Author's Note: Woo! Finally another chapter! And the longest one to date as well, if I'm not mistaken. :3 Anyway, many thanks to those who've been reading/reviewing this fic. You're all awesome! :)

Anyway, this chapter, we get back to Tron, and we begin to see the first inklings of the future Rinzler emerging...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs. Tron is Disney's, and I make no money off this (unfortunately).

I walk into one of the main rooms in the factory complex, marveling at how much it has changed in the cycles since the MCP's destruction. Like most of the System under the MCP, it had once been dull, dark, and lifeless, full of equally lifeless, under-energized programs. It is now returned to its former glory, its simulation bays, rooms, and corridors filled with life, bustle, and purpose.

It doesn't take me long to locate the program I'm here to visit. Yori, clad in her usual elegant but practical working attire, stands talking to one of her fellow designer-coordinators, discussing what seems to be plans for a new apartment complex, to replace the various dwellings that been razed or consolidated by the MCP in the name of efficiency. I pause in the doorway, smiling slightly as I watch her, marveling at my own good fortune for having her as my counterpart, enjoying the way her hair falls around her shoulders, her warm yet purposeful manner, the unconscious confidence with which she does everything…

I would be content to simply watch her until she noticed me, but I am here for a purpose, and the one who is waiting for us outside may not be as patient as I am. Yori looks up as I approach, then quickly excuses herself to her co-worker to come speak to me, walking over to meet me half way, greeting me with a bright smile and a kiss, a gesture introduced to us by the User, Flynn. It has since begun to catch on among other programs, but at least to me, there remains something special about this User way of expressing affection that is uniquely ours.

"Tron!", she says happily. "This is a nice surprise. I wasn't expecting to see you until I got home tonight."

"I know," I reply, "but something's happened, and I had to come tell you."

A look of concern spreads over her face. "Some new trouble in the System?", she asks. The reason for her concern is obvious; only recently have things mostly returned to normal after the MCP's destruction, and the last thing the System needs is the appearance of a new threat. But her fears are unfounded, in this case.

I chuckle and shake my head, reassuring her, "No, nothing like that. In fact, it's-" I pause a moment, considering how I should continue. "Well, it's something I really have to show you. Are you free for a few nanoseconds?"

"I can be," she says with a nod, her concern shifting to simple confusion and curiosity. "Things have been settling down a bit recently, so my leaving for a bit won't cause any major disruption."

My smile broadens at that. "Alright then, let's go," I say, taking her hand and leading her through the corridors of the factory complex, a hint of knowing mischief in my expression.

She seems to have caught my underlying enthusiasm, for she giggles slightly as she asks, "Where are we going? What's the big secret?"

I glance at her as we walk, grinning. "He made me promise not to tell you," I explain cryptically, enjoying her ever more obvious curiosity. "Said he wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Who did?", she asks, both amused and slightly exasperated with my uncharacteristic evasiveness. "Tron, what's going on?"

"You'll see," I tell her, remaining cheerfully tight-lipped, not wanting to spoil it for her. It will be much more enjoyable for her to find out in person, the same way I did.

When it becomes clear to her that I don't intend to say any more on the subject, she falls quiet, allowing me to lead her through the corridors of the factory complex for a few more moments. Finally, we come to a seldom-used side entrance to the factory complex, the same one, I now recall, that she and I had snuck out of to go to her quarters while we had been on the run from the MCP. Now, however, I open it with confidence, knowing that we no longer have to fear passing memory guards or recognizers.

Once she and I are outside, I close the door behind us, glancing around to locate the one who'd been waiting for us. "Well, what now?" I hear Yori ask.

"More like 'who'," a familiar voice answers, and the one who'd been waiting for us steps out from around a corner to face Yori and I, grinning.

Yori and I both turn to look, and Yori's mouth drops open in surprise. Though he lacks the armor of a warrior conscript that she had previously seen him in, there can be no mistake. "Flynn…?", she gasps. Flynn's grin broadens as he nods in confirmation, and a similar grin spreads across Yori's face. "Flynn!", she rushes over and hugs him joyfully.

