late entrant to fandom just found out about the cancellation. muse ain't happy.

[justamechanic]

That's it? Just like that? Everything we did doesn't mean anything? [Everyone they lost...Bodhi, Able...the Grid's never been fair before but it always made sense. This doesn't] You being a User was hard enough to process, but this? [headshake.] I can't believe that. It can't end like this. There has to be something we can do. There has to.

[The Uprising had just begun. To end without a chance like that...where's the sense in that? He can't see it.]

Comments

[keller_p4d]

Save yourself another cycle trying. There isn't, and there won't be.

[Optimist, meet cynic.]

[justamechanic]

If you really believed that, you would have turned me into Paige after we got off that train. You didn't, remember?

[Cynic, meet a brick wall of stubborn optimism.]

[keller_p4d]

I told you on that train. Just because I don't do Tesler's job for him doesn't mean I give a glitch about your ragtag rebellion, either.

[Besides, that decision turned out great for her. If she'd proven her loyalty then, would it have made a difference? Probably not. Still.]

You never stood a chance.

[justamechanic]

So you really just didn't care either way? That how it works with you?

[Might have won her some points with Tesler, though. Turn in the Renegade bug in his perfect programmed city? Probably would have earned her her life.]

Funny. Think the fact I lasted long enough before we even got on that train says otherwise.

[keller_p4d]

Care about a fight between a group of system-trashing vandals and our rewrite-happy General? No.

[That assumes Tesler's vindictiveness has a limited filesize. After her recent experience, Keller's inclined to think otherwise.]

Survival's one thing. Making any difference is another.

[trollmaster_gibson]

[Have a sympathetic pat on the head from the Great Recycle Bin in the Sky, brogram.]

Aw. Welcome to the family, kid.

Try not to feel too bad about it, eh? You made it out of your installment alive and intact, along with most of your buddies and your whole town, which means you've got me and my associates beat by half a terabyte.

...I'd keep an eye on Tron, though, if I were you. Trust me, kid, you don't have a clue (heh) in Flynn's hell the kind of tricks Clu's got up the sleeves of that pimp coat, and I'd trust that "fix" you came up with back there about as far as I could throw it.

[justamechanic]

[Have some sputtering, Gibson. This is one family that while he wouldn't trade it for anything, there are moments he's not to happy to be in it. Especially if his current User is right and his end's coming. But he tries not to dwell on it anyway.

Still, there's some comment about that, about making it out intact, but it dies in his vocals and he stops to blink wide eyes up at Gibson. Keep an eye on Tron? What does that even--oh, Users, no!]

What's that supposed to mean? Tron's fine. Better then fine, even. He's back at full capacity. The plan worked.

[It had to have. He can't lose anybody else.]

TMW even Gibson barely has the heart to crush a poor beta's hopes. ;_;

[trollmaster_gibson]

[That gets a wince. Dammit, kid, why do you have to make with the woobly-eyes? He's only trying to break your heart to save it.]

Yeah about that plan. Putting aside for a moment the fact that wow was that a dumb plan because hey, I get desperation... You really think Clu'd have left Tron's repurposing to be handled by one newly and possibly-unstably repurposed former resistance fighter and two dozen Black Guards without his direct supervision? Really? Because I call shenanigans, and think your friend Able would've, too.

All I'm saying is stay sharp and keep an eye on him.

[Hindsight being 20/20 when you're dead, and all, and Gibson missed some major red flags in one of his own friends back in the day (who not insignificantly you kind of remind him of) that led to some serious horror and tragedy.]

Doomed from the start, they were. ;; ow.

[justamechanic]

[He cares too much. That's why he makes the woobly-eyes. He just wants things to start going right, that's all.

Because yes it was a dumb plan but what else was he supposed to do?! Let Tron derezz just like that? They didn't have Able to help with the plan. Not by the time it got that bad...he always was the one with the better logic processors.

Still, that's already happened. It's already in the system memory. There's nothing Beck can do to undo it, and so his fists clench at his sides. This program...he knows something.]

You know something. About Tron. [Frowny face is go.] What's going to happen to him?

