Answers

Answers
Date of Scene:	12 August 2013
Location:	Flynn OS - Outlands
Synopsis:	Beck leads TRON to the Renegade's hideout located deep in the Outlands outside Argon City, both seeking answers to the questions that plague them.
Cast of Characters:	TRON, Beck

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Beck has posed:

Beck had been busy being napped by Mara and Zed at Abel's Garage. Since the Grid came back online and due to the sudden show of force, things have-- not been the same. Beck has been having to adjust and comfort his friends that he has always been ok. Including trying to explain to them his side of the story-- at least the side of the story as a mechanic.

Yet, as always, Mara never seem to want to hear it and gave Beck her mind's worth.

So when Beck could escape, he did so. It worried him really. Not only was his face on the wanted posters by rumors about some programs trying to follow in his shoes-- which was nothing new, but now one of the people from /outside/ the Grid had their face up there with the Renegade's. If this continued..

No. No. He didn't want to think about that.

******************************************************************************

At the edge of Argon, Beck sat on his light cycle. He was waiting for TRON to show up. He told him he wanted to show him something important. Something-- that may explain everything. Including something that TRON seem to want as well.

Answers.

Doesn't everyone want answers?

Beck fidget with his tool in his hand. Flipping it. Catching it. Twirling it. Then flipping it again. It was away to pass up time and thankful there was no sign of a possible snow storm in the distance.

TRON has posed:
A modern Light Cycle weaves through traffic without incident, the semi-canopy blocking any true glimpse at the rider beyond the simple black Program suit. It pulls off to the side, idling to a halt next to Beck's own Light Cycle.

<"Greetingz, Program,"> a modulated voice calls over as the semi-canopy retracts and the rider straightens to straddle his Light Cycle in place. He seems to be a normal Program for the system, even with the black opaque full-face helmet... except for the strange Silver Disc between his shoulder-blades.

The black rider motions towards Beck's display of tool-flipping with a simple wave of his hand. <"Good dexterity. Can you do that with a Dizc too?">

Beck has posed:

Beck continued to play with his tool. When the Modulate voiced program pulls up along side him and compliments him on his dexterity, Beck kind of continues with a small smile on his face. "I am known as the best disc player in Arg--" He then pauses mid sentence as he looks over at the Program and spots the white disc.

Then that smile wipes away and he gives TRON a dead-pan look. Before he looks away almost rolling his eyes and huffing a piece of his bang on his face. "I should have guessed." Though his voice sounds serious, there was a twinge of a smirk there. "You really should do something about that. Its going to get you questioned by the wrong people one day."

The young program then sits right on his Light Cycle. "Come on. We got a bit to go and-- its going to be a bit rough. I also suggest keeping your lights off." Then Beck takes off into the Outlands.

TRON has posed:
A buzzing chuckle is the only immediate response to Beck's deadpan stare, the black-clad Program folding his arms over the housing protecting the controls for the Light Cycle. <"Nobody haz noticed zo far. Perhapz they believe it iz a fazhion ztatement?">

With how... /human/... many of the Programs can act without realizing it, TRON would not put it past any of them. Small wonder most Users have not actually been caught.

His helmed head nods once and he hunkers back down on the Light Cycle as the semi-canopy rezzes over his back. <"Lead the way,"> he responds as he follows in Beck's wake.

Beck has posed:

Beck leads the way. It turns into a windy maze or at least it would seem that way if you didn't know where you were going. Then it was soon moving up a side of steep mountain, until coming around a tight corner and then--

Right into the mountain?! Yes. Beck goes right into the mountain and right through a data-mesh that hides the entrance.

The Light Cycle pulls in and revs a few times which echoes in the pitch black space. Only Beck's own lines giving away his location. He then steps off and as soon has his feet touch the ground. The floor lights up under him and a pathway lights up leading to an elevator like door, which opens up as Beck walks up to it.

The young program stops dead in his tracks. His hand seeming frozen to the wall as he just stares at the steps leading up higher. His body seeming to tense up. His hazel brown eyes suddenly feeling with so much pain, before he closes his eyes and grits his teeth. Pushing away all the memories that still haunt him. The words. The yells. The fights. The good moments. The bad moments.

"..The control center is right up these steps.. I'll have to put in the code to get access.. its going to be a mess though up there. We didn't get a chance to really clean it up to well after what Cyrus did here."

TRON has posed:
TRON simply follows Beck's lead through the Outlands, maintaining a close but safe distance between the two Light Cycles just in case something goes wrong. He makes careful note of the path to get here, the various features and just what this area even /looks/ like. The Outlands on his home-Grid are much more fatal compared to this one.

'/His/ home-Grid'... Right.

