Tron: A User's Rise

[3rd Pov]

Jay and Cutler were led deeper into the colosseum, the guards taking them into an area where they saw dozens of holding cells. The guards shoved them into one of the many cells the guards left to guard the rest of the prison, leaving the two to their own devices. Inspecting the cell, Jay noticed how the walls were outlined with some type of forcefield. The only part that didn't have one was the cell's back wall.

Walking up to the forcefield, he paused in front of it, looking down at his hand before slowly reaching for it. As his hand approached it he watched in curiosity as its surface wavered ever so slightly. 

Touching it he ran his fingers along the forcefield, small arcs of electricity beginning to dance between his fingers. He watched the electricity crawl up his arm before fizzling out almost as immediately as it began. 

Jay scrunches in slight annoyance as he takes his fingers off the forcefield. Clenching his fist a few times, he tries putting his hand against the forcefield again, only to reel his hand back as it is shocked, smoke emitting from the tips of his fingers. Shaking his now numb, tingling hand, he turns to see Cutler, who has a very amused look on his face.

'This was going to be a very long and boring wait.' With that thought in mind and nothing else to do, Jay groans as he goes to sit next to Cutler.

"So… how'd you end up getting captured?" Jay inquired about Cutler. He turned with arms crossed as he gave Jay a quizzical look.

"What? We're gonna be here for a while, and I'm bored. The least I can do is try to make small talk. By the way, my name is Jay." Jay said as he slumped against the back wall, glaring at the forcefield like it was his worst enemy.

"That's… a long story, I'll try to keep it short." Sitting up, Cutler unfolds his arms as he leans forward. 

"I'm all ears, it's not like we're leaving anytime soon." Jay shrugged as he waved around them before motioning Cutler to continue. 

Cutler closed his eyes and took a deep breath, breathing slowly as he opened his eyes, ready to tell his story.

"Many programs chose not to remember what happened after the ISO war. People hated ISOs, they thought that they were abominations that weren't meant to be on the Grid. But the extinction of their entire race… that wasn't something that can just be erased from the minds of everyone." Cutler looked down at the ground, clenching his fist tightly.

"I don't blame the people. They were manipulated… by Clu. Clu wanted the ISOs gone. He saw them as imperfect. A virus that needed to be cleansed from the Grid. So he spread propaganda about them to make us programs fear them, see them as monsters, and then at the peak of fear and anger, he attacked. The ISOs tried to fight back as best as they could. But everyone knew they weren't coming out victorious. Some programs that didn't agree with committing the genocide of an entire race decided to fight alongside them against Clu's forces, me included." He closed his eyes, thinking back to old times as he let out a long sigh.

"The ISOs were annihilated. We had lost, badly. I started to lose faith. Many of my friends fell to Clu and his forces. I was the only one left for a long time. I had no hope of turning the tides of this ongoing war. At least that's what I thought before-" He paused as he ran his fingers over an armband with an odd-looking symbol before finally turning to Jay.

"Before what?" Jay asked glancing at the symbol, taking note that it was the symbol that ISOs were marked 

"Before the Renegade showed up." He uttered.

"I've heard a lot of bad things about the Renegade. Are you sure he's not the reason for all this?" He asked as he gauged his reaction.

"I don't think so. If he's willing to risk everything to fight back against Clu, I want to be right there fighting alongside him. That's the reason I came to Argon. To join him. But there's a lot more to him than most realize. I know who the Renegade truly is." He said.

"And who exactly is the Renegade?" Jay crossed his arms, emphasizing the "is" as he waited for Cutler's response.

"We both already know the answer to that. He's the one program that can free the grid, whose name alone inspires hope through all programs that hear his name. He's Tron." He resolutely stated.

'I think I've just found my next recruit.' Jay thought, chuckling as he grinned when he heard Cutler's answer.

__________________

Once again, Jay, Cutler, and a few others were being hauled off in single file. Jay looked around, noticing the colosseum was still being constructed. Many machines were in place building it up as they were escorted to who knows where. Looking around for a few minutes, Jay thought up an escape plan. With only a few guards guarding them, they could easily escape without alerting too many of them.

"Cutler, tell the program in front of you that Tron lives." He looked at Jay confusedly but did so anyway.

As the message reached the front of the line, the guards immediately stopped them before demanding answers on who would spread lies like that. The rest of the guards join the ones at the front, allowing Jay and Cutler to dash toward a crane and duck behind it.

And as luck would have it, this was the perfect opportunity for him to use the wrench he swiped. Taking out the wrench, he placed it against the crane, revealing a hologram of it and its controls. Seeing that, Jay began meddling with the hologram until he was able to get the crane to lift upward.

