Tron slash part two
Next chapter of...
SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE
Yes, we’re back! Longer chapter this time, and less fluff. Sorry. :P But that’s okay, because this chapter involves Ram being an EPIC BADASS, aww yeah. 8D It occurred to me that we never got to see him fight in the movie. I figured he had to have been pretty good, to survive the Game Grid as long as he did. Fluff will resume in Chapter 3.
CHAPTER 2-VICTORY AND LOSS
Ram smirked to himself as he stood at the controls of his very own stolen Recognizer. Flynn had run off to find Tron, but he’d procured this “ride”, as he’d called it, for Ram’s use. Now he was speeding along high above the solar sailer that held not only Flynn and Tron, but also Yori, Tron’s mate. Their destination was none other than the Central Domain of the MCP itself.
When they got there, Ram’s task would be pretty simple. He was their air support-another one of Flynn’s bizarre User-world phrases. He was to keep any tanks or Recognizers away from Tron and Flynn while they tried to bring down the MCP. Ram still wasn’t convinced that this was even going to work, but when he thought of the chance to live in a free system again… well, what was a risk of deresolution compared to that? Tron and Flynn both believed so strongly that they could do this that he couldn’t help but believe it along with them.
And besides, now he knew Flynn was a User. Now he’d seen what Flynn could do. In the past two millicycles, the User had saved Ram from derezzing and diverted a solar sailer energy beam by sticking his arm in it. Either of those would’ve instantly derezzed any program. Oh yes, Flynn had evened the odds considerably. Ram’s smirk turned into a grin.
Then his grin dimmed a little as he thought back to what had happened in the last stolen Recognizer. Was that really just a simple energy transfer, like Flynn said? Whatever it was, it’d felt pretty good. Of course, he’d been derezzing at the time, so of course an influx of energy would feel good. Although it didn’t hurt that the User was very (very) good-looking… His right hand reached up, almost of its own will, to brush over his mouth. The Recognizer swerved sideways.
“Watch it up there, buddy!” Flynn said over his communication subroutine.
“Heh, sorry. I, uh, lost my grip on the controls for a moment,” Ram replied quickly. His facial circuits glowed a little in embarrassment. He grabbed the controls again and forced himself to focus. And then, suddenly, focusing wasn’t all that difficult. There below him was the Carrier, Sark’s command ship, coming down a canyon on an intercept course with the sailer. “Flynn, Tron, look out!” he yelled.
Too late. The Carrier smashed into the sailer and broke it in half. The front end tumbled away and derezzed; the back half vanished into the massive command ship.
“Nooo!” Ram shouted. He went to his communication subroutine again, desperate to know if his friends had survived. Wait-I can’t draw attention to myself. Tron told me not to. If they’ve been captured, I can only help them from out here. So what do I do, then? He stopped the Recognizer and pounded his fist against the side of the control column.
His two fellow conscripts would know what to do, if it was either of them in his place. Tron was a security program, he’d been created for the fight. Ram had fought alongside him in a disc battle once; he’d never seen such power and graceful efficiency of movement before. You knew just looking at him that he was good at what he did. And Flynn, well, he was a User. Of course he’d know what to do.
But Ram was just an actuarial program who happened to be pretty decent at throwing a disc. What did he know about rescuing anyone?
“I’ll just wait and see,” he told himself. He set the Recognizer in motion again and followed the Carrier.
It didn’t take long to reach the Central Domain. It sprawled out beneath the Recognizer, a vast plane of blue-grey reaching out in all directions. In the middle rose a high mesa, its grey surface riddled with jagged red lines. Red transport beams from every Domain intersected here, right in the middle of the mesa. And there at the center of it was the MCP-a massive red column stretching upwards beyond the limits of Ram’s vision. Heavy security protocols surrounded its base to protect the monster’s core. Ram felt a shudder of fear deep in his central processors. But he tightened his grip on the controls and kept gliding forward. He worked up his courage and dropped the Recognizer down, closer to the Carrier but still above it.
A docking module detached from the command ship then, no doubt with Sark aboard, and went cruising off towards the red column. As for the rest of the ship… “It’s derezzing!” Ram cried. But then he spotted a blur of movement atop the module. Ram locked the Recognizer’s visual processors onto it and zoomed in. What he saw made hope come alive again in his core subroutines: it was Tron! Ram let out a whooping laugh and punched his fists in the air.
