Tron: Deliverance

Initializing.........

The city had been eerily quiet for a couple cycles now. It was not supposed to be common knowledge, but everyone knew that CLU had left with an enormous force. And no one had heard from them since.

Voxels of water fell from the sky. Storms had become more frequent as well. If Gem didn't know better, she'd say that the Grid was becoming unstable. But she did know better. Just because rumors of destruction and mayhem were rampant didn't mean that the world was coming to an end.

She wasn't one to believe the hysterics of common maintenance programs. She would wait and keep gathering intelligence. Something had to break loose at some point. Thousands of programs never just went missing. There would be evidence.

Even if CLU had crashed his whole force into the Sea of Simulation there had to at least be some flotsam.

She smirked as she navigated between the crumbling buildings of the outer districts of Tron City. It was a pleasant thought. Perhaps CLU had finally choked on his own ambition and had met some terrible end. Justice never seemed to find the right victims, but a program could dream. Gem sidled into a narrow alley then nonchalantly walked straight through a wall. The camouflage subroutine flickered as she passed through. On the other side, thumping music played and lights throbbed.

The new End of Line bar was coming along well. She had spent most of the cycle finding the more trustworthy patrons and passing along the word that the new bar was open for business. Already some of the more high end administrative programs from the control towers had filed in for their evening libations. No one seemed to question how Castor and his staff had survived apparent execution by CLU. The system administrators and security programs had tried to shut down the End of Line bar many times over the cycles. But Gem and her employer had the survivability of grid bugs. In no small part thanks to her efforts.

She shucked off her rain covering and passed it to a service program with a nod. She looked up into the music platform. Guy turned his helmeted face towards her. He spared her a swift nod and the music morphed into her song. A slower more melodic tune that still had a lively thrumming beat. They were welcoming her back.

She smiled and sailed between the patrons. Passing out sultry looks and skating her fingers along the shoulders of a security program seated at the bar. One of the few remaining in the city after CLU left.

"Enjoying yourself soldier?" She cooed.

"Best drinks in town. As always" he chuckled his voice flanged and a bit garbled. Definitely not a high ranking program then. Only the menial foot soldiers could be so damaged from repurposing.

"Glad to hear it" she responded and moved on.

She made it to the back of the bar and climbed a short set of stairs. Zuse's private lounge was still in construction. But the privacy wall was already up and working well enough to muffle the music and chatter from the bar.

Zuse was seated behind his new desk, perusing some hard light files when she walked in.

"The city was quiet all day. The Games are down to a skeleton crew too. There were only three disc battles today before the organizers shuttered the Arena for the night"

"Unsurprising my dear. With CLU and his forces gone there's hardly anyone left to compete aside from strays and your odd dissenter. Not that there's many of those left"

"I could find nothing on where CLU went or when he will be back. Which is strange. Normally there would at least be rumors of where they are or what's happening. All anyone can say is that there was a bright light out near the beacon. Then the beacon went dark"

Zuse darkened his files and slapped his hands together, pressing the tips of his fingers against his lips.

"Strange, strange, strangeeeee indeed" he mused.

"What will we do when he comes back?"

"He may not come back as you say"

Gem blinked, then narrowed her eyes.

"When CLU blew up the bar you mentioned chatter. About why he needed Flynn's disc. You never explained what he needed it for" Her tone was even but accusing. No one had been with him longer than her. They had been partners since the ISO wars and long before. She knew his flighty ways and habit for keeping secrets had saved their cubes on more than one occasion. But after so many cycles she thought she had least earned his confidence on something this important.

"I don't have the whole image Gem dear. I only heard bits and pieces. Fragments if you will. In sum,I know that he was looking for a way to use the beacon. Whether he wanted to travel through it or perhaps use it to affect the base code of the Grid I'm not sure. Either option would be..." he threw his arms wide and tilted his head back to the ceiling. "Explosive" he flopped his face toward her and fixed her with a bemused look "to say the least"

She sighed and seated herself on the short couch across from his desk.

"I could always investigate myself" she said, propping her chin on her fist.

"Oh my my my volunteering for a field assignment are we? You know I have people for that my darling one" he slumped across his desk and propped his chin on his fists mimicking her posture.

"No one as good as me. All the informants we've sent out towards the sea have gone silent. We can't afford to be in the dark on this"

"Only too true my treasure. Hmmmmmm" he stood abruptly and fired his hard light keyboard to life, flipping through maps with wild speed.

"Very well. I'll give you transportation out of the city. Something fast that can handle hard terrain"

"If you get me a light jet I'll go to the beacon"

Zuse placed his hand over his heart and his mouth popped open in surprise.

"You would go to such a sacred place? Oh my Gem your commitment and loyalty hearten me! They give me such joy!" He wiped away a tear.

Gem rolled her eyes. " It's not like I've never been to the sea you dusty old fool. We were both born there if you recall"

"A trip back to the chaotic place of our birth. Won't this be fun for you! Very well I'll give you a light jet as well. Also you'll need passage out of the city. CLU destroyed most of my sources for clearance codes on his way up to destroy our bar" his happy smile twisted into something darker, his pale eyes went blank and malevolent for the barest nano. "But my influence goes father than one would think. Give me till the start of next cycle and I'll have your codes for you. You'll likely have to leave out of the transformers district. It's one of the few remaining weak points in the city's defenses"

Gem snapped a nod and stood.

"Ill go mingle among the patrons, see what I can gather"

"Do try to keep the atmosphere lively my dear. We must get our reputation back to its sterling hue"

She sniffed and passed through the wall, plunging herself into the throbbing chaos of the bar. Another night, another cycle. For the work to ensure their survival was never done.