Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence (14 page)
Read Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence Online
Authors: Carla Jablonski
Tags: #Fiction - Young Adult
Y
our father's face is full of sadness. “I tried to come home. But the way outâthe Portalâclosed on me.” He takes in your confused expression. “As a fail-safe I'd set the door to open only from the outside and only for a limited time. It closed on me. That was the last night I ever saw you.”
“You mean I can't just go back out the way I came in?” you ask nervously.
“'Fraid not,” your dad says.
“The Portal,” you press. “It activated when I came in, right? So it's open now.”
“For a time, yes.” Your father nods. “Not for long.”
“So what are we waiting for?” you declare, standing up. “Let's get out of here!”
“The moment Flynn's on the Grid,” Quorra says, speaking up for the first time, “Clu will stop at nothing to obtain his disc.”
“My disc is everything,” your dad explains.
“So that's it? We do nothing? We just sit here?”
“It's amazing how productive doing nothing can be,” your father says.
“I
'm not sitting around here until some plan magically presents itself,” you tell Quorra. “If he refuses to save himself, then I will save myself.”
“How?” she asks.
“I'm going through the Portal. Clu wants my dad's discânot mine. Clu had it and handed it right back. I'm getting out. I'll find Alan, and we're going to figure this thing out from the other side. It may be Clu's game here, but in my world, he's gone in one keystroke.”
You seem to have gotten Quorra's attention. She studies you intently. “I can't do anything until I'm out,” you continue. “And I can't get out unless someone gets me to the Portal.”
You watch her. Will she help you?
Her expression is unreadable. “I really think you should consider your father's wisdom,” she says. She turns and leaves. Looks like you're on your own. You're going to get out of here, or die trying. You just hope it's not the second thingâ¦.
I
t's a crazy move, but it's all you've got. You grab Quorra's grappling hook, attach it to the rail the way she did, and swing under the bridge. You rise up through the gap.
“Dad!” you shout at the height of your swing. “Jump!”
He leaps at you and grabs the rope just above your head. His knees hit you in the face, but his added weight actually helps swing you back to the other side fast.
Too bad Rinzler is still on your side of the gap!
“Get us out of here, Dad!” you cry. “We'll hold him off!”
Quorra quickly converts her grappling hook into a weapon.
“I won't be needing this anymore!” You fling your disc at Rinzler. As Rinzler ducks out of the way, your father cries,
“Ready!”
You rush to stand beside him and Quorra. Quorra holds her baton in front of her like a spear, holding Rinzler at bay. “Don't let him have any contact,” your dad cries. The island is rumbling and shattering around you!
Your dad throws his disc to the pulsating ground, then grabs you and Quorra by the shoulders. “On my count!” he tells Quorra. She keeps jabbing at Rinzler, who struggles inch-by-inch toward you as more and more chasms open up around him.
“Now!” your father cries. He brings his foot down onto his disc, shattering it into pieces. At the same moment, Quorra shoves her baton at Rinzler one last time and releases it. There's a massive wave of energy, you hear an enormous blast, and bright white lights nearly blind you.
S
orry, man,” you say. “Didn't mean to crowd you. Just trying to keep the kid from being trampled.” Bartik eyes you suspiciously, but his grip loosens a little. “Small fry are easy to trip over. Always underfoot. Am I right?”
Now he looks completely confused. “Kid? Small fry? What are you talking about?”
“Me, you big loser!” Alex declares. Then he punches your arm. “I hate being called small fry. I'm not that small for my age.”
“Sorry, sorry,” you tell Alex, grateful that his presence is such a distraction to Bartik and his fierce buddies. “Didn't mean to insult you.”
Now they're ignoring you and staring wide-eyed at Alex. They almost seem frightened by him. What gives? Alex scowls at them. “Take a picture, it will last longer,” he says. He tugs your sleeve. “Can we go now? Please?”
You're torn. These men know something about your father. Could he actually be alive? And hereâin this world? If you walk away now you may never find out.
But they are seriously scary dudes, and their bizarre, fearful response to an eight-year-old kid with braces makes you want to get away from themâfast. Who knows what they do when they feel threatened? Animals usually attackâmaybe that's also true for these guys.
Stick around
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.Get out of there
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.
Y
ou glance at Quorra, who eyes you over her tea. “Aren't you tired of living in hiding?” you ask her. “Fearing for your life? If you can even call this a life.”
“It's not for me to interfere,” she says, getting up. “This is for the Flynns to decide.” She leaves the room.
“It's unfair to project your burdens onto others,” your father says. “Stress is bad for the system.”
“Giving up is bad for the system!” you shout. “Being a prisoner is bad for the system! Why don't you get it?”
Your father slowly stands and studies you. He seems to be making a decision. “You're right. We're individuals who need to be allowed to make our own choicesâand our own mistakes. My way isn't necessarily your way.”
He goes to the window and points at a blinking tower. “That's the Portal. As long as it sends out beams it's open. See how it's flickering? That means it's getting ready to close. To be honest, I doubt you'll reach it in timeâif you reach it at all. But that's your risk to take. If you want to attempt it, I'll provide you with a map and the means.”
He turns and gazes at you. “But I'm staying here. I can't take the chance Clu will get my disc.” So what do you do?
Leave your dad and hope the Portal will still be open by the time you get there?
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.Or figure he's right and you won't be able to get outâand stay here with him and Quorra where it's safe.
Y
ou peer out of the alley. Looks like the Sentries are busy hassling someone else right now. You creep out and hurry to the gigantic tower rising high into the sky.
You reach the base and realize the symbol on the card Quorra gave you is also on the door of the massive structure. This must be the right place.
“Sam Flynn,” you hear a female voice say. You turn and see one of the Sirens who had helped you into your suit of armor back at the games.
You're not sure if you can trust anyoneâparticularly someone who knows your name, now that you are aware of what's going on between your dad and Clu.
You turn and start to walk away.
“You're looking for someone,” she calls after you.
If you keep walking,
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.If you turn back around,
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.
C
astor leads you to the center of the room and somehow activates a staircase that emerges from the floor. This place is full of bells and whistles, you think, following Castor up the stairs.
You step into a room made entirely of glass. Castor's sanctuary is built under a huge skylight and has a glass floor, so that he can watch what's happening in his club, you suppose.
“You've caused quite the stir with your arrival,” Castor tells you. “Whispers of revolution are gaining volume.” He turns and pours some drinks.
“So when do I meet Zuse?” you ask.
He turns around, drinks in hand. “You just did.” He grins.
You stare at him. “You're Zuse? You're not exactly what I pictured.”
He shrugs. “After the purge I needed to reinvent myself. Self-preservation, you understand.” He hands you your drink. “I've been around since the earliest days of the gaming grid. I have survived by minding all the angles.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Now what can I do for you?”
“I need to get to the Portal,” you say.
He looks out to the tall structure in the distance. “It's quite the journey. Beyond the far reaches of the Outlands and over the Sea of Simulation.”
“So, can you help me?”