-
Dean had belly-flopped on the craggy surface of the mesa before he rolled over to help pull more of their allies over onto the top. The last people they helped were Tron, Flynn and Gabe. As soon as they were over they have disconnected and retracted the cables. It was time to take a deep breath.
Their break only lasted a few seconds when he heard the sound of a small army marching towards them. Dean turned to see hundreds of soldiers marching towards them. They were led by Kruz and a program Dean had never seen before. He looked like a man in his early forties with sandy blond hair and a perpetual scowl on his face.
“Sark,” Tron growled as he rose to his feet.
“So we meet again, Tron,” Sark said as his glower grew even more intense. “I’m afraid things won’t be the same as last time.”
“That is true,” Tron said as he pulled out his disk. “This time I know what I’m really up against.” He separated his disk into two and fired them up. “But you don’t know what you are up against.”
“I do as I did before,” Sark said. His eyes had widened for a brief second when he saw that Tron had two disks instead of one. “The same program who still has the delusion he can over take the MCP.”
“You mean the one who actually did take on the MCP,” Flynn said as he stepped forward. “My father told me how he was able to help defeat you.”
“Your father?” Sark blinked. “Who are you, program?”
“I’m not a program. My name is Sam Flynn. I’m the son of the User who helped derezz you and old Master Control.”
“Flynn.” Sark gritted his teeth at the name.
“Whoa,” Kruz said as he held up his hands. “This is a User?” He pointed at Flynn. “And they came here before?”
“That does not concern-“
“Now back off,” Kruz said as he jabbed his finger into Sark’s chest. “Users are here?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know, you son of a bitch,” Dean said. “You knew we were Users when we were pulled in and made to play your stupid little games.” He was not going to forgive this program for what he done to Darla.
“You’re a User?” Kruz pointed at him.
“Don’t try that bullshit on me. You knew I was just as you knew Darla was when you had her brainwashed into thinking she was Nyrii.”
“Where is she?” Kruz asked. “Where is my little Nyrii?” He was certainly good at pretending to be concerned.
“He’s not lying,” Gabe whispered into Dean’s ear. “He actually had no idea that you guys were all Users.”
“Really?” Dean asked as he softened his tone. “She’s safe and she’s frightened. Darla is her real name and she just wants to go home.”
“Commander you are out of line,” Sark said.
“No,” Kruz said as he placed his hands on his hips. “I thought they were programs, just stray programs made to play these games. No one told me they were Users.”
“That should not matter,” Sark said.
“Not matter? Darn Skippy it matters. Users wrote us. They wrote me and they wrote you.”
“Before I was derezzed I might have cared about my User. He is gone and I was brought back by the new Master Control. I serve him as should you.”
“He doesn’t have to serve anyone,” Tron said.
“That makes him a zombie?” Sammy whispered behind Dean.
“I guess,” Gabe told him.
“Zombie program or not you are still going to die,” Flynn told Sark. “Just like last time.”
“Just because you are a User doesn’t mean there is anything special about you, or any of you.” Sark removed his own disk and it lit up at the edges with a bright red glow. “You all will easily be defeated.”
“Don’t get too confident, Lite-Brite,” Dean said. He had his eyes on Kruz. The other program was seething, but not at them. The focus of his anger was Sark and a few of the soldiers were also shooting the captain dirty looks.
“You must be the mouthy elf,” Sark said.
“The name is Dean Winchester. I just want you to know that name before me or Tron or Sam Flynn here kills you.”
“Not if I kill you first, attack.” Sark came running towards Tron with his disk until Dean stepped in front of the former program. He brought up his disk, but it looked like he didn’t have to.
Kruz stood in front Sark. His disk was against the disk of his commanding officer.
“Have you forgotten your place?” Sark asked.
“I didn’t,” Kruz said. “But it seems you have.”
“Kill the traitor,” Sark ordered. “Kill them all.”
Ten more soldiers broke away from the group aligned them with Kruz as the battle begun.
Dean looked at Tron’s direction and wanted to help him take out Sark, but he was up against two more guards. He blocked one of their glow staffs with his sword while he slammed down with his disk.
“Not this one,” Gabe said as he tripped one of the soldiers with his stolen staff. “Some of these guys are Users.” He kneeled down over the fallen soldier and touched his head.