Rushing toward the crane, they both jumped onto it as it raised them toward the second-floor area. Jumping off, they began navigating through the building, trying to find an exit. They stopped multiple times to not be seen by the roaming guards patrolling until they finally spotted the exit. Finally making it outside, they rushed to leave the area, but that's as far as their luck would take them. Multiple black guards flew down from who knows where. 

'How do these guys keep popping up so randomly?' Jay groaned inwardly as he watched the last person drop from the sky. As they landed, they opened their mask, causing Jay to groan aloud this time.

'Paige… just great.'

"Why is it they always try to escape?" She huffed as she crossed her arms and placed one of them under her chin.

"Oh no~, we just wanted to go sightseeing for a few minutes before going back to fighting for our lives, never to be free again." Jay snarkily remarks.

Paige's lips curled into a smirk as she slowly approached the two, motioning for the black guards to subdue them, telling them to make sure they kept their arms outstretched next to each other. Right soon as the black guard grabbed Jay he headbutted him before flipping him over his shoulder. About to punch the black guard, he heard the familiar whirring sound of a disc.

"Uh, uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Paige glared, holding her disc to his head.

Jay observed the situation silently. The situation they were in was easily escapable. None of the guards were stronger than him, but Cutler… that was a different issue. Sighing, he reluctantly raised his arms in surrender before stepping back next to Cutler.

"You're a fighter, huh? I could tell from your last match. You were good, brutal even. How about I give you a chance? Join Tesler's army and you can be set free." She said as she circled Jay, looking him over.

"Tempting offer, really, but I'd rather take my chances in the games." He scoffed as he looked down at her as she was slightly smaller than him.

Paige stops in front of him, looking up at him as a slight frown that was barely noticeable appeared on her face before going stoic again.

"Well, if that's your decision, so be it." Cuffing their hands together with a long, hard light chain, she commands the guards to lead them back into the colosseum.

__________________

[Jay's Pov]

Shoving us into the arena, the guards close the door behind us as we hear the crowd go wild with cheering. Though I don't think they were cheering for us.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse." I groan right as four light cycles drive past us.

"You were saying…" Cutler deadpans.

"Shut up…" I said right before tackling Cutler out of the way of the bikes.

As the bikes turned around, they began to split off from each other as two of them drove toward us.

"Ok, I have a plan, but I'm gonna need you to trust me." Standing still, I watch as the black guards speed up toward us.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted at me but didn't move away.

"Do you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?!"

"Nope." Grabbing the space between my wrist and cuff, I gripped it before crushing it, freeing us and allowing Cutler to dodge out of the way one of the light cycles aiming for him.

"Jay, dodge!" He yells.

"That's the plan!" Jumping into the air, I flip onto the light cycle aiming for me.

"Hey, you come here often?" I ask the black guard riding the bike before slamming my fist into his bike's windshield, shattering it on impact. 

The guard tries attacking me as we ride, but without being able to see anything or steer the bike with me blocking his view we begin heading toward the colosseum wall.

"Oops, looks like this is my stop." Grabbing the black guard's head, I smashed him into the bike.

Jumping off, I watch as his unconscious loses control of the bike, flipping him and the light cycle, sending both crashing into the wall, exploding on impact. Hearing another light cycle to my left, I flip out of the way as they try ramming me. Taking off my disc, I aim for the light cycle's wheel before throwing it as hard as I can at the light cycle. To my surprise, my disc lodges itself in the black guard as the bike turns back into a baton as he begins to derez.

"Uh, that works too." 

Looking around, I spot Cutler riding a light cycle, cutting in front of a black guard and making him ram into his light ribbon, causing him to explode. Seeing that there was one last light cycle driver, I ran to where the light cycle baton was, picked it up, and materialized the bike. Hopping on, I speed off next to Cutler. Catching up to him, he nodded at me. Guess we were both doing the same thing. 

Speeding up toward the last black guard, we rode on each side of him before squeezing our light ribbons inward, causing the guard to hit each side until he flew off his light cycle, exploding with it as it landed on him. As we both came to a stop, we raised our fists in triumph as the lookers of programs in the colosseum roared with excitement at our victory.

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[Paige's Pov]

'It's just as I thought, he really is amazing. I'll have to ask the general if he can spare him. Potential like him doesn't come often.' I mused, a small grin creeping onto my face. 

However, something was bothering me as I watched the masked man with a keen interest. I couldn't place my finger on why, but he felt familiar like I'd met him somewhere before. I was thinking about it for a while until I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard the general speaking.

"Listen to the crowd, cheering for these… conspirators. This impudence will spread like wildfire if we don't stop this here." General Tesler said.

"To be fair, sir, it was Paige's idea, sir."

'Pavel… that slimy, greasy, two-faced, bit-brained—' I didn't finish my thought as I heard General Tesler shouting at us.

"I don't care whose idea it was! End it!" He yelled before leaving.

Sighing, I begin to leave as well. We'll see what Pavel has to come up with if he can even come up with anything.