they were last there. Seeing if maybe, somehow, his father had survived the reintegration. He had serious doubts, but he still wondered. How long had it even been? He pulled the mircochip from inside his shirt - the one that was on a chain around his neck, so he could keep it with him all the time. It had the Grid stored on it, after all - and looked it over. He sometimes forgot that Quorra wasn't home, like he was. She'd left her home and everything she knew, behind. She was from a different world, entirely.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe we should."

[digitalariel]

Quorra's lips parted in a soft gasp as she saw the microchip, unable to help herself. Her fingers stretched out to touch it lightly. A powerful ache rose in her and now she wanted to go home more than anything.

"Can we please?"

All thoughts of the pizza on the way vanished. She wanted to go back into the Grid now.

[changedthegame]

Her entire world stored on a chip that he wore around his neck. It seemed strange to him. But at the same time, it almost made sense. He was the son of their Creator and... It just made sense. A little. But it also made him a little uneasy. One tiny mistake, and everything on that chip could disappear. Or someone could easily steal it if they found out what it was or... something.

Sam was tired and he'd been looking forward to simply relaxing for the rest of the evening, but he didn't want to deny her a trip to her home. He felt he'd been denying her such a thing since they'd gotten to the User world, even if indirectly. He took the chain from round his neck and looked the chip over a little more closely. "Let's... Yeah, okay."

[digitalariel]

Quorra smiled brightly, sitting up straighter and watching him. Her smile faded slightly as she looked him over. He was clearly exhausted, and as much as she wanted to go, she didn't want to if he was unwilling.

"We can wait, if you like," she said hesitantly. She was desperately hoping for him to say they could go.

[changedthegame]

Sam didn't really say much to that and simply patted her shoulder, then stood up. He held out his hand to her and gestured toward the basement door. Since moving into a house, he'd transported all of his father's old tech from the arcade, and set it all up in the basement. "Come on." He hadn't even been down there since getting everything down there and getting it all connected again. Nothing had been turned on, either, aside from doing it to test some connections. Other than that, the basement had been locked up, and the key was kept with him.

Speaking of, Sam pulled his keys from his pocket, going through the numerous keys on the ring until he found the one he was looking for. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and swallowed back a yawn. Just a little while wouldn't be so bad.

[digitalariel]

Quorra smiled, slipping her hand into Sam's and stepping towards the door. She waited patiently for him to unlock it before skipping inside.

"Ugh, it's so dusty!"

She coughed, putting a hand to her mouth, and wrinkled her nose up.

[changedthegame]

"I didn't realize how long it had been since I was last down here." It was reminiscent, though, of when he'd gone into the arcade for the first time in twenty years, and it actually made him smile a little. It had lead to him meeting Quorra, and getting to see his father one last time. Hell, even just the fact that he'd gotten to find out what happened to his father was... nice.

"Probably shouldn't have kept everything locked up for so much."

[digitalariel]

"Probably not," Quorra agreed with a small smile. "Oh, wait, we can't forget--"

Without finishing her sentence, she dashed back into the house. It wasn't long before she returned, clasping the two discs affectionately to her chest. One was Flynn's, the other was Sam's. She handed him his after a moment's pause, her smile fading. The only solid rememberence they had of Flynn was held tight between her fingers. The feel of it was comforting, but at the same time, it made everything seem so much more real.

[changedthegame]

Sam spun his own disc in his hands, but he was more focused on his father's, which Quorra seemed to be holding onto like loosening her grip on it meant loosening her grip on Flynn and his memory. He reached for his father's disc, but his hand fell to his side just short of it. Instead, he took a seat at the computer and started it up. He watched the monitor come to life, and the touchscreen elements light up. He didn't actually turn around to look at her again until the computer had completely booted up.

Everything was ready. All it needed was the microchip. He looked down at it, and then at the disc now resting on his leg, before preparing the chip, as well. Only then did he turn to look at Quorra. "Everything's all set. I just have to fire up the laser. Are you ready? Oh, and I want you to keep in mind that it's been a lot longer there, than it has been here, since you've been home."

[digitalariel]

Home. The word sent a shiver of anticipation through her. Quorra could hardly speak and simply settled for nodding. A tight knot of worry formed in her chest as she wondered what her world looked like now. Was there anything left? Had the Programs all destroyed each other, or had there been someone to lead the way?

And the most pressing question of all: Was Flynn alive? She clutched his disc a little closer to her, missing him more than ever. One hand released it to rest on Sam's shoulder and squeeze lightly.

"I'm ready," she breathed softly.

[changedthegame]

She may have been ready, but he wasn't. He wasn't ready to actually find out that his father really was dead. Not knowing had been driving him crazy for the past year, but not knowing was also a little comforting. He could imagine that his father was still alive somewhere in the Grid. Without confirmation, whatever he wanted to have happened to his father, could happen in his mind. He wasn't ready to go back to the Grid and find out that his father was dead and then there was just no hope. But he didn't feel it was up to him. He cared for Quorra and she missed her home. Sacrifices had to be made. So Sam just put on a smile and looked up at her. His index finger just sort of hovered over 'enter' for what felt like way too long. He wasn't ready for that, but he did it anyway.

[digitalariel]

Quorra took in a deep breath, watching, waiting. Then, quite suddenly, they were back.

They were in the Grid.

Quorra was afraid to open her eyes and reached out for Sam, her hand wrapping around his and squeezing lightly. She was afraid of what she would see. Who knew what had happened to her home in her absence? She'd been gone for a year User time, which was surely many cycles. It could be so completely different.

Or, it could look exactly the same.