Chapter Seven
They had returned to the safehouse with little to no conversation by the end of that cycle. Mira knew that she was in for a speech when they returned. Her stunt with Beck had nearly cost them both their lives, and Tron wasn't about to let her get away with it. At the end of their journey they had watched Tesler rile of the citizens of Argon by telling them it was the work of the Renegades that had caused the blackouts.
It was clever of them, actually, to use the renegades as an excuse for the blackouts. Tesler would never admit that he was foolish enough to try and drain all of the energy from Argon. She had a feeling he wasn't even smart enough to come up with a plan like this. Something told her it was Paige who had suggested this little announcement. Now their faces were plastered across all the screens in Argon as WANTED posters.
There's no backing out of this now, she realized.
Being the renegade came with a heavy price. Mira had understood the moment she agreed to Tron's offer that she was taking a huge risk. After everything she had been through over the last few xilacycles, it seemed almost natural to fight back. At least this time, she wouldn't be alone during her fight. Beck might not have been keen on letting Tesler plaster his face all over the city, but it meant that they had begun making a name for themselves.
She was exhausted by the time they returned to the safehouse. Beck had gone back to the garage after she asked him to give her light cycle a speed boost like his. Having something like that would be a huge advantage on the field, and Beck was all too happy to oblige.
Once she was alone, Mira looked at her reflection on the upper level of the safehouse. The more she studied her appearance, the more she realized how much she had changed over the last few cycles. Her once lean body had become more muscle-toned. The patchwork the medics had done were still visible, but only just. Mira didn't want anyone noticing the scars that covered her entire body. Some were more visible than others, and if Tron knew about them, he would make a wild guess as to what she was. Letting out a sigh, Mira decided to get some rest before the next big adventure happened. Being sleep deprived was never a good thing.
…
The sound of voices echoing in the background were what woke Mira from her sleep. Her eyes snapped open as she recognized Beck and Tron's voices down below. Sitting up, she stretched her arms and guessed that something must be up. Judging from their conversation, it was something serious.
After the little display shown by Tesler and his commanders, Mira doubted Beck would let it sit. He didn't want his image plastered all over the city in a bad way. It was too late to go back and turn the time. As much as Beck hated to admit it, they were both sucked into whatever battle they had against Tesler. The only consolation she had was that they would free the city from Tesler's reign. Taking back one city at a time sounded like a lot of work, but the rewards would be worth it once they managed to stop Clu once and for all.
She ran down the stairs to see Beck fumbling around with a fake identity disk. Mira rose an eyebrow at the sight as she wondered what had happened to Beck's identity disk. Having a fake one only meant that he'd either lost it, or that it had been stolen. Tron was fumbling around with his own identity disk until he noticed Mira's arrival. She frowned when he looked back at Beck, who was still trying to figure out how a fake disk was any better than the real thing.
"It doesn't work," he announced after sighing in annoyance.
"That's because it's a fake. You'll need a temporary disk until we find your real one, or Tesler's guards will pick you off the streets as a stray."
Tron's words sent shivers of unease down Mira's spine.
She remembered what Gem had told her when she was brought to Castor before anyone else could find her. It was Castor who gave her an identity disk, explaining that she would have been picked off the street as a stray had anyone else found her. She had been thankful that someone was at least willing to help her. Castor had been like a caregiver, teaching her the ways of the Grid and how to survive on her own if it ever came to that.
At the time, she never knew that Castor was just trying to find a way to exploit her.
"You lost your disk," she muttered in an accusing tone.
"I didn't lose it… someone took it," he grumbled.
Mira rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She highly doubted it had been as simple as someone taking it. Beck had to have been doing something stupid to allow that to happen. She frowned when she realized that a stolen identity disk also meant that his life and anyone he was close to could be in danger.
"You just let someone take it?" she demanded.
Beck was about to make a retort when Tron placed his disk on his back.
"We've lost valuable time already," he told them in a tone that suggested he wasn't in the mood for arguments. "If we don't get your disk back you will become a stray, and the Uprising will be lost."
"Okay, where do we start looking?" Beck asked.
"Purgos," Mira replied, earning a look of surprise from Tron. "What? You think I'm not aware of what goes on in a dangerous city?" she asked with a shrug. Purgos was an infamous city littered with gangs and clubs. She'd had a bad run-in with Clu's soldiers, which landed her in Argon City. Though, that had technically been her own fault. She'd been desperate when she looked for light cycles, and one shop in particular had one sitting out in the open. She'd taken the light cycle baton without a second thought, not realizing it was meant for the light cycle grid rather than the Outlands. "I know the city like the back of my hand."
