CHAPTER 24 — WHITE SAVIOUR

THE GRID – THIRD TRONCYCLE

PAVEL'S CARRIER SHIP – EN ROUTE TO ARGON

Riding away from the memorable cliffs which helped the victorious major in her mission, albeit stationary and mute witness to the unbelievably bonkers fights between a Commander and a Major, and the subsequent re-capture of the most wanted fugitives without even a hint of doubt and fear inside her eyes. Those towering mountains laughed at the childish squabble between two commanders and stood in awe at the way the Major knocked out her enemies by a mere three smackdowns. Impressed by the 0.05mTC long histrionics, the larger-than-life mountains bid goodbye to the respectable Major, not before wishing her a safe and sound journey back to her carrier ship inside himself. Following the Major's vehicles with watchful eyes, the rock-solid, black rock saw as those Light Vehicles enter the carrier ship, and from then on, the deceptively seductive femme fatale of a carrier ship takes off, showing off vibrant, orange-pink color flames courtesy of the giggling quad-engine from the rear.

Having unreliable visions of him being dragged indefinitely by the very same guards he and Quorra despised and vowed to escape from, Sam didn't have the time to stop and question the integrity of them as they were shortlived and slightly varied every time his eyes closed involuntarily and opened at their will. It is somewhere after the 15th time that his eyes spared him the pain of helplessness and remained open, only to hit him hard with the inescapable fact that he has been tied up in an anonymous kneeling helplessly in front of the very same lady against whom he put up a foolish resistance, risking Quorra's life along with his. Credit where credit is due, Sam had 8 kills up his sleeve, leaving out the remaining five which became possible with Quorra incapacitating them before their ultimate deresolution, which is an extraordinary feat for a new User in the Grid with a single Disc and a cumulative Grid Time of mere three TronCycles and 40mTC, not to mention the lack of professional training or long-range weapons. Hadn't it been for the shackles of duty and hierarchy, Paige would've erased their names long before they'd even think of fighting against her, and Pavel, not exactly a no-nonsense guy to begin with, would've spared them a quick death but the torment he would bring upon them, or as he would prefer "paradise", would cripple any sane Program in the Grid to absolute despondency, leaving them with no other option than a quick mercy killing.

Looking around the whole room, or as he would discern it to be the private cabin of the Major's carrier ship, Quorra stood by his right, kneeling the same as him, only that she is still in the same unconscious state he was, owing to the intense one-on-one fight she'd to put up with Paige and endure several minor cuts and beatings in the daring feat. Not to mention the perfectly balanced counterattacks and outmaneuvering which even startled Paige to the core, although for a few strikes, it may be. Proving to be a formidable opponent to Paige, other than the General of course, is a daydream for every Program in the Grid, including the war-mongering militia working under her, let alone surviving her wrath. And what if that formidable opponent is an ISO, the very kind she vowed to destroy each and every one of them, vowing on her unlucky friends and her hometown who were presumably sacrificed on the altar of the ISOs' survival? No matter how tough these nuts may be to crack, their eradication needs to be an ultimate warning to those who try to mess with the Programs, the Grid, and mainly, the PERFECTION. That's the sole reason Quorra was left beaten and unconscious, given mercy, only to be reserved for the final punishment to be meted out not only to her but also to her whole kind.

Facing the fugitives with a stern face, Paige kicked Quorra's face with her right leg mercilessly, treating her like a mad dog that needs to be disciplined, as Pavel, standing beside Paige, got surprised to see his rival lose her cool in front of random criminals, quite contrary to her no-nonsense attitude. Hoping that she would wake up, Paige watched silently as Quorra fell on her back, but to no avail. Unable to bear the inhumane way his fiancée is being treated, Sam channeled all of his raw anger and strength into his head, locked horns, and rammed front and straight into Paige. The move all of a sudden, even Paige was surprised and didn't have enough time to stop the madman, getting hit by the impact of the headbutt, getting herself carried by angry Sam's rampage, and falling a few feet away, hitting the walls of the ship with her head straight. Even Pavel, who was silently rejoicing inside with sadistic pleasure just then, couldn't believe his eyes that a criminal could be so stupid and stubborn at the same time, no matter who stood before him.

Assisted by the guards who pinned down the madcap fugitive and brought him down to his previous position, Paige took her own time recovering from the dizziness and intense pain caused by the blunt force of the bull headbutt. This made her realize that torturing an emotionally foolish User like Sam is better than wasting time on a tough nut like Quorra, who became immune to such brutalities by experiencing many such incidents beforehand. Making slow and heavy steps toward Sam, Paige advanced towards Sam and raised his chin upward. When Sam faced their captor, Paige slapped Sam on his left cheek with all her might, and he splurted blood on the ground. Everyone in the room, excluding an unconscious Quorra and serious-faced Paige, cheered in excitement at the sight of the "undefeatable" User finally bled by their leader, that too by a very simple slap. What followed then is the most gruesome torture mechanisms experimented on Sam, including the most mundane "good cop bad cop" technique.