“Is there a way for us to tell?” Dean asked as he shoved his sword in the chest of the soldier that was a program.
“Avoid the ones that look like teens,” Gabe said. “I’ll try to get the others.”
“Where is Cas?” Dean asked as he looked behind and found the other angel crouched down with his disk in hand looking around in fear. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Let’s just say the angel has left the building,” Gabe said.
“You mean that’s just Jimmy?” Dean asked as pointed to Cas’s vessel. Where the hell as Cas gone off to? “Where is he, Gabe?” Dean looked to where he had last seen the archangel, but he was no longer there. “The angels are not here when I want them to be, no surprise there.”
Another soldier ran up to him. He did not look a day older than seventeen.
“I take it you are like me,” Dean said as he blocked the attack with one hand. He kept his eyes on the soldier as he brought the edge of his disk down rapidly. Dean slammed his disk against the boy’s with enough force to knock it out of his hands.
The young soldier did not wince and went for his baton.
“I think you are too young to be carrying that around,” Dean said as he wrenched it out of the kid’s hands. “And you are too young to be in this platoon.” He tackled the kid to the ground.
“Got all the ones in their twenties,” Gabe said as he ran up to them.
“Where have you been?” Dean asked as the angel touched the boy’s head.
“We are in the middle of a battle and you are asking a stupid question?” Gabe asked. “Now at a time like this? Where do you think. I’ve been putting the touch of sleep on these kids and sending them over to Jimmy for him to keep an eye on.” He gestured over to Jimmy. The vessel was still crouching but now he was crouching in front of a group of sleeping Users.
“Where did Cas go?” Dean asked as Gabe sent the boy he just fought against to where the others were. “What is he doing?”
“He’s actually doing something smart,” Gabe answered. “He knows Luduserus would know where he exactly was, especially when we are very close to him.” He pointed to what looked like a metal reactor core. It certainly resembled the ones in the scifi movies.
“So he just abandoned us?” Dean asked.
“Let’s just say he’s waiting for checkmate.”
“And we are the pawns?”
“No, you were always more of a knight. I have to go fish out more kids.” He ran off towards a different direction.
Dean decided not to dwell on Cas’s whereabouts. He ran up to where four of the enemy soldiers were fighting against two of his allies and brought his blade down on the skull of one of them.
-
Tron found himself up against three programs. This was not going to be a problem for him. He jumped over one when the tried to swipe real low with their disk and he landed on another.
The first program threw their disk again, aiming for Tron’s head.
Tron ducked backwards. His eyes never left site of the disk and once it was out of range he rolled over and stood up, planting one of his disk’s into the neck of the third program that teamed up against him.
The program that he knocked over stood back up and the first program threw his disk at Tron once again.
Tron waited until the last second and ducked. The first program’s disk tore right through the other’s chest, shattered him into a pile of pixels before it spun around and came back to its owner.
The lone program growled, not like the sound Tron made when he was Rinzler. It was more like an animal, or a human imitating an animal.
“Not this one,” Gabriel shouted before he tackled the program from behind, knocking him to his knees. “You got to ask yourself why this one is so good.”
“That one is a repurposed User?” Tron asked as he pointed at the soldier on the floor.
“This one is,” the angel said as he made the helmet retract. “I got most of them already. I think there are a few more.” He touched the User’s forehead.
“This place isn’t that safe for them,” Tron said. He glanced towards the direction of the old MCP core. He could see Sark face off against two allied programs. One of them was Jolt.
“I’m sending them to Castiel’s vessel,” Gabriel said as he caused the User to teleport.
“He will cure them and protect them.”
“He’s not in Jimmy’s body,” Gabriel said. “He left. I don’t know where he is right now, but he has a plan. I figured it out, but I can’t say what it is.”
“In case Luduserus is listening,” Tron said with a nod.
“I have to find those last ones,” Gabriel said before he ran off.
Tron turned back to where he had last seen Sark. His enemy was still holding his own against Jolt and the other program. His friends were going to need his help. He ran towards them as Sark sliced his disk in a diagonal down on of their bodies.
“Pitiful,” Sark said as he spun around and brought his disk against Jolt’s. “All of you who resist are pathetic.”