Then again, she knew most of the cities throughout the Grid like the back of her hand. Having lived on the Grid for as long as she did, it gave her the chance to explore every city she could. It wasn't as if she'd had anything better to do once she was freed from Clu's coliseum.
"Then you're coming with us," Tron replied after giving it some thought.
Mira's shoulders sagged in relief. If Beck really had lost his disk, then they would need to work together to get it back. While she wasn't looking forward to that, she knew how important it was for a program to have their disk. The last thing she wanted was for him to turn into a stray. They were only just beginning to get to know one another. As selfish as it sounded, she didn't want to lose the only program she was slowly beginning to learn how to trust.
"By the way, Zed finished your light cycle upgrade," Beck added before they got ready to leave.
Mira eyed him in surprise when he tossed her the baton she had entrusted him with. She had asked Beck if he could get Zed to upgrade her light cycle with that speed boost after seeing what it could do in the tunnels. Not for the first time, Mira was thankful that Beck and his friends were mechanics who knew what they were doing. The fact that Zed was willing to give her light cycle an upgrade told her that Beck hadn't been truthful with him.
"Remind me to thank him for that," she said with a knowing smirk.
As they sped through the city and arrived in Purgos, Mira was thinking back to what Tron had said about Beck becoming a stray. She had heard many stories about strays. They were programs who had lost their disks and memory. It was a glitch that Flynn never had the chance to fix.
Tron had led them through several shops while asking the keepers for missing identity disks. Of course none of them wanted to admit that they were holding any. Experience taught her that these shopkeepers or owners would be smart enough not to tell the truth.
They were losing valuable time by the fifth shop they had visited. This one was just as dingy looking as the rest, if not worse. A thick layer of dust covered the shelves and objects the owner was selling. Mira noticed that some of them were old antiques like Bits and light cycle parts. Most of the shops catered to the black market, which sold goods and such that wouldn't normally be seen in other shops. She hadn't missed the fact that Tron was interrogating each shop owner, trying to see whether or not they were telling the truth. Most of them had been on edge, while others confidently explained they didn't sell identity disks.
"I'm sorry, did you say you're looking for identity disks?" a program with flabby skin around his face and an obnoxiously large nose asked.
Even his voice sounded obnoxious. Mira was already on edge over being in the shop, but seeing the cold look he was giving her before Tron had asked him made things worse.
A shiver of unease swept through her when she noticed the way he kept looking at all three of them. He didn't maintain eye contact with Tron during their little chat. He was hardly interested in their conversation, but Mira could see that he was watching their every move. All she wanted was to slip away before the program did something that he would regret.
While Tron interrogated the shop owner Beck fumbled around through the items that were for sale. He stopped when the owner scoffed in disbelief.
"I don't know about you, but I run a clean shop here. I'm sorry, you'll have to search elsewhere."
Tron let out a sigh of frustration and was about to ask something else when Beck stepped in.
"Please, we've been to five shops already. If you have any information at all, it would be helpful," he insisted.
Mira almost bit back a retort at what Beck had said. This program was obviously running in the black market. He had a look about him that made her skin crawl with disgust. She knew he couldn't be trusted, and judging by the dirty looks he was giving her, she was right about him.
"I can see you're desperate. Let me talk with some of the programs around here, see if they have anything to say."
The program stood up when Tron leaned forward.
"We'll come with you."
"Alone," the keeper insisted. "Sorry, it's just the way I roll. There's an energy canteen around the corner. I'll meet you there. You know it's a good thing you've found me. In Purgos, you can't trust anyone."
His eyes narrowed before he backed away slowly from the window.
"I wouldn't trust anyone with a nose as huge as his, or the creepy way he just left us," Mira scoffed under her breath, earning a smirk from Beck.
Not to mention, his shop was anything but clean. She could see from the look written across his face that Kobol had been hiding something. His shifty gaze and the way he acted around Tron's questioning only confirmed what she thought of the sleazy program.
He's nothing more than a con-artist, and he's likely part of one of the gangs around here, she thought with a roll of her eyes.
"He was lying," Tron grumbled once they were outside.
"You mean Kobol? He's the only source we have!"
Beck sounded more annoyed than anything else. How could Beck be so ignorant? Mira was all too aware of the gangs that littered Purgos. If that program was part of a gang, then he would have already alerted everyone else. It meant they had lost whatever advantage they had over everyone in the city. And it also meant that their lives would be in danger if the rest of the city knew they were looking for identity disks.
