Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence (8 page)
Read Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence Online
Authors: Carla Jablonski
Tags: #Fiction - Young Adult
B
etter to just do what Jax wants. No point in getting her mad at you on your very first day.
You spend the day watching and learning. There's a lot more to this stunt work than you imagined. No wonder you have to pay your dues and work your way up. Sometimes what you do is beyond boring, but it's still exciting to be around the crew, to watch the scenes and be amazed by the stunts.
On the last day of the film shoot Jax approaches you while you're packing up some gear. “Here, kid,” she says, handing you a cup of coffee. “You did good. So I thought I'd be your gopher for a change.”
You grin and take the coffee. “Thanks.”
“Listen, I just got a call to be the coordinator on a huge new film,” Jax says. “I want you to be one of the riders. Maybe use those martial arts I've seen you doing during downtime.”
“Really! That's awesome! Thanks.”
Jax smiles at you. “You earned it.”
This is just the beginning. You move up from stunt man to action star. In fact, after only a few years, you become so successful you buy back Encom and put Alan Bradley in charge. But first he has to promise you that the building can be used in any movie you want.
After all, you've had a lot of practice pulling stunts on that skyscraper!
THE END
Y
ou and Quorra plow through the chaos. “Sam, look out!” you hear her shout. She shoves you out of the way and takes a blow to the arm. She crumples to the floor. At the same moment, the lights short out! The room plunges into inky blackness, punctured by strobing lights.
You can see that the Black Guardsmen are momentarily disoriented, and you use this distraction to gather Quorra up in your arms. You haul her toward the elevator that will bring you back down to the ground. That's when you notice programs around you staring at the elevator in awe.
Your dad. He's standing right outside the elevator! He left the safe house! And he's the one who shorted out the lights. “Stay close,” he orders, pushing you into the elevator. Just as the doors are closing, one of the guards fires a grappling hook into the elevator. It attaches to your dad's back and yanks off his disc. “Your disc!” Quorra murmurs, half-conscious.
Y
ou're not sure if you want to mess with this complex computer system right now. You walk away and go back upstairs to check out some of the games you've played before.
You stroll through the arcade's rows. Somehow your desire to play anything is evaporating. The cobwebs, the boarded windows, the general feeling of desolation is getting to you. You're never going to figure out who sent that page. You might as well head for home.
You make your way toward the front door. Suddenly, the skin on the back of your neck tingles. You have the weirdest sensation that you're not alone.
You whip around andâyes! You catch sight of a shadowy figure ducking under one of the games! Is that who sent the page? Or did that person follow you in once you got here? The bigger question is: are you in danger?
The person could have a weapon!
Actually, the biggest question is what to do now!
Do you book out of there as fast as you can?
Or do you confront the intruder
ON PAGE 108
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W
e have to get out of hereâfast!” you say. “Otherwise we'll just be handed over to Clu.”
“You're right,” your dad says. “But how?”
“With these!” Quorra calls. She waves you over to a storage unit. “Tron Chutes!” She pulls out the bladed wings the Black Guard used when they crashed into the End of Line Club. The three of you quickly slip into the harnesses.
Y
ou stand, shocked, as a wall in the enormous ship opens. Two figures are illuminated by the lights inside. A ramp descends, and they tromp toward you.
The men wear black skintight suits. Streaks of color flash along the seams of their clothes, as if they were plugged in. The visors on their helmets keep you from being able to see their faces, making them seem sinister. These are the Sentries you've heard about in your dad's bedtime stories. They're the police force of this world.
“This program has no disc,” one of them announces. “Another stray.”
Huh?
Before you can ask what they mean, they grab you and escort you up into the hovering vehicle. “Wait!” you protest. They ignore you. The door slides shut, and the Recognizer lurches upward, flying toward the more brightly lit areas of the city.
Y
ou take a peek behind you to try and figure out where everyone is on the Grid.
Who is left on your team? And are they your team? You're pretty sure it's you and these candy-colored players against Clu and his Sentries. But that purple program was pretty hostile. Could these guys actually be working against you?
How do you play this game and still stay alive? Should you work together with the programs or should you try to win this on your own?
You can't trust them to work with you. You're in this alone.
You're outnumbered without your teammates.
Work together
ON PAGE 62
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Y
ou gaze out the window. The Portal streams upward from an island as a swirling maelstrom of energy.
“Hang on, everybody!” Quorra cries. “I'm bringing her in!”
Quorra executes a stomach-churning move and lands the vehicle on a rocky shore. You all scramble out, and your dad points up at the Portal. It's flickering faster and faster. “It's getting ready to close!” he shouts over the howling wind.
He leads you and Quorra up a steep stairway carved out of rock. Energy whirls around you. The ground shakes, and you cover your head to keep from being pounded by tumbling rocks. The island is beginning to crumble. You hope you get to the Portal before everything completely falls apart!
You crest the hill and come to a narrow bridge. It stretches out over a void toward the Portal. The bridge is slowly separating! You know you have no choice. You have to cross itâand fast! Only one problem: standing dead center on the bridge between you and the Portal isâ¦Rinzler, your dangerous opponent from the Games!
T
he Sentries stare around, puzzled. That's because you and Quorra are above them, perched in the open crossbeams of the elevator and hidden from view.
You drop down and take them out. Then you dash across the throne room toward the bridge. Two more Sentries rush at you. You and Quorra make quick work of them.
Just then Jarvis, Clu's right-hand man, appears. He looks terrified. Good. “You can't stop us,” you say with a snarl. Quorra holds her disc aloft, ready to throw it.
“Wouldn't dream of it,” Jarvis says hastily.
“Keep me covered,” you tell Quorra. She nods and crouches, ready to leap to your defense. But Jarvis looks far too frightened and is too much of a wimp to strike back.
You stride to the case and yank out your dad's disc. It feels warm in your hands. You don't have time to gloat, though. More Sentries will arrive any minute.
“What should we do with him?” Quorra asks, jerking her head toward Jarvis.
You look at the sniveling program and shrug. “I have a feeling that once Clu finds out the disc is gone, he'll take care of this guy.”
Jarvis sinks to the ground, covering his face and moaning.