-
Sam had waited until they had reached the outlands before he slowed his bike down. He wheeled it around in a circle before he braked and removed his helmet. He did not see that thing. He had no idea how long that monster was chasing after them.
“What was that?” Quorra asked
“It looked like an SBM,” Yori answered. “Sentient Bit Mass.”
“I have heard of them,” Quorra said. “But I have never thought I would ever seen one.”
“It’s been a while,” Yori said. “But I’ve never seen one that big before.”
“What is that exactly?” Sam asked. “I know about bits but that thing does not look like a bit.”
“In free systems bits travel in groups at times,” Yori explained. “The take over is recent. They haven’t spread out to hide yet.”
“That’s a pack of bits?” Sam asked in a dumbfounded and pointed at the direction of the city. What ripped apart those other programs was not a group of bits.
“Sometimes they merge together,” Yori continued in her explanation. “They become something more defined and bigger. The more bits then the more like us they resemble.”
“Except bigger.” Sam shook his head.
“That isn’t the least of our problems,” Yori said. “We still have to go back for Tron.”
“We’ll get more people for the rescue mission,” Sam said. “And we will change our lights.”
“That SBM hated those that served Osiris,” Quorra said. “It might not attack those that are still free.”
“If that thing is still in there then we don’t want to cross it,” Sam said. He heard people were running up to them. He turned to see several freedom fighters approach and not one looked happy to see them.
“We are not your enemy,” Quorra said.
“It’s me,” Yori said as she pointed at herself. “Yori. We disguised ourselves. We are still on the same side.” She held out her hand. “We may need a little help with changing back.”
“Better try with me first,” Sam said and let someone grab his hand. His circuitry changed back to white. He grabbed onto Yori’s hand
“Where is Tron?” Another program asked as they helped Quorra change her lights.
“We were attacked,” Sam said. “Tron told us to go on ahead and he stayed behind.” Just like he had for his father. “We are going back for him.”
“Where is Ram?” Yori asked.
“I bet they are still at the tower,” Quorra guessed. “Even if they reached Adrian, time will be passing slowly on his end.”
Sam wanted to check in on Alan and Janelle but he didn’t want to disturb them if they were speaking with Adrian, there was also the more pressing matter of that SBM that wanted to kill them.
“We have this,” Yori said as she held up the component. “This will keep them from signaling to their rectifyer and will keep them stationary.”
Several programs applauded as more came running towards them.
“We still have to go back for Tron,” Sam said. “Those who wish to join us raise your hands.” He scanned the audience and saw that several other people have raised their hands. “Those who don’t have their hands raised will stay here and prepare to fight as a second wave.”
“Here,” Yori said as she handed one of the freedom fighters the component.
“We also need you-“
“Sam?” Quorra had cut him off.
He chose to ignore her. “Those who are staying to let the party-“
“Sam,” Quorra’s voice sounded even more urgent
“That went to the tower know where we are going.” Sam had let his voice wavered a bit.
“It’s here,” Quorra screamed.
Sam spun around and stared in horror as the large SMB was lumbering towards them. He pulled his disk from his back. He heard several programs as they pulled off their disks.
The giant stopped and growled. “You are all different. You don’t look like the ones that took me to him.”
“Him is Osiris?” Sam asked and immediately wished he hadn’t when the SBM snarled.
“He hurt me.”
“We are his enemy,” Sam said as he held up his hands. “We are freedom fighters that want to take down the one that hurt you.”
“You are fighting him?”
“Yes we are,” Sam said. “I don’t know if this makes any difference to you, but I’m a User.”
“A User?” The SBM blinked. “Like Janelle?”
“Yes, like her. Janelle Harper is a friend of mine and is Alan Bradley.”
“We went to rescue your friend. Tron and Janelle told me to stay behind. They came back and the enemy took me. They wanted to save me. ”
“I think they told me about you.” Something in Sam’s head clicked. He remembered Janelle and mentioned someone who was captured. “Legion?”
“I am Legion.”
“You are also Tron’s friend.”
“Yes I am. Where are they?”
“Janelle is safe,” Yori said sadly. “Tro-“
“I want to see her,” Legion said. “I want to see me friend. It’s because of her that I came to be.”
