Chapter Four

She wasn't sure what to expect when Tron asked her to join Beck in the Revolution. While she managed to teach herself everything she knew for the last few xilacycles, it was never actually enough. Mira was always harder on herself due to the fact that she was a User. Tron was one of the greatest warriors on the Grid for a reason. He was programmed to fight for the Users, and having those skills meant that he was twice as strong as she would ever be. Still, that didn't stop her from testing out her skills. Once he figured out what she and Beck already knew, he would move on from there and teach them whatever he knew.

One of those skills happened to be the light cycle challenge. Tron had set up a course for light cycles in the Outlands that would test their skills on the open road. Mira had been more than surprised to find that the course was designed in a way to test whether one needed improvement or not. And judging from the way Tron continued testing Beck's patience with each nanocycle, he wanted to see how much more they needed to improve.

Mira's wrists clenched around the handlebars of her light cycle as she swerved in and out of the snowbanks. Other times, she would pull forward so quickly that she managed to go upside down in the process on some of the ramps. She avoided being pulled into Tron's test while he maneuvered carefully around Beck. With his attention focused on the mechanic, Mira used it as an opportunity to test whether Beck had fixed the breaks or not.

Sure enough, it didn't take her long to reach another snowbank that jutted higher into the sky. She spotted Tron out of the corner of her eye moving fast towards her. Beck was close on his tail, using his light wall to gain a boost in speed. Mira nearly rolled her eyes at the sight. She knew from experience that one could only rely on their light wall for so long. Learning how to move without relying on it was one of the most important lessons anyone could learn while on their own.

She finally swerved along the snowbank and managed to do a wheelie in the process of turning on her breaks. Mira's eyes widened in surprise when she pulled to a stop, nearly colliding with Tron in the process. His response was to suddenly pull on his breaks, and the glare that followed was enough to send a shiver of unease through her. She refused to make eye contact when Beck finally reached them, frowning in confusion when he noticed the tension between them.

"It works perfectly," she admitted once she recovered from her initial surprise. Beck rose an eyebrow when he realized that she had been testing whether or not he and Able told her the truth about fixing it. Though, after seeing how little trust she had in everyone, he wasn't too surprised by that comment. "Thanks for fixing the break by the way."

"Are you done yet?" Tron asked in a tone that suggested he wasn't in the mood for jokes. Mira just glared back after she noticed how annoyed he really was with her. While she couldn't necessarily blame him, she didn't feel any better knowing that they had to put up with each other. "We need to keep seeing just how much you know. You especially."

You would consider me the weakest one here, she thought with a roll of her eyes. If Tron had any indication that she was a User, Mira had no doubt that he would have treated her differently. She was thankful that he didn't know. Some small part of her had a feeling that he wouldn't be as harsh on her. Or, his treatment would be that much worse. There was no telling how Flynn's disappearance would have effected him after the Betrayal.

With that thought in mind, she and Beck were put to the ultimate challenge by trying to avoid getting caught by Tron. Relief swept through Mira when she noticed how much faster and more experienced she was compared to Beck. Tron seemed to harass him the most by slamming into his light cycle a few times. Each time Beck made a comment on the fact that he was faster, Tron would retaliate by slamming into his light cycle. He managed to do the same to her a few times, but she finally had enough and surged ahead.

It wasn't until seeing the gorge up ahead that an idea came to mind. A thin line formed from her mouth as she reached one of the natural ramps. She was more than happy to jump the gorge after gaining enough momentum from the ramps. She wanted to see if Tron would be willing to pull off the same stunt.

"Jump!" she suddenly shouted above the howling wind.

"Jump?" Beck shouted back in confusion. His face faltered when he was finally able to see what she had been planning. The gorge was wide, but she knew that she would be able to reach the other side with ease. Practice was the only way she had ever been able to get this far, along with confidence. "We can't make that!" he cried after skidding to a halt just after reaching the gorge.

