Fic: Traitorous [9/?]
Title: Traitorous [9/?]Fandom: Tron: Legacy
Characters/Pairing: Sam/Tron (eventually), Zuse, Gem, OCs (Roznal, Kex)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters/world/etc. I'm just borrowing them.
Summary: Tron, Roznal and Kex find Sam, Zuse and Gem. Confrontations and unexpected events arise.
Chapter 9
Traitorous
“Mmm...” was the first sound he made, his body shifting slightly as he began to stir, eyelids slowly opening as black gradually shifted to neon, ceiling circuits stark in the dim lighting of the room. Sam slowly sat up, resting back on a hand on the digital surface he was on as the other found its way to the back of his neck, rubbing gently at the sore area with a palm. “What the hell..” he mumbled, lifting his head up a bit more as his vision started to clear, trying to get a better look at his surroundings.
“It seems that our guest has awakened,” he heard sharply off to his right, recognizing the voice and somehow finding himself hoping he'd never have to hear it again.
The User twisted towards the source of the words, closing his eyes tightly once before opening them, vision clearing that much more, the sight before him taking a moment for him to process. “Zuse..” his voice finally supplied, expression turning from confused to displeased, eyes darting to his left at the other flash of white in his peripheral vision. “Did you really have to hit me so hard,” he grumbled after his eyes had found the Siren, returning to the other program.
“Of course we did,” Zuse replied cheerily, tone dropping to false sincerity as he continued, “There was no other choice. Otherwise you would have come in here, disc flying and all! And that we just can't have.” The program was standing in front of the large, one panel window, the glowing city and clouds filled with lightning stretching out behind, the portal light shining off in the distance.
Sam's eyes focused on it, maybe just a little too long.
Zuse turned slightly to look over his shoulder, following the User's line of sight, turning back with a smug look of recognition on his face. “Ah yes, your time here is limited, isn't it. The clock must be ticking away. Tick, tick, tick,” he said casually, emphasizing his words with a pendulum-like swing of his cane, “And, naturally, your next thought would be about where that little souvenir of your father's went. Well, not too worry, I'll save you the trouble,” he finished, lifting his cane to point off to his right, the end of the program's signature tool aimed at a lit case on the other side of the room, something resembling a fragment encased inside.
Sam's eyes followed it gradually, acknowledgment settling in once his eyes found their target. “So that's it..” he said quietly, more so to himself than the two accompanying programs, rising to his feet slowly, off of the temporary digital, flat mattress-like object he'd been set on, the structure breaking down into pixels once he broke contact and was on his feet.
“Indeed it is,” Zuse replied anyway, “Fascinating little piece of equipment. It has the most interesting bits of information on it. Though, we are of course unable to fully utilize all of its functions.”
This guy sure does like hearing himself talk, Sam couldn't help thinking, eyes shifting to the Siren briefly before returning back to the subject of his mind's musings. She didn't seem all that amused, either.
“Which is where you come in,” Zuse finished, an expectant smile on his face.
The Users' attention fully focused on the program at the words, expression turning defiant with a look that said 'like hell'.
“Now, now, don't look at me that way,” Zuse said lightly, moving over after a moment, “Now, I'm not a forceful program by design,” he continued, raising his cane once he was close enough and pressing the end against Sam's chest, “but, as you may have noticed, Gem and I could use a little..'touching up', which requires a User. ..Or in this instance, requires you.”
Sam's jaw clenched but he kept quiet, eyes darting down at the cane before returning to the program's face, not liking where this was going. Great, so it's either help the player program or get a hole in the chest, he thought sarcastically to himself, which I could definitely do without.
It was only after Zuse had mentioned it and moved closer that Sam really noticed the damage he was talking about. Zuse's left leg and arm looked like they had been patched together, functional but not what they once were. There were faint gashes on his face and hands that looked like they'd also been covered over, or that he'd attempted to cover and repair them himself. Gem wasn't fairing any better when his eyes finally switched over to look at her. When she turned her head to look back at him, he could see a large portion of one side of her face was distorted, the color altered in a sickly way, one of her eyes lacking a pupil, instead all white. Part of her torso, from what he could see with where he was at and how she was sitting was also damaged. It seemed like she'd taken the brunt of whatever had caused it all.
“I see what you mean,” Sam said slowly after a moment, eyes shifting back up to the program in front of him, “Still doesn't mean I plan on helping you, especially not after what you did the last time we met,” he tried instead. Probably not the wisest way to go about things when he was basically held at gunpoint, but he meant every word of it.
“Oh, you're not still upset about that are you?” Zuse said, feigning sincerity once again, “I only did what I had to in order to survive. ..Just like I'm forced to do now.”
