For the first time in her life, Quorra could feel the sun on her face. The warmth, the radiance…the beauty. The sunrise almost seemed unreal, not quite like the descriptions she read in Flynn's books, and not quite like the blue light of the Grid, which emanated from the portal….the portal that had taken her far from any home she might have known. No, with the yellow sun dancing upon her face, she realized that now she was the unreal one. The one that didn't belong. The grip that Quorra had on the body in front of her tightened. This was Sam's home, she thought. He was no longer the outsider…she was.

When Sam had finally walked out the entrance of Flynn's arcade, she felt a lurch in her stomach. She recognized his sandy hair, broad shoulders...his blue eyes…but there was something more comfortable in his lazy walk than she had ever remembered seeing in roughly 8 cycles she had known him on the Grid.…probably only a few minutes in real time, she thought absently. Before, Quorra had thought that there was something…off in his personality and he had seemed almost aimless at times…as if he didn't really know what to make of everything. But, that haphazard demeanor seemed to have simply disappeared and now he seemed so at ease in the real world. It struck her that they didn't really know each other at all but here they were, inextricably tied to each other.

What's next, Sam? She had asked him. He had simply turned his appraising gaze from the arcade sign, onto her own form, that lazy gait bringing him closer and closer. We change the world, I guess. Her blue eyes widened. It was then that Quorra became very aware how entirely dependent she was on him now. It seemed a queer twist of fate, considering how just a few cycles ago it had been him who had looked on her, eyes brimming with questions. And she had tried to answer them. She only hoped that he would do the same. Come on, I want to show you something. He had said, leaning in close, so she could feel the moisture of his breath on her face. As Quorra climbed on the back of what appeared to be a crude light-cycle-like vehicle, pressing herself against Sam's warm back, she wondered if she could ever be that…alive.

Sam went faster and faster, a look of intense focus on his face, weaving in and out of the other vehicles ahead of them, the scenery blurring past Quorra's head. Unlike the grid, which kept you upright and on a linear course as long as you didn't approach an obstacle, in this world, she felt as if the possibility of simply falling right off was decidedly real. As the wind whipped through her short hair, she felt the thrill of the deep-seated fear rise within her. The fear that she would never belong in such a painfully real world as this. She gripped Sam tighter and he tilted his head almost imperceptivity towards her, never breaking his concentration, allowing the movement of the bike to be an extension of himself.

The realization that she was truly afraid of something, perhaps for the first time ever, scared her more than anything Flynn could have ever dreamt up. On the Grid, Quorra had felt no fear. Especially not of the fast or of the dangerous. On the contrary, she had had an alarmingly playful demeanor when it came to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles ahead. She had always enjoyed a challenge, so why should this one be any different? Granted, the fact that she was an isometric algorithm with the potential to unlock the mysteries in almost every field of science, religion and medicine, made her future in the real world extremely uncertain, but…wasn't that even more of a reason to let go of her fear? Flynn is teaching me about the art of the selfless, about taking yourself out of the equation. Tentatively Quorra unclenched her hands from around Sam's waist and slowly…let go…her arms outstretched, her face tilted up to the sky. She felt like she was flying, the tall dark shapes of a city whipping past her head, unfamiliar smells engulfing her, and the sound of Sam's laughter mixed with her own. You got this, Quorra.

Memories of Flynn flashed before her eyes and she finally realized that this was what he had missed so terribly during those many cycles he spent in the Grid. She had known how badly he had wanted to come home… how often he had dreamt of having a life with Sam. She had seen it in his eyes. But he had given that all up…for her, to protect her and give her a place to belong, the last ISO. Flynn had been the only family she had and she hadn't wanted to lose him….but, regardless, that dream of the real world had seeped back into his calm gaze the moment the portal had been reopened and, from the minute Sam and Quorra had met, she had felt the illusion of the Creator slip from her mind. Flynn was a user, but he was also a man…and he loved his son. He loved Sam enough that he sacrificed himself to de-resolution in order to save him…and to give Quorra a chance at a real life. A real life…..And she was going to live it.