AN: I've read a lot of very good Uprising fanfics around here. It's only fair I make my contribution! What if this great show hadn't been cancelled? Here's my take on it. I don't know how it's going to end, I'll let the characters (or what I understand of them) lead the story.

Since English is not my native language, I'd like to apologize for any grammatical mistake, incorrect wording or whatever. Please do not hesitate to submit corrections via PM or reviews!

Paige had taken a few steps back and didn't hear what Clu told to Tesler. She could only guess the conversation hadn't been pleasant, considering that as soon as it was over, the general crushed the datapad into a stream of voxels. He then rubbed his temples.

"This ship was a Super Recognizer turned into a mobile repurposing unit. Dyson built it right under our noses during his stay. It was Clu's newest and most efficient weapon... and it had to crash in my district! He'll be here soon, Paige, we need to–

- The Renegade! Able's garage! The mechanics!"

Tesler and his commander turned to face the cause of this interruption. Pavel was just entering the throne room and immediately began a more intelligible report, anticipating Tesler's angry questions.

"I had taken control of the garage and everything was going smoothly until a big ship crashed right in front of the main entrance. I gathered a squad to inspect the wreck. There was already a fight going on between the Renegade and several Black guards, they must have been inside..."

Tesler growled and replied bitterly.

"With my luck, this damned rebel had to be behind this mess, obviously. Please tell me that the surviving crew of such a big ship and a squad of heavy sentries were enough to capture him.

- Well Sir, it might have been... I mean, I'm sure it would have been, if not for the mechanics!

- What's with the mechanics?

- They helped the Renegade, Your Excellency. They drew their disks on us to protect him."

The gravity of the situation was somehow lost on Paige, who didn't even try to hide her smirk. The freshly appointed general to the district of Purgos was apparently unable to manage a garage or to deal with a few misguided mechanics. It was no surprise to her, of course. She knew Pavel. He might have tricked their superior into promoting him, but he was a worthless little schemer. She was not about to forgive him for trying to frame her. Hence her enjoyment seeing him in this predicament.

Tesler, however, was not amused.

"Are you telling me you let a bunch of mechanics scare you?

- We were outnumbered, Sir!

- By civilians! Clu help me, is there anything you can do right?"

His fists were clenched, his gauntlets gleaming. Their pulsating orange light had been the last vision of many incompetent subordinates. Tesler kept his eyes on Pavel but wasn't talking to him anymore when he opened his mouth again.

"Paige, leave immediately for the garage. Take all the Black guards you'll pass betwen this room and the main hangar. If there's anyone left near the wreck, bring them back here. Derezz them if they resist, but I want their disks!"

What a shame, she was looking forward to Tesler tearing a strip off Pavel! But in the present situation, it would probably be ill advised to ask for a few more minutes. Holding a sigh of disappointment, she nodded and flew past the doors. By the time she got to the hanger, she had nine Black guards on her tail. Ten lightjets left the flagship of Argon's Occupation.

The characteristic shape of the garage was soon in sight, but Paige's gaze was caught by the conspicuous wreck in front of it. The ship must have been enormous! Several fires were burning among the debris, there was no one in sight. The commander signaled to her squad and they derezzed the lightjets, falling in free fall toward their objective. Ten wingchutes were rezzed, just in time, and the elite soldiers landed in close formation.

Paige was smiling under her helmet. This little stunt reminded her of her first date with... Beck! Beck was a mechanic and he worked here! She bit back a curse. Pavel's failure had been too entertaining for her to remember that. The outgoing program wasn't really supportive of the Occupation, it was part of the reason why she decided to end things with him, even if she didn't really want to. What if he was among the rebels? "Hey Beck, how are you doing? Yeah, I kinda miss you too. By the way, would you be kind enough to follow me to prison? My boss would like to torture you..."

She growled under her breath and shook her head. The mechanic and her couldn't be together. If he had been dumb enough to chose the wrong side, so be it. Paige would do her duty. She dispatched the Black guards to search the area. A few moments later, one of them cried for help. She and the rest of the squad ran toward him.

He was lying on the ground, out cold. A black silhouette stood beside him. Nine orange disks were drawn.

"Identify yourself, program!"

He slowly turned to face them and the whole squad tensed when they recognized the bright shape on his torso. Paige derezzed her visor, a predatory grin on her lips. Not long ago, she might have hesitated to fight him. But that was before he killed several innocent programs in his silly crusade against perfection.

"Well, what a surprise... back to the basics, Renegade? I liked your white suit, you know."

He cocked his head to the side but didn't reply. That was unusual of him.

"Alright, I'm not in the mood for banter either. Let's get straight to the point. Put your disk on the ground and follow us or be derezzed right here, right now. You will answer for your crimes."

Still no reaction. She was about to order the attack when he slowly reached to his back and drew his disk, without activating it. Paige was almost disappointed.

"Seems like you got wiser since last time."

That wasn't totally fair, considering that during their last encounter, he pretty much saved her life. But he also made her look even more guilty in the eyes of Tesler, and she wasn't here to be fair anyway. The Renegade was a terrorist, she'd been tasked with capturing him and she was going to do exactly that.

"Now put it down and slowly–"

Her eyes had to be betraying her. No one could move so quickly! By the time she realized he had activated his disk, two Black guards were down. Not down - derezzed. She had fought the Renegade countless times, but she had never seen him derezz anyone. The reports were true. He was now a cold-blooded killer.

Paige shook herself awake and dashed forward with the six remaining Black guards. The Renegade just... ignored their attack. Somehow, he dodged every single disk, fist or foot aimed at him. Then he retaliated. Two more guards shattered into voxels. A devastating kick sent Paige crashing against a wall of the wreckage, where she fell to her knees. When she found the strength to stand up, the fight was over. The Renegade walked to the guard he had knocked out in the first place and seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, before driving his disk through the chest of the unconscious program. A cry of rage left Paige's throat. How did this monster dare to claim that he was fighting for the programs? He was a psycho murderer! To think that she had flirted with him, that she had even nursed him on this forsaken island... her anger against him was almost replaced by disgust for herself, but she needed the burning rage. She had to end him now.

She leaped at him, her whirling disk pointed at his neck. He moved aside effortlessly. She unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, trying to ram her fist into his gut, to shove her high heel through his visor... but her blows never found him. Paige didn't understand why he kept on the defensive and she didn't care. She was entirely focused on derezzing him. She kept trying long after it became obvious that she couldn't even touch him.

Then the Renegade attacked. He had just dodged another kick to his head and instead of waiting for the next one, like he had so far, he slashed his disk at her. She barely avoided the spinning edge and fell backward, landing on her back. Not so long ago, she would have been appreciative of such an amazing display of fighting skills, even coming from the program she was supposed to arrest. Hadn't she complimented the Renegade on their first encounter?

But Paige wasn't appreciative now. She was frightened. First, because the program standing in front of her was about to derezz her. Second, because she realized that she had been mistaken. He was not the Renegade. The Renegade was not that good... nor that tall, come to think of it. A terribly efficient killer was pretending to be the sympathetic albeit annoying rebel. Why? I have to know.

"Who... who are you?"

The disk darting toward her was the only answer she received. She protectively raised her arm - like it's going to save you - and everything went black.

Thank you very much for reading. The second chapter is already on its way but let me know what you thought of this one! Constructive criticism appreciated :)