Warnings: The usual. Suggested for mature readers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tron or any of its characters.

A/n: Hi again! Hope you enjoy this chapter, I had trouble deciding how I wanted it to go. XD Ah well~

AkuRoku Lover- Ah! I'm glad you like it! :3 I'll try to keep it humorous as much as I can. XD Thanks for reviewing! :D
- Haha XD I'm glad you like the banter (and story!), I'll try to keep it up though I, myself, a, never too good at it. Hehe This chapter is a bit devoid of that, so sorry! Hope you enjoy it, anyway! :3 Thanks for reviewing!
Spunkynuts-Ah, I'm very happy you're enjoying the story and looking forward to updates. :D And thanks for the advice! I never noticed I did that… and since I wrote this chapter before you reviewed, please excuse any mistakes that are similar. X3 I don't have a beta and I don't really have time to edit it. Back in college now. DX But again, much appreciated! :D

They had taken their light cycles through the Grid, and Sam had seen a lot more than he thought the Grid had. Tron also explained a lot, as well. That programs on the Grid had jobs, purposes… and then when done for the day would go to their ports, or homes, to recharge. So, it was actually a lot like a typical workers day. Wake up, go to work, come home and relax. The night life on the Grid was also apparently amazing, though Tron didn't know firsthand. He had only been to the End of Line club sparingly.

Sam thought it would be a great idea to go to one, then. Besides, he still had a few hours before the portal closed, not to mention they were done viewing all the damaged sectors and discussing what should be done.

What was a little down time with his childhood hero going to hurt?

"I really don't think we should go… I'm still not quite accepted on the Grid, and I don't like to be in such a vulnerable area…" Tron hesitated, coming up with a few excuses. "Besides, shouldn't you get back to the portal and learn from Flynn?" He asked

Sam rolled his eyes, "Jeez, no fun, huh? You'll be fine, Tron… I doubt we'll get attacked at a club with so few of CLU's lackeys left. The portal doesn't close for a few hours, and I can't get my dad to teach me everything in a day, Tron…" He shook his head. The twenty-seven year old took Tron by the arm and pulled him along down the main street of the Grid, away from the elevator.

"So, I may be leading us somewhere, but I have no idea where I'm going. Where're the clubs?" Sam asked Tron, chuckling.

Tron shook his head, "Sam… I really didn't want to.. Very well," he said, after seeing Sam's expression. Flynn once said that Sam had a killer 'puppy dog' expression that could get you to do anything. He now understood the meaning of that. "This way," he said, motioning ahead of them.

After a few turns he finally stopped in front of the place. Unlike the End of Line club, this one was street level, and you could hear the music from way out here, too. Sam grinned and made his way into the club, noticing Tron entered with a bit of reluctance. Aw man, he had to teach Tron how to relax… it wasn't good to be all serious all the time, even the other programs knew that.

Sam walked through the automatic doors as they opened, coming to a stop inside the club. The music was pulsating throughout the place, with programs dancing and mingling, and probably some other things towards the lounge area. He grinned- it was similar to the End of Line club, but smaller and way more crowded.

"Well, well, well! Welcome to my humble club, The Codex… To whom do I have the honor of speaking with, User?" Spoke a female program, a different shade of green to her circuits. She reminded Sam of Quorra with her hair- though hers was a bit longer and white. "My name is Lectra," she smiled.

Sam tilted his head- she knew he was a User, but not who he was? Odd… "My name is Sam," he said, not giving his last name, did he need to? He could practically feel Tron was a bit on edge, and he wondered why. She seemed friendly enough…

"Ah, you're always welcome here. Free drink, perhaps?" She smiled, leading them to the bar area. "And who's your lovely friend, here? I don't believe we've met before, program," she said loftily, leaning over a bit towards Tron.

"No, we have not," Tron replied simply, crossing his arms and putting his weight on his left leg.

"Oh, relax," Sam muttered to Tron, "You might get lucky," he whispered, elbowing the program. He chuckled to himself, wondering if programs… well, if they had sex lives or not. "Sure, I'll have a drink. He will to, sorry he's rude. He's not used to clubs," Sam said with a grin.

Lectra seemed a bit put off, but she smiled at Sam again. "Oh, quite a few are. It's surprising, really. You're supposed to come here and unwind, not get even tenser," she said, handing them both green energy filled glasses. "My specialty here at The Codex! Enjoy it," Lectra said.

Sam handed Tron's drink to him, and he was hesitant to take it. "Sam, be careful with the drinks. Depending on the drink, the energy can be more potent than others. Too much at once will cause an overload for a while, make you lose control of yourself," he explained, watching Sam down his. He wasn't sure that was a good idea… "I don't know the effects on Users…" He trailed off.

"Believe me, Tron, I've been drunk plenty of times. I can handle one drink, now drink yours and be happy!" Sam laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

Tron sighed, and not one to waste a free drink, he downed his as well. The moment he downed it, though, he could tell something was off. It usually didn't take one drink to make him overload… He watched Lectra make it, too- she didn't do anything… So why..?