“He made it!” Then he got even more good news as a voice came in over his communication subroutine.
“Ram, that you?” it asked.
“Flynn, you made it too! Oh, this is great!” he hollered. “Tron’s alive and free, he’s riding on top of that docking module. Is Yori there?”
“Yeah, she’s here,” Flynn said.
“Good. Tron’d be pretty mad if you let her get derezzed,” Ram jibed.
“Gotcha, buddy. Go help Tron, okay? We got it covered up here.”
“Are you sure, Flynn?” Ram turned the Recognizer and saw two blue and gray shapes atop what was left of the Carrier. One of them waved at him.
“Positive. Yori here knows what to do with these controls-right?” Ram heard the muffled reply in the background. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Okay, if you say so. Give me a shout if you need me!” And with that, Ram turned the Recognizer and went after Tron. But by then, the MCP must’ve caught on to his deception. A tank rezzed up on the MCP’s mesa and took aim. “Oh, Users,” he muttered. He punched the lever control forward and the Recognizer raced ahead.
The tank fired a chevron and he swerved, just barely missing the projectile. It fired again and its shot went wide this time. C’mon, almost there… Ram thought. The mesa loomed closer and closer on the Recognizer’s visual processors. A bright streak of blue caught his eye; there was Tron, going toe-to-toe with none other than Commander Sark!
The tank fired twice more, and the second chevron hit the Recognizer’s right leg. The vessel started to derezz around Ram even as it kept hurtling forward. Just a little bit more… Here it goes! He gritted his teeth and jumped.
Ram tumbled through empty space with his eyes squeezed shut. His core processors thrummed with terror. I jumped too soon! he thought in panic.
And then he opened his eyes just enough to see the mesa rushing up towards him. He slammed into it with a grunt and rolled, skidding over its surface. He came to rest right by the feet of a Guard. Several of them, in fact. It looked like the MCP had arranged a welcoming committee for the conscript.
“Heh.” He grinned weakly up at the Guards. The nearest one raised its staff, the end sparking and glowing. Ram twisted to the side and kicked out with both feet. He hit the Guard in the knees and the program went down. He rolled and sprang upright, grabbing the staff as he went. The other three Guards raised their weapons. The downed one stood up again as a new staff rezzed up in his hands. Well, this was going to be interesting. The most opponents he’d ever taken on at once was three, and he’d very nearly been derezzed. Four-against-one was a much trickier situation. Tron had gone up against four a few times-but Ram, well, he wasn’t Tron.
Except maybe… maybe just this once. His friends’ lives were at stake now, not just his own. The very future of the system was at stake, in fact. So maybe, just for the next millicycle, he could be a hero like Tron was. He reached back and retrieved his disc.
The Guard to his far left moved first, striking out with his staff. Ram blocked with his stolen weapon and hurled his disc. The Guard dodged and struck again. The attack forced him back, right into the reach of another one. A second Guard slashed at Ram’s side. He reeled back, saw his disc soaring towards him, reached for it-and caught it. His grasping fingers closed around its edge just in time to slice at the staff coming at him. The disc cut through the haft of the weapon, derezzing it. He threw again and this time, the disc hit its mark. The second Guard vanished in a flash of light. Ram shouted triumphantly as his disc flew back to his hand.
Now the first one came at him again. The conscript blocked and jabbed with the staff, grazing the Guard’s arm with a spray of broken code. But the red-circuited program recovered and spun his weapon. He brought the glowing tip down at Ram’s head. The conscript raised his own staff above his head in defense.
CRACK! The weapon snapped in half as the Guard’s attack hit. Ram staggered, his knees nearly buckling from the force of the blow. The useless weapon clattered to the ground and derezzed. A third Guard made his move, and Ram just barely had time to spin and block the attack with his disc. He thanked the Users that identity discs weren’t easily destroyed.
The remaining three had him surrounded; it was just like a three-on-one match now, but at much closer quarters. Ram gripped his disc tighter. Two of the Guards attacked, both stabbing with their staffs. He dodged the first and deflected the second, its tip glancing off of his disc with a resounding clang. The conscript raised his arm to throw, but immediately brought it back down again to fend off the third Guard.