Flynn returns the gesture, winking at me over Yori's shoulder as if to say, 'See, I told you she'd like it better this way,' and I can't help but grin in return. My reaction to Flynn's unexpected return had been similarly stunned and joyful. I had never thought to see him again, after the destruction of the MCP; his purpose in coming to the System fulfilled, he had returned to his own world, the world of the Users. I had caught a glimpse of his form rising through the MCP's vanishing communications beam as I ushered the Tower Guardians to safety.

Then, about 50 nanoseconds ago, I was called to the factory domain transport platforms. The attending program claimed that a new program had just rezzed in, and was asking for me, by name. As new programs generally don't know any other programs unless they're specifically written to connect with them in some way, they assumed perhaps he was a new security program designed to assist me. This had left me rather confused, as Alan-1 hadn't mentioned any such program the last time I'd communicated with him. However, I'd thought it prudent to investigate anyway, and when I arrived, there he was waiting for me, wearing a cheerful half-smirk, no armor or helmet, and much less circuitry than when I'd last seen him, yet somehow still unmistakably Flynn.

"Greetings, program," Flynn had said, grinning and giving me a little wave, as if his sudden reappearance in the System was something less than miraculous.

"Flynn!", I'd shouted with a mix of happiness and utter astonishment. "You're alive!" I'd stepped forward and gripped both his shoulders, needing to confirm this fact to myself.

Flynn had laughed, returning the gesture. "Yup," he'd replied. "Turns out I'm harder to kill than I thought." Then his grin had shifted to a softer smile. "It's good to see you again, buddy."

Back in the present, Flynn and Yori break off their hug and Yori returns to stand beside me. I wrap an arm around her shoulders as Flynn straightens and crosses his arms over his chest, the grin never leaving his face. Yori wraps an arm around me as well, as we all spend a moment quietly savoring this reunion that she and I had previously thought impossible.

Soon enough though, Yori speaks, addressing Flynn. "Flynn, it's wonderful to see you again," she says. "But how… why did you come back?"

"Well," Flynn replies, "the 'how' is kind of complicated. For now, let's just say that it's partly thanks to your User."

"Lora-3?", Yori asks, a note of reverence in her voice as she speaks her User's name.

"Yep," Flynn affirms. "And as for why, well…" He pauses, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I missed you guys. I would have come back sooner, but things have been kinda crazy back in my world. Even with Dillenger and the MCP out of the picture, there was still damage control that needed to be done on the System, not to mention all the necessary discussions among us Users…"

I nod in understanding. "Yes, it's taken quite awhile to undo the damage done by Sark and the MCP," I say. "In particular, getting all the programs brought here by the MCP back to their rightful Users." My expression turns solemn as I add, "Those that hadn't been derezzed, anyway." Flynn's expression too becomes briefly somber, and he nods silently. I wonder if he, too, is thinking of Ram… Yori's arm tightens around me briefly, and I return the pressure, grateful, as always, for her support. I glance affectionately at her and she at me for a long moment before turning back to Flynn.

Apparently wishing to change the uncomfortable subject on what should be a happy occasion, Yori speaks up, "Who's Dillenger?", she asks. I too had been wondering that, and so we both wait for Flynn's answer.

"Hmm?", Flynn asks, apparently having become lost in thought. "Oh yeah, that's right; you guys wouldn't know about him. Dillenger," he explains, "was the User who created Sark and was primarily responsible for turning the MCP into the menace that it was." Flynn smirks again, and his voice takes on a note of dark satisfaction. "Don't worry, though; we're making sure that son-of-a-bitch gets exactly what's coming to him. And one thing's for sure, he'll never even get near this System again, not if I have anything to say about it." His smirk broadens, shifting into a grin, the darkness fading from his tone and expression. "And as of this morning, I do."

I nod. While I don't quite understand the meaning of a few of the terms Flynn used, the implications are clear. This User, Dillenger, will be made to face whatever brand of justice is customary among Users for the suffering his creations inflicted upon the System, a thought which I find grimly satisfying. I fight for the Users, and it is comforting to know that somewhere there are also Users who, however indirectly, fight for us.