"S-Sam… Something's wrong. I think we should leave," Tron said, grabbing Sam's elbow. Sam turned and tilted his head.

"Tron, you alright?" He questioned, eyes widening as the security program stumbled into his arms. Okay, something was wrong… Tron was definitely NOT okay. "Tron?"

Tron clenched his eyes shut, then suddenly realization hit him like a light disc. He groaned, "Oh no… Sam, Rinzler…" That was all he could say before suddenly orange started to flood his circuits, but oddly enough only on Tron's right side. As if only half of him was able to come out.

Sam frowned, "Oh shit," was all he could say. He needed to get them both out of here so they didn't cause a scene. He began to pull a stumbling Tron- or Rinzler?- with him out of the club. They made it into the hallway away from most programs when Sam was suddenly shoved against the wall roughly. The blackout helmet was over Tron's face, so it was definitely Rinzler now.

"User," the mechanical voice purred in a low tone. No light discs were grabbed yet, so that was a good sign… What was it Tron had said? Rinzler was the type of program made to obey commands, and there were none since he no longer had a 'master' like CLU…

"Yeah, you've met me before… Sam Flynn," Sam grit out, still pinned against the wall. It was an odd feeling- he couldn't move… he'd never been man handled like this. "Rinzler, let me go," Sam said, a commanding tone in his voice. Well, if he wasn't hurting him now, then he may not… so why not experiment?

All Sam could hear was mechanical purring, but suddenly the pressure around him was gone, and he was able to move again. The half orange and half blue program in front of him was standing there, as if nothing had happened. How was he supposed to get Tron back? "Uh… Rinzler, follow me," he stated, turning to exit the club. He looked over his shoulder, pleased to see Rinzler following. How odd…

Sam made sure the streets were relatively empty before he began to head to the elevator. Might as well take Tron… Rinzler back to the station. He wondered how long it would take for Tron to come back.. hours? He couldn't leave with Rinzler in control; it wouldn't sit well with him.

After reaching the station with no problem- luckily there hadn't been any programs on the street, he turned to Rinzler and sighed. "Disc, please," he said, holding out his hand expectantly.

Rinzler reached behind him and pulled it off, placing the disc into Sam's hand. It was eerie how Rinzler just… obeyed. He took the combined discs to the table and took a seat, inspecting them. Okay… which one did he modify? Both or just one? Sam's eyes narrowed, then shrugged and he picked the blue one, figuring it for the original. He pulled up the code as he had seen his dad do many times last time they were here. And it didn't take a genius to do that.

As he searched through the coding he realized how simple it was, with bits of more advanced coding dispersed throughout. He figured his dad must have taken the original copy of Alan's design and just embellished it a bit. And then he began to notice another type of coding, flawed it seemed. It must have been CLU's… CLU's Rinzler program mingled in there.

It was odd how Sam held Tron's very being in his hands, in front of him like this. Now that his focus was broken with that thought, he noticed a purring from behind him. He turned his head and saw Rinzler standing over him, observing it seemed. It was kind of eerie in a way. Sam remembered Tron had said that's what he did when he came out- observe. But for what? Or for whom?

"Hey, Rinzler, is Tron in there?" He asked, almost jokingly. He didn't expect an answer, but he got one.

"Yes," Rinzler replied, mechanical and devoid of emotion.

"Uh… Will you let him… Let him have control back," he said, changing his voice from askance to commanding.

Rinzler was quiet, not even purring. Then, "Sam?" the helmet retracted and Tron reached a hand up to his head, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache. He stumbled forward a bit, and Sam stood up in order to support the security program.

"Good to have you back, buddy," Sam grinned. "I didn't think commanding Rinzler to let you have control would work, but it seems that it did. He obeys me," he said, shrugging.

"Interesting, indeed," Tron said, tilting his head. It was a curious thing that his 'alter ego' was obeying Sam. He wondered why it was so. "Did you notice anything while looking at my disc? A way to fix this?" He asked, motioning to the disc in Sam's hand.

Sam blinked, "Ah! I, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to go through it without your permission-" he began.

"Sam, it's alright, I trust you," Tron stated with a nod.

Sam nodded. "Well, I found that your coding is pretty simplistic, and there were pretty flawed modifications done to it. They were only mods, though, so I think we can isolate it… I have an idea, I'll have to talk to Dad about it, though. What do you think about having Rinzler, uh, how to say it… Locked away and only able to come out if you or me, or dad actually, commanded him to?" He asked, tilting his head. The user felt like that might be useful.

Tron tilted his head, then nodded. "Well, that will definitely be better than it happening at random. And I…" he trailed off, unsure how to say it. "Those thousand cycles cannot just be forgotten, and whether I like it or not, I was responsible for those actions." He said, looking away, wondering what the User sitting in front of him would say to that.

"I agree, except with the part that you were responsible. You weren't, Tron," Sam said simply, standing up. He gave the two discs back to Tron and he latched them together, placing them back onto his back. "Look, stop blaming yourself for what CLU did to you. Because of your sacrifice, my dad was able to get away, remember?" Sam put a hand on Tron's shoulder.

