Tron slash part 5!
SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE
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CHAPTER FIVE-CONNECTION
Flynn was back on the Grid the next day, and he was actually kind of nervous. Which was silly, really. Kevin Flynn was not the nervous type. Everyone knew that. He’d never been the shy type, never had stage fright, he didn’t even hate public speaking like most people did. He loved being the center of attention. And yet there he was, feeling nervous as he stood there in front of the laser. There was a now-familiar hum, a burst of blue light from the aperture, and the usual prickling sensation over his skin as he got digitized.
The thing was, he had no idea what to expect this time. He’d spent the whole day, as well as the night before, mulling over the strange events of his last trip. Ram liked him as way more than a friend; that much was obvious now. He’d had some fun with it yesterday, turning Ram’s little game back around on him, but he knew he couldn’t keep doing that. Flynn was many things, but he wasn’t cruel.
So he’d sat down and worked out exactly what the actuarial Program meant to him. Ram was a good friend, certainly. Could he ever be more than that, though?
He digitized onto the mesa in the central domain that day. He’d tried to convince Alan to come along again, but the other man said he wanted to stay behind and work on something from the laser lab terminal. He’d be keeping an eye on Flynn in case he needed help.
As Flynn appeared on the Grid, his three favorite Programs were already there and waiting for him with those fantastic hugs of theirs. Flynn couldn’t help but wonder how they’d learned to do that. And that thought, combined with his musings of the past day, made him wonder just what Programs did to express deeper levels of affection for each other. The idea made his face heat up a little.
“Flynn, thank you for coming back again,” Tron said warmly.
“Of course, buddy! I’d miss you guys if I didn’t come back,” Flynn replied breezily. “Hey, Yori, how’s it going?”
“I’m doing well, Flynn,” she said with a bright smile. He turned to Ram next and gave him a big grin.
“And Ram! How’re you on this fine cycle?” he asked cheerily.
“I’m great, Flynn, thanks!” Ram said with an answering grin. Flynn had to admit that the Program had a fantastic smile. “Hey, I was wondering if you could work with me on this task again.” I’ll bet you were, Flynn thought with more than a little smugness. “Tron says Alan-One found another data signature hot-spot in a nearby sector of this domain. We better be careful, though-we’ve gotten some reports of Grid bug outbreaks recently,” the Program added.
“Sure thing,” Flynn agreed. They said goodbye to Tron and Yori, promising to catch up with them later to compare their progress. And with that, they boarded one of the two Recognizers rezzed up on the mesa and took off.
With Flynn at the Recognizer controls and Ram calling out directions, they eventually found where they were going. The data signatures were in a remote sector of the domain, down a canyon that was way off the beaten track. Flynn set the Recognizer down and the two of them disembarked. Flynn let out a low whistle as he looked up at the looming walls of the canyon.
“Wow,” he commented. “First time I’ve seen one of these from the ground!”
“Yeah,” Ram agreed. “What was that noise you just made with your mouth?”
“It’s called whistling. What, they don’t do that here?” Flynn asked.
“No,” Ram said, looking totally mystified. “It seems like you Users do a lot with your mouths, huh?” Flynn nearly choked on his own saliva.
“Guess so, yeah,” he gasped out. Ram was apparently oblivious to the double entendre in what he’d said, which was terribly unfair. The Program was already tapping away happily at his data pad. Flynn shook himself mentally and got to work.
“So, um, Flynn… what exactly do you do in the User world?” Ram asked, sounding a little timid. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he added quickly.
Flynn laughed. “Why would I mind?” he asked. Ram shrugged sheepishly, fingers flying over his data pad as he locked in on a data signature.
“Well, some Programs say we’re not meant to know the Users or their world. They think it’s not our place to know,” he explained.
“But not you?”
The actuarial Program smiled. “What can I say-my curiosity gets the better of me.”
That got another chuckle out of Flynn. “Hey, man, curiosity’s a good thing. I for one think it’s great.” Ram ducked his head, but not before Flynn got a glimpse of his facial circuits flaring again. He decided that he liked the look of it, and resolved to make it happen more often. “So, the User world! I’m a programmer, and so’s Alan: we write code for new programs.”
“Amazing,” Ram murmured. He was looking at Flynn with something approaching awe, and it set off warning bells in Flynn’s head. The last thing he wanted was Ram seeing him as some kind of deity. If there was potential for something more between them, he figured that religious devotion might make things kind of awkward.