"Which brings me to the other reason I came back," Flynn continues. "Now that things have finally settled down, there's a project I've got in mind. It'll take a little while to set up, but when it's ready, I want you two to be in on it. Heck, even Dumont, if he's willing."

"A project?", Yori asks. "What sort of project?" I too, wait for an answer; Flynn had mentioned this 'project' to me on the way to meet Yori, but he hadn't gone into any detail about it.

Flynn shakes his head slightly. "I'm not gonna get into the details til we go see Dumont, see if he wants to be part of it too," he says. "But I will tell you this: if it works out like hope it will, it's gonna change the world…"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

TRON-JA-307020... PROGRAM STABILIZED. COMMENCING REBOOT…

I open my eyes slowly, stifling a groan. 'I'm getting very tired of waking up on the floor of this cell…', is the first clear thought that comes to mind, as I give the ceiling a weary glare. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that this will be the last time I find myself in such a position, if Clu has his way.

Sitting up slowly, I perform a diagnostic on myself. None of my primary functions seem to have been permanently affected as of yet, either by the punishment they'd received when I was last active or by the coding the 'rectifier' implanted into me. "Thank the Users for small miracles," I mutter quietly to myself.

The new coding itself, however, is now more complete, and I scan it as well, hoping for a few answers. The results come back a few moments later. Several dozen partially complete override commands and about half as many layers of inactive coding that's still too incomplete to get a decent scan on. Much more than the last time I'd scanned; most likely because I'd fallen unconscious midway through the implantation, leaving the machine free to work.

With a sigh, I move to sit against the back wall of the cell, drawing one leg up and resting the corresponding arm on it, my thoughts turning to the dream I had had. Yori… strange that I hadn't consciously thought of her until now. I suppose that I should be worried for her, but… I know her well enough not to need to. She is brave, clever, skilled, and determined. More so than I am, in some ways. If anyone can outwit Clu, it's her. Besides, if she had been captured or derezzed, I have little doubt that Clu would be eager to taunt me with that fact.

I give a small, grim smile. Yori had never really liked Clu, nor did she ever quite trust him the way she did Flynn, and thus had avoided him whenever she could. Perhaps this distance lent her some perspective with regards to him; she had been the first to warn me that something had seemed off with Clu. And after the poisoning of the Sea of Simulation, when I had told her about Clu's thinly veiled threat against me, she had revealed to me that she'd been expecting something like this and had a contingency plan in place, just in case the worst should happen: taking Dumont and fleeing to the Outlands.

Normally, such a course of action would be considered suicidal, as it would be, if one didn't have access to a ready supply of energy. However, there were a number of energy springs scattered throughout the Outlands, if one knew where they were located. Which Yori, thanks to her position as the Grid's premier designer-coordinator, did, due to having access to plans for proposed future building projects. No doubt she, and hopefully Dumont, if she was able to convince him to leave his post at Tron City's IO Tower, were now safely hidden in the same sort of cave that had sheltered Flynn, Ram, and I after our escape from the game grid so long ago, planning to make contact with Flynn, if they hadn't already done so.

My faint smile vanishes, though, at the thought of what Yori must be going through. I have no idea what Clu has told the Grid as to what has become of me, but I doubt it is anything good, and I hate the thought of her suffering because of me. Because I failed, because I had been unable to see what Clu had become until it was far too late. And the ISOs… Yori has… had a number of ISO friends and coworkers whom she was close to. Another consequence of my failure.

