-
Cool liquid was poured in a tall glass, first the indigo, followed by cerulean and finally topped with turquoise.
“Thank you,” Tron said and picked up the glass. He took a small sip. It was perfect, refreshing, reenergizing and delicious. “This is good, you are a true artist of energy.”
“You flatter me too much,” Pollux said as he mixed together another drink. “Just don’t stop.”
The battle had continued on. Once the sector enclosed within the firewall had all the invading programs either de-rezzed or cured the freedom fighters continued on across the sea. They had taken the sailers, light jets, recognizers and even Osiris’s ship once Yori had replaced the component.
Tron had felt some guilt from attacking his friends, even though they kept telling him it wasn’t his fault. He chalked it up to being a natural feeling. His guilt was increased after he had helped vaccinate several of the corrupted programs. How many members of the Black Guard had he de-rezzed? They were once like him, repurposed to serve a different function. They did not have to die. Not all of the soldiers were once programs from the system. Several de-rezzed when they were given the vaccine, they were part of the original infection along with Osiris, but Tron didn’t think about them, only the innocent.
“Please stop thanking me for just pouring and mixing,” Pollux said after he served a couple of drinks to Quorra and Sam.
“I thought that was what you wanted to hear,” Alan said before he took another drink from his glass.
“I’m not objecting to the compliments,” Pollux said. “I never object to those, but you do not have to thank me for simply refreshing you. You are all heroes. You deserve this. Thanks to you, the system is free, my theater nor my creative integrity shall be threatened and most importantly I got my girls back.” He nodded towards Wraith and Sylph.
“We are happy to be back,” Wraith said as she and her sister nodded at their boss.
“I know this may sound bad,” Pollux said after he cleared his throat. “But could one of you be a dear and play some music? I have my friends, and the biggest heroes of the resistance in my theater house. We are going to make sure this will be the best victory party in the sector.”
Once the battle was over every club and bar had reopened and invited everyone who had fought to celebrate. The drinks were on the house to all the heroes. Pollox had insisted that Tron and his friends celebrate at Babbage, even though it was a theater with the promise that Pollux was a better energy mixer than anyone. The theater owner did live up to his boast.
“What kind of music?” Sylph asked.
“Both kinds,” Pollux answered.
“Both kinds?” Alan asked.
“There are only two,” Pollux claimed. “Program music and User music.” He smiled when the music started. “That is the right way to start.” He shifted his hips along to the beat of the song.
“How are the ideas coming?” Janelle asked after she had taken a long sip from her drink.
“They are coming along well my dear,” Pollux said and took her hand. He placed a kiss on her knuckles. “I never lost hope that you would all succeed.”
“We appreciate that,” Quorra said and leaned closer against Sam. “We just won a major battle, a small war, but we still won.”
“We had a lot of help,” Sam said and nodded to the few members of the fighters from Flynn’s grid.
“But we won,” Quorra said. Her voice was hinting at something and she was giving Sam an intense look with her eyes.
“Ah.” Sam set down his glass and brushed his finger under her chin. He closed his eyes and leaned down. His lips brushed against hers and they held onto kiss.
“That is what I’m talking about,” Pollux said with jubilation and pointed at the couple. “That is the way to celebrate victory. All couples should be kissing.”
“Exactly,” Janelle said and set down her drink. “Tron and Yori should be kissing.” She got back up onto her feet. “We also need a toast. A toast to victory and to great love.” She frowned when she stared at her near empty glass. “Uh Pollux, I’d hate to trouble you but-“
“My dear, my dear, my sweet beautiful and wonderful dear,” Pollux began as he waved his finger at her. “You do not need to apologize or say you are a trouble for simply asking for a refill, and how can anyone make a proper toast without a drink?” He held out his hand for her to take. “I also have a few ideas I like to run by you, if you don’t mind.”
“I’d be delighted,” Janelle said as she accepted the flamboyant program’s hand and followed him to the far side of the room where he kept his bar.
Tron glanced to Yori and then back at the direction where Janelle and Pollux had left.
“Tron,” Yori spoke to him in a tone that said she did not want to tell him the truth, but it was going to come out anyway. “There is something you need to know.”
“You and Ram are together and in love,” Tron stated in a dry tone. Even when he was repurposed he could see the way the two of them were staring at each other.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, I tried to tell you back in my tent.” She paused and sighed. “I have loved you and a part of me will always care about you, but I thought you had long been de-rezzed since we haven’t been able to communicate. If I knew you had been repurposed into Rinzler I would have waited.” She stared at her hands and looked back in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“You should never apologize for that.” He took her hands into his. “I had thought the same of you after I rebooted back to my true self in the sea. I had no idea if I would ever see you.”