He doesn't flinch when Beck disappears into the cliff-face without a trace, simply continuing to follow him through--and into a whole new location, so dark that he almost stops dead in his tracks on the spot. The canopy disappears, allowing TRON to straighten up and retract his helm, revealing his face for the first time since... well, since he'd gotten digitized, actually. He remains in the black suit for now, however, still unwilling to fully let his guard down.

He derezzes the Light Cycle and tucks the baton into a thigh holster as he follows Beck, who seems to have some command over the facility if the lights are of any indication. But the /look/ on Beck's face... TRON's own brow furrows in concern, a flicker of helplessness in his brown eyes before impassivity takes over once more. Just another reminder layering over multiple reminders.

He frowns at the namedrop, again getting that aggrivating feeling that he is missing something. "Cyrus?"

Beck has posed:

Beck taps his fingers on the wall a few times, before he starts to walk up the steps. "Yeah. Cyrus. He is not a good program." Beck starts to explain as he continues to walk up. The steps lighting up under each of his foot steps, including the walls and ceiling around him.

"He tried to destroy the Grid. Wipe it to a clean slate. He is-- well-- he is the reason we have those Heartless here really." Beck frowns at that as he raises up his hands to his chest, looking at the under side of his arms as his finger tips brush over an area close to his wrist that has odd lines of damage.

"He is also why I am known as an Assassin. He got a hold of my part of the disc and took on the identity of the Renegade. He... killed.. also someone very close to me.. and you, well.." Beck pauses in step looking back at TRON. "The you that was, um, never-mind." He waves his hand then continues his way up the steps.

"I am sorry. That is something I shouldn't have spoken about."

TRON has posed:
TRON listens closely, but it's like hearing a fairy tale or a ghost story. The lack of emotion or anything truly /relatable/ blocks true empathy. He understands what's being explained, alright, but it's only the very end that seems to get any kind of reaction out of him.

His eyes narrow, hesitating mid-step to look back the way they'd come. "I'm getting that a lot," he comments almost under his breath, one hand flexing closed for a moment before he resumes following Beck upwards.

Any further questions or comments are kept to himself. Answers will come soon enough, or so he hopes. He wouldn't know what to do with this... this /gap/ otherwise.

Beck has posed:

Beck continues his way up the long corridor of steps. One can figure this was a safety measure that if someone just came running up these they probably be in a world of hurt somewhere in this. However once they got to the steps. Beck reached over to a panel on the side and placed his hand on the pad. There was a flicker of light, then a few pulses before there was a chime. Then two pair of doors opened, before revealing two more sets of doors, then those pulled back as well, then another, which those also pulled back.

Then ahead of them was a /far/ larger room. It was a bit of a mess. Solid black square floor panels. White walls with blue circuity lines that run along them. White, bright ceiling that illuminated the area below.

There was a massive window that stretched out across on side showing the Outlands and out to the distance, one of the cities. Though it was hard to tell from a distance if it was Argon or Tron City; maybe even another city itself.

In the center of this massive room was an area that was standing up higher and had a massive control center. Yet that area was perhaps the most torn up. Though it looks like it has been recently patched up.

As Beck walked in, he motioned up to that very control area. "That-- that is where you will want to access if you want answers." He says calmly to TRON. "..You-- well-- the you here could access about everything from it. Cyrus did do a number on it though, but we got it back up and working before.. we.. went to Tron City.." Those last words were almost whispered as Beck lowered his head. He then walked away from TRON and kicked a voxel across the floor from some data somewhere in this room that had yet to be repaired.

TRON has posed:
TRON carefully picks across the room, trying to avoid stepping on voxels or any sufrace that looks less than pristine. He pauses in front of the big picture window for a few moments, clasping his hands together at the small of his back as he surveys the view. There is a faint sense of longing as he studies the city in the distance, but a quick recheck of the emotion notes a resonance with the Other's data.

Not his. Never his.

Beck's voice stirs him from his reverie, his gaze canting from the control center to Beck and back again. "I see..." His brow furrows again, his mouth opening slightly as if to say something more, but he thinks better of it and stays silent. He instead walks over to the computer and rests his fingertips on the damaged surface as if preparing to type--but something white tucked almost completely out of sight in the control deck catches his eye.

He cants his head, eyes narrowing and glowing faintly as he tries to identify it by sight only but finds classification escaping him. "Beck." He reaches into the gap, fingertips touching a smooth, ring-like object hidden away. He carefully pulls it free, noticing a cord glowing pure white connected to an inner panel and how one side of its surface is bare circuitry-lines and dark sheen. "I need you over here."