I can’t throw my disc! They’ll just impale me if I try! Ram thought desperately. The Guards advanced as one unit, driving him back step by step. He knew they were pushing him to the mesa’s edge. They were taking their sweet time with it, too. Ram flexed his fingers around the edge of the disc. He had to try, anyway.
The one in front of him was the Guard he’d damaged. The wound crackled with energy as the code around it malfunctioned. He glanced sideways at the program to his right… then feinted right and hurled the disc as fast as he could straight ahead, at the Guard with the injured arm.
It caught the program off-balance and sliced into his abdomen. Ram lunged forward and seized the Guard’s staff before it could derezz with its owner. He caught the disc again, blocked an incoming strike with the staff, and smirked at the two remaining Guards. He twirled the disc between his fingers. The programs didn’t leave him much time to be smug, though. They both advanced again, staffs raised. Ram found himself pushed back again as he deflected attacks from both sides. He used his disc as a shield now, lashing out from behind it with the staff. It was no good, though-the Guards’ staffs were there to meet each of his attacks.
He twisted sideways as the left-hand Guard’s staff connected with his own. Ram gasped as the staff-point came within a half-pixel’s width of his throat. His systems were still recovering from his near-deresolution, and his energy stores were depleting faster than normal. He needed to end this, and fast. They nearly had him to the edge of the mesa now; he could feel it behind him, a sheer drop of unfathomable height.
And then, as if by the grace of the Users, he got the distraction he needed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one that boded well for himself or his friends. The Guards turned suddenly, staring back towards the center of the mesa. Ram was staring, too. It would’ve been difficult not to, really.
Sark loomed above the mesa, rising higher and higher with each moment. The commander stood up to his full height, impossibly tall, and strode off towards the MCP’s inner sanctum at the mesa’s center. Tron was nowhere to be seen, but if Ram had to guess, he’d bet the security program was in that inner sanctum.
Ram gave himself a shake and tore his eyes away from the sight. He was done with these Guards. He reared his arm back and threw, well, like his life depended on it. The disc cut into the right-hand program’s throat. The Guard on the left charged and Ram spun sideways, grabbed the haft of the weapon, and wrenched. The Guard stumbled past him, tripped, and rolled once-right off the mesa’s edge. The program’s screams echoed as he fell.
The actuarial program replaced his disc on his back and sprinted off after Tron. He leaped over the red chasms lacing the mesa’s surface like they weren’t even there, desperate to reach the security program. He was exhausted when he arrived, but still anxious to do whatever he could. He dashed up the slope into the MCP’s inner sanctum, then skidded to a halt and shrank back from the sight that met his eyes.
There was the MCP, crimson red and terrible to look at. There were programs pinned to the walls of the sanctum, their faces contorted in pain as the Master Control absorbed their functions. In front of that all-seeing face stood Sark. And there at the program’s huge feet stood Tron. The security program was in a half-crouch, disc in hand, braced and ready. Ram could just barely see his face in the flashing red light coming from the MCP; the security program’s eyes blazed with a calm, cold fury. Even in the presence of the MCP, Tron stood firm. Ram’s core processors filled with pride on his friend’s behalf.
The pride disappeared as that massive red face looked his way. Those flat eyes locked onto the actuarial program, sending a jolt of dread racing through his circuits.
“Another rogue conscript,” the MCP boomed. Its voice was totally impassive; Ram was about as threatening to the Master Control as a Bit. Tron risked a look over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Ram. Sark turned his attention to Ram and took one massive step in his direction. Oh Users, this is it, Ram thought, I’m getting derezzed for sure this time! And then Sark stopped in his tracks and looked upward.
A blue light started shining high above them all. It fell down through the column of the MCP, right down into its base. The program had one moment to look surprised, and then its red glow turned blue. The blue light spread up, all the way up to the top of the column. The MCP started spinning wildly, like it’d lost control over its own functions. But the ring of security protocols at the program’s base had stopped spinning, leaving the column’s core exposed.
Tron took the shot without hesitation. His blue disc streaked through the gap and lodged itself right in the core of the MCP. Ram had no idea what that blue light was all about, but one thing was clear: the MCP, the program that had enslaved this system, that had stolen him and countless other programs from their home systems, was about to be derezzed. Ram felt like his systems were frozen as he watched, fists clenched, hardly daring to hope…
The column slowed its spinning and then stopped. He could see the true face of the MCP: it was a withered, ancient thing surrounded by an outdated control chair. The word pathetic came to mind, in fact. The shriveled face retreated back into the control chair, and that was it. The MCP was dead. Ram glanced upward at the giant Sark; the command program stretched his arms out towards his master, and then his knees buckled. Sark derezzed as he sank to the ground.