“But my life’s a lot like yours, really,” he continued hastily. “I spend time with friends, I work out, I play video games… and I have been known to read a book from time to time.”
“A book?” Ram echoed. Oh boy, Flynn thought. How do you explain books to someone who’s never seen printed words? He fiddled with his data pad to buy some time, using it to seek out data signatures.
“Think of it as being like a database. They’re usually the size of one of these datapads, or a little smaller. Instead of information stored digitally, it has words printed on sheets of… uh…” And now he had to explain paper, too, which meant he’d have to explain trees. Ram leaned over towards him slightly, raising his eyebrows. “It’s printed on thin sheets of a…” He sighed and lifted a hand to run through his hair, forgetting for a moment that he was wearing usual Grid helmet. “I’ll bring one with me next time,” he conceded finally.
“I can’t wait. It sounds fascinating,” Ram said wryly. Flynn scoffed and went back to work. “What are your friends like?” the Program asked.
“Heh, let’s see here. Alan’s kind of a stick in the mud, but he’s actually secretly fun. And then there’s Lora, Yori’s User. Oh man, what can I say about Lora? She’s smart, pretty, and sometimes kinda scary.” He chuckled at memories of Lora’s wrath. It hadn’t been very funny when he’d been on the business end of her sharp words, though.
“That look on your face when you talk about her-it reminds me a little of the way Tron looks at Yori,” Ram said. Was that a hint of jealousy Flynn detected?
“Yeah, well, she and I used to be paired together. That’s over though; it’s been over for a while, actually,” he said.
“Do you wish she was still paired with you?” Ram asked.
“Nah, not really. I mean, sure I miss her sometimes. But hey, everything ends eventually. It was time for both of us to move on.”
“But she’s paired with Alan-One now, isn’t she?”
“Yep, that’s right. And honestly, I think those two are gonna be together for a long time,” Flynn said with a chuckle. Ram smiled.
“I’m happy for them,” he said. “Is there another female that you’re paired with now?” Flynn smiled at the obvious hope in the Program’s voice.
“Nah,” he said casually. He was good at casual. “So how about you?”
“M-me?” Ram echoed, facial circuits flaring slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched up in a nervous half-smile. “What about me?”
“What’re these pair-bonds like for you Programs? I’ve been yapping on about my world. I think it’s only fair I hear a little more about yours,” Flynn said with a smile.
“Um, sure. What did you want to know about it?” Ram asked.
“Hmm… well, to start with, how do you guys show affection for each other?” Flynn asked. He’d been thinking about it before, after all. He might as well take the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.
“Uh, well, we have-what was the word you used? We have hugs,” Ram said with a grin.
“I noticed that, yeah,” Flynn agreed, smirking. Then the Program dropped his chin, his facial circuits blazing.
“And, um… we have something called, uh, interfacing. It’s, uh…” he paused, licking his lips. “It’s a mutual exchange of energy by circuit stimulation.”
“I’m guessing it feels pretty good?”
“Y-yeah.” I guess our worlds really aren’t that different, Flynn thought in amusement. Ram shifted his weight and promptly changed the subject. “I calculate that that kissing thing will catch on pretty soon, though. I’ve already seen it happening between another bonded pair. They’ve been helping us with the data retrieval while you’re offline, Flynn. I guess they saw Tron and Yori doing it,” he said, his smile turning a little mischievous.
“That so?” Flynn replied. He isolated a strand of salvageable code in a crack in the canyon wall and started drawing it out and into his data pad. But before Ram could say anything else, a grinding sound resonated from the crack. The code fragment flickered and then derezzed. The two of them stared at the crack, their apprehension rising. Ten tiny, green squares rose up out of it, and then exploded out of the crevice on four jointed legs.
“Grid bugs!” Ram yelled. Dozens of the things followed, swarming out of the crevice. There had to be at least fifty now! Flynn was confused for a moment. Yori had spoken of them in worried tones on the solar sailer, but these little guys hardly seemed like a threat-
“Ow!” he cried out as one of the damn things zapped him. He clutched at his thigh where it had fired on him. More of them took aim, and now he was starting to get worried. The little purple lights on their “heads” had an almost malicious gleam.