[trollmaster_gibson]

I know Clu well enough to know that the game you guys have been playing was probably rigged before you even got started. [And the Tron Gibson knew back then would have known it. The fact that your Tron doesn't seem to be aware of it is probably the most alarming piece of evidence Gibson can put a finger on.]

...on the other hand, sometimes rigged games are the easiest ones to beat. And you've definitely got the enthusiasm for it. [he grins a bit] Still, it means you gotta stay on your toes and dragoon press-gang enlist help when y'need it, dig?

Oh, and for the love of the Users go get virus-checked. Couldn't help noticing you kinda forgot you're infected too [and probably have been since the beginning...] and believe me, kid, you do not want any part of that mess. :\

[expect_me]

Even if it was only a little bit.. I think you probably made a difference.

[The message is one typed out on a datapad, since Anon doesn't exactly have a voice yet. Still.]

Sometimes stuff we think isn't a big deal turns out to be important.

And hey, your User must think you're important, right?

[Oh boy does Anon know this feel, brogram.]

[justamechanic]

Maybe. It just...doesn't seem that way, with what she's told me.

[There was a lot of data to process when they finally established communications. He still hasn't sorted it all out yet. But even with the lack of voice data, Anon's kind of reminding him of Tron. A little bit. Hence the more civil approach.]

She does, but one User thinking I'm important doesn't mean anything to the Grid. Not with Clu's army coming our way.

[expect_me]

[It's hard to tell what with the helmet, but this is a happy headtilt.]

If things for you ended like things for me... yeah, the future isn't too pretty for a long time, from what I've learned. I don't really know any details, though. I missed most of it.

But saving a single life can be a big deal. Or giving someone the faith to keep fighting, even when it seems utterly hopeless.

[justamechanic]

[Hard to tell, but not impossible. He's seen blanker faces from his mentor and he rarely wears that helmet of his.]

You're probably better off that way. I wasn't around before it went wrong, but Tron's told me some things. It wasn't pretty.

[Which says an awful lot. All the security functions in the Grid must have transferred to the soldiers and Black Guard when Clu took over. Repurposed or derezzed, Anon's fate couldn't have been good for his health.]

I know. Just...knowing that there's nothing else I can do to change it makes it all seem useless. Like everything we lost was in vain.

[expect_me]

Yeah. I was there when it happened. It really wasn't pretty at all. Even if you think explosions are pretty it wasn't pretty.

[That made more sense when he was thinking of it.

Beck looks sad, so Anon carefully reaches out to pat him on the shoulder. He's not too sure of his welcome-- there's a reason he's left the helmet on-- but Beck looks like he needs it.]

I don't think there's anything wrong with failing. Not really. If you fail, at least it means you tried instead of letting stuff happen. That can't really be in vain, can it?

You bought your system a little more time in freedom. Maybe held off what happened to Tron a little longer than it might have otherwise been. It's something.

I'm told to tell you that flaming wreckage of statues is also something.

[tanks4thememory]

[Oh hey, Beck, have a sorta familiar-looking program with a very unfamiliar outfit and attitude. He gives you a slightly sad smile.]

Seems that way doesn't it? [He sighs.]

I don't know whether that'll be the end of your story or not. That's not my call, or my User's either. Though if it makes you feel any better, she doesn't like the possibility any more than you do.

But I will tell you something I've found since moving in with this particular User. Namely, that alot of times, even if something looks like the end? It's not. Your part in the Grid's story might be over, but the story itself isn't, and often times you don't learn til much later what kind of impact your actions have had.

[It seems that perhaps Clu1 has been getting into Flynn's zen thing a bit. Either that, or his mun's DVD collection.]

[justamechanic]

[Sorta-familiar? He knows that face. Carved it off a statue when his life got turned upside down. It's only this Program's manner that keeps Beck from reaching for his disc. Easy, Beck. Easy. If that was actually Clu he'd have attacked you by now...right?]

What, so just be patient? Just wait for deresolution instead of fighting back because what good I did may not have gotten written into the system yet? [not happy with the idea of just waiting to die. Nope.] Thanks for the advice, but I'm not written to wait. I'd crash.