To Mira's surprise, that didn't seem to deter Tron. If anything, he was more determined than ever to prove that he could easily keep up with her. He used one of the ramps himself and gained enough momentum to soar across the gorge, landing gracefully just a few inches from where she had landed nanocycles before.

"You were testing me," he practically growled out the words when his mask receded.

Mira merely rose an eyebrow at the accusing look that followed. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed with her actions, or impressed. Either way, she maintained her composure and gave a small shrug. This was nothing compared to what she had been able to do on her own.

"I was technically testing both you and Beck," she admitted ruefully. She glanced over to where Beck was still staring at them with a mixture of panic and aggravation. He wanted to be able to prove himself as well, but she realized that he wasn't confident enough. That lack of confidence was going to get him derezzed if he ever went out into the field. "He doesn't have much confidence."

For once, Tron nodded in agreement. He crossed his arms as they watched Beck turn around and rev his engine. Once he reached a far enough distance that felt safe to reach the other side, Beck suddenly sped forward. Mira couldn't help but wince when she noticed that he hadn't given himself enough clearance between himself and the gorge. He barely managed to reach the other side when he suddenly caught hold of the wall, dropping his light cycle baton in the process.

"You know what you did wrong, Beck?" Tron asked once he helped the mechanic back to his feet.

"Yeah. I followed you," he replied without missing a beat.

Mira just crossed her arms when he shot her a look that suggested this was somehow her fault.

Well, I did technically start the challenge, she reminded herself silently.

"You hesitated," Tron informed him. He leaned against his light cycle and crossed his own arms while watching Beck's reactions. Mira knew that if he had been a few seconds later in his jump, he could have missed the wall entirely and fallen to his death. That thought sent a shiver through her as she realized how close he could have been to derezzing. "She was able to reach the other side because she didn't hesitate."

She sat back and listened as Tron tried to point out Beck's mistakes so that he could improve on them. All the while, her mind kept churning as she wondered how Tron would have reacted had he known she was a User. She suddenly found herself glancing at him self-consciously at the thought. He was likely hard on the mechanic simply because he needed to learn from his mistakes, and because he lacked confidence in himself.

"How can I become the next Tron if I can't even keep up with the real one? No one's going to believe I'm you. To them I'm just another renegade program," Beck sighed in frustration.

"You need to have faith in yourself," Tron reminded him.

Mira sat back with her arms crossed as she considered what Tron was implying. Considering the fact that he was relying on another program and a User he didn't even know was a User, she found it odd that he would say that. She understood what Beck was going through, though. Self doubt would always be inevitable the first few tries. She had learned the hard way that living with self-doubt wouldn't get her anywhere. Castor was the first program to teach her that.

"Easy for you to say. You were programmed to save the Grid. I'm just a mechanic," Beck retorted.

"You're more than just a mechanic, Beck. You surpassed your programming; you stood up for what you believed in," Tron added, sounding more desperate this time. "You did all of that on your own. The uprising needs a hero."

What am I, chop liver? Mira wondered with a roll of her eyes.

"What uprising? It's just the three of us out here," Beck pointed out.

Well, at least someone remembered she was there. Tron didn't seem to hear what he was saying, though. Not that Mira was surprised. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Tron as she began to notice a pattern. The fact that he ignored her presence entirely annoyed her. She hadn't joined this ragtag team just to be ignored, despite how little trust she had in Tron.

"Aren't you the one who said others would follow? That the revolution would spread if we ignite the spark?" He shot Mira a look that dared her to step in and try making things better.

She shrugged and looked away as time moved on. Something told her that even if she did say something, they would never listen. Beck made a tiny coughing noise and shook his head in disbelief before continuing the argument.

"So, you're listening to me now? I almost plunged into the bottom of a canyon. I don't think I'm cut out to inspire anyone."

He began to walk away when Tron narrowed his eyes and stopped him.

"Beck, your baton. You should probably get that."

Beck's shoulders sagged in defeat when he realized that Tron was serious. Mira chose that moment to slip away before things got any worse. Tron was hard on Beck. Probably more so than he needed to be. Maybe hearing a few words of encouragement would help ease his mind.