“Flynn, watch out!” Ram cried. He crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, shoving Flynn back with one hand and whipping his disc from its socket with the other. The Program sliced at the bugs, his disc leaving a glowing blue trail as it scythed through five of the little bastards. Flynn’s jaw dropped as he watched his friend fly into action. He’d known that Ram must have been a pretty proficient warrior-he’d survived two hundred microcycles on the Game Grid. But he’d never really seen the Program fight, not until now anyway. And he was pretty damn impressed by what he saw!
Ram moved through the swarm with almost superhuman reflexes-well, that made a certain amount of sense, Flynn figured. After all, Ram wasn’t really human. His disc was a blue blur as it whipped through the bugs, leaving a trail of flashing lights as the bugs derezzed. But as fast as Ram moved, more of the bugs seethed from the wall to replace them. Flynn grabbed his own disc from his back and jumped into the fray next to the Program.
He wasn’t nearly as good with the disc as Ram was, not having had as much practice-he was getting the hang of it, though. He hacked and slashed and hacked again, derezzing the bugs as they swarmed around his feet. The bugs zapped at him every time they got too close, but luckily it didn’t have much of an effect. And each zap earned the critters a chop with his disc, cutting through them. His legs were starting to ache, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.
Ram wasn’t so fortunate. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ram fall back as the bugs started surging up his lower legs. The Program cried out in pain.
“Ram!” Flynn shouted. Damn it all, he hadn’t saved Ram’s life just to see him taken down by a bunch of bugs! He fought his way through the swarm and started hacking at the bugs. Finally they retreated and he and Ram staggered back against the canyon’s opposite wall.
They were badly outnumbered, and that didn’t look to be changing anytime soon. The bugs just kept coming-but hey, at least he and Ram had the advantage of smarts, right? What they needed was a plan. The bugs couldn’t strategize. They were just raw code, programmed to destroy…
Programmed… that’s it! I need Alan’s programming! The crack in the wall, Flynn knew, was a result of damaged code. If Alan could rewrite or delete that code, the bugs’ reinforcements would be cut off; then he and Ram could slice up the unlucky ones stuck outside the wall. But for that, he needed his datapad… which was currently buried under the mass of Grid bugs.
“I need my datapad,” Flynn said to Ram. “I’m going in for it!”
“B-but you can’t! There’s too many bugs!” Ram protested.
“Hey, man, I’m a User, remember? If I survived jumping inside the MCP, I’m pretty sure I can handle some bugs.” Flynn flashed a grin at Ram, who gaped at him in a mix of terror and amazement. Then he turned, hefted his disc-and waded into the swarm. He knew he’d dropped it by the crevice. All he had to do was get there.
The bugs stung at his feet and crawled up his legs, but he swatted them away with the disc. Even with all the benefits of being a User, though, he could feel the stings taking their toll. Just a few… more… steps! There! He saw the screen glinting through a gap in the swarm, but then it was gone again! Bugs poured out from the crevice like a waterfall. But he’d seen where it was. He’d just have to go for it. He dove forward and plunged his arms into the swarm. The bugs zapped at him over and over, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and kept going. Finally, he felt the pad’s smooth screen under his fingertips and grabbed it.
His fingers flew over its surface at a frantic pace; waiting for Alan’s responses seemed to take forever.
“Flynn?! Hurry up!” Ram shouted, voice filled with panic. Flynn glanced over his shoulder and saw the Program barely holding the bugs at bay. He wouldn’t last much longer against them. A fresh spike of adrenaline flooded through Flynn and he turned quickly back to the screen.
“C’mon, Bradley, don’t let me down now, buddy!” Flynn urged. Then, finally, a flash of light issued from the crevice. When it faded, the crack was gone! It was like disrupting an ant trail: the bugs still in the canyon scattered and went nuts. Ram sprang forward with renewed vigor and attacked the bugs. Flynn let out a triumphant whoop and joined in.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the last bugs derezzed and the attack was over. Ram slumped against the wall, nearly giving Flynn a heart attack. But then the Program let out a weary chuckle.
“I feel like I just went a few rounds on the Game Grid,” he said. He looked up at Flynn from the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry, I’m not derezzing this time,” he added in a slightly teasing tone. Flynn laughed breathlessly and staggered over to Ram, sliding down next to him.
“Y’know… up till now… I never really minded bugs that much,” he panted, grinning weakly. “We have bugs in my world…less aggressive though… smaller, too.” He held up two fingers an inch apart, then dropped his hand onto his knee. Ram slouched down further, sliding sideways so that his shoulder bumped against Flynn’s.