It was over. “We win,” Ram murmured, relief flooding his systems. Tron jogged over to his side and gripped his shoulder.
“Ram, are you okay?” the security program asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m great,” he replied, laughing shakily. “We actually did it! We beat the MCP! Nice shot, by the way,” he added, grinning at his friend. “What was that light, Tron? What happened?”
“I don’t know, but we should get these other programs away from here as fast as we can,” Tron said grimly. The two of them set about gathering up the programs that had been pinned to the walls. They were free now that the MCP was gone. Ram recognized their long robes and thin caps-they were Tower Guardians.
Ram led them all down the slope at a run, away from the inner sanctum, while Tron brought up the rear of the group. Behind them, Ram heard the heavy protocols starting to spin and crackle with electricity.
“C’mon, let’s go!” Tron shouted. The protocols’ rumbling got louder and louder before-
BOOM! The explosion of the MCP shook the mesa and lit up the Domain with blinding light. The shock wave knocked the bunch of them off their feet. Ram clapped his hands over his ears as he lay on the ground, gritting his teeth. Finally, after what felt like cycles, the deafening roar and terrible shaking subsided. The silence it left behind was almost as loud as the explosion. Ram cracked his eyelids open a little, apprehensive at what he’d find. And then his eyes opened fully and he stood up slowly, mouth open in wonder.
Blue light shone on the mesa again, spreading out along each of the transport beams. It rippled outward and spread through the cracks in the mesa, turning all of the red to that same vivid blue. And it kept right on going, unstoppable now, flowing out over the plains. The whole Domain was coming alive with glorious, glowing color! It spread all the way out to the horizon, out across the entire system. It wasn’t just this Domain lighting up, it was all of them. Ram and Tron glanced at each other, both grinning from ear to ear. Then Ram stooped down and held out a hand to one of the Guardians, pulling the older program upright.
“Look!” Ram exclaimed, flinging his arms wide. “The system’s free again!” The Tower Guardians all clambered to their feet, murmuring in amazement.
Tron’s attention was suddenly fixed above their group, and Ram immediately saw why: the remains of the partially-derezzed Carrier were drifting down towards them, with Yori beaming down at them from its edge. Ram smirked as Tron’s smile grew even more; he’d never seen his fellow conscript so happy. The security program reached up to her and Yori jumped down into her mate’s arms.
“We did it!” Tron said, laughing deliriously. Yori’s eyes fairly glowed with joy as she gazed at her mate. Ram laughed along with him as Tron lifted Yori off her feet and spun her around. The actuarial program eagerly looked back at the Carrier, waiting for Flynn to appear and join the celebration. But he didn’t; all Ram saw was the last of the Carrier as it finally derezzed. His smile faltered and unease bit at his core processors.
Then Yori did something that utterly surprised just about everyone: she pulled Tron close and pressed her lips against his. Every one of their circuits lit up, glowing fiercely. It was almost the same thing Flynn had done in the Recognizer, but it seemed more intimate, somehow. And Tron wasn’t derezzing, so why would he need an energy transfer? When Yori pulled away, all Tron could do was grin at her.
“S’ nice!” he breathed.
“We thought you were dead,” Yori told him playfully. The two of them laughed again.
“Where’s Flynn?” Tron asked, glancing from side to side.
“It was incredible!” Yori gushed. “He threw himself into the beam and distracted the MCP just long enough for you to get the disc in.” The words hit Ram like a blow from a disc. Flynn threw himself into the core of the MCP? “He saved us, he really did it!” Behind them, the Guardian called Dumont spoke up.
“Video warriors,” he said with gruff affection. “Look at the I/O Towers! Every Tower is lighting up.” The three of them walked to the edge of the mesa to watch, but Ram stayed where he was.
“Wait, so… Flynn’s gone?” he asked quietly. Tron and Yori looked back at him and exchanged sober glances.
“I’m afraid so. If contact with the MCP’s core didn’t derezz him, then the blast may have sent him back to the User world,” Tron said solemnly. Ram nodded stiffly as the weight of the news settled over him.