Sam didn't see it coming, not in the least. Zuse lifted his cane quickly, swinging it down at an angle across the User's face, Sam half falling over with the force of the sudden blow.
He could taste the blood forming in his mouth.
The User groaned quietly to himself, reaching up with a hand and rubbing at his jaw, eyes glaring back up at the program.
“Our other guests will be arriving soon,” Zuse said nonchalantly, “you wouldn't want them to see you in a worse state, now would you?” he taunted, motioning with his free hand at something Sam hadn't noticed until they stepped forward.
Six Black Guard programs seemed to practically emerge from the dark areas of the room, stepping forward to form an even, wide circle around the User and his captor.
Surrounded huh? I really need to work on my observation skills, Sam thought, almost sighing until he noticed the daring smirk on Zuse's face.
Sam just smirked defiantly back after a moment.
Zuse brought his cane down again.
_______________________________________________
The doors slid open, and what Tron saw brought about an unprecedented urge in his circuitry.
A violent one.
“Sam-!” he yelled out, mask folding back, revealing blue-gray eyes staring intently at the hunched over figure on the floor on his hands and knees, eyes immediately taking note of the small, rarely seen puddle of red liquid pooled on the floor, as well as the smeared drops surrounding the User.
He immediately started running forward, but Zuse's cane interrupted his line of sight, the blood stained end settling at Sam's neck, the blue-white glow coming out a sickly shade of yellow under the coated substance. “Ah-ah-ah,” the program said lightly, causing Tron to stop dead in his tracks, fingers tightening firmly around the discs in his hands, “If you want him to keep his pretty little head, I suggest you do what he should have done and play nice.”
The security program grit his teeth, combining his discs slowly after a few moments and, reluctantly, putting them back in place on his back, easing up a bit from his defensive stance, eyes glaring at the white program across the room.
“Good,” Zuse said cheerily, angling Sam's head up with the end of his cane.
Sam coughed a couple times, the taste of blood stinging the back of his throat, forcing his eyes open to look across the gap of space. “Hey,” he said somewhat quietly, voice rough, “Sorry guys. They caught me,” he half joked, forcing a small, half smile onto his face.
“Sam-” Tron said urgently, expression openly shifting to worry before quickly turning to anger, eyes returning to Zuse.
“What did you do to him?!” The security program demanded, doing his best to remain in place.
Roznal was a little surprised at the scene before her, eyes just a little wide before they focused on Zuse as he spoke, trying to keep her thought processes objective.
Kex's expression was carefully impassive, as always, though a little more intensely focused than Sam remembered ever seeing it in the short time since he'd met the program.
“We just had a little chat about him repairing our code,” Zuse said lightly, “I think we've come to an understanding, yes?” Zuse glanced down at the User in front of him, Sam responding with a stubborn but somewhat resigned stare, eyes glancing over and up at the program. “Yes, I think we did,” Zuse concluded for himself, eyes glancing over at the Siren, “If you would?” he asked out.
Gem finally rose from her seat, not as lithely as she once moved, Sam could tell her movements were a little strained even from his peripheral vision. She walked over in slightly unsteady but calculated steps, reaching up after she'd stopped in front of the lit case and sliding a couple fingers along the top front edge, the lid shifting back and granting her access to the fragment inside. The Siren reached in with a hand and retrieved the source of so much of the commotion, turning and calmly making her way over to Zuse's side, standing on the other side of Sam.
“Much appreciated,” Zuse said with a pleased smile, taking the fragment from Gem with his free hand and holding it up slightly. “There was a bit of information we came across on here during our investigation that mentioned Flynn's ability to repair programs with a simple touch of sorts,” he started, eyes glancing at the three programs just inside the room's entrance before shifting down to the User, “Care to show us how,” he demanded more than asked, the signs of his patience wearing thin becoming more and more obvious.
He was tired of being incomplete. Damaged.
Tron's memory banks were racing, an earlier memory suddenly retrieved.
“User power..”
“Whatever it was, it worked!”
“Sam- Sam. Sam? Are you alright?”
“I.. ..Yeah, I just felt a little dizzy.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I just got up too fast, that's all. Just a head rush.”
Tron's eyes widened just a bit, suspicion arising and worry deeply embedded in his circuits. But it wasn't just that, was it, he thought after a moment, fear becoming more and more present in his chest. He opened his mouth quickly, about to try and intervene in what was about to happen, before his suspicions became true, before something possibly irreversible came to pass, but he was cut off as the User's hands reached up after a moment as the two program's own hands were offered down to him, grasping Gem's and Zuse's wrists firmly, grudgingly, the fragment glowing with a blinding white light at the connection.