"If it's a source at all. Beck in case we don't find your disk I need to prepare you for the memory loss."
Tron's helmet suddenly receded when he swung around to face them. Mira raised an eyebrow curiously. She couldn't imagine what would happen if Beck turned into a stray. There was a real possibility that they could lose him if they didn't find his disk.
"This should be fun," Beck sighed.
"It's a glitch, it comes without warning, one moment you're normal and the next, you can't even remember your own name. But you'll recover, the first few times."
Beck looked more focused than ever when he heard that.
"And after the first few times?"
"Permanent amnesia. You won't remember who you are."
"Well it's not going to come to that. We're going to find my disk and the program that did this to me." This time, Beck sounded more serious than before.
Mira bit the bottom of her lip as she wondered what she would do if that did happen. Worry clouded her thoughts until she heard the sound of footsteps. Instinct kicked in as her mask covered her face. She wasn't in any hurry to let gangs take advantage of her. Beck and Tron were fully capable of fending them off, but without his identity disk, there was a risk that Beck would suffer from a glitch.
"I think we're being followed," she whispered.
"More like surrounded," Beck said when Tron's helmet hid his own face.
"Let me handle this," Tron said when Mira reached for her disk. "We don't want any trouble. We're just passing through."
"You've passed through our territory, and you'll pay for trespassing," one of the larger programs growled.
It was obvious who the large program was. Mira's eyes narrowed with hate as she recognized Kobol's voice, disguised as it was. She didn't know why Tron or Beck didn't pick up on that. But one thing she did know was that Kobol wouldn't survive this fight if he really was part of this gang.
Almost at once the fighting broke out. Tron was fighting four programs at once, but he could easily defend himself. Mira found herself facing two programs at once. Their laughter was enough to send fire through her veins as she grabbed her disk and swung it into the first program.
One of them suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and chuckled as she immediately struggled from his grip. She managed to writhe around long enough that she was almost loose from his grip when it tightened around her wrist, nearly lifting her from the ground.
"Looks like we've found ourselves a little bird," he sneered. "We're gonna teach you a lesson, kid!"
Before the program could make his move, Beck was on him in an instant. Mira gasped in thanks when the program was knocked unconscious. She was about to thank him when his eyes widened in shock.
"Who are you? Who am I?" he shouted.
Oh Users, not now! Mira thought desperately.
"Come on Beck, snap out of it!" she cried.
She tried to look for Tron in the crowd of programs, but he was too preoccupied with the programs that had surrounded him. Her heart raced with dread as she tried to figure out a way to snap Beck out of his trance-like state. The problem was, the gang already seemed aware that Beck was suffering from a glitch.
"Take them."
The program that had uttered those first words stood out in the crowd. Mira's fists clenched when she realized he'd let his crones do the dirty work for him.
She was about to say something back when a program dressed in a white shall jumped down from the buildings above. Her eyes widened in disbelief when the program slammed her boots into the face of the leader. She threw what looked like a bomb at the ground and grabbed Beck by the wrist.
"Come on!" she ordered.
Mira didn't bother asking the program who she was. She ran after her and realized that Tron was following. They didn't stop running until they reached a latter. The female program was the first to climb, then Tron followed. Mira was last to climb up, and she was thankful that she had a chance to rest.
"I think I had my first memory glitch," Beck announced as Tron helped him up.
"We should keep moving." Tron sounded indifferent despite what had happened.
"Gee, I'm so glad you're concerned," Beck scoffed.
"I think that's his way of saying he's worried," Mira whispered.
Beck grinned back at her before he looked at the female program that had helped them.
She rolled her eyes when the program lifted her shall. She was a slim, pretty looking program – a siren. She had short brown hair and very pale blue eyes. Mira had never seen a program quite like this before. She looked nothing like the sirens Mira had seen before.
The siren's eyes fell upon Mira, and a shudder ran through her. Either Tron and Beck were really dense, or they just didn't notice. Mira was annoyed with the way everyone kept staring at her like she was some kind of alien. She knew that she stuck out like a sore thumb when on the run. And it didn't take long for programs to guess that something was different about her. She just hoped that the siren wouldn't figure out that she was a User.
"Why did you help us?" Tron demanded once he too got a good look at the program.
"Because you needed it. You're welcome by the way. My name's Lux." She glanced at Mira before looking back at Tron.
"My name's Beck… these are… friends of mine," Beck replied, gesturing to Mira and Tron.