Tron sighed, "Yes, yes I remember," he replied, "Anyway, we need to get you to the portal. Let's go," he said, avoiding the subject pretty easily.

Sam rolled his eyes at the avoidance. He could understand why Tron was being stubborn about this- he would be the same way. He just wished there was something he could do to help…

…

Sam turned the bike off and kicked the stand down, sliding off easily. He sighed, twirling his keys in his hand. Having to adjust to the real world after going to the Grid was difficult. He found that he liked the Grid, even considering what happened the last time he'd been there.

As Sam entered the house, familiar barking greeted him and he smiled, bending down and petting the dog. He closed the door behind him and walked to the kitchen immediately, to get a bite to eat. "Dad? Quorra?" He called out.

"In here," was the reply from his Dad, coming from the living room. Sam walked in, holding a plate of chicken and fries, obviously left over from what his dad had made. He took a seat in one of the sofa chairs, noticing his dad and Quorra were watching TV. As always, Quorra was fascinated.

"Dad, I think we should wait a bit on sending Alan into the Grid," Sam began, watching his dad look over, full attention on him now. Concern was in his eyes.

"What happened?" He asked, looking his son up and down to make sure he was not injured.

"Tron showed me-"

"Tron? He's alive and well?" His dad asked, shock, relief, and happiness all mixed into one.

"Yeah, yeah he's alive, but I wouldn't say well. He's still blaming himself," Sam explained, "Which reminds me… Rinzler is not completely gone. Apparently he comes out when Tron isn't focusing enough on keeping him back. He did when I was there… I had a look at his disc when he was, and it seems that we would be able to isolate Rinzler's coding to command-only… We let him out when Tron or I or you command him to," he said, shrugging.

"Did he hurt you?" Flynn asked, eyes narrowing.

"No, no… Tron said Rinzler just observes. He's without a master now that CLU is gone, and he was driven by commands… He obeyed me, actually. But anyway, he just watched me, that was all. And I commanded him to let Tron back and he did," Sam shrugged. "But anyway, that's not why Alan shouldn't go in…"

"Well, then what is it?" His dad asked, "Oh, and it's definitely doable, isolating Rinzler that is… I would rather not go back, I… would like to experience this world more since I've missed so much. But I can teach you what to do, Sam," he smiled, nodding.

Sam nodded, "Alright, I figured you'd say that. I have no problem going to the Grid," he said, hiding a smile. "But anyway. Apparently Rinzler has a fan or two, people are impersonating him, attacking anybody who asks questions about Rinzler. Tron is trying to track them, but having no luck yet," he explained. "Not everybody under CLU was destroyed, there are unstable parts of the Grid, unstable programs, and sectors that need to be rebuilt. Tron proposed that I help him do it all, fix the Grid…" Sam explained.

Flynn nodded. "I understand, I can help from the outside, searching for those rogue programs, at least," he nodded, "While you and Tron fix the Grid from the inside. Quorra can help, too. I've taught her quite a bit, even though she cannot create like we can," he said, wondering. "Perhaps now she can, but we cannot know that for sure…" He trailed off, but then he got an odd look on his face, "What do you think of Tron, kiddo?" He asked.

Sam nodded, understanding. He glanced at Quorra, who was nodding. She seemed willing to go back to the Grid… She would be helpful, he thought. Sam looked up when his dad asked him about Tron, "Eh? That's a weird question…" He blinked. "Well, he's cool, I guess. He can be kind of snarky, did you know that?" he asked with a laugh, "But anyway, he's a bit too hard on himself, though. Seems like he needs to relax more," he shrugged.

"That's what I always said," his dad nodded with a small laugh. "Maybe you'll have better luck than I at helping him do that," he said, a small smile on his face. "But anyway, I'll let Alan know a few things need to be done before he can go. He's so doubtful, though I'm sure waiting won't hurt anything," he observed.

Sam nodded, "Alright… Well, in that case. I'm going to get some sleep, I'm beat… Want to start teaching me tomorrow, dad?" He asked, tilting his head.

He received a nod in return, "Yeah, bright and early kiddo!"

"Hey dad?" Sam questioned, looking back at him, "Are you going to take back ENCOM?" he asked, curious.

Flynn sighed, brow furrowing. "I want to, Sam… I'm just not sure how the world will see it, see me," he said, blinking. "Alan said he'll help me figure something out, and if it doesn't work out…" He looked at his son.

"Yeah… I'll think about it," Sam said, sighing. He really didn't want to… he'd become his dad, balancing the Grid, ENCOM, and life? No, not happening… The twenty-seven year old headed to his room, deciding that sleep was the best option at the moment. He'd figure things out tomorrow.

A/N: This was a tough chapter to write, and I'm not sure why. I guess because in one way, I'm trying not to have too many similarities between this and my Reformation fic. I may use some things from Reformation in here, though. And I think it was tough 'cause, well… Tron's a hard one to write when he's… being hard on himself. XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, now review! :3