Beck has posed:

Beck watched TRON a bit and when TRON called him over. He blinked his eyes a few times and then went jogging up the steps, "What is it, TR--" he stops mid-sentence and then stares at the white disc. His hazel eyes go wide. "No.. I.." He then paused himself. That was right...

TRON contacted him and then met him at the location point. Beck never met him here in that conversation. It was done from a distance and.... that means.. " What do you need me to do?"

TRON has posed:
TRON holds the white half-Disc between his fingers as if afraid to actually hold it, like it was made of fine glass that would shatter if touched wrong. His expression looks quite lost, understanding what he has but not quite its significance--or at least not the full depth of it.

He carefully sets it down, then takes his Silver Disc off of his back and places it off to the side. His form shifts without warning nor fanfare, whitish-blue circuitry lines flaring to life and spearing through the black of his suit as it changes to white. He removes his White Disc from his spindle next, holding it firmly while staring at it in visible thought.

"That's right... he could split his Disc..." He murmurs almost to himself, his gaze turning distant as if not quite focusing on what's in front of them. Then, like a lightswitch being flipped, his whole expression abruptly hardens and his eyes focus. "Before I do anything, I need to know why this Disc is plugged into the system--and whether it's safe for me to unite it with half of my own Disc."

Beck has posed:

Beck stares at the silver disc. His hazel brown eyes stare at it as his shoulders tense. He watches what TRON does with it. Knowing the truth and-- wondering how much that disc would too know the truth of that day.

He looks away about then and stares out toward the window, trying to look anywhere but at TRON right now. "I-- I don't know what would happen." He says softly, looking back at TRON at last. "I don't know really why he would even leave it here. I am pretty sure that no one accessed the server or anything since I've been gone either."

Beck then walks over to the terminal and starts to type in commands. Logs show up of access times and log out times. What was accessed and what had been recorded. He pulls up all the files he can, moving them to separate sections as he reaches up and slides his hand across the air to move them. Maybe even try to see if the original left behind a message or... something!

TRON has posed:
TRON frowns. "Perhaps... it is what the Users would call a 'last will and testament'," he comments, disconnecting the half-Disc from the cable connecting it to the computer. The power cable ceases to glow as a result, and TRON sets it aside along with the half-Disc itself. He then runs a finger over the outer edge of his White Disc as if in careful thought, then he twists the outer halves to form two ring-like halves--just like the half lying on the terminal.

Setting aside one half of his own Disc, he picks up the mystery half-Disc and holds the two disparate halves in his hands, comparing them. There are few true visual differences, but the mysterious half-Disc almost feels heavier. It could just be purely mental, such as the proverbial 'weight of responsibility'.

Safety and such be deleted--He needs to know. To understand. He has been functioning too long without context--without /purpose/.

Without giving himself time to second-guess himself or allowing Beck to intervene, TRON snaps the two disparate halves together and reaches back to relock it onto the spindle between his shoulder-blades. As soon as the connection is made, he lowers his arm as a bright white light radiates through his circuitry-lines, culminating in his eyes flashing white as well.

They stay white.

The Disc almost screams as his systems access the new data, reading and copying it to TRON's own Disc. TRON grabs at his head with both hands, gritting his teeth tightly as his fingers dig into his hair. He falls to one knee, curling forwards on himself as he simply emits a low groan and struggles to stay online.

He knows this feeling. It's the same experience he had when Flynn hacked his code back in his home-Grid.

Beck has posed:

Beck was still looking through the information on the screens, about the time TRON decides enough waiting. Time to do something. ...Beck hates those moments sometimes; at least in precious moments like this.

"TRON!" Beck suddenly halts what he is doing as TRON goes to move his disc to his back, "We don't--" To late. ..always to late. He watches TRON suddenly freeze up for a moment and those eyes going solid white. He isn't sure what to do at first, until TRON goes down on his knee.

Beck's own eyes go wide as he then goes down on his own knees and reaches out for TRON's shoulder with his one hand. "TRON...?" He was unsure of what that would do. What if it was a trick from Cyrus they overlooked? He wasn't even sure. "..You ok? Can you hear me?" Maybe not the /smartest/ questions in hindsight, but what else was he suppose to do?

TRON has posed:
TRON hears Beck, alright, but can't immediately answer as the process proves to not be instantaneous. His eyes burn behind his eyelids screwed tightly shut, images moving in extreme fast-forward in his vision despite that. His teeth grind and shoulders hike, his entire body shuddering in unreleased tension, and he can feel his processors straining under the load.

The last time, he blue-screened and had to reboot because his data couldn't handle the process. This time, he wishes he /could/.

Then, everything snaps together in blinding clarity--the Disc quiets, his system is suddenly without the heavy load, and there is a moment of near-weightlessness. Instantly and in one single motion, he reaches back and wrenches the combined Disc free, throwing the disparate Disc away in what must have been as hard as he could, and ends up falling flat on his aft from the lack of balance.