“You should go to her,” Yori said as she nodded her head to the doorway to where Janelle had run off. “She feels the same about you.”
“What?” He glanced back at Janelle before he stared at Yori. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve noticed the way you look at her. The sparks are developing and I heard what she said. Go to her. I don’t know what you will do, embrace her, talk to her, help her select a new drink, but just go to her.”
“I’ve always fought for the users, I never would have thought…” He couldn’t quite finish his thought.
“of the possibility with falling in love with one?”
Tron smiled and brushed his fingers against her eyebrows. He was not upset with Yori being in love with Ram. He could not be happier with her choice. Ram was a great program, a fierce fighter and skilled with the disk and if he was anything like his predecessor then he would be friendly and relaxed.
He scooted himself from the table and walked off to where Janelle and Pollux were. Pollux was shaking something up while speaking with the User.
“She feels acceptance in this world,” Pollux said. “But I’m wondering if she would resent the User world since that was where she was hurt.”
Janelle shrugged. “Or maybe the digital world renewed something in her. It made her want to live again and with a second chance of life she was ready for everything an anything.”
“Are you saying she might want to leave the digital world?” Pollux raised an eyebrow.
She nodded. “Not forever, not when her true love is in this world, but she would want to see and talk with those that she cared about, family, friends, a few nice coworkers.”
“I see,” Pollux said and looked up. “Ah hero, do you wish for a refill?”
“I wish to speak with Janelle,” He said. “Alone.”
Pollux nodded and stepped away from the bar while still carrying the silver canister that had the drink he was mixing.
“What’s wrong?” Janelle asked
“Janelle,” he made certain Pollux was not close by to eavesdrop on them. “I want to speak with you about what you said when I was Rinzler.”
“Oh.” She looked down and then up as if she was trying to seek out something from above. “I was caught up in the event. I was driven by my emotions.”
“Did you mean those words?”
She sighed again and closed her eyes. She tried to stop it but a bit of tear dribbled out of her closed eyes.
Tron walked straight up to her and grabbed her wrists. “Look at me and tell me.” He waited for her to open her eyes. “Did you mean what you said?”
“Yes, every word of it, but I shouldn’t have said them.”
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t fair to you and Yori. You should be with the one you love.”
“I am.” He brushed his finger under her chin. “I have started to develop feelings for you.”
“But Yori, you should be with her. That’s how the story goes. The hero ends up with the heroine.”
“The games change and so do stories. She and Ram are together.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “But you two were so perfect together. Your Users are still married and very much still in love with each other.”
He smiled. “I am pleased that Alan and his wife are happy and I want Yori and Ram to be happy together.”
“You should be happy.”
“I could say the same about you. You are alive again and you should be able to live, to find happiness and love and I’m happy when I’m with you.”
“I’m falling hard for you, but I don’t want to go too fast.”
“I know we are different, but there is one thing I know Users do is this.” He had to lean down and she had to stand on her toes but their lips met. Her lips were warm, tingly and sensual. He could feel her warmth going into him. He didn’t want to part, but knew that she had to breath.
“Wow,” Janelle gasped when they parted.
He couldn’t stop smiling as he stared at her. He stroked her hair and noticed that sparkles were appearing in the air around his chest.
“Are you ready to go back?” He asked as held out his hand.
“I don’t want to miss our victory party.” She grabbed onto his hand and leaned against his chest.
“You still want to take things slow?”
“Of course.”
“Another thing I know Users do is go on dates. Would you like to go to the Codebreakers club with me in fifteen millicycles? You can teach me more about dancing.”
“I’d be delighted.”
-
Alan stared at the surrounding beauty of the city. He wanted to take it all in before he left with Sam and Quorra. Arc had led them to a tower that was connected with the laser at ENCOM, and while they still had time to return to the tower in Kevin’s Grid, Sam wanted to return with Alan.
“You will come back,” Kevin said to him. The ghost of his friend had been quiet up to about now. “No one who ever visited here would ever leave and never want to come back.”
“Even if I couldn’t help I would be back,” Alan said. It wasn’t just the beauty, nor was the fact that this place existed or that his friend had created one. “I’m going to be helping Sam with your Grid and I want to do more studies, learn and see if Janelle can return to our world.”