The look Tron gave him was priceless. Mira was just thankful Beck hadn't given her name away.
"I've seen programs like you before Beck," Lux whispered.
"What kind of programs?" Mira demanded coldly.
"Strays."
The word sent shivers down Mira's spine. Somehow she had a feeling that Lux knew all too well what strays were like. Maybe Lux had a thing for strays – sending them to Clu to get repurposed. As she tried to mask her emotions, she caught Lux glancing at her every now and then.
"I'm not a stray yet," Beck insisted.
"You will be if you keep wandering around like that. I know my way around Purgos. I can help you," Lux told them.
I know this city as well as you do, Mira told herself. We don't need your help. It seemed as though she had no say in the matter as Lux flew down the building. Beck looked more impressed than ever with Lux's lithe figure.
"If I'm losing my memory than I'm glad she's the last thing I'll see," Beck said before following her.
"Focus Beck."
Tron sounded irritated with Beck's sudden interest in Lux. Mira could imagine he'd rolled his eyes at that moment.
…
Kobol didn't tell them that the energy canteen was actually a club. Music blasted from the background as Mira sat across from Tron, who had ordered a drink. He insisted that she drink something herself after the fight with those gang members. She wasn't in the mood for a drink though.
"I don't like this one bit," she grumbled as she leaned against her seat.
"Lux or Kobol?" Tron was more focused on the music than her, but she didn't mind.
"Both. Something about them just puts me on edge," she explained after glaring at Lux pointedly. "Kobol especially. The way he spoke… it reminds me too much of Pavel."
She didn't want to add the fact that he sounded like Tron when they first met. They were only just reaching a point where she felt slightly comfortable talking to him. Tron was aware that she didn't trust him. While he didn't understand why, he at least didn't try questioning her like other programs would.
Tron nodded and left it at that. Mira was about to say something else when Lux returned from asking around for news on missing disks.
"Well I've just asked programs if they've heard about missing disks," she sighed. "It seems they know nothing about it."
"And Kobol's a no-show," Beck muttered.
"Beck, there's a program over there that's been staring at you since we've gotten here," Tron suddenly said.
Mira hadn't even noticed the program in the corner of the club. He was giving Beck an odd look, like he knew something he shouldn't. He had black hair that lengthened to his ears. Mira's eyes narrowed into tiny slits when he suddenly stood up.
"I think that's the program that conned me," Beck announced.
"His name's Galt, a small-time thief," Lux explained.
And just how do you know that? Mira wanted to demand. She didn't bother asking it out loud though. Galt was already half way out of the building when they reached him. He was trying desperately to open the door and make a getaway before they reached him.
"Galt!" He gasped when Beck shouted his name. "I didn't get your name… when you were stealing my disk!"
"Uh, I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Galt stammered. "What disk?"
"It looks a lot like this." Tron swung his disk against Galt's throat, and the program gulped.
"Alright I'll talk!" Mira forced back a grin when the program panicked. "I already gave it away… but the program I sold it to isn't as friendly as you guys. Everyone's going to know who you are, Rena—"
He was cut off when a disk suddenly slammed through the door. Before Galt knew what was happening he derezzed on the spot. Mira's eyes widened in disbelief when she realized what had happened. The program that did this fled on a light cycle.
Tron slammed the door apart and leaped onto his own light cycle. Mira and Beck followed suit, along with Lux who was close behind. Mira sped forward without warning and slammed into the light cycle the program was using. It was the same program that had led the gang members after them.
And can those two be any more blind? she wondered. How could Tron of all programs not realize that this was the same program?
She tried not to think about it as she glowered at the program, who she knew was Kobol in disguise. He glared back at her and tried to knock her off of her cycle. She dodged the kick and reached for her disk. Before she could attack however Beck managed to catch up and slammed into Kobol's other side.
"Don't let him out of your sight!" he shouted.
No duh, Mira thought with a roll of her eyes. She was about to say something sarcastic when Beck's eyes widened. She realized what was happening and pulled the breaks on her light cycle. Tron and Kobol had taken the lead while Lux stayed behind.
"Beck, focus!" Lux told him.
It was too late however. Mira gasped when Beck rolled off of his light cycle, sending it into the light ribbon that Kobol had created. Her fists clenched together when she realized that he'd had another memory glitch. Tron pulled to a stop and spun around when he realized what had happened, letting Kobol get away.
"How many more glitches does he have?" Mira whispered when Tron reached them.
"Too few left," he replied.