Sam nodded. “Quorra will take you to her.” He held up a hand to Yori. If Legion knew what happened to Tron then he would insist on coming to his rescue and it would be hard to sneak around with Legion, on the other side, Legion might come in handy, but this was a covert mission. They will be fighting Osiris once they receive what was on Adrian’s disk.
“I don’t want you to go on this mission with out me,” Quorra told him.
Sam shook his head. “I’ll be able to do this mission better if I knew you were here.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Besides we need someone to signal to the others in our Grid.” He ran his finger under her chin. “I’ll be fine.”
“You better not be lying,” Quorra said and kissed him.
Sam felt revitalized from the kiss even more so than all the glasses of energy that he drank. He stepped back from her and turned to face his troops, knowing full well how goofy he looked with sappy smile pasted on his face.
“Come on,” He ordered and hopped back onto his bike.
-
Several thoughts ran through Janelle’s mind as she sat along the steps to the alter. She thought about what Alan was saying to Adrian and could not help but feel envious to him. She also thought about Tron and Sam and their mission. She wished she could have gone with them. She had rekindled her friendship with Sam, gotten to know and like Quorra and she had always liked Yori, at least from the stories.
As for Tron, he was her friend. He was the reason why she was alive again. They had grown close in the past several hours. She remembered when he first rescued her, how they fought together, the way he held her while they were on the Solar Sailer and when they danced.
Don’t do this to yourself. The voice in her head said. He’s out of your league and he and Yori are in love with each other.
“You are thinking about your friends?” Ram asked.
“They are always on mind,” Janelle answered. “Them and my family.” How were her parents and her siblings going to react that she was given another chance at life? Would she be able to step out of the system, or would they have to come inside to see her.
“I’m also worried about them,” Ram said. “I wish I could be with Yori.”
“Yori and Tron?” Janelle looked at him
He nodded. “Yeah, Yori and Tron.”
“How much do you remember about your previous existence?”
He shrugged. “Bits and pieces. I remember my first function at the insurance corporation. I remember playing various video games. I remember the light cycle races.”
“How much different were they in comparison to the ones now?” Janelle asked. The only parts she remembered about the light cycles in the stories was that they rode them while on their stomachs.
“Not like the ones we have now,” Ram said and removed his disk from his back. “We were on our stomachs and there was a roof over our heads. You couldn’t break, not on the game grid that is and there were jet walls instead of jet streams and the second anyone crashed into a wall they would de-rezz.”
“Yeah I do like the translucent look of the jet streams,” Janelle said as she stretched out on the bottom step. “So pretty.”
“I remember Flynn,” Ram said as he spun his disk on one finger.
“I have some memories.” She remembered the Kevin Flynn that would pat her head and tell a joke when she felt sad. She remembered how he would speak with her father, Alan and several others about his visions for both ENCOM and the world. She remembered how he showed her how to use a mouse.
“What was he like?”
“He was sort of the cool dad, always tried to be down with the kids.”
“I remember when I found out when he was a User.” Ram closed his eyes and sighed. “It was right before I de-rezzed.”
“You remember?” Janelle sat up. “Did it hurt?”
“I was in some pain from the tank blast that got us.”
“I’m sorry. It didn’t hurt for me, not really.”
“You de-rezzed?” He stared at her.
“Drowned. I fell off a ship. They tried to bring me back. For years I walked, or rather floated around as a ghost, then this laser zapped me, made me part corporal and when Tron gave me an Identity disk I became alive again.”
“Wow. Tron really is something special.”
“He is.”
“I can understand why if Yori wants to go back to him,” he said in a dejected tone.
“Go back to him?” Janelle just stared at the program. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“My death and undeath are a little more hard to explain.”
“It’s nothing.” He looked up. “They are back.”
“They are?” Janelle spun around to the entrance and noticed that Quorra was standing in the entrance. “Quorra, thank the lord.” She ran up to her. “Where’s Tron and Sam?”
“Where is Yori?” Ram asked.
“Only three of us were able to escape,” Quorra said. “Tron chose to exchange himself for us.”
“And you left him there?” Janelle glared at her. “You just left him so you could save yourself?”