Even during the unspeakable acts of abuse and persecution, Sam remained resilient in the face of adversity. His rock-solid heart remained steady and undeterred despite facing hordes of waves of abuses, insults, and violence. Drops of blood spilled on the floor and on the bodies of his tormentors quite often, but one that never spilled out from his mouth is their identities and purpose. Despite being ignorant of the politics of the technopunk dystopia, Sam knew very well from his father's words that ISOs are the virtual Jews and the repurposed army are basically cyberpunk Nazis, despite their Hitler changing from time to time, and risked his life to save Quorra and Kevin from these monsters.

On the other hand, disappointed by the mundane interrogation, in Grid's terms, being carried on forever for 0.1mTC, which never showed any signs of stopping, Pavel decided enough is enough. He walked fast towards Quorra, who just started waking up from her sleep, only to follow with immediate cries of pain as she gets helplessly dragged by her hair. Pavel has never been a man of his word and honor, neither has he finished his job properly nor has he ever followed the omertà of the military. Getting what he wants, by hook or crook, is his forte. And if that desire demands many Programs, soldiers, or even Paige and General, then so it be. Sam didn't even get a glimpse of Quorra this time, who is being dragged like a carcass around him while his situation is worse than a ragdoll, getting beaten and flung all over the cabin by the uncouth probers in the room.

Pavel dragged Quorra and dropped her in front of Sam, and gestured at the probers to stop their work, allowing Sam some air to breathe and recover from the torment he has been inflicted upon. While Quorra adjusted her spoilt hair, Sam struggled to sit straight and adjust himself. When he came back to his senses in the proper sense, Pavel then grabbed Quorra by her hair yet again, this time it seems the grip would be firmer, stronger, and deadlier, as Quorra and Sam would know the reason as Pavel drew his Identity Disc out and slowly brought it towards Quorra's neck, hanging a few inches shy from the tender skin of the lifeline of the possibly last remaining ISO in the Grid, ever.

Pavel then threatened Sam to divulge the hidden agenda behind their shenanigans in the Grid and they both can rest peacefully in his lounge, or else it will only be Quorra who'll rest in peace if he didn't oblige. Sam though, didn't shudder at the warning and spit on the Commander instead. "You are indeed a coward, ain't ya? Never had the balls to beat either woman here, so you threaten to kill one when she's not even alert? We have a word for them in our dictionary: nincompoop" scoffed Sam. Taking it to heart, Pavel got triggered instantly. If anything, he never ever liked being reminded of who he is: a coward. But being the wily and cunning bastard he is, Pavel continued with the threat, only this time the taunting came from his side rather than the other way around.

Every time Sam would resist his taunts and threats, Pavel would make a small cut on Quorra's Body, except the vital parts which could lead to immediate deresolution. These cuts started from the left shoulder and jumped to the right shoulder, leaving the face untouched. When those cuts were enough to scar the arms off of their natural beauty, Pavel then went for the face. This part is so difficult not only for Sam but also for any lover on Earth and Grid alike, seeing their loved ones getting scarred mercilessly and watching the horror unfold right in front of their eyes helplessly. The sadistic makeup by Pavel started conventionally from one cheek to the other via the forehead, as Sam's resolve dropped gradually as he fell into a state of despair and gloom. No matter how much he tried to take the matter into his hands, he couldn't escape the clutches of the numerous guards giving their all to stop this madman from going berserk again. No matter how equal or weak those guards look comparatively to Sam, their collective might is right now effective in tying down the angry bull. Their desperate attempt and Pavel's sadism showed an effect, as the raging bull burst into tears and became a trapped deer. At this moment, there's nothing that Sam could do but watch with anguish as Quorra's name is about to be wiped off from the Grid as the last remaining ISO, by the slow and steady grazing sharp end of Pavel's Disc, relishing every voxel it sliced through its path.

Just when the couple has come to terms with their inevitable doom at the hands of the far-superior enemy, all hell breaks loose when a Light Jet crashes straight into the private cabin of the carrier ship, right through the shining Glass Panels shielding the cabin from the outer skies. This Jet has deflected many hits from the anti-jet guns and destroyed many rockets from the carrier ship, and rammed straight through the center of the flying machine. It is due to Pavel's sixth sense kicking in at random that he spotted the Light Jet approaching them and tried to evade the crashing plane, even though he was in shock for the first few moments. But this shock bought Quorra time to cut her cuffs cleverly from Pavel's Disc and performed a back flip, kicking Pavel's chin backward in the process and pushing him right in front of the incoming jet, an accidental scapegoat to say the least. But then, following Paige's suit, Pavel jumped away from the Jet and presumably saved his life.

The Jet, following its bombastic crash, derezzed into voxels, as the dust slowly settled inside the room. Quorra immediately jumped away from the Jet's crash along with Sam successfully, as the sudden impact of that jump hit her hard and weakened her body even more as she fell on Sam, unable to get up on her own. Luckily for the couple, they made it alive, safe, and sound from the crash, despite getting hit by the floor very hard. All the guards in the room had to meet their inescapable deresolution at the hands of the Light Jet, owing to their lack of presence of mind and slow reaction times, one that differentiates them from their higher-ranking officers. Paige is nowhere to be found post the explosion, despite being quick enough to react and sprint towards the exit door. Pavel, although safe from the blast, got both of his hands derezzed by direct contact with one of the wings of the incoming Jet, a rightful punishment for all the nasty crimes he'd committed in the Grid, the Sea of Simulation thought.