“Your bugs sound better than ours,” he commented. Flynn nodded. The slender Program seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then he dropped his head down onto Flynn’s shoulder. Flynn could feel an electrical kind of warmth from the Program seeping through his armor. It felt pretty good, actually.
“That was a close call,” he murmured.
“Yeah,” Flynn agreed. “You okay? You look pretty worn out.”
“I’ll be okay. I just need to replenish my energy stores,” he replied.
“Heh, good. I’d offer you some, but I don’t think I have any to spare right now,” Flynn said wryly. That earned him another blush from Ram. Then a thought popped into his tired mind, and he blurted it out before he’d even really thought about it. “Oh, speaking of energy-what I did in the energy transfer? That wasn’t a proper kiss, really. It was sort of a… mouth-smash, heh. Just so you know. It’s usually way better than that, man.”
“Yeah?” Ram asked. “Huh. So what’s a proper kiss like, then?” Flynn paused for a moment, and suddenly he realized something.
He’d wondered yesterday whether there was potential for something more that friendship between himself and Ram. Maybe it was time to find out. Flynn wasn’t the type to delay things; he hated playing guessing games with people. What this situation needed was some good ol’ Kevin Flynn directness.
So he took a moment to gather his nerve. He was suddenly anxious again, like he’d been when he first arrived. He turned to the Program, looking down at the top of his helmet. Then he lifted his hand and gently grasped Ram’s chin, tilting his head upward.
“Flynn?” Ram asked quietly. “What’re y-“ Flynn leaned down and carefully pressed his lips to Ram’s. He felt a sort of spark as their mouths touched, like an electric current almost. Ram made a low, soft sound in his throat, and his hand drifted up to lay against Flynn’s cheek. The encouragement made Flynn bolder; his hand went from Ram’s jaw to his waist, pulling him closer and kissing with more enthusiasm. Ram’s own hand snaked around to the back of Flynn’s neck, drawing him in.
Flynn pulled back after a few moments, smirking at the Program. “That’s how it’s done,” he said. Ram stared slack-jawed at him, his eyes hazy.
“Oh,” he said softly. His tongue brushed over his lips. “Can we, uh…” Flynn chuckled and as quite happy to oblige Ram’s unspoken request.
Well, that answered that question.
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CHAPTER FIVE-CONNECTION
Flynn was back on the Grid the next day, and he was actually kind of nervous. Which was silly, really. Kevin Flynn was not the nervous type. Everyone knew that. He’d never been the shy type, never had stage fright, he didn’t even hate public speaking like most people did. He loved being the center of attention. And yet there he was, feeling nervous as he stood there in front of the laser. There was a now-familiar hum, a burst of blue light from the aperture, and the usual prickling sensation over his skin as he got digitized.
The thing was, he had no idea what to expect this time. He’d spent the whole day, as well as the night before, mulling over the strange events of his last trip. Ram liked him as way more than a friend; that much was obvious now. He’d had some fun with it yesterday, turning Ram’s little game back around on him, but he knew he couldn’t keep doing that. Flynn was many things, but he wasn’t cruel.
So he’d sat down and worked out exactly what the actuarial Program meant to him. Ram was a good friend, certainly. Could he ever be more than that, though?
He digitized onto the mesa in the central domain that day. He’d tried to convince Alan to come along again, but the other man said he wanted to stay behind and work on something from the laser lab terminal. He’d be keeping an eye on Flynn in case he needed help.
As Flynn appeared on the Grid, his three favorite Programs were already there and waiting for him with those fantastic hugs of theirs. Flynn couldn’t help but wonder how they’d learned to do that. And that thought, combined with his musings of the past day, made him wonder just what Programs did to express deeper levels of affection for each other. The idea made his face heat up a little.
“Flynn, thank you for coming back again,” Tron said warmly.
“Of course, buddy! I’d miss you guys if I didn’t come back,” Flynn replied breezily. “Hey, Yori, how’s it going?”
“I’m doing well, Flynn,” she said with a bright smile. He turned to Ram next and gave him a big grin.
“And Ram! How’re you on this fine cycle?” he asked cheerily.
“I’m great, Flynn, thanks!” Ram said with an answering grin. Flynn had to admit that the Program had a fantastic smile. “Hey, I was wondering if you could work with me on this task again.” I’ll bet you were, Flynn thought with more than a little smugness. “Tron says Alan-One found another data signature hot-spot in a nearby sector of this domain. We better be careful, though-we’ve gotten some reports of Grid bug outbreaks recently,” the Program added.
