Tron: A User's Rise

Before the chapter starts I just want to say that I was supposed to have finished and posted this yesterday, but unfortunately, I just got over being sick and am still having some lingering symptoms. So sorry for the long wait and enjoy the chapter!

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[Jay's Pov]

"Ugh, the hell…" I woke up groaning as my body ached all over. Looking around, I found myself in what looked to be an infirmary. 

"Oh look, you're finally awake. You've been out for a whole cycle, Jay." Tron said.

"Wha… how did you-"

"Silas told me."

"Yeah, I probably should've told you my name sooner." I said, sitting up from the bed, and glancing at Tron, who had his arms crossed while leaning against the wall next to me.

"So what happened? I thought you said it would be fine." I asked as I held my head from the lingering head pain.

"I don't know. Everything a program is or ever will be is on their disc, but it is also your tool for you to use and wield. It is your life. If you lose it, it's over. Every program knows this, but few know what happens if you use or take another's disc. Usually when a program is given someone else's disc, either through theft or random chance-" Tron paused and glanced at me, causing me to scoff inwardly before he continued.

"They would gain that program's memories and skills. Essentially they become that program, forgetting who they once were and taking on that program's identity. There have been instances where a program without their disc retains some of their personality, but they are never fully the same. A stray… But you're different. You can retain your previous memories and keep your identity with or without a disc." He explained.

"Hmm… if that's the case, then why did my disc start to freak out when I put it on?" I push for further explanation.

"My best guess. It's because you have two sets of information ingrained into your being. The disc you have wasn't originally yours, so maybe it wasn't fully integrated with your code yet, and as I've said before, everything a program is and will be is imprinted on their disc. The disc should have integrated smoothly, instead, it seems the combination of discs overloaded your body. It amazes me how you're not derezzed." He told me.

"Right… And if that was the case, why didn't I inherit any of your memories? It looks like I only got access to your fighting skills, and it doesn't exactly feel like I can, if at all, use them like you can." I said as I got up and stretched.

"I was getting to that. It's because you don't have my core disc. As you saw yesterday, I have two discs, and in the one that I gave you, I imprinted my skill set and suit code. Hence why my suit is no longer white and yours is. For the memories part, some things don't need to be shared or seen… not now at least." He said, saying the last part mostly to himself.

"So you're basically saying I have to learn how to do everything you can do without the experience on how to do it?" I deadpanned.

"Basically."

"Fine, just let me go to the simulation room and test out some stuff before you do anything." I groaned before exiting the infirmary.

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I've been training in the simulation room for a while now, and I've found a few things out. One is that all of my normal abilities, whatever those were in the first place, now seem to be… hyper-charged? I don't really know what to call it.

My suit pulses with a rhythmic energy it didn't have before like it was amplified to another level. I did notice one thing about it. Although this hypercharge seems to only last for a short duration. I'd say anywhere between two to three minutes, and I don't know if it can be trained yet.

I attempted to use my energy manipulation ability again, and let me just say it was hard. I could barely muster the littlest out of me, and when I did, it came out as small blue wisps that would instantly get sucked back into me like they never wanted to leave. This was going to be the most annoying of my abilities to train.

My morphing is fine, though I raised my hand to check if my claws still worked, and they did. My cape and hood appeared next, and I could still turn my cape into wings, so that was also good. Next was my suit. I tried changing it a few times with no issue and decided to sport my original suit for now until I needed the Tron one.

I also attempted to practice Tron's fighting style, but as expected, I was horrid. His movements were completely out of my league, which is probably why he could still win against me even though I was physically stronger than him. After a while of getting reacquainted with my abilities once more, I decided it was finally time for me to call Tron to train me to use his fighting style and whatever else he may know.

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"Ugh." I groan in pain as I lay flat on the floor.

"Get up. I know you can handle it. We're not done yet." Tron said as he looked over at me.

"Come on, we've been at this all cycle. Let me take the rest of it off." I groaned more.

Sighing at me Tron relaxes his stance before nodding in agreement, finally letting me free from this torture session. Tron did not go easy on me at all. Even with my enhanced speed and durability, it seemed worthless when fighting him. 

Tron was stronger than the normal program. When I asked about it, he said that as the protector of the Grid, his code was much different than normal programs, probably another reason he was as good as he was.

The way he moved was shocking, to say the least. He would pin me down and hold me for a few moments, and just when I overpowered his grip, he would use my momentum against me to flip, punch, or kick me away. 

And honestly, for a crippled program, he certainly hit hard. It felt like being hit by a heavy bat multiple times, which makes me wonder how strong Clu is to have almost killed him.

This went on for hours. He told me he was testing my limits, getting me to try and push myself further than I already was. I didn't tell him about the energy manipulation, but I think he's already suspicious of that. I'll probably have to come clean sooner or later, but not now. He's got his secrets, and I've got mine.

Oh, and how could I forget about Silas? He was also training with me, getting pointers from Tron every now and again. It was mostly just me and him sparring and disc training and that was it. Anyway, I haven't checked on Zed and Mara in a while. I should probably make sure everything is fine at the garage to see if they're not dead.

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Silas told me to be cautious when going back to Argon. He said he patrolled the city limits and told me about the increased guards stationed at their security checkpoints. I guess they amped up security since I got away from Tesler and Paige. 