What followed the explosion immediately is the smoke bomb blasting out of nowhere, leaving the remnants of the explosion coughing involuntarily. Paige, safe away from the explosion and the smoke, could decipher the strange identity emerging from the smoke, camouflaging his entry and identity in the process. As she waited for the smoke to settle, this mysterious entity saw the limbless Pavel, and as Pavel shouted "RENEGADE" immediately after recognizing him, the entity then kicked the Commander's face so hard, knocking him unconscious. The Renegade then approached the couple who fell on each other and coughed sideways, unable to stand up on their own. Just as he was about to lift them up, a neon-orange Identity Disc silently flew right toward the Renegade's face, which the Renegade escaped effortlessly with a quick reaction by bending his head backward. This Disc then returned to its rightful owner Paige after multiple bounces and continued to engage the Renegade, making him occupied so that he stays away from the couple. During this fight, Sam and Quorra woke up as Sam threw his Disc, breaking the winning streak of Paige's Disc at keeping the Renegade occupied.

Following Sam's rebuttal to Paige, Quorra took advantage of Paige's concentration in dodging Sam's Disc and paralyzed Paige using one of her wrist shockers, thereby landing a surprise kick on Paige right in the face. If it had been a random Program, he'd been landed unconscious, falling on their back, but Paige was trained enough that she was able to resist the kick to the most extent. "PAIGE, LET'S GO! YOU GIRLS CAN HAVE FUN NEXT TIME!" shouted Renegade. Quorra got surprised as to how the mysterious savior knew her name exactly, but it is not the time for questions. Both Sam and Quorra settled behind Renegade, as the white warrior protected the couple by thwarting all the attacks from Paige and her incoming soldiers.

Just as they reached the open end of the carrier ship, near the broken glass, the Renegade then shouted "BRACE YOURSELVES" before wrapping them together in his arms and jumping off from the ship, performing a suicidal feat. As the trio fell below the grey clouds, Paige, who saw them from above, presumed their obvious demise but at the same time, held firmly to the thought of them having a safe landing somewhere and resolved to catch them again, this time dealing with the Renegade without miss. Pavel on the other hand, is having a peaceful sleep at last, oblivious to the horrific shape his body has morphed into.

Paige's assumptions came true, as the Renegade deployed his parachute, after making sure that they've descended below the misty clouds, landing them safely at the shore of the Sea of Simulation. Despite the Renegade landing several feet apart from the couple, he had made sure he saved the couple on time. The inner heart of the Renegade would've been smiling with the sight of the couple landing on the shore in the same exact pose he spotted them on the ship above, as Quorra hugged Sam tightly and denied to break free, hiding herself from the dangers that await under Sam's protective shadow. Possibly the Renegade would also have been jealous at this sight, but only time will tell.

The trio's successful escape became shortlived as a mysterious entity emerged from the Sea of Simulation and growled with a disgruntled "zztztzt" before throwing its Disc onto the couple who embraced each other madly in love. Sam could notice the Disc only a few inches away from him and was slow to react, but the white Disc from the Renegade thwarted the enemy's Disc's course, startling even the shadowy enemy. His dark body covered with fluctuating neon-orange radium ribbon, the entity caught his Disc as he saw the Renegade standing ahead of the couple, protecting them from the madman.

As if nodding in silent agreement, the warring fighters then sparred each other, the long-range Disc Combat being their go-to mode of combat. Seconds passed by and minutes clocked in for Sam and Quorra, but the fight went on forever. Surprisingly, the enemy shrouded in black mask rivalled the Renegade to a surprisingly superior degree, to the extent of even out-matching the Renegade at times. The Renegade escaped a few hits from the man in black with a few cuts on his mask, which is when he finally understood the level of his foe's deadly combat expertise, and decided to put an end to this. The Renegade used his surroundings to his advantage, as he cleverly picked a small rock nearby during the fight, and threw it straight at his opponent. Chuckling inside at the child like attack from his rival, something so foolish that no one would expect from a skilled warrior, the black mask then slapped the rock thrown at him with his hands, but couldn't notice the Disc that has now approached a few inches shy of his now retracting hand. Quick enough to dodge from the Disc, the distraught enemy saved himself at the peak moment, but at the cost of his helmet as the Renegade's Disc split his mask into two equal parts in a clean fashion.

The beaten foe was quick to stand up and face the Renegade, the same as before. Only this time, his mysterious face isn't a mystery at all anymore. Both the Renegade and Quorra couldn't believe what they saw just now. It was never heard of in the history of Grid that such miracle would happen, albeit with minor hiccups. Even Kevin would've definitely pinched his hands four times straight if he saw what had unfolded right in front of their eyes.

It is the Renegade who is the most surprised and confused person at the same time, due to the history he shared with the face. Never in his life he'd imagine he would meet the greatest of the greats again.

Rejoicing in shock and surprise, the Renegade exclaimed...