He scrambles backwards away from Beck and the computer both, eyes wild but losing the white glow rapidly as his circuitry lines dim back down to their usual bluish-white. He looks all the world like he has completely lost track of where he is--and perhaps, for that moment, /who/ he is.

He rakes his hand into his hair, palm resting on one side of his forehead, and his mouth opens as if about to speak... but no words come out. He just looks downright stunned.

Beck has posed:

Beck nearly flings back when TRON suddenly snaps the other disc off and chucks it aside. He sits there with a stunned and confused look on his face. "Tr--tron?" He says softly, before slowly moving to stand up.

He looks at the program who held the face of his mentor. That held the face of the program who saved Encom system so long ago. Who nearly risked it all to protect Kevin Flynn here. Beck stares at TRON for a long time before he slowly walks up to him, placing out his hand for him to take.

"You-- don't look so well.. maybe we should get you some energy and.." Beck wasn't even sure what to do. It was written in his own eyes, perhaps as lost as TRON himself right now. "..I.. I am sure the others are getting worried about you.. and.. maybe.. this was a bad idea.."

TRON has posed:
TRON reaches up with his free hand as if to accept Beck's offered help up, but instead of letting himself be pulled up to his feet, he strengthens his grip to pull Beck down to him.

"No." The Security Program's voice is suddenly very certain, his expression settling to match. "No, it was not."

He looks up at Beck, an expression of sheer bafflement but a growing sense of... empathy? Pain? It's a very complicated mix of emotions, if nothing else. "I saw everything. Betrayal after betrayal, hardship, revenge, hope..." He shakes his head, mouth half-open as his eyebrows knit. "He... Beck, he was dying. He left you a message in the terminal, left that copy of his Disc behind..."

Now he just looks shaken as a new thought dawns on his mind. "Users help me, is that what I will become?"

Beck has posed:

TRON then pulls Beck down and Beck doesn't fight him, instead he joins him easily down on the floor, resting his weight on his knee. He knits his brows together in some confusion, before his gaze drifts away as TRON explains that he was dieing. So.. is that why he was so willing..

Beck sighs softly. "He had the right to be like that though, but he never gave up. He never really, truly gave up. If he did, he wouldn't have found me. He wouldn't have trained me." The young program looks at TRON. System Monitor to System Monitor. "..but.. if that isn't who you want to become, who says you have to become like that, right? What he went through and what your going through are very different things. You two have not even truly experience the same life."

Beck then looks down at the ground. "..and be it him or you-- I am happy to be either of your sides." Beck looks up at TRON by this point. "I wouldn't change--- no.. there is something I would change.. or.. I thought I would." he sighs as he goes to stand up. "I am not even sure anymore." Beck then turns to face TRON once more. "But your a good guy, TRON. You always have been, no matter if it was /him/ or you.. and don't change that about yourself, because-- that is who you are. A good guy.. A good program.."

TRON has posed:
TRON closes his eyes as he listens to Beck, letting the younger Program stand up without stopping him. He smirks slightly, an almost wistful look on his face. "I am... who he once was, I suppose. Perhaps you're right... who really knows anymore, in a time when Users and Programs can mingle together so easily?"

He easily shifts his weight to stand up without using his arms for balance, and walks back over to the terminal. "I... have a lot I need to process." He recombines his White Disc, combines it with his Silver Disc, and locks both back into place on his spindle. There is a faint twitch as the connection is reestablished, but nothing nearly so dramatic as earlier proved to be. "But first..."

He taps a few keys on the terminal as if knowing exactly what he's looking for--despite having never been here or being around such a piece of Grid Technology like this. And, sure enough, a window appears with a big 'PLAY' message displaying over an indistinct image behind it.

"This is meant for you and you alone, Beck." He turns away from the system, reaching up to rest a hand on Beck's shoulder as he passes. His white suit has already begun pixelating back to black, circuitry lines fading and disappearing as well. "I will be downstairs when you're ready."

Beck has posed:

Beck watches TRON easily now access the terminal. He watches all the movements in some confusion. Then when TRON pulls up the video and says it is for him. Beck tenses a little, though he slightly relaxes with the pat on the shoulders. "Understood." He says softly.

Beck stares at the floating image, seeming unsure he really wants to start it up. His hazel brown eyes just-- staring at it. He inhales deeply, before he steps up fully to the terminal. Then his hand carefully, slowly reaches out to start the video feed. When the TRON he knew.. when his face comes up.. Beck's eyes sadden deeply and the first word out of the TRON's lips cause him to fully tense.

"Beck.."

This was going to be a rough few human minutes...