“We didn’t want to,” Quorra said. “Sam and Yori are leading a team to go back for him.”
“Why didn’t you go?” Janelle asked.
“When did they leave?” Ram added.
“The left just recently,” Quorra answered. “Sam wanted me to tell you before I round up the troops from Flynn’s grid.”
“Janelle,” a deep and somewhat familiar voice was heard from outside the tower.
“Legion?” Janelle asked as she ran past Quorra. “Legion you are okay.” As soon as she stepped out she noticed the eight-foot silver man with a defined head. “Legion?”
“It is me,” the figure said.
“What happened to you?” She looked him up and down. The Legion that she remembered did not use pronouns and he was smaller and had a face that wasn’t as well defined.
“He got me,” Legion explained with a deep loathing scowl on his face. “He took me and wanted to know where you and Tron were. I refused to tell him and he tortured me. The pain was horrible and then I broke apart. Many of my bits derezzed but the rest found more. We grew in size beyond 64, beyond 128.”
“I’m sorry they hurt you.” She reached out to him and hugged a leg. “I wanted to go back I-“ She stopped when she realized that Quorra ha done something similar when they escaped from the ship.
“I am no longer in any pain, but Tron is in trouble?”
“We have to help him,” Janelle said. “I’m going to follow Sam.”
“I’m going with you,” Ram said.
“What about Arc and Alan?”
Ram glanced back over his shoulders. “I’m certain Arc can watch over him.” He turned to Quorra. “How fast can you be back with those other forces?”
“As fast as a Light Cycle can carry me,” Quorra said.
“I’m going to have to be faster,” Janelle said as she turned to face the city. She prayed that Tron was still alive and not in any pain and she prayed that Adrian would speed things up.
-
Adrian fought to keep his head and thoughts level. He could feel his heart race and he removed the disk from it’s clear jewelry box case and set it in the driver and closed it back up.
“Just put the disk in,” he typed to Alan, or who he thought and hoped was Alan.
“Good,” Alan’s reply came at the same time as another window appeared.
Adrian used the mouse to move the arrow over the yes option of upload new software.
-
It took a little longer for everyone to get fully disguised the second time. Sam did not have to grab anyone for himself to change back to red, but he had to siphon of several soldiers to the freedom fighters and kind of wished Janelle was here to help him with that task. Then again he didn’t know if it would drain her too much. He was unclear of what kind of limitations her new body had.
“This isn’t good,” Yori said and pointed up at the sky as a recognizer flew overhead.
“He must of sent several soldiers on foot,” Sam said. “Move out.”
He lead the group as they all jogged in a single file line back to the ship and only stopped when someone gasped. He looked up and saw another Recognizer fly over them. The aircraft shone a light down over them and it swept over before it continued along its way.
“That was close,” Yori said and let out her breath. “A little too close.”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “But on the plus side, we were able to fool one of those.”
The ship was more heavily guarded than before. The one minion, Regor was walking back and forth in front of the troops giving them instructions.
“Him again,” Yori said. There was no sign of fear in her voice.
“He does seem pretty dense,” Sam agreed and marched straight to the entrance.
“Halt,” Regor commanded.
Sam and his troops had stopped. It shouldn’t be too hard. Regor would give them an inspection; they will pass and continue on their way.
Regor looked at them and rolled his eyes. He smacked Sam on the back of his head, causing his helmet to retract.
Crap. Sam was not going to show any fear.
“You really thought that was going to work, twice?” Regor asked. “What kind of idiot do you take me for?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Sam asked.
Regor glowered at him before he turned to his forces. “De-rezz them.”
“Attack,” Sam shouted and removed the disk from his back. He swung his weapon down only to be blocked by Regor’s back swing.
Something hard and strong struck Sam in his backside with force to send him sprawling across the floor. He ignored the pain his knees and left arm felt and rolled over and looked up to see a familiar figure over him.
“Tron,” Sam said.
“That’s not your friend,” Regor said as he ran back to the entrance.
It wasn’t Tron? Sam looked back and the figure and saw that the familiar circuitry were reddish-orange, but they were that way because of the disguise. He looked up at the face obscured by the helmet and heard that familiar and frightening growl.
-