Sam's circuitry shifted up from red to a blinding white in a sudden wave, the white programs quickly engulfed in the flood of light, their expressions filled with surprise and awe. The User's eyes widened, eyes glowing a faint blue before quickly escalating to a glowing white, matching his circuits. It's too much-! were Sam's only thoughts as an overwhelming surge of energy rushed through his circuits, and he could have sworn his skin was burning with the sudden surge of energy, the heat of it all.
As the room whited out in a sudden burst of blinding light, Sam's mouth opened, and he couldn't hold back the scream that clawed its way out of his throat.
______________________________________________
Tron wasn't sure when it happened, he couldn't see, he couldn't see anything for what felt like a thousand more cycles, but when he could start to make out the objects in the room, the figures across from him, his eyes could only focus on Sam, who was no longer upright but laying on the floor. His head was turned so that half of his face was pressed to the reflective surface, a red stream of liquid trailing out of the corner of his mouth, eyes closed, and his circuits were..
Weren't.
They weren't glowing.
They weren't emitting any energy at all.
For the briefest moment, or maybe it was the longest, Tron felt like his own circuitry had ceased with it, eyes staring intently at the User on the floor.
...Sam.
Zuse and Gem were repaired, spotless even, looked like they'd never been injured a cycle in their lives, but Tron didn't care, didn't even really register the fact.
“What happened-” Roznal started, eyes trying to adjust quickly to the new light levels in the room, Kex mirroring her confused expression.
But Tron cut her off, his eyes widening slightly before narrowing dangerously, pulling his discs off his back with inhuman speed and rushing forward, a disc in each hand. For the first time in a long time, he yelled. It came out rough, his vocal coding unaccustomed to the strain, but he did it anyway, closing the distance between himself and Zuse in record time, and if it weren't for the Black Guard that had been ever watchful, Zuse's head would have been derezzed off of his shoulders with that same inhuman speed.
The Black Guard managed to block the attack, but it crippled slightly under the force of the security programs' blow, Tron quickly derezzing it with a swing of his other disc, burying it deep into the program's chest at a diagonal angle before it fell to red pixelated sections and scattered across the floor.
_______________________________________________
Zuse was shocked, to say the least, dropping the fragment of Flynn's disc during the commotion. “All fixed, time to go!” he said quickly with wide eyes locked in Tron's predatory glare, the rest of the Black Guards finally rushing in to deal with the threat. Zuse motioned to Gem who followed him, hurriedly trying to make it to a hidden exit, but were quickly cut off by red and green circuitry.
“Where do you think you're going? We have a score to settle,” Roznal let out, taking a stance in front of the two white programs, Kex mirroring the motions.
“It was all only in order to-” Zuse started, but was cut off by a rough shove from behind, his feet automatically moving a few steps forward, stumbling slightly as he tried to turn around and comprehend what had just happened.
“- to survive,” Gem finished for him, a hand positioned out in front of her.
“What are you doi-” Zuse started, wide eyed, face filled with shock and confusion. But, he was cut off again as a red and green disc came down into his shoulders, tearing through his chest and down to his waist in fast, forced movements before he finally derezzed, pixelating into white pieces that fell and scattered across the floor, cane landing next to the mess with a clang.
Roznal and Kex stood up from their braced positions, eyes darting to the Siren before them. “Your business is finished,” she said calmly, moving down quickly in one swift movement to grab the light cane, aiming it up and into Kex's chest as he moved to attack her, disc pausing in mid-swing at the new pressure. “Your business is finished,” Gem repeated firmly, holding the cane steadily in place.
“Kex-!” Roznal let out, gritting her teeth behind him.
“Not until you are removed from your seat of power,” Kex returned stiffly, unmoving, “power must be returned to the military.”
“What?” Roznal asked incredulously, “What are you talking about? We came here to take down Zuse!”
“No!” Kex shouted, taking the red circuited program by surprise, “You came here to take down Zuse, I came to give power where it was always meant to be! The military should be in charge of the Grid!,” he half yelled, eyes focused intently on the Siren in front of him.
For once, Gem smirked. “Unlikely,” was all she said before firing the light cane, a burst of light colliding with the program's chest, derezzing him on the spot with a distorted yell. Kex quickly fell into green pixelation bits, scattering to the floor with the clang of his disc.
“Kex!” Roznal yelled, eyes wide. “You-!” she started, but the light cane shifted to her, stopping her in her tracks.
“Not unless you want to end up the same way,” Gem said firmly, expression returned to its stoic facade.