She wasn't surprised to see him already returning for Argon City, which was only a few miles from here. Luckily, she was able to reach him before he got much farther. Beck glanced at her in surprise when she fell in beside him at a steady pace. She wasn't about to let him return to the city after that conversation. Not without at least figuring out whether or not he was capable of being the renegade like Tron insisted.

"So, are you off to mope some more, or what?" she asked with a knowing look. Beck rolled his eyes at that.

"I'm not cut out to be the leader Tron thought I was," he sighed. "Maybe you're better off sticking with him to become the next renegade."

Mira almost laughed at that, until she realized he was serious. There was no way she could ever see herself leading a revolution. If Tron saw that she was a User, he would probably stick her away in some cage for the rest of her life. The thought sent a shiver of unease through her. She'd already lived in Clu's prison for so long. The last thing she wanted was for another program to do the same.

"Well, you've got skill," she admitted. "But this is going to take more than that. You need to have patience, and most importantly, you need to learn how to deal with someone as grumpy as Captain Grumpy."

This time it was Beck's turn to laugh. It was the first time she had ever seen him laugh, and she couldn't help but grin back sheepishly. He was about to say something else when a Recognizer flew past them. Mira's eyes widened in panic when she realized they were caught.

"Halt, programs. You're in violation of curfew," a voice boomed from the Recognizer.

Mira's grip tightened on her handle bars as she saw guards up ahead. After Tesler took over Argon City, there seemed to be more and more guards posted around the outskirts of said city. She supposed she shouldn't have felt too surprised that this area was just as heavily guarded.

Though, her heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard them mention 'curfew'. Most of the cities that were occupied territory had a curfew in place. She quickly learned that being caught during the curfew was a big mistake. Programs were usually either captured for the games or derezzed for disobedience. It was an unfair and unnecessary rule that Clu created simply because he wanted to keep programs in line. Anyone who decided otherwise were usually quickly taken care of.

"Identify." One of the guards slammed their staff on the ground.

"Beck…" Mira started as he turned his light cycle back into a baton.

She did the same after realizing what he was planning. They started running towards empty transport cars while the guards were giving chase. Beck placed one hand on her mouth once they reached the end of a transport car.

"In here," he breathed out as they crept around the corner and into what they thought was an empty cart. Mira was ready to bite his hand due to her lack of breathing room when he took a startled step back. "Please tell me you're hiding too."

Mira followed his gaze and noticed six programs were on either side of the transport cart. She realized with a start that these programs looked as if they had seen better days. All of them were looking down at the floor, all except for one who stood up upon noticing their arrival.

"Proceed with transport," a female voice echoed from outside.

"What do they mean by transport?" Mira asked warily.

She tried to ignore the sinking feeling that formed in the pit of her stomach. Beck only shook his head as one of the programs approached them.

Her stomach nearly flipped upside down upon recognizing the program in question. She hadn't seen him in many, many cycles. But seeing him brought back painful memories of losing the ISOs and one of the few friends she'd had back in the old days.

"Congratulations, programs. You've just made yourselves prisoners," he stated in a cold voice.

Mira breathed out a sigh of relief when she realized he didn't recognize her. She had changed a lot since they first met. Back than she was a tiny User who could barely defend herself. Knowing that he didn't recognize her meant that he wouldn't give away what she was, and that saved her a lot of trouble from having to explain herself.

"This is wrong, I shouldn't be here! I didn't do anything; it's the renegades!" one program started panicking.

"Cool it, Rilo," Cutler snapped.

"Have you forgotten where they're taking us? Each of us is going to get derezzed. Have you ever seen anyone get derezzed? It's disgusting!" he cried out before placing his face in his hands.

I've watched that happen far too many times, Mira thought bitterly.

"What's he talking about? Where are we going?" Beck asked.

That same lurch in her stomach returned as she already suspected where they were headed. Programs who were caught breaking the law were sent to one place that would result in their deresolution, or worse. Sure enough, as she peered out the window Cutler had pointed out of, she recognized the place almost instantly.