Flynn is gone.
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SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE
Yes, we’re back! Longer chapter this time, and less fluff. Sorry. :P But that’s okay, because this chapter involves Ram being an EPIC BADASS, aww yeah. 8D It occurred to me that we never got to see him fight in the movie. I figured he had to have been pretty good, to survive the Game Grid as long as he did. Fluff will resume in Chapter 3.
CHAPTER 2-VICTORY AND LOSS
Ram smirked to himself as he stood at the controls of his very own stolen Recognizer. Flynn had run off to find Tron, but he’d procured this “ride”, as he’d called it, for Ram’s use. Now he was speeding along high above the solar sailer that held not only Flynn and Tron, but also Yori, Tron’s mate. Their destination was none other than the Central Domain of the MCP itself.
When they got there, Ram’s task would be pretty simple. He was their air support-another one of Flynn’s bizarre User-world phrases. He was to keep any tanks or Recognizers away from Tron and Flynn while they tried to bring down the MCP. Ram still wasn’t convinced that this was even going to work, but when he thought of the chance to live in a free system again… well, what was a risk of deresolution compared to that? Tron and Flynn both believed so strongly that they could do this that he couldn’t help but believe it along with them.
And besides, now he knew Flynn was a User. Now he’d seen what Flynn could do. In the past two millicycles, the User had saved Ram from derezzing and diverted a solar sailer energy beam by sticking his arm in it. Either of those would’ve instantly derezzed any program. Oh yes, Flynn had evened the odds considerably. Ram’s smirk turned into a grin.
Then his grin dimmed a little as he thought back to what had happened in the last stolen Recognizer. Was that really just a simple energy transfer, like Flynn said? Whatever it was, it’d felt pretty good. Of course, he’d been derezzing at the time, so of course an influx of energy would feel good. Although it didn’t hurt that the User was very (very) good-looking… His right hand reached up, almost of its own will, to brush over his mouth. The Recognizer swerved sideways.
“Watch it up there, buddy!” Flynn said over his communication subroutine.
“Heh, sorry. I, uh, lost my grip on the controls for a moment,” Ram replied quickly. His facial circuits glowed a little in embarrassment. He grabbed the controls again and forced himself to focus. And then, suddenly, focusing wasn’t all that difficult. There below him was the Carrier, Sark’s command ship, coming down a canyon on an intercept course with the sailer. “Flynn, Tron, look out!” he yelled.
Too late. The Carrier smashed into the sailer and broke it in half. The front end tumbled away and derezzed; the back half vanished into the massive command ship.
“Nooo!” Ram shouted. He went to his communication subroutine again, desperate to know if his friends had survived. Wait-I can’t draw attention to myself. Tron told me not to. If they’ve been captured, I can only help them from out here. So what do I do, then? He stopped the Recognizer and pounded his fist against the side of the control column.
His two fellow conscripts would know what to do, if it was either of them in his place. Tron was a security program, he’d been created for the fight. Ram had fought alongside him in a disc battle once; he’d never seen such power and graceful efficiency of movement before. You knew just looking at him that he was good at what he did. And Flynn, well, he was a User. Of course he’d know what to do.
But Ram was just an actuarial program who happened to be pretty decent at throwing a disc. What did he know about rescuing anyone?
“I’ll just wait and see,” he told himself. He set the Recognizer in motion again and followed the Carrier.
It didn’t take long to reach the Central Domain. It sprawled out beneath the Recognizer, a vast plane of blue-grey reaching out in all directions. In the middle rose a high mesa, its grey surface riddled with jagged red lines. Red transport beams from every Domain intersected here, right in the middle of the mesa. And there at the center of it was the MCP-a massive red column stretching upwards beyond the limits of Ram’s vision. Heavy security protocols surrounded its base to protect the monster’s core. Ram felt a shudder of fear deep in his central processors. But he tightened his grip on the controls and kept gliding forward. He worked up his courage and dropped the Recognizer down, closer to the Carrier but still above it.
A docking module detached from the command ship then, no doubt with Sark aboard, and went cruising off towards the red column. As for the rest of the ship… “It’s derezzing!” Ram cried. But then he spotted a blur of movement atop the module. Ram locked the Recognizer’s visual processors onto it and zoomed in. What he saw made hope come alive again in his core subroutines: it was Tron! Ram let out a whooping laugh and punched his fists in the air.
