Tronanon 9

>Tron had been right.
>There are guards everywhere.
>The South Sector has been completely cut off from the north. You doubt they left any side of the sector open.
>It's not hard to understand why he's clamping down.
>With you and Twilight recently escaping the arena, he must be on high alert waiting for you to slip up.
>You're surprised they didn't attack you on Kril's turf again.
>You're about twenty blocks away from the main road currently, Twilight at your side. The main road itself is blocked off by all sorts of nasty: tanks, riders, and guards are all over the place.
>You quickly decided against entering that way.
>Across the street from the both of you is a small alley with only a few guards.
>You've been waiting for what feels like hours.
>"What's taking them so long?" asks Twilight.
"I don't know, maybe they found something bad, and they're looking for a different way."
>The sound of footsteps behind you startles you both.
>You wheel around, ready to attack.
>It's Tron, holding up his hands against your assault. Dash is right behind him.
>Tron sighs and lowers his hands, "Sorry. Rainbow Dash and I had to scout pretty far ahead. This is a good point of entry, but there are a lot of patrols and road blocks."
>Dash nods, "And I can't fly you all everywhere. If all four of us are going in there, we're grounded."
>You can tell she sounds a bit pissed about that, but there's really no other way to do it. If Trell's guards end up finding you while separated things will not go in your favor. They're programmed to gang up on their targets, and you don't feel like getting knocked cold again.
"We stick to the ground."
>Dash huffs.
"BUT... at the first sign of trouble you need to grab Twilight and get out."
>Dash tries to say something, but you cut her off.
"No buts about it. This isn't even your fight. If this goes south you and Twilight need to get out."
>Twilight smiles, "I'm sure it won't come to that."
>You hope she's right.
>The street you're on is currently empty, so your little group kind of stands out, but the guards posted at the alley entrance aren't higher functioning programs, so they stand at their post staring straight ahead until someone breeches boundaries.
"So what's the plan?"
>"Well," says Tron, "There's only three guards posted here, so we take them out and move quickly. Trell has a prison that opens into the arena, that's likely where he has Sam and Quorra."
"That's where me and Twilight were held. Are you sure he has them?"
>"I'm positive, there's no way he wouldn't find Sam, and since he's not in the North Sector, the most likely place is the prison. Trell is smart, though, there's always the risk that he's holding them some place less obvious."
>Dash scoffs, "If that's the case we'll just have to keep moving until we find them. This'll be a piece of cake."
>"Be cautious Rainbow," says Twilight, "These guards may not be cognitive thinkers, but they've gotten the drop on us before."
>Tron nods, "Never underestimate your enemy. Trell has been playing his game for quite a few cycles; he knows what he's doing."
>"Alright, already. Are we gonna do this or not?"
>Tron takes a deep breath, then nods, "Twilight, you distract the guards. Anonymous, Rainbow Dash, the three of us will take them out. I'll take the left-most one."
>Dash grins, "I call right."
>That leaves you with the center guard.
>Twilight breaks off from the group and goes to the right side of the guards. She approaches slowly, making sure they're not set to go off before the breaching point.
>When she's about six feet away they all turn to her. The center one speaks, >"STATE YOUR BUSINESS PROGRAM."
>Twilight laughs nervously, bringing a hoof to her cheek, "I uh... I'm lost."
>"STATE YOUR BUSINESS PROGRAM."
>These guys are about as fast as molasses.
>You've never liked the more simple programs, and it seems as if they've never liked you either.
>Just as the guards take action to move towards Twilight, the rest of your group moves.
>You fling your disk and the center guard disintegrates. By the time you've done your part the remainders of the other two guards have faded.
>You look behind you and see Tron clicking his dual discs back together, and Dash with hers still clenched in her teeth.
>The four of you enter the alley without a word, Tron leading the way.
>You move at a crisp pace, weaving in and out of streets and around corners. There's a few times where you're nervous a citizen program might have spotted you, but you're lucky.
>The streets you're navigating aren't very crowded at the moment.
>You can imagine why with all the guards running about.
>It takes about a half an hour to reach the Arena, and another second to realize it's even more heavily guarded than the entrances to the South Sector.
>The road leading to the arena is about twice as guarded as the main road into South Sector was, with an entire checkpoint system set up, and several more guard programs walking about on patrol.
>You're sure the shortcuts are all plugged up as well.
"Where does he even get these guards?"
>"Rectification," Tron says, "The same thing was done to me by CLU. They gather them off the streets. They rewrite the program, taking away strings of data until it's a common footsoldier."
>Twilight frowns, "That's... that's horrible. They just kidnap people and alter them?"
>"There's really no better way to put it than that Twilight."
>"That would be like if somep0ny took my magic away, or if they stole Rainbow's wings, as well as our minds."
>Dash remains silent, but you can tell she's absolutely seething.
>Seeing the way these two react, and taking another look at Tron's face, his baggy eyes and the black lines running through his cheeks, you feel something build up in you.
>You want to derezz Trell personally.
>You want to hear him scream as your disk cuts through him.
>Is this anger?
>You've always been too concentrated on staying one step ahead of the guards to subject yourself to an emotion like this.
"We're coming back."
>Tron turns to you and raises an eyebrow.
"We're coming back. Right now, we get in there, we find Sam, and we leave. We go back to Kril; he has the forces we need. We're going to storm this place, and we're going to take Trell down."
>Dash grins, "Alright, that sounds like my kinda mission!"
