SECOND CHANCES -- QUORRA

[CASTOR]

The only time Castor was not actively functioning as host and Zuse at The End of Line Club was during the morning and early afternoon. Not that time really mattered here because it was always completely dark and energy was given through the drinks Castor served and not from sleep like the users needed in "the real world". He liked to add a few more things to the drink to make it a little more memorable, keeping customers coming back for more. These were all secrets that no one would know no matter how they tortured him so. A bustling bunch of people were scattered out throughout the club, talking, drinking, and User knew what else. It wasn't really his business. The only thing that was his business was what came crawling through the door asking for Zuse, not any personal affairs between programs. It wasn't as though he was going to report any indecent behavior as their giddy host wasn't the most angelic program in the system.

An almost permanent grin plastered his face as he walked through the crowds, a few people calling out behind him in urgent and irritated tones. They weren't going to see Zuse. Zuse was tired and needed a moment alone. Twirling his cane with perfection to not hit anyone he might be passing by, he stood in front of the stairs to his private parlor. They only opened for him when he wanted them too. Skipping up the steps with a finesse to please any adoring fans that might still be gazing his way, he turned around, took a bow and walked through the force field that held his private quarters, the stairs staying retracted behind him. No one dared to come barging into him when he was trying to have quiet time. He assumed it was just programmed into their systems that it was just a bad idea. Castor got a little insane when he was disturbed and angry. The smile disappeared from his face as he felt he was completely alone and far enough away from the cahos of the party behind him for no one to see him. Gem was out at her other job, fitting people for the games. Castor would lose any part of those unless it involved his odd way of fighting with his cane. There was no such game as far as he knew of and either way, he was much too powerful to play such childlike things. Before, the word games was a terror, but now, it was just something for programs and users to do when they got bored. There was no fire in this town anymore. Less and less people called for his help and he was beginning to feel more and more useless.

There was a time when he felt as though he was the best program on the entire gird when he was attempting to help the ISOs during the purge. All was lost and his feverish attempts at helping would be gone unnoticed for all but one of the first generations ISOs had been lost. Thank User he had helped her. It just so happened that she was the one he felt the strongest connection with before Kevin Flynn wisked her away to stay safely with him as he cowered in his club, unable to do much of anything anymore. Of course he became bitter when she left him. Maybe becoming leader of the system would impress her from afar, but that never panned out the way he had hoped. It did the exact opposite, in fact. She witnessed his betrayal on her and Kevin Flynn by setting up Sam, just to get control of the city. It was all for her, but he was doing it in a selfish sort of way. He vowed to be a bit more helpful to people instead of wanting things for himself. Power was far from his mind these days. He hoped she would see that eventually. He so desperately wanted her to see him in the light she had seen him before when he had helped her so many light cycles ago.

Castor worked a special drink behind the bar, straying away from the color green as it held a dark spot for him in his mind. A flash of blue as he stared down at the drink Clu had given him before he had been derezzed. It was not a good memory to have. Not many got a second chance at their mistakes in life, but thankfully, he got his. And he was keen on trying to fix things in his past that he had royally fucked up. taking a long drink of his somewhat spiked energy, he sat down on the couch and stared at the floor, the distant beat of the mp3's vibrating through the floors. This was the only time he felt vulnerable.

[QUORRA]

The Outlands were dark, much darker than the rest of the Grid. Even with the light of the city illuminating the area in the distance. Thunder rumbled above and in the real world, that would have meant an indication of rain but here, that was just the way the sky always was. Quorra sat on the edge of a cliff, the city looming brightly ahead of her and behind her, the home that her and Flynn had shared for a thousand cycles together. Long ago, the ISO had been rescued by the creator and brought back here where they spent their time in isolation from the rest of the Grid due to Clu's need for perfection and both of them not being part of the vision. Flynn had taken it upon himself to teach the ISO everything he knew and Quorra was a more than willing student. She soaked up everything like a sponge and even now she applied his teachings to her life.