“He made it!” Then he got even more good news as a voice came in over his communication subroutine.
“Ram, that you?” it asked.
“Flynn, you made it too! Oh, this is great!” he hollered. “Tron’s alive and free, he’s riding on top of that docking module. Is Yori there?”
“Yeah, she’s here,” Flynn said.
“Good. Tron’d be pretty mad if you let her get derezzed,” Ram jibed.
“Gotcha, buddy. Go help Tron, okay? We got it covered up here.”
“Are you sure, Flynn?” Ram turned the Recognizer and saw two blue and gray shapes atop what was left of the Carrier. One of them waved at him.
“Positive. Yori here knows what to do with these controls-right?” Ram heard the muffled reply in the background. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Okay, if you say so. Give me a shout if you need me!” And with that, Ram turned the Recognizer and went after Tron. But by then, the MCP must’ve caught on to his deception. A tank rezzed up on the MCP’s mesa and took aim. “Oh, Users,” he muttered. He punched the lever control forward and the Recognizer raced ahead.
The tank fired a chevron and he swerved, just barely missing the projectile. It fired again and its shot went wide this time. C’mon, almost there… Ram thought. The mesa loomed closer and closer on the Recognizer’s visual processors. A bright streak of blue caught his eye; there was Tron, going toe-to-toe with none other than Commander Sark!
The tank fired twice more, and the second chevron hit the Recognizer’s right leg. The vessel started to derezz around Ram even as it kept hurtling forward. Just a little bit more… Here it goes! He gritted his teeth and jumped.
Ram tumbled through empty space with his eyes squeezed shut. His core processors thrummed with terror. I jumped too soon! he thought in panic.
And then he opened his eyes just enough to see the mesa rushing up towards him. He slammed into it with a grunt and rolled, skidding over its surface. He came to rest right by the feet of a Guard. Several of them, in fact. It looked like the MCP had arranged a welcoming committee for the conscript.
“Heh.” He grinned weakly up at the Guards. The nearest one raised its staff, the end sparking and glowing. Ram twisted to the side and kicked out with both feet. He hit the Guard in the knees and the program went down. He rolled and sprang upright, grabbing the staff as he went. The other three Guards raised their weapons. The downed one stood up again as a new staff rezzed up in his hands. Well, this was going to be interesting. The most opponents he’d ever taken on at once was three, and he’d very nearly been derezzed. Four-against-one was a much trickier situation. Tron had gone up against four a few times-but Ram, well, he wasn’t Tron.
Except maybe… maybe just this once. His friends’ lives were at stake now, not just his own. The very future of the system was at stake, in fact. So maybe, just for the next millicycle, he could be a hero like Tron was. He reached back and retrieved his disc.
The Guard to his far left moved first, striking out with his staff. Ram blocked with his stolen weapon and hurled his disc. The Guard dodged and struck again. The attack forced him back, right into the reach of another one. A second Guard slashed at Ram’s side. He reeled back, saw his disc soaring towards him, reached for it-and caught it. His grasping fingers closed around its edge just in time to slice at the staff coming at him. The disc cut through the haft of the weapon, derezzing it. He threw again and this time, the disc hit its mark. The second Guard vanished in a flash of light. Ram shouted triumphantly as his disc flew back to his hand.
Now the first one came at him again. The conscript blocked and jabbed with the staff, grazing the Guard’s arm with a spray of broken code. But the red-circuited program recovered and spun his weapon. He brought the glowing tip down at Ram’s head. The conscript raised his own staff above his head in defense.
CRACK! The weapon snapped in half as the Guard’s attack hit. Ram staggered, his knees nearly buckling from the force of the blow. The useless weapon clattered to the ground and derezzed. A third Guard made his move, and Ram just barely had time to spin and block the attack with his disc. He thanked the Users that identity discs weren’t easily destroyed.
The remaining three had him surrounded; it was just like a three-on-one match now, but at much closer quarters. Ram gripped his disc tighter. Two of the Guards attacked, both stabbing with their staffs. He dodged the first and deflected the second, its tip glancing off of his disc with a resounding clang. The conscript raised his arm to throw, but immediately brought it back down again to fend off the third Guard.
