Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence

by Jablonski, Carla

  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.

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  This 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 bridge—and the disc—are in the room beyond it.”

  “Got it.” You nod sharply.

  “Stay safe!” your father calls as you and Quorra race away.

  No one notices you—they’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.

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  No 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. “Flynn—our 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. “One…two…three.”

  “Now!” you and Bartik shout together, slicing your arms back down to your sides.

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  You 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 skyscrapers—and 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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  You want to put distance between you and Clu as quickly as possible. You pound toward the bridge and the city. You hope you’ll be able to lose yourself among the crowds in that glittering metropolis.

  Suddenly, a blast of white light nearly blinds you. A Recognizer!

  You dash to the side of the bridge. It’s a long way down. But it’s your best option. You slip through a space in the side rail. Once your feet hit the girder below, you slide, leap, and scramble down, down, down. You pass levels with ramps leading up and down, and other levels with brightly pulsating grid lights. You keep going—these upper levels probably have a fair amount of traffic. You need to find a far more deserted place to stop, regroup, and figure out your next move.

  You continue down, your hands growing sore. Your shoulders burn from all the times you dangle before a stomach-clenching drop or hoist yourself up and over a girder. Is there even a bottom level in this world? Finally, you decide you’ve gone down far enough.

  You duck under a girder and move cautiously onto the new level. You follow a ramp off the bridge and find yourself in a deserted, desolate area.

  Perfect.

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  You ride in a circle, getting a feel for the bike.

  Mistake! A disc whirs by your head, bounces off an edge of the platform, and zips back toward you. You swerve, and it passes close enough that you can feel its breeze.

  There’s no warming up in this game.

  The crowd seems to like this new twist. They cheer loudly, stomp their feet, and hoot.

  “The discs return to the thrower’s hand,” Alex says into your ear. “That gives you a couple of seconds before he gets his weapon back.”

  “Good to know,” you say. You rev your bike and weave around the other player, creating a wall just like his. Your opponent throws his disc again. This time you’re ready for him.

  “Hang on tight!” you tell Alex. You ride straight toward the other biker, even though you know his disc is hurtling right back to him. He holds his ground, waiting for the disc, certain you’re going to crash into his wall.

  Instead, you pop a wheelie and make a hard right. You narrowly whiz by his light wall and the disc misses you. Your opponent isn’t so lucky. He smashes into your trailing light wall and derezzes.

  “We win!” Alex pumps his fist in the air.

  After that, you and Alex become the most popular stadium-game players. You’re having so much fun, both of you forget to even try to get back home. Being champions rules!

  THE END

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  You race to the other side of the room, desperate to find an escape route. The guards crash through the skylight—and then through the glass floor into the club!

  You scream as you fall through the floor with them—sending the club into total chaos. You hear shrieks and shouts over the throbbing music.

  Bouncers unsheathe their discs and hurl them. You’re not sure if they’re going after the Black Guardsmen, you, or random programs. You make your way toward an exit. You spot the cool-as-a-cucumber DJ still in his spot. He throws down a thumping bass line and starts moving with the beat. But the bartender ducks below the bar for cover. Bartik, the revolutionary, jumps up from his seat.

  “Resist!” Bartik shouts to the crowd. People cheer, and his gan
g whips out their discs and go after the Black Guard. With merciless efficiency, though, the Black Guard take out every one of them. While their attention is on Bartik’s gang, you hurl yourself across the club floor, desperate to get to the exit.

  A disc whizzes toward Bartik. He grabs a nearby program and uses him as a shield. Bam! The program derezzes. But before Bartik can pull out his own disc, he’s hit. The revolutionary derezzes.

  The guards are like heat-seeking missiles. They cut a deadly swath through the bar, taking out everyone and everything that comes between them and their target—you!

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  You can’t leave the Rectifier—not without your dad, not after all you’ve gone through.

  You turn and face the Sentries barreling toward you.

  “Come on, Dad,” you murmur. “Now would be a good time to make an appearance.”

  “This doesn’t look good,” Quorra observes.

  “I have an idea.” You wave your dad’s disc at the Sentries. “I don’t need this, but you do!” you shout. “Come any closer and I destroy it!” This stops them. At least for a moment. You have no doubt that Clu will call your bluff. But he’s not here. Yet.

  “How’s the gate?” you whisper to Quorra.

  “Still closing,” she whispers back. Then she clutches your shoulder. “I see him!”

  You whirl around to see a strange-looking aircraft.

  “Let’s go!” You and Quorra race to the edge of the deck. The gate is just about to clang shut. You each somersault under the metal spikes as the Sentries thunder toward you.

  It clangs shut—you on one side, Clu’s army on the other.

  Score!

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  Kevin Flynn is out there somewhere,” you hear a gruff voice say. “I’m sure of it.”

  You suddenly feel one hundred degrees colder. Then one hundred degrees hotter. Did you actually hear what you think you heard? This guy is talking about your father!

  “Ow!” Alex yelps. “You’re digging your fingers into me!”

  “Sorry.” You release your grip on Alex’s shoulder. “I just need to listen to this.”

  Alex rolls his eyes and heaves a big sigh, but he stays put.

  You lean toward the booth and see a large, intense guy with a diagonal scar across his face. He’s talking to an equally tough-looking guy. “The time is ripe, Bartik,” one man says to the other. “If we find Flynn, you know he’ll support us. Victory is assured.”

  “Not so fast, Veltor,” Bartik says. “Remember what happened last time.”

  What happened last time? How is your father involved? You strain to hear them over the pumping music and the hum of hundreds of partying people.