Roznal hesitated, and it was long enough. Gem swung the cane hard with inhuman force across the red circuited program's face, knocking her unconscious as she hit the floor.
White eyes returned to the still User and enraged security program.
_____________________________________________
He couldn't think, every move seemed to come on its own, automatic responses to the Black Guard's attacks. Tron twisted, leaped, flipped, turned, all a series of actions that had been put to use for over a thousand cycles and in multiple systems, practiced to perfection over time. He brought a disc down into one of the Guards' helmets, ducking low as he turned to plunge both discs into anothers' abdomen, derezzing one quickly after the other. The last three moved to surround him, so he moved quickly, rushing one to send a foot to its' waist before twisting around and avoiding two simultaneous staff lunges, forcing them down with two even blows of his elbows before hurling his discs at the two Black Guards on each side, the discs flying through their necks and derezzing them simultaneously.
He caught the returning discs as he jumped, leaping forward, above the last Black Guard's disc aimed for his own chest before landing on the programs' shoulders, flipping forward and landing on his feet behind it after slicing deep into its' back with both of his discs during the spin, the Black Guard pixelating and shattering as it hit the ground behind him.
Tron only paused briefly before turning quickly, running over to the User collapsed on the floor, combining his discs and placing them roughly into position on his back before dropping to his knees next to Sam, hands reaching out but stopping just short of touching him, unsure about what to do, almost afraid to make physical contact. “Sam? Sam!” he tried, finally reaching down after not getting a reply, gripping his shoulder and waist gently to turn him over, the User's back resting on top of Tron's knees, the weight a brief comfort, but only grounding him at the lack of energy that should be coursing through the Users' circuitry. “SAM!” he yelled, shaking the User gently at first, then a little more roughly, eyes searching Sam's face for any response, anything.
Nothing.
He didn't notice the Siren had made her way over, stopping just beside him.
“His circuits could not handle the amount of energy linked through the release,” she said calmly, bending down and picking up the stray fragment just a little off to the side, kneeling down next to the security program after a moment and setting the cane down onto the reflective surface of the floor, “Check his disc.”
Tron didn't bother looking at her, only shifting Sam gently onto his side long enough to retrieve the disc on his back, resting the User's body back against his lap as he tried to activate the identity projection.
Nothing happened.
His brow drew together in frustration and confusion, trying to activate it a few more times.
“It is as I said then,” she confirmed after a moment, hand moving into Tron's line of sight, holding up the fragment for him to take. “Merge it,” she instructed, Tron's eyes finally glancing up to meet hers.
“What will it..” he trailed off, a hint of hope coming into his eyes amidst all of the anger and worry, and unexpected pain, “Will this..” he tried again, but couldn't finish the sentence.
“I do not know for sure,” Gem answered, the fragment still held up in the space between Tron's face and Sam's disc, “Are you willing to try?”
Tron's eyes shifted down to the small object, taking it quickly after a moment and letting his eyes quickly scan over the surface of Sams' disc, finally deciding to just connect a sharp corner piece in between one of the discs' panels.
The fragment glowed with another blinding white light, the energy surging through and lighting up all of the discs' circuitry. It glowed, brighter, brighter-
Until Tron's visual input couldn't handle the amount of light, closing his eyes tightly and turning his head away slightly as it escalated into one final burst of blinding white light, the disc itself heating up in his grasp with the massive amount of new energy.
But he didn't dare let it go.
He looked back after a moment, the light dimming down behind his eyelids before he opened them, face returning forward to look over the disc once more.
Tron was stunned at what he saw.
The disc had a new set of circuitry layered over it, intricate white patterns lacing around both sides, engraved in the black sections of the Users' disc.
The security program only stopped to stare at it for a moment, blinking once before his expression turned a mix of determined, hopeful and cautions, gently shifting Sam back onto his side and hesitantly, carefully setting the disc back into position on his back, moving back slightly as he set the User back down, back now laying on the ground.
Nothing happened.
Not at first.
Tron was about to open his mouth and ask, or demand, answers from the Siren. But, then, suddenly a light shot through the User's circuitry, lighting up everything, and Sam's body jolted, back arching sharply against the floor, tensing, hands instinctively trying to grip, claw desperately at the floor. Sam's eyes shot open soon after, irises and pupils glowing white as the same intricate design that had formed on the disc surfaced on his suit, on his skin, in his eyes, mouth opening in a silent scream.
Everything went white.
(You'll have to copy/paste the link):
http://shaishda.livejournal.com/2847.html Execute [ Ch. 8 ] | http://shaishda.livejournal.com/3573.html Return [ Ch. 10 ]