“Sure thing,” Flynn agreed. They said goodbye to Tron and Yori, promising to catch up with them later to compare their progress. And with that, they boarded one of the two Recognizers rezzed up on the mesa and took off.
With Flynn at the Recognizer controls and Ram calling out directions, they eventually found where they were going. The data signatures were in a remote sector of the domain, down a canyon that was way off the beaten track. Flynn set the Recognizer down and the two of them disembarked. Flynn let out a low whistle as he looked up at the looming walls of the canyon.
“Wow,” he commented. “First time I’ve seen one of these from the ground!”
“Yeah,” Ram agreed. “What was that noise you just made with your mouth?”
“It’s called whistling. What, they don’t do that here?” Flynn asked.
“No,” Ram said, looking totally mystified. “It seems like you Users do a lot with your mouths, huh?” Flynn nearly choked on his own saliva.
“Guess so, yeah,” he gasped out. Ram was apparently oblivious to the double entendre in what he’d said, which was terribly unfair. The Program was already tapping away happily at his data pad. Flynn shook himself mentally and got to work.
“So, um, Flynn… what exactly do you do in the User world?” Ram asked, sounding a little timid. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he added quickly.
Flynn laughed. “Why would I mind?” he asked. Ram shrugged sheepishly, fingers flying over his data pad as he locked in on a data signature.
“Well, some Programs say we’re not meant to know the Users or their world. They think it’s not our place to know,” he explained.
“But not you?”
The actuarial Program smiled. “What can I say-my curiosity gets the better of me.”
That got another chuckle out of Flynn. “Hey, man, curiosity’s a good thing. I for one think it’s great.” Ram ducked his head, but not before Flynn got a glimpse of his facial circuits flaring again. He decided that he liked the look of it, and resolved to make it happen more often. “So, the User world! I’m a programmer, and so’s Alan: we write code for new programs.”
“Amazing,” Ram murmured. He was looking at Flynn with something approaching awe, and it set off warning bells in Flynn’s head. The last thing he wanted was Ram seeing him as some kind of deity. If there was potential for something more between them, he figured that religious devotion might make things kind of awkward.
“But my life’s a lot like yours, really,” he continued hastily. “I spend time with friends, I work out, I play video games… and I have been known to read a book from time to time.”
“A book?” Ram echoed. Oh boy, Flynn thought. How do you explain books to someone who’s never seen printed words? He fiddled with his data pad to buy some time, using it to seek out data signatures.
“Think of it as being like a database. They’re usually the size of one of these datapads, or a little smaller. Instead of information stored digitally, it has words printed on sheets of… uh…” And now he had to explain paper, too, which meant he’d have to explain trees. Ram leaned over towards him slightly, raising his eyebrows. “It’s printed on thin sheets of a…” He sighed and lifted a hand to run through his hair, forgetting for a moment that he was wearing usual Grid helmet. “I’ll bring one with me next time,” he conceded finally.
“I can’t wait. It sounds fascinating,” Ram said wryly. Flynn scoffed and went back to work. “What are your friends like?” the Program asked.
“Heh, let’s see here. Alan’s kind of a stick in the mud, but he’s actually secretly fun. And then there’s Lora, Yori’s User. Oh man, what can I say about Lora? She’s smart, pretty, and sometimes kinda scary.” He chuckled at memories of Lora’s wrath. It hadn’t been very funny when he’d been on the business end of her sharp words, though.
“That look on your face when you talk about her-it reminds me a little of the way Tron looks at Yori,” Ram said. Was that a hint of jealousy Flynn detected?
“Yeah, well, she and I used to be paired together. That’s over though; it’s been over for a while, actually,” he said.
“Do you wish she was still paired with you?” Ram asked.
“Nah, not really. I mean, sure I miss her sometimes. But hey, everything ends eventually. It was time for both of us to move on.”
“But she’s paired with Alan-One now, isn’t she?”
“Yep, that’s right. And honestly, I think those two are gonna be together for a long time,” Flynn said with a chuckle. Ram smiled.
“I’m happy for them,” he said. “Is there another female that you’re paired with now?” Flynn smiled at the obvious hope in the Program’s voice.
“Nah,” he said casually. He was good at casual. “So how about you?”
“M-me?” Ram echoed, facial circuits flaring slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched up in a nervous half-smile. “What about me?”