[Definitely got into Flynn's zen thing. And it's a good idea! Sound advice! Beck's just not the patient type. His idea to lay low kinda blew up in his face the last time he tried anyway.]

[tanks4thememory]

[There are subtle differences between this face and the one Beck carved off the statue, if one looks closely. This program's features are somewhat softer, and he's clean shaven where the Grid's Clu always wore stubble. Also his circuits are a somewhat softer shade of yellow than Clu2's deep gold. Still, he's used to suspicion by this point.]

[Shakes head slightly] That's not quite what I meant. Never said you should stop fighting; I mean, I was pretty much written to stand up to glitches like my not-so-dear brother.

What I meant was, even if, in the end, it seems like you failed at what you were trying to do, that doesn't necessarily mean that everything's all over. All you can do is to do your best, and hope that it turns out to be enough in the long run. Not much more anybody can do, even Users.

[justamechanic]

[The thing about those subtle differences is that one has to look close to see them. Beck's not getting close enough to tell, but he does slowly relax. Tron would kick his processor for this, but...]

How do you know if it'll be enough? How do you know you've even made a difference if things end right when they're finally starting?

[tanks4thememory]

To be perfectly honest? You don't. But that's exactly why I always make it a point to try and do my best no matter what I'm doing; you never know what's going to end up being important and what isn't.

Until my User-mun here brought me back, I thought I'd glitched things up royally and gotten myself derezzed. I mean, pretty hard to fail worse than that, right? But it turned out that me getting caught and derezzed kicked off a series of events that eventually led to the MCP being taken down. So... [shrugs] What was the end for me, turned out to be just the beginning for everyone else.

[lifes_short_pop]

My mun's signed the petition, and bought the episodes. She won't let me see them, but she's got them.

The rest? I wish I could give you good news. At least you'll probably remain 'canon,' which is a better deal than I managed.

[justamechanic]

You're better off not seeing it. I lived through it. [he shakes his head; can't delete the memories--won't delete them even if he could, but...] It got messy sometimes. Almost too messy to get out of.

[Especially at the end there. He has no idea how they're going to survive against Clu and his army when the Uprising consists of Tron and a Garage crew...even if they're just that stubborn. He'll try, but...]

Your...'canon' didn't end with you pretty much on the fast track to deresolution, did it?

[lifes_short_pop]

[Jet cringes, bows his head, and shakes it sadly.]

No. I...I got out alive. So did Pop. But at least four servers were destroyed, and there were too many that didn't...or couldn't escape. A lot of Programs - and Users - are dead because of what I had to do or couldn't stop from happening. The virus, the Wraiths...

[The guilt clearly weighs on him. If Users were anything like what Programs believed they were, he could have saved a lot more lives. Five hundred and twenty six times more powerful my ass, Ma3a.]

And it all just...ended. Yeah, we drove back the bad guys and stopped their greedy plan to enslave the digital world so they could control the User one. But they'll be back. I know it. Last thing we heard was their big boss issuing a threat. He knows who we are, he knows where we live, and he's patient. He was able to wait twenty years for his revenge last time. Pop knows who he is, and so does my mun, but good luck getting anything out of either of them.

[justamechanic]

[The guilt is clear, and Beck understands it. What happened to him and the programs of Argon isn't on the same level--they never had to deal with a User, dead or alive--but the guilt of failing to save lives...it's a familiar feeling. Jet gets a sympathetic noise from Beck for that, before the program sighs.]

Your 'Pop' sounds like Tron. Knows a lot but doesn't say anything to you about it. Bet that gets annoying for you after a while.

[If only he knew. If only he knew...]

[lifes_short_pop]

[No shit, Program. Unfortunately, this timeline's Alan Bradley is a little too much like his Program; secretive, emotionally distant, and VERY dangerous if pushed. The main difference is where Beck's mentor fights with a disc, Jet's father fights with strategy, social tactics, and "under the table" projects.]

[The mention of Tron, though? Jet gets, really, really pale in a way Programs shouldn't be able to do. His circuitry even flickers a picosecond from the shock.]

Tron's alive?! I...I heard he was dead or worse. What is he -? And he's a lot like...[Maybe you shouldn't go there. Fast way to blow your cover]

Somehow that's not surprising.