» 001-2 [video]

[double_discs]

[Someone looks VERY unhappy. He is glaring into the device with bright red eyes that almost seem to glow with overflowing energy. There seems to be a similar glow coming from his chest area...]

Unacceptable. Where is my armor? [He growls, the sound somewhat distorted and most definitely not natural for any animal to produce. Almost...artificial.]

Comments

[text] too freaked out to encrypt

[notglitching]

[...]

what

How

Identify.

[text] /cakcles with glee

[double_discs]

Designation: Rinzler.

[text] Just. O_O Forever.

[notglitching]

[No. No. He had-
When was he-

He didn't remember.

Unless.
No.
But.]

Function?

[text] Poor thing.

[double_discs]

System Security.

--> [video] Finally encrypted

[notglitching]

[...Congratulations, Rinzler. You've just shown Rinzler new and exciting ways to glitch at himself.

There's a long pause. Then the video feed activates. Have your own face, staring back at you. The other's wearing user clothes-black, similar enough to a gridsuit in form, if not function. But no circuits visible. And no mask.

Most clearly identifying, though? The continuous rumble. The constant skip of grinding conflict stutters out, at the moment, somewhat less than steadily. The program's expression doesn't change, hexagonal pupils fixed on the display in a flat stare.

Hi there, him.]

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

Tron.

[Automatic reaction. Half greeting, half spit-take, all extreme dislike. Have all the growling as he stares unaffected at his double. This clearly isn't new to him.

But, give him a nanosecond, and he realizes something is wrong. Mostly it's the fact that the other is rumbling. Tron never did that. He hated Rinzler's rumble.

He blinks and his face scrunches up for lack of any real sense in how to convey facial expressions.]

Confirm identity.

[video + text; encrypted, unhackable]

[notglitching]

[More than one automatic reaction here. Rinzler freezes at the name. He hadn't been in motion before, but there's a visible tensing, rigidity, before his head jerks slightly to the side. The rumbling growl grows edged, sharper, and that doesn't fade, even when the tension does.

He didn't used to know the name. Not until recently. But now that he does? That doesn't make it his.

Not anymore.]

Rinzler.

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

[...that was different. Slightly unexpected. But he could work with it.]

Acknowledged. Confirm: allegiance solely to CLU.

[video + text; encrypted, unhackable]

[notglitching]

[Yeah, not much of that tension's gone for long. Rinzler's still for just an edge longer than would be normal, a faint red-orange flicker backlighting his pupils before his head dips in a somewhat jerky nod. The glare's not lowered for long, though, and Rinzler's noise ticks out harsh and loud as he enters a counterquery.]

Confirm: same.

Additional query. Relevance of designation: Soundwave?

[He's staring intently for the response. Both responses. Because in all of Rinzler's experience in or out of the Grid, there's only one person besides Clu who he knows got a hold of his disks. One person who, the last time they fought, actively worked to copy them.

And Rinzler somehow doubts any copy Soundwave made would be just loyal to Clu.]

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

[That is a definite plus. He is liking the idea that there is no Tron here, only Rinzlers. Why couldn't it have been like that on the station? He could have used another him to protect CLU...

Irrelevant.

Back to business.

He doesn't react outwardly to the name. And his response will probably confuse the hell out of his double...]

Soundwave, AKA Joe Howard: synthetic lifeform known as Cybertronian. Currently housed within an organic body. Close alliance to similar type being designated Shockwave. [...] Possible ally. Unconfirmed due to premature disappearance from space station known as Sacrosanct.

[In fact he knows most of this from second-hand experience. From CLU.]

[video + text; encrypted, unhackable]

[notglitching]

[...yep. Consider Rinzler thoroughly confused. It's showing pretty well on his expression, too. Not used to needing more than a literal mask.]

Inaccurate.

[...no. Wait. He's run into this before, in the other system. Cybertronians have different iterations. He just. Hadn't expected anything quite this strange.

...though that "possible ally" still has him suspicious.]

Clarify: Sacrosant.

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

Detailed information provided by CLU.

[rrr]

Sacrosanct: space station in unknown sector of unknown universe located near planet known as Asphodel.

[video + text; encrypted, unhackable]

[notglitching]

[Pause. Break.

Retry.

...

It takes him a moment.]

CLU. Location: known?

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

[Here he noticeably pauses.]

Last known location: Sacrosanct, Zone 7. [In their apartment.]

[video + text; encrypted, unhackable]

[notglitching]

[Rinzler notices. But he's mildly wrapped up in his own glitches quiet meltdown uncertainty. No comment.

...on that.]

Query. Method, time: departure from Grid?

[video; encrypted, unhackable]

[double_discs]

[His reply is the cycle for the end of Legacy after his fall into the Sea of Simulation. Method was by some spacial distortion located within Sacrosanct that managed to grab various people from different worlds and timelines.

As an afterthought he gives the last known time on Sacrosanct and calculates how many in-Grid cycles that would equate to.]