It felt like she had been out there for hours, maybe even longer than such. Quorra had made her way out there to clear her thoughts. With the reopening of Flynn's Arcade and the success of ENCOM after Sam's take over, the ISO had a lot on her mind. Although she hadn't fully adapted herself to Flynn's zen way of thinking, she did admire the patience he had and constantly tried to apply it to the various situations that she found herself in. She breathed slowly, inhaling and exhaling as she tried to remain perfectly still. Her eyes were closed as she quietly meditated, her thoughts far from the present and instead, thinking about both the past and the future. When Flynn had reintigrated with Clu, the entire Grid and the programs within it, had been rebooted. The system had been given a fresh start, even if some of the programs retained their memory from what had happened before. One of those being the program she knew as Zuse. The white-clad program had once been a close friend to Quorra, someone that she had trusted completely. There was a chemistry between them that she hadn't felt with anyone else and she could only wonder what would have become of them had she not needed to escape the city. However, when she had needed his help, he had betrayed her and her opinion had completely changed. It had hurt her rather deeply and she hadn't had much contact with Zuse since then.

Now though, it seemed as if he was genuinely sorry for his selfish actions of the past and had been attempting to restore their friendship. Quorra wasn't really one to hold grudges, as doing such was against the teachings of her mentor. However, it still stung her whenever she thought about it. The betrayal had happened in the past though, and now she was looking to the future. There was an issue that needed to be resolved between them and in order for that to happen, she needed to talk to him. After all, she had given Clu himself a second chance, didn't Zuse deserve one too? Her eyes opened and glanced toward the bright city in the distance, slowly rising to her feet. Moving toward her light runner, Quorra started it up and headed toward the city.

It didn't take too long before she reached the edge of the city, the speed of her vehicle slowed only slightly as she made her way toward the End of Line Club. Once she was close enough, she got out of the light runner and made her way into the elevator that would take her to the club. The feeling of butterflies in her stomach, as she had learned was the phrase in the real world, made her nervous but excited at the same time. Memories of the good times she had shared with Zuse flashed in her mind, wondering and hoping that their relationship would be restored to what it once was one day. Quorra didn't expect everything to be fine after just one talk but it was a step in the right direction. The elevator came to a sudden stop as the top floor was reached, the doors that lead into the club slowly opening. Curious blue eyes glanced around as she stepped out of the elevator, not taking long before she spotted a familiar face. With a small smile on her lips, the ISO walked over to the program that was working behind the bar. "Long time no see," she said as she leaned against the bar, her eyes looking to meet his. "Can I get a drink?" She asked, gesturing to the special drink that he was mixing, knowing that if there was one program that could make the perfect drink, it was the one that was standing in front of her.

[CASTOR]

Castor swiftly turned around as he heard a voice, his mind not comprehending that it was Quorra's. A look of fear flashed in his eyes as his normal demeanor was whisked away for a moment and then like a lightdisc, it came back to him. Ever since Clu had blown his club to smithereens, not to mention himself and Gem, he had been a bit on edge. Of course Clu had been reintegrated and completely changed by Sam and the previous files of Kevin Flynn, but Castor was still shaky. His club was better than ever and there had been no reasons to kill Castor as of yet, but he was still unsure if other programs might feel the need to destroy him and everything he worked for. It must have been easy to find him if he hadn't been waltzing around in the club. If not there, of course he was in his own private lounge. A greeting smile crossed his face as he saw her before he tapped his cane on the ground to retract the stairs he had left open and easily accessible to other programs. It wasn't a gesture to Quorra that she could not leave. It was simply a precaution just in case someone decided to move their party up to his private area. Ah his personality would change very quickly if that ever was to happen. Most knew better, but perhaps a new user might find it appealing to go somewhere where they shouldn't.

The smile disappeared from his face when he realized that the last time he saw her, he had laughed at the sight of her when she was helping Sam Flynn. Not a good way to end things. Swallowing, he gripped the bar as though it was some sort of shield to protect him if she had any... disagreements with him she cared to discuss. He really didn't mean anything to her when that whole fiasco came into being. In fact, he wished that he didn't alert Clu's guards as soon as he heard that Quorra was the one who sent Sam to his club for help. But what was done was done and he couldn't throw himself in front of the user-friendly people. He wanted control of the city and he wasn't about to get derezzed just to try and seem courageous to an ISO he helped long ago. Well, that is what he thought before. Castor had become derezzed anyway and the experience sent a new light to his eyes. He truly felt regret for what he had done, but would it seem weak and frail for him to admit that to her now? Was that really in his nature to appear to be? He was a devil may care type of program, just going with the flow of the circuitry as well.