And yet… perhaps Clu, and by extension myself, are not entirely to blame. Many of the ISOs had been openly derisive of, even hostile towards, we Basics. And the simple fact that Clu had been able to rewrite an ISO into a virus as deadly as Abraxas is worrying. 'Perhaps Clu was justified in his actions toward them after all, given that the safety of the Grid was at stake…'

Suddenly, the faces of the ISOs I had known flash through my memory, as does the knowledge that they are all now derezzed at the hands of Clu's forces. 'Ophelia… Giles... Radia… Quorra…' I feel physically ill as I realize what I just thought. By the Users, how could I even consider such a thing? Had I really just tried to justify genocide? '…What is wrong with me?' I can only think of one possible answer, which only serves to prompt a more chilling question. 'What is Clu trying to turn me into?' I have a horrible feeling that I've only begun to find out.

Ruthlessly, I shove the offending thought to the back of my mind. I fight for the Users; I want nothing to do with Clu's twisted idea of what constitutes the perfect system. Yet, I find myself unable to completely delete the thought. I don't believe it, I don't support it, but it's still there, in my mind, put there and kept there by the coding Clu has been implanting me with.

Wearily, I rest my forehead on my folded arm. I can't recall ever having been quite this tired before, feeling drained as much by my state of mind as by lack of power. Even on the game grid in the old System, I could always rely on the strength of my convictions to see me through, but it seems that Clu doesn't even intend to leave me that…

"Are you alright?", I hear a soft, hesitant female voice ask suddenly. I glance up, somewhat startled, to see the blue clad woman who'd been assisting in my 'rectification'. I hadn't heard her approaching. I must be lower on power than I thought, if my reactions are slipping that much.

I sigh. "No," I reply honestly, "but I suppose you know that already." I can sense the vague brush of data that indicates a scan, or at least an attempted one; it's doubtful she could pick up anything meaningful from that distance and through the force field, even with specialized diagnostic protocols. However, she seems genuinely concerned, which, in my current circumstances, is refreshing. "You're a diagnostic program, correct?", I ask her, though it's not really a question.

She stops her scan and nods timidly. "A diagnostic accessory program, yes," she confirms quietly.

I nod my understanding. Being an accessory program certainly explains her general submissiveness, though she seems rather shy and subdued even with that taken into account. Not to mention afraid, which can't be helping with the former two qualities. Given the few hints I've had of what has been going on on the Grid since Clu's betrayal, it's not difficult to guess at least part of the reason for her fear. However, her extreme nervousness around me in particular is less easy to explain. Does she believe that the code being implanted into me has turned me into some sort of glitched monster, liable to attack without warning? Or is it some lie that Clu has told her about me? Or something else altogether?

"Here," she says softly, and I notice that once again, she has moved without my notice. "You… seem like you really need this. You looked like you were half in standby mode…" She is now crouched in front of the cell, her deflector cuff activated. She slips her hand through the base of the force field, depositing a vial of energy on the floor, just as she did last time . However this time, instead of drawing her hand back instantly, she gives the vial a little push, sending it rolling slowly in my general direction, as if suspecting that I may not have the energy to walk to the front of the cell and retrieve it.

And she may not be far wrong. Wearily, I nod my thanks as I reach out and take the energy vial. Upon closer inspection, I notice that it's a somewhat larger ration than before, however I'm too drained to really ponder the implications of this at the moment. I remove the stopper and consume the energy, not bothering to scan it this time. I can feel the effects almost immediately, the energy warming and revitalizing me, restoring me to my normal level of alertness. I sigh in relief, leaning back against the wall for a moment to allow my body to fully absorb the energy.

"Thank you," I tell the blue clad woman, who has now returned to her former position, standing just outside the forcefield. I regard her thoughtfully for a moment as she nods in response to my thanks. While she seems far too timid to be of any help as an ally in a future escape attempt, she is also the only program here who has been anything approaching friendly to me since I've been here. She also seems to dislike Clu's methods, which is another point in her favor. Even if, as seems to be the case, she couldn't be of any help in a fight, perhaps she could be a source of information. Or at the very least, a friendly ear. Well, only one way to find out.

"What's your name?", I ask her after a long moment.

She seems slightly surprised by my question, and it's another long moment before she answers. I wait patiently, allowing her to find her voice. "Er… I-I'm Nira," she finally says.

I smile slightly, giving her a nod as I reply, "Greetings, then, Nira. I am Tron."