>Twilight walks to you, and places a hoof on your hand, "Anon, are you sure?"
"I've never felt more sure."
>You look down at her and give her a smile.
"My entire life I've been on the run. I've never really paid attention to what's been going on around me. Now that I see it, I feel... hatred, and anger. I want Trell to burn for what he's done here."
>"Twilight," says Tron, a smile on his face, "I believe it's time we implement your plan."
"Are you up to it?"
>Twilight takes a deep breath through her nose, and lets it out slowly through her mouth, "Alright, let's do it."
-------
>You are Sam Flynn, and you're not even sure what's going on anymore.
>You're in a circular, clear cell, you know that much. Everything around the cell is dark, however, and you can barely make out the sky of the Grid above.
>You also know that you're hungry.
>The guards have been bringing food to your cell periodically, but it's not enough to sustain you, and you're not sure how much longer you'll last.
>There's something else you're more worried about, though, and it's half the reason you're so hungry.
>Across from you, and leaning into the upwards curvature of the cell, is Quorra. She's been asleep for a few hours now.
>The food hasn't been enough to sustain both of you, and you've been giving her the lion's share.
>You've gotten a few catnaps as well, but you've mostly been staying awake to see if a guard slips up.
>Both of you are still in your clothes from the outside world, and neither of you have Identity Disks, so you're pretty much completely helpless.
>You don't know what's been happening in the weeks you've spent outside of the Grid, but judging by the fact that you've been locked up and haven't been questioned, it can't be too good.
>It's been a few hours since the guard last came to check on you, and you're expecting him any moment now.
>You hear the footsteps as he approaches your cell.
>What you don't expect is to hear a loud crack, nor do you expect that loud crack to be accompanied by a program appearing suddenly next to you.
>What you also don't expect is that he looks exactly like you.
>"Sam Flynn?"
>You let out a nervous laugh.
"This supposed to be some kind of a joke?"
>"I was about to ask you that, but we don't really have time. My name is Anonymous, and I'm getting you out of here."
>It's then that you notice what's standing next to him.
>It's a small creature, about the size of a large dog, and it appears equine in nature... except that it's purple, has a horn on its head, is wearing a light suit, and looks nothing at all like a normal horse would.
"Uh... mind telling me what that is? A program?"
>"She's a user, actually."
"... What?"
>The small purple horse-thing steps forward, "Listen, we don't have time for this. We need to get out of here. Rainbow and Tron will be here any minute."
"Did that thing just... talk?"
>"Where's Quorra?" asks Anon.
>You point her out, and he runs to her and scoops her up over his shoulder. He's back to you just as quick.
>"Alright," he says, "Let's hope this works."
>You hear a thud above you, and when you look up you see who just landed on the roof of your cell.
"Tron."
>You barely recognize him through the corruption, but that's definitely your childhood hero up there, and he's with another horse-thing, only this one has wings.
>You can't hold all these wuts.
>Seconds later the alarms start blaring.
>"Hang on for your life," says Anon, handing Quorra to you and planting a hand on your shoulder.
>The purple horse steps forward, and he leans down a bit to put his other hand on her neck.
>You feel a tingling sensation.
>In the next moment, you feel the rush of a fast fall, almost like the drop of a good roller coaster ride.
>For a split second you can't make out the world around you...
>And then you're on the roof of your cell where Tron landed, Quorra still in your arms.
>"We have to go," says Tron.
>"I don't have many more of those teleports left in me."
>Tron turns to the winged horse, "Rainbow Dash, you take Quorra and fly out of here. Twilight, you take Sam. Anonymous and I will hold off the guards, then you can come back and teleport us out."
>Twilight nods and approaches you, reaching out with a hoof.
>You take it hesitantly, and your world is flipped once more.
>You end up in an alley somewhere, Twilight taking deep breaths, and clearly exhausted from the ordeal.
>"I have to go back, stay here."
>With a flash of light, she's gone, and you have no choice but to wait.
-----
>You are Anonymous, and the entire area just lit up.
>The cell is raised to the surface of the arena, and hundreds of guards have all packed around it.
>With a crack and a flash of light, Twilight is next to you again.
>You barely manage to catch her as she falls to the side.
>She's still awake, but she's weak.
>And now you're surrounded.
"Great."
>Then you hear it, the slow clapping.
>Right in front of you, about twenty yards out and walking through the crowd of guards parting just for him, is Trell.
>He stops walking when you can see the sneer on his face.
>"Anonymous, did you really think I would be stupid enough to let you escape a second time?"
>You look down at Twilight, still in your arms.
>You don't see the guard leap up to the roof of the cell, not until he's tackled you to the ground.
>Twilight falls from your arms and starts to slide down the cell, right into the crowd of guards.
"NO!"
>You see Tron leap for her just as the guard's fist connects with your face.
>You barely manage to spin the guard so he's under you.
>You yank the disk from your back and drive it into the guard's throat, but it's too late. You're already surrounded by three more.
>Out of the corner of your eye you see that Tron managed to get Twilight back up, and she's now staring at you, fear in her eyes. "Anon!"
"Twilight, take Tron and get out of here."
>"But..."
"GO!"
>She latches onto Tron and teleports away just before more guards leap up to their position.
>You breathe a sigh of relief.
>Smart mare.
>Trell laughs under his breath, and you think you hear some guards mimic him, "Oh," he says, "I've been looking forward to this for MANY cycles Anonymous."
>You close your eyes and take a deep breath.
>The guards tackle you to the ground and restrain you, stripping you of your ID