I can’t throw my disc! They’ll just impale me if I try! Ram thought desperately. The Guards advanced as one unit, driving him back step by step. He knew they were pushing him to the mesa’s edge. They were taking their sweet time with it, too. Ram flexed his fingers around the edge of the disc. He had to try, anyway.
The one in front of him was the Guard he’d damaged. The wound crackled with energy as the code around it malfunctioned. He glanced sideways at the program to his right… then feinted right and hurled the disc as fast as he could straight ahead, at the Guard with the injured arm.
It caught the program off-balance and sliced into his abdomen. Ram lunged forward and seized the Guard’s staff before it could derezz with its owner. He caught the disc again, blocked an incoming strike with the staff, and smirked at the two remaining Guards. He twirled the disc between his fingers. The programs didn’t leave him much time to be smug, though. They both advanced again, staffs raised. Ram found himself pushed back again as he deflected attacks from both sides. He used his disc as a shield now, lashing out from behind it with the staff. It was no good, though-the Guards’ staffs were there to meet each of his attacks.
He twisted sideways as the left-hand Guard’s staff connected with his own. Ram gasped as the staff-point came within a half-pixel’s width of his throat. His systems were still recovering from his near-deresolution, and his energy stores were depleting faster than normal. He needed to end this, and fast. They nearly had him to the edge of the mesa now; he could feel it behind him, a sheer drop of unfathomable height.
And then, as if by the grace of the Users, he got the distraction he needed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one that boded well for himself or his friends. The Guards turned suddenly, staring back towards the center of the mesa. Ram was staring, too. It would’ve been difficult not to, really.
Sark loomed above the mesa, rising higher and higher with each moment. The commander stood up to his full height, impossibly tall, and strode off towards the MCP’s inner sanctum at the mesa’s center. Tron was nowhere to be seen, but if Ram had to guess, he’d bet the security program was in that inner sanctum.
Ram gave himself a shake and tore his eyes away from the sight. He was done with these Guards. He reared his arm back and threw, well, like his life depended on it. The disc cut into the right-hand program’s throat. The Guard on the left charged and Ram spun sideways, grabbed the haft of the weapon, and wrenched. The Guard stumbled past him, tripped, and rolled once-right off the mesa’s edge. The program’s screams echoed as he fell.
The actuarial program replaced his disc on his back and sprinted off after Tron. He leaped over the red chasms lacing the mesa’s surface like they weren’t even there, desperate to reach the security program. He was exhausted when he arrived, but still anxious to do whatever he could. He dashed up the slope into the MCP’s inner sanctum, then skidded to a halt and shrank back from the sight that met his eyes.
There was the MCP, crimson red and terrible to look at. There were programs pinned to the walls of the sanctum, their faces contorted in pain as the Master Control absorbed their functions. In front of that all-seeing face stood Sark. And there at the program’s huge feet stood Tron. The security program was in a half-crouch, disc in hand, braced and ready. Ram could just barely see his face in the flashing red light coming from the MCP; the security program’s eyes blazed with a calm, cold fury. Even in the presence of the MCP, Tron stood firm. Ram’s core processors filled with pride on his friend’s behalf.
The pride disappeared as that massive red face looked his way. Those flat eyes locked onto the actuarial program, sending a jolt of dread racing through his circuits.
“Another rogue conscript,” the MCP boomed. Its voice was totally impassive; Ram was about as threatening to the Master Control as a Bit. Tron risked a look over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Ram. Sark turned his attention to Ram and took one massive step in his direction. Oh Users, this is it, Ram thought, I’m getting derezzed for sure this time! And then Sark stopped in his tracks and looked upward.
A blue light started shining high above them all. It fell down through the column of the MCP, right down into its base. The program had one moment to look surprised, and then its red glow turned blue. The blue light spread up, all the way up to the top of the column. The MCP started spinning wildly, like it’d lost control over its own functions. But the ring of security protocols at the program’s base had stopped spinning, leaving the column’s core exposed.
Tron took the shot without hesitation. His blue disc streaked through the gap and lodged itself right in the core of the MCP. Ram had no idea what that blue light was all about, but one thing was clear: the MCP, the program that had enslaved this system, that had stolen him and countless other programs from their home systems, was about to be derezzed. Ram felt like his systems were frozen as he watched, fists clenched, hardly daring to hope…
The column slowed its spinning and then stopped. He could see the true face of the MCP: it was a withered, ancient thing surrounded by an outdated control chair. The word pathetic came to mind, in fact. The shriveled face retreated back into the control chair, and that was it. The MCP was dead. Ram glanced upward at the giant Sark; the command program stretched his arms out towards his master, and then his knees buckled. Sark derezzed as he sank to the ground.