“What’re these pair-bonds like for you Programs? I’ve been yapping on about my world. I think it’s only fair I hear a little more about yours,” Flynn said with a smile.
“Um, sure. What did you want to know about it?” Ram asked.
“Hmm… well, to start with, how do you guys show affection for each other?” Flynn asked. He’d been thinking about it before, after all. He might as well take the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.
“Uh, well, we have-what was the word you used? We have hugs,” Ram said with a grin.
“I noticed that, yeah,” Flynn agreed, smirking. Then the Program dropped his chin, his facial circuits blazing.
“And, um… we have something called, uh, interfacing. It’s, uh…” he paused, licking his lips. “It’s a mutual exchange of energy by circuit stimulation.”
“I’m guessing it feels pretty good?”
“Y-yeah.” I guess our worlds really aren’t that different, Flynn thought in amusement. Ram shifted his weight and promptly changed the subject. “I calculate that that kissing thing will catch on pretty soon, though. I’ve already seen it happening between another bonded pair. They’ve been helping us with the data retrieval while you’re offline, Flynn. I guess they saw Tron and Yori doing it,” he said, his smile turning a little mischievous.
“That so?” Flynn replied. He isolated a strand of salvageable code in a crack in the canyon wall and started drawing it out and into his data pad. But before Ram could say anything else, a grinding sound resonated from the crack. The code fragment flickered and then derezzed. The two of them stared at the crack, their apprehension rising. Ten tiny, green squares rose up out of it, and then exploded out of the crevice on four jointed legs.
“Grid bugs!” Ram yelled. Dozens of the things followed, swarming out of the crevice. There had to be at least fifty now! Flynn was confused for a moment. Yori had spoken of them in worried tones on the solar sailer, but these little guys hardly seemed like a threat-
“Ow!” he cried out as one of the damn things zapped him. He clutched at his thigh where it had fired on him. More of them took aim, and now he was starting to get worried. The little purple lights on their “heads” had an almost malicious gleam.
“Flynn, watch out!” Ram cried. He crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, shoving Flynn back with one hand and whipping his disc from its socket with the other. The Program sliced at the bugs, his disc leaving a glowing blue trail as it scythed through five of the little bastards. Flynn’s jaw dropped as he watched his friend fly into action. He’d known that Ram must have been a pretty proficient warrior-he’d survived two hundred microcycles on the Game Grid. But he’d never really seen the Program fight, not until now anyway. And he was pretty damn impressed by what he saw!
Ram moved through the swarm with almost superhuman reflexes-well, that made a certain amount of sense, Flynn figured. After all, Ram wasn’t really human. His disc was a blue blur as it whipped through the bugs, leaving a trail of flashing lights as the bugs derezzed. But as fast as Ram moved, more of the bugs seethed from the wall to replace them. Flynn grabbed his own disc from his back and jumped into the fray next to the Program.
He wasn’t nearly as good with the disc as Ram was, not having had as much practice-he was getting the hang of it, though. He hacked and slashed and hacked again, derezzing the bugs as they swarmed around his feet. The bugs zapped at him every time they got too close, but luckily it didn’t have much of an effect. And each zap earned the critters a chop with his disc, cutting through them. His legs were starting to ache, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.
Ram wasn’t so fortunate. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ram fall back as the bugs started surging up his lower legs. The Program cried out in pain.
“Ram!” Flynn shouted. Damn it all, he hadn’t saved Ram’s life just to see him taken down by a bunch of bugs! He fought his way through the swarm and started hacking at the bugs. Finally they retreated and he and Ram staggered back against the canyon’s opposite wall.
They were badly outnumbered, and that didn’t look to be changing anytime soon. The bugs just kept coming-but hey, at least he and Ram had the advantage of smarts, right? What they needed was a plan. The bugs couldn’t strategize. They were just raw code, programmed to destroy…
Programmed… that’s it! I need Alan’s programming! The crack in the wall, Flynn knew, was a result of damaged code. If Alan could rewrite or delete that code, the bugs’ reinforcements would be cut off; then he and Ram could slice up the unlucky ones stuck outside the wall. But for that, he needed his datapad… which was currently buried under the mass of Grid bugs.
“I need my datapad,” Flynn said to Ram. “I’m going in for it!”
“B-but you can’t! There’s too many bugs!” Ram protested.
