Tron: Deliverance

CHARGE FAILED

Able was preparing himself to lose a fight to Algol for the second time in a cycle. Which was a real shame. He hadn't particularly enjoyed the first beatdown. Not that anyone cared to hear his opinion. He snapped his helmet in place and felt energy pulse in his modded arm.

Paige was quick on her feet at least. Which was a very bright edge to an otherwise catastrophic shatter line of a day. "Out of my way!" The dark-haired program roared. The first opponent drew a pathogenic code injector from his cloak. Able's core froze for a moment. If she got infected then he would have to fight her and Algol's cronies. Which would be poor odds indeed.

The Lady-Tron didn't seem to notice. Ignoring the sparking injuries along her chest, she threw a disc and followed it with a viscous kick, knocking the nearest zealot off his feet. His light lines winked when he hit the floor, full shut down for him.

Algol ghosted up to her before she could catch her thrown disc. He was especially hard to track, his lack of light lines making his strikes look more like a lunging shadow. That left the third opponent for Able to fight. Joy, what joy.

The empty-eyed zealot came at the mechanic with efficient strikes. Though Algol had said not to kill him, this glitch brain seemed at least intent to maim. He blocked a strike on his modded arm, letting the relays go live and send a shock of power into his opponent's wrist. The zealot jolted away, but only for a nano. He lunged back into the fight without so much as a hiss of pain. That was disappointing. He'd put a good bit of energy into that charge.

Paige wasn't doing much better against Algol. Though he didn't seem to be taking her very seriously. He wove around her strikes, hadn't even drawn a weapon yet. Not good, he meant to play with them. Sadistic little gridbug that he was.

Able stumbled back a few steps. As if he was trying to dodge and had gone too far. The zealot fell for it, tried to press his advantage and ran straight into the mechanic's elbow. Fool wasn't wearing a helmet so the code around his nose and cheeks made a crunching noise. He fell back, lights blinking.

Able tisked. What was it with young programs these cycles and not wearing helmets into fights?

Algol slugged Paige right under her core. She flew back, shedding cubes from her injuries. She rolled to a stop and curled up, hacking intakes stuttering through her chest. The white-eyed program advanced on her. An empty smile on his face.

"What disappointment. I thought those who would dare wear the mark of Tron would at least put up a fight. Aren't you embarrassed to sully his name like this?" The insane program chuckled. Showing real humor for once. Sadistic, gleeful humor. Her disc, which had fallen near his foot, he kicked towards her. It screeched as its sleek interface grated on the uneven floor, coming to a rest right in front of her hunched form. She gave him a baleful look, then reached down to grab it. Her cough continued, until the mechanic realized it was a laugh. She boosted herself to standing. Holding a hand to her shatter lines, a hard smirk on her face.

"I don't wear it for Tron. I never wore it for him" she hacked again, her chest rattling.

Algol cocked his head "Ah, my mistake. Who might it be worn for then, if not for its original designate?" He acted like he was in an academic discussion.

She squared up again, her disc whined as she lit it. "I wear it for the program that earned it"

"Ah now that is a fascinating complexity" he drew his own injector from his cloak. Orange light sparking across his face. Algol twirled the injector through his fingers "But sentiment is such a bulky thing. Gets in the way of true complexity. What if I could wash it away for you?" He squared up, finally armed and ready to end the fight.

The Lady-Tron growled and lunged for him. They traded a few blows. Her's were sharp, with an impressive amount of force behind them. His were clinical, precise. He struck at her core again, exploiting the growing shatter line there. She threw up her arms to protect herself.

She was going to lose.

Algol raised his arm to stab her. But Able was faster. He grabbed the maniac by the shoulder and tried to break them apart.

A burning pain ripped through his chest.

Stinking, shattering, VOXELS not again. He looked down, the bladed end of the injector was buried in his render.

"Bad move, old friend. You just never learn do you?" Algol tisked.

//WARNING/MALWARE DETECTED//

Able crumpled to his knees. Burning pain already shooting through his core. Infected with that rancid stuff twice in one cycle. There must be a User out there that really hated him. He felt himself being dragged. Paige pulled him away from Algol, who didn't bother to stop her. He instead watched the orange shatter lines start to consume Able's render.

"What did you do to him?" Paige demanded.

"Do not be so accusatory young disciple. That strike was meant for you. Had you taken it he would not be in so much pain right now"

She snarled "Cut your fragged nonsense off and tell me what you did!"

Algol sighed sadly "It is purification, stripping programs down to what they are at their core. Drones, mere functions of this world. Meant to fulfill their purpose and nothing more"

"Its pathogenic code" Paige accused. She ripped Able's disc from his hand and started to flip through it. Her movements deft. Her face creased as she watched it destroy his code. "No, wait? Ive seen this before. Its breaking down his firewalls. Stripping them"

Algol hummed "Lovely is it not? The Visionary has truly blessed us with truth through this process" he advanced on them.

Paige stood, lighting her own disc and Able's in a single motion. Feeling like a useless lump Able tried to roll on his side. Get up. DO something. But the pain kept him fused to the floor. This was worse somehow. It was going to happen again. He was going to watch this poor young beta get killed. Just like he'd watched his mods lose to this lunatic.

Algol threw his disc.

Paige blocked it.

She didn't block the injector.

She looked down, at the injector buried in her render. Just over her core.

Orange shatter lines started to form.

She crumpled to her knees. Hands clutching the sides of her head. Both discs clattering to the ground.

"Whether you wear it for for Tron or another you do not do justice to the mark you wear" Algol said.

"Maybe not" She panted, the orange lines crept up her neck "At the end of it I am who I chose to be" she reached down to her side and grasped something "I'm a soldier. And soldiers know how to destroy things. For instance, I know that the code holding up the roof of this room is highly unstable" she held up two grenades, already blinking. "And I will be cubes before I let you repurpose me"

Algol's eyes widened. Able's did too, was she serious? She couldn't mean...

She threw both grenades, with frightening accuracy. They latched to the two primary pillars holding up the roof. Gave two final beeps.

"Oh voxels" was all Able could say.

Boom.