“I am Jolt.” He blocked Sark’s attacks while trying to get a few swipes of his own. “Like Tron I fight for the Users.”
“Foolish, program.” Sark deflected another strike. “You fight for those who do not even know you exist.”
“They know we exist. They talk to us.”
“They speak with us and they are our friends,” Tron added as he blocked another attack from Sark.
“Tron,” Sark snarled his name as his eyes became slits.
“I’m the one you want,” Tron said as he glanced at Jolt. “Let him go. Just you and me.”
“That does sound like a decent proposal,” Sark said. “I accept.” He plunged his disk into Jolt’s stomach without so much as any warning.
“Jolt,” Tron shouted as he caught the program.
“My fault,” Jolt croaked out as fracture lines formed on his body. “I should have been more alert.”
“No,” Tron said as he tried to transfer his energy to the program. “You are going to make it.” He could see Jolt’s circuitry pulsate along with his. It was working. No, Jolt’s glow was fading.
“You were a hero to me,” Jolt said as the fractures formed on his face. “I always believed in you.”
“Jolt,” Tron whispered as Jolt’s body derezzed in his arms. He stared at the pixels in his hands for a nano before he glared at Sark. “You agreed to let him go.”
“No I didn’t,” Sark said. “I agreed to just you and me.” He threw his disk.
Tron jumped and tumbled his body in the air to avoid the disk. As he jumped down he threw one of his.
Sark dodged the attack and retrieved his own disk before he threw it again.
Tron held up his second disk and blocked the attack before he threw his again.
“You are getting rusty,” Sark said after he blocked another attack. “I have heard you have left this system.” He threw his once again. “Where have you gone?”
Tron blocked the attack once again. This was all about timing. He had to just wait for the right opportunity.
“Wherever this place is it had made you weak.”
Do not focus on his words. Tron told himself. Focus only on his actions.
“Even with a second disk you have let your abilities and skills grown slack. You have changed, Tron.”
“I have,” Tron said as he threw one of his disk’s at Sark near his midsection. He waited until Sark jumped to throw the second one. He threw it so it would be half an meter higher than the other and at a certain angle.
Sark tried to shift his body to avoid being struck by the second disk, but he missed. The second disk sliced through him, cutting off his head and part of his shoulder.
“You haven’t,” Tron said as he caught his disks. “You still talk too much.”
“You think you have won, program?” A deep booming voice asked. It sounded exactly like the MCP.
“I have fought and defeated your predecessor,” Tron said as he glanced a the core and then back at the MCP’s remains. “I don’t care how large you grow him.”
“Grow?” Luduserus asked. He laughed, but his voice was no longer booming or as deep. The laugh was more like a cackle and the voice heightened in pitch until it almost sounded human. “I am far more creative than that.” His voice was smooth and chilling. “You don’t know how many cards I have up my sleeve.”
Glowing energy flowed to the not yet derezzed remains of Sark. It covered his form. The glow was so bright that Tron could not see his body clearly. The illumination did grow becoming twice the size in nanos. The head seemed to reattach itself as the neck lengthened. Two new growths formed on his back and they spread out as the lengthened, forming wings. Another growth formed on his backside and lengthened into a long tail.
Tron felt himself slowly backing up as he kept his eyes on the glowing and morphing Sark. He kept his eyes on what was Sark as the illumination ended.
Sark was now several meters taller than his original height. He was standing on all fours. His body was devoid of any armor and covered in black scales with glowing red stripes. His hands and feet ended in sharp claws. He had an angular head that was crowned with two long curving horns and a row of spikes. His large leathery wings were stretched out. Smoke curled out of his mouth.
The Sark creature flapped his wings and flew straight for him.
Tron turned around and ran straight to where the others were.
Sam Winchester aimed his shotgun at the dragon and fired it. “Of course, a fairytale type of dragon. Why not? That’s what we could use.” He fired his gun again.
Several disks were thrown at the dragon. The battle with Sark’s soldiers was brought to an end. There were several soldiers who had glowing red circuitry, more than those who had sided with Kruz.
“I shouldn’t have run,” Tron said as he crouched down next to Sam Winchester. “I’ve never run before.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Sam said as he fired again. The blast struck Sark’s stomach. “That was a human emotion.”