It was over. “We win,” Ram murmured, relief flooding his systems. Tron jogged over to his side and gripped his shoulder.
“Ram, are you okay?” the security program asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m great,” he replied, laughing shakily. “We actually did it! We beat the MCP! Nice shot, by the way,” he added, grinning at his friend. “What was that light, Tron? What happened?”
“I don’t know, but we should get these other programs away from here as fast as we can,” Tron said grimly. The two of them set about gathering up the programs that had been pinned to the walls. They were free now that the MCP was gone. Ram recognized their long robes and thin caps-they were Tower Guardians.
Ram led them all down the slope at a run, away from the inner sanctum, while Tron brought up the rear of the group. Behind them, Ram heard the heavy protocols starting to spin and crackle with electricity.
“C’mon, let’s go!” Tron shouted. The protocols’ rumbling got louder and louder before-
BOOM! The explosion of the MCP shook the mesa and lit up the Domain with blinding light. The shock wave knocked the bunch of them off their feet. Ram clapped his hands over his ears as he lay on the ground, gritting his teeth. Finally, after what felt like cycles, the deafening roar and terrible shaking subsided. The silence it left behind was almost as loud as the explosion. Ram cracked his eyelids open a little, apprehensive at what he’d find. And then his eyes opened fully and he stood up slowly, mouth open in wonder.
Blue light shone on the mesa again, spreading out along each of the transport beams. It rippled outward and spread through the cracks in the mesa, turning all of the red to that same vivid blue. And it kept right on going, unstoppable now, flowing out over the plains. The whole Domain was coming alive with glorious, glowing color! It spread all the way out to the horizon, out across the entire system. It wasn’t just this Domain lighting up, it was all of them. Ram and Tron glanced at each other, both grinning from ear to ear. Then Ram stooped down and held out a hand to one of the Guardians, pulling the older program upright.
“Look!” Ram exclaimed, flinging his arms wide. “The system’s free again!” The Tower Guardians all clambered to their feet, murmuring in amazement.
Tron’s attention was suddenly fixed above their group, and Ram immediately saw why: the remains of the partially-derezzed Carrier were drifting down towards them, with Yori beaming down at them from its edge. Ram smirked as Tron’s smile grew even more; he’d never seen his fellow conscript so happy. The security program reached up to her and Yori jumped down into her mate’s arms.
“We did it!” Tron said, laughing deliriously. Yori’s eyes fairly glowed with joy as she gazed at her mate. Ram laughed along with him as Tron lifted Yori off her feet and spun her around. The actuarial program eagerly looked back at the Carrier, waiting for Flynn to appear and join the celebration. But he didn’t; all Ram saw was the last of the Carrier as it finally derezzed. His smile faltered and unease bit at his core processors.
Then Yori did something that utterly surprised just about everyone: she pulled Tron close and pressed her lips against his. Every one of their circuits lit up, glowing fiercely. It was almost the same thing Flynn had done in the Recognizer, but it seemed more intimate, somehow. And Tron wasn’t derezzing, so why would he need an energy transfer? When Yori pulled away, all Tron could do was grin at her.
“S’ nice!” he breathed.
“We thought you were dead,” Yori told him playfully. The two of them laughed again.
“Where’s Flynn?” Tron asked, glancing from side to side.
“It was incredible!” Yori gushed. “He threw himself into the beam and distracted the MCP just long enough for you to get the disc in.” The words hit Ram like a blow from a disc. Flynn threw himself into the core of the MCP? “He saved us, he really did it!” Behind them, the Guardian called Dumont spoke up.
“Video warriors,” he said with gruff affection. “Look at the I/O Towers! Every Tower is lighting up.” The three of them walked to the edge of the mesa to watch, but Ram stayed where he was.
“Wait, so… Flynn’s gone?” he asked quietly. Tron and Yori looked back at him and exchanged sober glances.
“I’m afraid so. If contact with the MCP’s core didn’t derezz him, then the blast may have sent him back to the User world,” Tron said solemnly. Ram nodded stiffly as the weight of the news settled over him.
Flynn is gone.
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