"The games…" she breathed out before panic settled in. "Users, this can't be happening!"

"Has this happened before?" Beck asked anxiously.

The others watched her curiously as she started pacing. Her breathing had already begun getting worse with each passing nanocycle. Getting caught in the games again was the last thing she wanted. Her heart began racing with dread, and she had to take several deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

Seeing the coliseum in the distance only brought back horrific memories. A shudder ran through her as she pictured a soldier with a black suit and red circuits looming over her, disk ready for the final blow. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she was shaken from her thoughts. Beck was looking at her in alarm when he noticed that something was clearly wrong with her.

"It's not something I like to talk about," she murmured.

"This is exactly why we shouldn't be here in the first place!" Rilo shouted, earning looks of annoyance from the programs around him.

Mira couldn't meet Beck's eyes when the transport cart was lowered to their impending doom. Being here was just another painful reminder that she wouldn't survive long in the games. A foreboding silence fell upon the group as they were led into a main room where they were given protective shoulder pads. Not that they would do much for them. The shoulder pads were just there for show. She knew what fate loomed ahead of them.

"Congratulations, programs. You have been selected for the games," a voice boomed as they were given extra gear to defend themselves with.

"If I don't get through this, the renegade is to blame," Rilo stated.

He was trembling with dread as Cutler shot him a warning look.

"Rilo, I told you that—"

"It's not his fault? The only reason we're here is because the renegade decided to remodel Clu's statue. The next thing I know I'm here because I broke curfew. I lost track of time, I shouldn't have to die because of it!"

Was the curfew really their fault? Mira knew that there were curfews throughout all of the cities on the Grid. But Argon had been one of the last cities not to be occupied by Clu's soldiers, until now. It made sense that programs wouldn't know what was happening.

A shiver of unease swept through Mira as she wondered how much they had been responsible for since starting this chaos. Clu hated anyone who interfered with his view on perfection. Knowing that a couple of programs were causing interference would put his generals on edge.

"We'll survive this," Beck said in a reassuring tone. "You're not going to die."

The look he was giving Mira only made her roll her eyes. It was as if he expected her to say something that would only make things worse. She knew better than to speak out. By now, it had become more of a habit not to say anything unless someone regarded her presence.

"For your safety a battle suit has been equipped. Do not attempt to remove your battle armor. Processing complete. Enjoy the games."

The sirens stepped back and disappeared into the darkness.

"I feel much safer already," Mira muttered sarcastically.

Suddenly, they found themselves standing in a huge arena surrounded by battle-hungry programs shouting and booing. Mira felt overwhelmed by the loud noise and circular platforms that rose above her. Another platform was fast approaching them with several guards who were performing moves along the way.

Just riling up the crowd, she guessed.

"In the name of our great leader Clu," Tesler's voice boomed across the arena, pausing for a moment as the crowd roared in excitement. Mira tensed at the mention of Clu, but she knew there was no point in showing any anger. Only determination and a skilled mind would get her through this now. "Let the games begin!"

The crowd went wild as the enemy programs launched themselves onto all platforms. Cutler leaped to the first platform and fought against the leader of the group.

"Rilo, stay close to me," Beck warned the scared program as he realized it was about to start.

Mira leaped onto the nearest platform and grabbed her disk before activating it. The soldier in front of her let out a primal growl once he'd activated his disk and faced her. Mira steadied herself as she prepared for the battle that was about to begin.

"Ready to dance?"

AN: Well, this chapter isn't all too different other than the fact that Cutler doesn't recognize her this time (I realize that she would look totally different now since he saw her as a little User at the time they met), so that's happened.

Panda Bear Lover 317 - I honestly wasn't sure whether it would be worth doing a rewrite, especially given where the first story led to. But I realized how many loopholes and mistakes were in the original, and I just wanted to make something that was hopefully better. I'm glad that you liked it so far, especially the subtle changes ;) Listening to NF really inspired me to rewrite it. His music is surprisingly dark but realistic in a sense that helps with the story's pace and plot.