Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence (18 page)
Read Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence Online
Authors: Carla Jablonski
Tags: #Fiction - Young Adult
J
arvis holds up an ornate box and opens it. Clu pulls out a yellow baton. Then he offers the box to you. You remove a white baton. You inspect it and then wave it around, getting a feel for its weight.
“What do I do with this?” you ask.
Jarvis sneers at you. “I'll give you a hint. Not that.”
Clu strides off as four programs emerge out of the Grid floor behind you. You recognize one of them as the kid from when you were held captive aboard the Recognizer. He's wearing aqua armor. The others are clad in purple, green, and blue. Are these your team members or are they your adversaries? And what are you supposed to do with the baton? Lead a marching band?
A loud whine emanating in the distance keeps you from asking the programs. You whip around and see two Sentries approaching rapidly on strange vehicles.
You remember these from the games your dad invented. Totally rocking motorcyclesâLight Cycles, he called them.
“You've got no chance, user,” the purple program snarls.
Okay, it's a good bet he's not on your side.
“Their cycles are faster than ours,” the guy in green says. “Use the levels.” Levels? What levels?
Y
ou've seen what they do to programs here; you don't even want to think about what they'd do to nonprograms! And they'd probably have a whole lot of questions you won't be able to answer. Like how you got here.
“You can call me Mr. X,” you declare. “I think an air of mystery is good for a gladiator like me!”
Okay, kind of lame. But it buys you a little time. You sidle toward the edge of the game platform as the people up in the ship confer. Maybe you can leap off and go into hidingâat least long enough to figure out what's going on. And how to get out of here!
No such luck. Before you get very far, Sentries roar out onto the platform and grab you. They haul you off to some kind of jail near the arena.
“What am I in for?” you ask. “Poor sportsmanship?”
The Sentries don't respond, they just toss you into a cell.
“Hey! I know my rights!” you shout. “I get one phone call. I demand to see my lawyer!”
The Sentries exit without a word. You slump onto the floor.
Y
our mission is to find your dad. So that's what you're going to do.
The wind picks up, chilling you to the bone. You jog toward the mountain, trying to get warm. You speed up, hoping the cliff face will give you some protection against the bitter cold.
When you reach the base of the mountain, an amazing thing happensâa door slides open! It must have motion-detecting devices installed. You dash inside, certain that you've stumbled onto your dad's hiding place. Who else could live out here? None of the inhabitants of this world can go off-grid.
Suddenly, alarms whoop and wail. “Intruder! Intruder!” an electronic voice booms. “Extermination in process!”
“No!” you scream. “It's me! Sam Flynn! I'm looking for my dad!”
The super-duper high-tech security system doesn't understand what you're saying. It just knows it's never seen you before. And it has only one command: destroy.
THE END
Y
ou toss the keys into the garbage. Why should you waste your time looking for ghosts? Alan can have silly fantasies that Kevin Flynn has returned, but until your dad walks through your front door, you won't believe it.
The next morning you wake up late. You notice a bunch of voice-mail messages, but you don't bother checking them. Alan's visit put you in a funk.
You know exactly what will improve your mood. You climb aboard your motorcycle and peel out.
You speed into a deserted area of the city to a lot that's perfect for practicing. You do a few circles to warm up, making your loops tighter and tighter until you're practically horizontal. Then you alternate between riding only on your front tire and then only on your back tire. After several wheelies, you decide to go for a handstand on the handlebars.
You're up! You're in a handstand on the front of your bike. For one second. Then you completely wipe out. Luckily, you're wearing your safety gear.
You hear applause as you check to be sure you didn't break anything and glance up. It's a group of guys you've seen around before. Tyler, Kyle, and Luke. Bike freaks just like you.
“Looking good, Flynn,” Tyler calls. He's the one who's a stuntman.
“Thanks!” you grin. You spend the rest of the afternoon trading moves. You head for home feeling much better. But once again, Alan is waiting.
T
his is not good. “We have to get your disc,” you say quietly.
“No,” your father says. “We beat him to the Portal. You can shut him down from the outside.”
“Even if I make it out, by the time I rewrite the code, they'll already be gone!” you argue. “Getting your disc is the only way.”
“He's right.” Quorra agrees.
You grin your thanks for her support. “You go find us some kind of transport out of here,” you tell your dad. “Quorra and I will take care of the disc.”
Your father stares at you a moment, as if he's finally starting to see you as the grown-up that you became while he was trapped in here. He smiles. “All right. There's an elevator toward the front which should bring you directly into Clu's throne room. The bridgeâand the discâare in the room beyond it.”
“Got it.” You nod sharply.
“Stay safe!” your father calls as you and Quorra race away.
No one notices youâthey're all too focused on Clu. You easily make it to the elevator platform. “Be ready,” you warn Quorra.
The elevator opens and two Sentries immediately rush in, discs drawn.
N
o attack comes. Instead, Bartik picks you up in a bear hug. “You're right, Son of Flynn! Clu is on the move. Waiting for your father won't help us. But you!” He puts you back on the ground and clamps a beefy hand on your shoulder. “You will be our symbol!”
Phew. You're not sure how being a symbol will help, but at least they're not mad.
“Spread the word!” Bartik bellows to the assembled group. “Flynnâour Flynn,” he adds with a wink to you, “is here and supports our cause. We attack the Rectifier tomorrow at dawn!”
The next morning you and hundreds of rebels hide near the opening of a massive cave. Programs have been entering and exiting nonstop. Bartik explains there's a military compound inside. That's your target.
It seems like a lost cause. You may have hundreds on your side, but Clu must have thousands. Plus major firepower.
“Are you sure this is the best way to go?” you ask Bartik. “Maybe we should try going one on one with Clu, rather than taking on an army.”
“Have faith, Son of Flynn,” he says.
You're dubious, but there's no backing out now.
“Come with me,” Bartik says. Together you sneak up to a jagged ledge. Bartik raises his right arm. You do the same. “On my count,” he says. “Oneâ¦twoâ¦three.”
“Now!” you and Bartik shout together, slicing your arms back down to your sides.
Y
ou decide to head for the city. Alex's excitement is contagious. Instead of feeling freaked out, you're psyched and ready to explore.
Even from this distance you can tell the scale of the city is huge. Full of skyscrapersâand if you squint you're pretty sure you can see space vehicles cruising through the steel and glass canyons.
“When do you think we can start playing?” Alex asks.
“As soon as we get somewhere, I suppose,” you say letting the boy continue to think this is a game. “And figure out what exactly we're playing!”
You come to an area consisting of massive stadiums. Just beyond them lies the metropolis. You can hear the sound of a shouting crowd rising from the nearest arena. “Must be some kind of sporting event,” you observe.
Alex frowns. “I'm not so good at sports.”
“You don't know what kind of sports they play here,” you point out.
“True,” Alex concedes. “But I want to see what's on the top of that building.” He points at the tallest structure in the city. It emits a pulsing light.
“That looks cool, too,” you agree.
“So what should we do?” he asks.
Check out a nearby stadium
ON PAGE 17
.Go deeper into the city
ON PAGE 54
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