“We have to scatter,” Quorra shouted.
Tron bolted along with everyone else in various locations. He looked over his shoulder as Sark opened his mouth and fire fell out. The programs that were not fast enough were ignited with flame. Their flesh melted away, leaving their core skeletal remains behind to derezz.”
“How are we going to defeat this guy?” Dean asked as Sark circled around.
“What if he can’t be defeated?” Yori asked.
“No he wouldn’t make it impossible,” Gabriel said as he held up a few disks that were from a few derezzed programs. “A challenge yes, but not impossible.” He took one and pulled and stretched it and formed it into a bow. He broke the other two disks up into a few different pieces and stretched them into arrows.
“Do you think he might have a missing scale on his stomach?” Quorra asked.
“Not quite but there would be a weak spot,” Gabriel said. “Until then blow out his wings.”
They heard Sark screech in the air as he came down towards them. He was going to blast them with more fire.
Tron threw both of his disks at Sark’s right wing. Several more disks tore through his wings leaving holes.
Dean jumped on the back as Sark was struggling to keep in the air. He ran up his body until he got to the left wing. He raised the sword and struck it down against the wing limb.
Sark screeched again and turned to spit fire at Dean.
“Dean,” Tron, Sam Winchester, Lia and Gabriel shouted at the same time.
Dean threw himself down and rolled away as Sark burned his own wing. The flames did not seem to affect the dragon.
“I hope that did something,” Sam Flynn said.
Sark tried to flap both wings but yelped in pain. He could not get off the ground.
“Now,” Gabe said as he fired one of his arrows.
Tron threw his disks along with nearly everyone else. Sam Winchester fired his rifle.
The dragon roared as an arrow lodged itself in one of the beast’s eyes. Several disks bounced off Sark’s chest and neck with no damage.
One struck an area on the beast’s chest and caused it to flash before returning to its owner.
“He’s going to blow again,” someone shouted.
Everyone ran before Sark could spit out more fire. Only one program was burned to deresoultion.
“Aim for the pentagon shaped scale,” Tron shouted and pointed to the area that was damaged. “Right where the neck meets the shoulders.” He aimed one of his disk’s at the scale and tossed it.
The disk struck the scale, caused it to flash and Sark to cry out in pain again before it returned to Tron.
Several disks flew towards the scale and some struck it, causing Sark more pain while others missed. One of Gabriel’s arrows appeared.
Sark chased after them on his legs, spewing more fire and making it even more difficult for everyone to strike him.
“We are going to need a distraction,” Flynn said and ran after the dragon.
“What are you doing?” Quorra asked as she ran after him.
“He’s just like his father,” Yori said.
“Which means he will succeed,” Tron said with a smile. “I’m going to give him coverage.”
Flynn and Quorra climbed up the back of Sark and were climbing up the scaley hide close towards his neck.
Sark turned his head towards his new passengers.
Tron throw one disk at Sark’s other eye and the second at the dragon’s nostrils. His aim was perfect. The disk cut through the one good eye and slammed into the snout. Tron wasn’t sure if Sark could sniff them out or not, but he doesn’t want to take chances.
Sark thrashed his head around. Breathing fire in various directions.
Flynn climbed along the back of Sark’s neck and pulled him self up until he reached the back of his head. He flopped forward and grabbed the dragon’s muzzle and held it shut while Quorra held onto his legs.
Another gunshot was heard. Sark’s whole body flashed before he fell onto his stomach and his neck and head came crashing down. Flynn and Quorra, holding on to each other, jumped at the last second and landed .
“Made it,” Flynn said and chuckled.
“Brave and clever,” Tron said.
“Stupid and wasteful,” the other Sam said except he was staring at his brother. “There are only five bullets left.”
“Needed to get that last shot,” Dean said as he pointed at the derezzing dragon. “See?”
“We are probably going to need all of them for Luduserus,” Sam Winchester shook his head. “He might bring Sark back as something else.”
“Not this time,” Tron said. “I don’t think he will.” He turned towards the direction of the core and heard that same laughter again.
-
A/N: The title is from the old maps from medieval times where at the edge of the maps was simply written “Here be dragons.”
Quorra has read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, hence question about a scale missing.