“Hey, man, I’m a User, remember? If I survived jumping inside the MCP, I’m pretty sure I can handle some bugs.” Flynn flashed a grin at Ram, who gaped at him in a mix of terror and amazement. Then he turned, hefted his disc-and waded into the swarm. He knew he’d dropped it by the crevice. All he had to do was get there.
The bugs stung at his feet and crawled up his legs, but he swatted them away with the disc. Even with all the benefits of being a User, though, he could feel the stings taking their toll. Just a few… more… steps! There! He saw the screen glinting through a gap in the swarm, but then it was gone again! Bugs poured out from the crevice like a waterfall. But he’d seen where it was. He’d just have to go for it. He dove forward and plunged his arms into the swarm. The bugs zapped at him over and over, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and kept going. Finally, he felt the pad’s smooth screen under his fingertips and grabbed it.
His fingers flew over its surface at a frantic pace; waiting for Alan’s responses seemed to take forever.
“Flynn?! Hurry up!” Ram shouted, voice filled with panic. Flynn glanced over his shoulder and saw the Program barely holding the bugs at bay. He wouldn’t last much longer against them. A fresh spike of adrenaline flooded through Flynn and he turned quickly back to the screen.
“C’mon, Bradley, don’t let me down now, buddy!” Flynn urged. Then, finally, a flash of light issued from the crevice. When it faded, the crack was gone! It was like disrupting an ant trail: the bugs still in the canyon scattered and went nuts. Ram sprang forward with renewed vigor and attacked the bugs. Flynn let out a triumphant whoop and joined in.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the last bugs derezzed and the attack was over. Ram slumped against the wall, nearly giving Flynn a heart attack. But then the Program let out a weary chuckle.
“I feel like I just went a few rounds on the Game Grid,” he said. He looked up at Flynn from the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry, I’m not derezzing this time,” he added in a slightly teasing tone. Flynn laughed breathlessly and staggered over to Ram, sliding down next to him.
“Y’know… up till now… I never really minded bugs that much,” he panted, grinning weakly. “We have bugs in my world…less aggressive though… smaller, too.” He held up two fingers an inch apart, then dropped his hand onto his knee. Ram slouched down further, sliding sideways so that his shoulder bumped against Flynn’s.
“Your bugs sound better than ours,” he commented. Flynn nodded. The slender Program seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then he dropped his head down onto Flynn’s shoulder. Flynn could feel an electrical kind of warmth from the Program seeping through his armor. It felt pretty good, actually.
“That was a close call,” he murmured.
“Yeah,” Flynn agreed. “You okay? You look pretty worn out.”
“I’ll be okay. I just need to replenish my energy stores,” he replied.
“Heh, good. I’d offer you some, but I don’t think I have any to spare right now,” Flynn said wryly. That earned him another blush from Ram. Then a thought popped into his tired mind, and he blurted it out before he’d even really thought about it. “Oh, speaking of energy-what I did in the energy transfer? That wasn’t a proper kiss, really. It was sort of a… mouth-smash, heh. Just so you know. It’s usually way better than that, man.”
“Yeah?” Ram asked. “Huh. So what’s a proper kiss like, then?” Flynn paused for a moment, and suddenly he realized something.
He’d wondered yesterday whether there was potential for something more that friendship between himself and Ram. Maybe it was time to find out. Flynn wasn’t the type to delay things; he hated playing guessing games with people. What this situation needed was some good ol’ Kevin Flynn directness.
So he took a moment to gather his nerve. He was suddenly anxious again, like he’d been when he first arrived. He turned to the Program, looking down at the top of his helmet. Then he lifted his hand and gently grasped Ram’s chin, tilting his head upward.
“Flynn?” Ram asked quietly. “What’re y-“ Flynn leaned down and carefully pressed his lips to Ram’s. He felt a sort of spark as their mouths touched, like an electric current almost. Ram made a low, soft sound in his throat, and his hand drifted up to lay against Flynn’s cheek. The encouragement made Flynn bolder; his hand went from Ram’s jaw to his waist, pulling him closer and kissing with more enthusiasm. Ram’s own hand snaked around to the back of Flynn’s neck, drawing him in.
Flynn pulled back after a few moments, smirking at the Program. “That’s how it’s done,” he said. Ram stared slack-jawed at him, his eyes hazy.
“Oh,” he said softly. His tongue brushed over his lips. “Can we, uh…” Flynn chuckled and as quite happy to oblige Ram’s unspoken request.
Well, that answered that question.
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