  Suddenly a lethal-looking circular object is at your throat. “We don’t take kindly to eavesdroppers,” Bartik snarls.

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  You look past the whimpering Jarvis and realize the elevator has been activated. Someone will be coming up here any minute. This can’t be good.

  Quorra’s expression tells you she’s realized the same thing. Her head whips around as she searches for another way out. But there’s none.

  You spot a weapons cache and hope you can find something more powerful than your discs.

  “Tron Chutes!” Quorra exclaims when you throw her the gear. “Brilliant.” You quickly strap one on.

  Then she frowns. “They would be brilliant if we weren’t sitting ducks trapped here in the bridge!”

  The elevator doors begin to open. “Follow me!” you cry. You grab Quorra, and together you smash through the bridge window!

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  You’re in my spot,” a voice snarls.

  You look up and face the biggest guy you’ve ever seen—as if a sumo wrestler had been genetically combined with a basketball player. You can barely see the room beyond him.

  “Sorry,” you say, sliding over. “Didn’t know this part of the floor was taken.”

  Mr. Big glares down at you. “What you in for?”

  “Wouldn’t give up my identity,” you say. “Made the wrong people mad. It’s like some kind of dictatorship out there.”

  The other prisoner’s beady eyes glitter. He yanks you up to your feet. “We have more in common than you think.”

  “Oh, yeah?” You wriggle out of his clutches. “How so?”

  He brings his enormous face close to yours. “Some of my buddies,” he whispers hoarsely. “We’re part of the underground.

  We’re going to overthrow Clu.”

  Clu? Could he really mean the character your dad created all those years ago? He exists? And is he the person in charge? Or has this guy just been cooped up for too long?

  “You in?” he asks. “We’re working on our escape plans now.

  We’ll put you to work right away. I’m the leader.”

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  So it is true,” the man with the scar says as they help you back up to your feet. “I’m Bartik,” he continues. He points at the other big guy. “That’s Veltor, and she’s Kindra.”

  The girl with the shaved head nods. “Welcome, Son of Flynn.”

  “Why do you need my dad?” you ask.

  “He’ll unite the factions to rise up against Clu,” Bartik explains. Veltor eyes you with satisfaction. “And you’re just the person to convince him to join us.”

  You have a lot of questions, but if this group of rebels can help lead you to your father, you’re in. Besides, from what you’ve seen so far, Clu isn’t exactly a leader worth supporting.

  “I have to get to work,” Kindra says. “Let me know what happens.”

  After she leaves, Bartik and Veltor argue about strategy. You don’t have much to contribute, since you’re still trying to understand this crazy place. Ultimately they agree: Kevin Flynn is hiding off the Grid in an area known as the Outlands, and you should try to track him down.

  It takes what feels like days, but they finally drop you off where they think your search should begin. Then they vanish back into the glittering Grid.

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  You plummet downward. Then you hit a button, and the winglike blades begin to whir and level you out.

  The only problem—it’s not as if you made a subtle exit. Sentries stream onto the deck from multiple directions, ready to fight.

  You and Quorra zip toward the front of the Rectifier, desperately hoping to find your father waiting with an escape vehicle. You arrive at the very edge of the deck and power down, landing with a thud on the platform.

  You scan the sky, but there’s no sign of your dad. Now what?

  Alarms wail and lights flash. “They must have discovered we took the disc!” you say.

  “Lockdown!” a metallic voice booms. “Trap the intruders!”

  “I’d say you’re right about that,” Quorra says.

  You see a gate slowly descending at the entrance to the cave.

  Now what?

  Maybe you should use the chutes to fly out of there and hope your dad will find you outside the cave. Too bad you don’t know if he’s still on the Rectifier. Or you can try to hold your ground and hope that he arrives before the gate drops.

  Use the chutes and get out of there ON PAGE 137.

  Or stand and fight ON PAGE 123.

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  That bridge is just too precarious for you to make any surprise moves. You could send your dad plummeting to his death. Better to watch and wait. Your dad may have some ideas of his own.

  “Clu did everything you asked,” Rinzler says. “He took the system to its maximum potential. He was creating the perfect system!”

  “The thing about perfection is that it’s impossible—yet it’s in front of us all the time,” your father says philosophically. “He can
’t know that because I didn’t when I created this world.”

  Rinzler eyes your father suspiciously, as if he doesn’t trust—or understand—his compassion. Then Rinzler suddenly springs forward and kicks Kevin hard in the stomach. Your father drops with a groan. “No!” you shout.

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  With bloodcurdling war cries, the rebel forces charge into the cave. With the element of surprise, you get in the first strikes and take out program after program. But soon their greater numbers turn the tide. Your comrades begin falling, and morale starts to fade.

  Then a hush falls over the chaotic scene. You turn to see what has everyone’s attention. A solitary figure stands at the entrance to the cave. He’s backlit so you can’t see his face, but everyone—Clu’s men included—seems to be in awe of him.

  He takes a step deeper into the cave and now you can see his face. It’s your father! “Cease your fighting!” he calls out. People scatter. The rebels, Clu’s army, everyone. You step forward. “Dad?”

  He stares at you. He blinks several times as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “Sam? Is it really you? There were rumors, but I didn’t trust them.”

  “I heard rumors about you, too,” you say.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he warns. “It’s much too dangerous.”

  “Can’t do much about that right now, can I?” you say. “So how about we take care of this thing and worry about safety later.”

  He smiles slowly. “Okay, kid. Come on. We have an enemy to defeat.”

  You and your father march shoulder-to-shoulder, ready for the battle of your lives. Somehow, you know by joining forces, you’re assured of victory in…

  THE END

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