Blinking his ice eyes a moment when he realized she wasn't going to slice her lightdisc in his neck...yet, anyway; he took the drinks he had used before in his own and quickly put something together. He wasn't sure if it was the same thing as his mind was full of electricity of the matter and program at hand. He gave her a forced, but believable grin as he handed her the drink. "Anything for you, my dear." He cooed with a nervous, airy laughter. The silence of the room was getting to his ears and for a moment, he wished the force field wall wasn't there so the blast of the music would shake away the awkward silence between them. Even though it had only been a few seconds since he had spoken and given her the drink, he felt that he needed to speak just in case she might get ideas to hurt him. "I hear you're getting chummy with the real world?" He drolled on with a suggestive tone, talking like the real world was just another person across the way. Castor really wanted things to be alright between the two programs, but he knew he royally fucked up.

[QUORRA]

Although she wasn't the best at reading the emotions of others, she noticed the odd expression that flashed in Castor's eyes when he first saw her. Quorra blinked a little in surprise but after a moment, realized that she had just caught him off guard. No warning of her arrival had been given and she was sure that she was one of the last people he had expected to walk through his doors. It was understandable, of course, if she had been in his position she might react the same. He had betrayed her and her trust but had been betrayed himself not too long afterwards. She didn't want to admit that he may have deserved it, but the fact that he had become paranoid, was definitely a direct result of what had happened that evening. The ISO hadn't come here to fight, though. In fact, quite the opposite. Sure, there might be some harsh words between them in store, but her intent was to make amends. Quorra may have been naive at times but she knew that their relationship wouldn't be mended overnight but this first meeting after so many cycles apart would show if what was between them was salvageable or not. And the ISO hoped that it was.

When the stairs retracted, Quorra glanced behind her curiously. At first, she wondered if she had made a mistake by coming here and that Castor had decided to betray her again. As she looked back toward him, though, she didn't see any malice in his eyes. She didn't see that same expression she had seen back when she saved Sam from being hurt by the guards Castor had called to capture him. That moment was burned into her mind, the first time she had been truly betrayed. She had been there when Clu turned against Flynn but she had never fully trusted the program. Castor was a different story. He had been a friend before Clu's reign and had shown that he could be trusted during the purge. Quorra had trusted him enough to send the son of Flynn to him for help. She felt as if his actions had been more personal, though whether or not that was the truth, she might never know for sure. The ISO relaxed a little, giving her former friend the benefit of the doubt. There was no way either of them could change the past and everyone made mistakes. Knowing that Flynn would disapprove of her holding a grudge, Quorra had finally decided to let it go. She couldn't forget but she could forgive and once that had happened, her and Castor could move forward and start to repair their friendship.

A light smile returned to her lips as Castor handed her a drink and asked about her and the real world. The grid may have been her home but she loved spending time in the real world. It was more beautiful and much brighter than it was here. Everything here was drab and dull, lifeless even. It was dark, there was no sun to warm her skin. There were a few similarities between the two worlds, especially now that Users were allowed to roam here, but they were different in so many other ways. Before she could start daydreaming about returning to the real world, she pulled her thoughts back to Castor. She wasn't sure but she thought she heard a hint of jealousy in her voice. Quorra could understand such a feeling, remembering when Flynn would tell her all about the real world when they lived in exile. "A bit, I suppose," she admitted, after all she didn't feel as if she needed to lie about such a trivial thing. "Maybe one day you'll get to see what the buzz is all about it," she said with a grin. Programs may have not been able to move through the portal yet, but she was sure that such technology would be available sometime in the future. "And how are things here?" She asked, genuinely curious. A glance around told her that Gem currently wasn't around, though that didn't mean she wasn't still in Castor's employ. "I hear this place attracts Users more than any other club."

[/color] Small talk wasn't the ISO's forte, but she wanted to make sure they could handle being civil to each other before their conversation turned into something more serious. [/size][/justify][/blockquote]