“Still can’t believe she has a new living form,” Kevin said.
“It is a miracle, speaking of returning to our world, are you coming?”
“I’m still undecided,” Kevin said. “You and Sam will need my guidance here. You won’t be able to hear me there.”
“You will make your presence known. You always have.”
Kevin laughed. “That is true.”
“ENCOM needs you. They say your spirit is in the company you can make it true. Be the new ghost, and there is the possibility of you crossing over, if you wish.”
“My parents,” Kevin sighed. “Jordan, my beautiful Jordan. I don’t know if I will cross over, even if I want to.”
“If you can’t you can still watch over Sam. There is the possibility that you can come back to life through the laser and with Tron and the sea. You won’t be able to do that if you remain here.”
“Alan, it’s time,” Janelle said. She had been talking with Quorra up until now. “Sam said that Adrian has turned on the laser.”
“Your move, Flynn,” Alan said before he followed after the former ghost to the portal. “Janelle, you are not upset about having to stay here, are you?”
“A little,” Janelle said as she stared up at the light radiating from the tower. “I have a place to stay. Sam and Quorra told us about Kevin’s place off the Grid in his section of Cyberspace.”
“Us?” Alan asked and a pretty good guess who one of the others are.
“Tron, Legion and I. We have to change a few things to make room for Legion but I have User powers. I may not be a programmer but Sam told me I still had a shot.”
“You and Tron are now an item?”
She shrugged. “We are taking it slow and we will do a lot of couple stuff. I know that he has big time duty as training more warriors and help keeping Kevin’s Grid safe and I weighed the other options in my mind.”
“Other options?”
“I’m carbon based, he’s probably silicon. I’ll age, he won’t. I know about the difference, but I know in my heart that this is where I want to be.”
“I will visit you as often as I can,” Alan said and gave her a hug.
“Alan!” Sam cried out. He was standing in the middle of the light with Quorra. He was holding a disk above his head, most likely his father’s. It was Kevin’s disk that helped get him and anyone else in and out of Kevin’s Grid. It was probably not needed to return to ENCOM.
Alan ran up to them and stood in between them. He looked back and watched as Janelle stood waving at them with a smile on her face. Tron had ran up to her and placed an arm around her.
The white light filled Alan’s vision blinding him of the view of his friends. White turned to blue-green and he felt like he was being pulled up until everything went dark.
-
Blackness had lightened to bright-green once again as Alan felt himself land as if he was in an elevator. The illumination faded, revealing objects that became clearer until the light was gone and all he could see was the computer terminal that he and Adrian were working at.
“We all made it through,” Sam said. He and Quorra were on the ground next to him.
“Holy shit!” Adrian was heard from behind him followed by the clicking sound of switches being turned off.
Alan turned around as Adrian pushed a metal shelving unit in between them and the laser.
“Adrian.” Alan found his voice. He was going to have to say the right words to explain everything. “I know th-“He didn’t get to finish thanks to Adrian tackling him to the floor and embracing him.
“Thank God, thank God, thank God,” Adrian kept mumbling over and over. “I thought you were dead, that laser just burned you away, dissolved you, deleted-“
“De-rezzed?” Quorra asked.
“Huh?” Adrian blinked and stared at her and then at Sam. “You really were in the system with him? I thought it was just an instant message and when did you get in there?” He pointed at the computer. “And what the hell guys? What the hell happened in there? And why do I hear a printer?”
Alan tilted his head and he also heard the gritty screeching sound of a printer in action. He turned around and saw one of the closest printers as page full of various program codes fell out and into the catch basket. Another page loaded and the process began again.
“What is it?” Quorra asked as Sam picked up the freshly printed sheet.
“What we just fought,” Sam answered as he read. “The schematics of it, full description and details and it’s by someone called Full Magnum. That has to be a screen name.”
“A little sleuthing and it will lead us to Regor’s User,” Alan said. “Anything that will incriminate Dillinger?”
“Wait,” Adrian said as he placed his fingers in a time out gesture. “Ed Dillinger junior is responsible for the mess we just cleaned up?”
Alan stared at the youth and sighed. “Adrian, we have a lot to explain. This all goes back to Kevin Flynn.” He felt a chill against the back of his neck.
“Dad?” Sam asked and rubbed the back of his neck.
“What about your dad?” Adrian asked.
“He’s at the beginning,” Alan explained. “The story starts with him.”
-
A/N: The Second to the last chapter.