This wasn't going to be a good thing in my foreseeable future. As I rode, I saw one of the checkpoints. I could blow through it and rush into the city, but then I'm certain the entire military will be hot on my tail.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating…" I sigh as I see guards begin to form at the front of the checkpoint.

"Halt! Program, you are in violation of curfew! Surrender or be derezzed!" They shouted.

Deactivating my light cycle's baton, I run toward two of them before decking them into the ground.

"Screw off!" I shouted before I dipped out of sight as the rest chased me.

Running to some crates, I hid behind a few to hide from the guards. Now that I thought about it, I should morph my suit into one of a regular program, as the guards were probably told about me from Telser and Paige, who in this case they'd probably already contacted.

So doing that, I changed my suit into something more inconspicuous before opening one of the crates and slipping in to hide from the horde of guards chasing me. Hearing them pass, I try to open the door only to find it locked.

"Oh, no." The crate began rumbling as I felt it lift off the ground before moving away from the checkpoint area. 

Turning around, I see other people in the crate with me in cuffs, quickly realizing this wasn't exactly a normal crate I snuck into. Turning around again, I go to open the doors to the crate before a voice calls out to me.

"Don't bother. Those doors are sealed shut until we get to our destination." They said.

Spinning around toward the voice, I saw a man standing in front of me, and before I could say anything, another person chimed in, panicking as he spoke.

"This can't be happening to me. I didn't do anything wrong. Users! This is all that glitching Renegade's fault!" He shouted.

"Cool it, Rilo." The man standing said.

"How can I calm down?! Have you forgotten where they are taking us?! They're taking to be derezzed, Cutler! Glitch! Glitch!" Rilo shouted, basically full-on screaming at this point.

"Ok… Screaming man aside, where's this ship taking us?" I asked the man now known as Cutler.

Walking to a small window in the side of the container, he looked out before motioning me to look.

"There." 

"Of course, the games." I sigh, open my helmet halfway, and rub my eyes before closing it again.

There was no use trying anything in this confined space. I'm already captured, and blowing these programs up trying to escape won't help me. After waiting for a while, I finally felt the ship land before the doors to our crate were opened. 

The guards then unloaded us out of the crate after cuffing me, of course, before leading us to an underground platform and locking our feet in some locks that didn't allow us to move. After that, a voice called out to us.

"Congratulations, programs. You have been selected for the games."

Other than the panicking Rilo babbling about surviving or not, it doesn't look all that bad right now. As I was thinking, a few women appeared from the floor and started to approach us.

"For your safety, you are being fitted with battle armor. Do not attempt to remove your armor."

'Like I'd need it in the first place.' I thought scoffing as one of the women placed her hand on my chest and a few pieces of armor appeared on my shoulders and arms.

"Yeah, armor…" I scoffed more.

"Processing complete. Enjoy the games."

Right as that message was being played, the platform we were on began rising to the surface before we were freed from our shackles. We lifted into the air as programs erupted in cheers from the colosseum stands. Once we finally stopped rising, we began moving toward another platform that had a team of black guards on it as another announcement was made.

"All combatants prepare for team battle. Difficulty level… Extreme."

"Five of us, five of them. We can win this." Cutler says as he prepares himself for battle.

"We're not going to survive any of this." Rilo squeals.

Honestly, this guy was getting on my nerves. As the platforms got closer, we heard another voice make an announcement.

"In the name of our great leader Clu, let the games begin!" It was Tesler.

"I seriously hate that guy." Growling, I sidestep a disc being flown at me before glaring at the one who threw it.

"You're dead." Taking off my disc, I rushed at the black guard. As he tried attacking me with his disc, I caught his arm and punched through his chest with mine. 

"One down." Removing my arm from the black guard's chest, I watch as his body falls limply to the ground before scattering into cubes moments later.

Looking to my side, I see my other teammates getting derezzed, leaving only three remaining, Me, Cutler, and Rilo. I don't know how he managed to stay alive, but it didn't matter. It wasn't going to last very long because right as he celebrated his small victory of defeating his opponent, he was slashed in the back, falling to the ground as he tried to escape his now-approaching demise.

I was about to go toward him, but two black guards stood in my way, and Cutler was busy fighting one of his. The two guards attacked simultaneously, not letting me get to Rilo as I watched as he was finished off. It wasn't like I knew the guy, but it wasn't like I could save him either.

Weaving one of the guards' attacks, I grab his head and slam him into the ground before dodging the other black guards' thrown disc and retaliating by throwing my own and sinking it into his head. Looking down at the guard in my hand, I gave his head a nice little squeeze, then cubes.

"Three down." As I was about to continue this little killing spree of mine, the blare of a siren went off as someone came onto the speakers.

"Due to a technical difficulty, this round is being concluded early." The voice said.

"That's a new voice. Sounds sleazy." I joked to myself.

As the round ended, the platforms lowered onto the ground before a large number of guards entered to put us back in cuffs. 

'This just keeps getting better and better.' I grunt.

I had to play along, just for now. I didn't need a swarm of these guys jumping to kill me at the moment. So I'll bide my time and wait for the perfect chance to escape. With that thought in mind, I walk as we are escorted away.