CHAPTER 7
"Cyrus?!" Zed and Mara both sounded shocked.
"Wait a minute. Who's Cyrus?" Link demanded.
Tron turned around and activated his computer. His pulled up a photo of a program with light circuits all over his face. "Cyrus was the first program to wear my suit and my name. But the truth is, Cyrus was a mistake. He believed that innocent programs needed to be sacrificed in order to stop Clu and to save The Grid. I was angry, so I imprisoned Cyrus inside a crack in The Grid. I then began searching The Grid for a new program to be my successor. And that's when I found Beck. Beck had the same beliefs I had: He wanted to fight to protect his fellow programs, and for the freedom of his city. So I gave Beck my disc, and he has been the Renegade ever since."
"Wait! If Cyrus was imprisoned, then how did he get to Argon City?" Zed demanded.
"Cyrus was angry at Tron," Beck answered. "Angry for choosing me as his successor. He managed to escape his prison, sneak back into Argon, and steal Tron's disc from me."
"How did Cyrus steal Tron's disc from you, Beck? You're always wearing it!" Link asked.
"That's not true, Link." Beck replied. He took his disc off his back and pulled it in two different directions. Everyone gasped. Beck's disc separated into two different discs, one black, and one white. When the discs separated, Beck's Renegade suit changed back into his regular black mechanic's outfit.
Beck held up the black disc. "This is my regular disc. As you can see, I'm in my regular mechanic suit when Tron's disc isn't attached to it." Beck then re-attached Tron's white disc to his own and replace it on his back. Beck's mechanic's outfit was replaced again with Tron's white suit. "I kept Tron's disc hidden in my locker back in Able's Garage when I wasn't using it," he explained. "That's where Cyrus stole the disc from. Mara, do you remember that delivery you made when that shop exploded a few cycles ago?"
Mara thought for a minute. "Yeah. The sole survivor from the shop explosion showed her disc to everyone, and we saw the Renegade walking away from the explosion."
Beck nodded. "Right. Thing is, I wasn't responsible; Cyrus was," he recalled. "Apparently, Cyrus was still angry at not only Tron, but at me, too. So he used Tron's disc to pass himself off as me, as the Renegade. He then tried to make everyone believe that the Renegade didn't care about innocent programs' lives anymore. He even tricked me into bring that bomb into Able's garage. Able also knew about Cyrus, because he constructed his prison."
Beck sighed. "But all that wasn't enough for Cyrus," he continued. "He wanted me to make a choice of who I would be: Renegade or mechanic. Zed, Mara, do you remember how Able died?"
Zed paused, trying to remember. "He was holding onto some sort of bomb that went off in his hand. Mara and I escaped just as the explosion happened."
"Did either you or Mara see who planted the bomb or set it off?" Tron asked.
Zed took longer trying to remember this time. But it was Mara who answered. "I don't think Able was the target of the bomber. Originally, the bomb was rigged on my back, on top of my disc. Zed was rigged the same way. Able came in and managed to get the bombs off our backs just before it went off."
Link looked shocked. "You two never told us that!" he cried. Everyone else murmured in agreement.
Tron raised his hand to quiet everyone down. "Did either of you see who planted the bomb on your backs?" he repeated.
"No," Mara answered. "Zed and I were in the garage. I heard footsteps behind us, and then I felt myself being shocked. Next thing I remember was waking up next to Zed with those bombs on our backs."
"Mara's right," Zed agreed. "we never saw who attacked us, or who rigged those bombs."
"So neither of you saw the bomber?" Tron asked.
Zed and Mara looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Well, I wasn't responsible for Able's death," Beck said. "That's because the culprit was Cyrus. You see, Cyrus attached another bomb to Tron in an area far away from Zed and Mara. He wanted to see who I would save: my friends, or Tron."
"But why did Able rescue me and Mara?" Zed asked.
"Apart from me, Able was the only program who knew that Beck was the Renegade." Tron answered. "But Cyrus didn't know that; he thought that Beck couldn't be in two places at once."
"Able was with me when I discovered that Cyrus rigged bombs to Tron and you two," Beck added. "Cyrus left a code key that would de-attach the bombs from your backs. I gave the code key to Able and sent him to rescue Zed and Mara. I then went to save Tron. I used my recoder to get the bomb off Tron. I'm guessing that Able used to key to get the bombs off of you two, and you escaped just as the bomb went off, but Able wasn't able to escape the explosion."
"Actually, that not true, Beck," Mara replied. "That code key that Able had was no good. He said it was a trick, and I'm guessing that trick was Cyrus's."
"Yeah," Zed agreed. "Able got the bombs off of us using a recoder, too. After Able had gotten the bomb off of our backs, the device went off in Able's hands. While it exploded, we were able to escape."
Link looked thoughtful throughout the story behind Able's death. "So Cyrus was responsible for Able's death, not you?" he asked Beck.
"Correct," Tron answered. "After Beck got the bomb off of me, Cyrus attacked us. I managed to subdue Cyrus with his own bomb, while Beck ran to the scene of the explosion that you two escaped from."
"So Cyrus is dead?" Zed asked.
Tron sighed and walked to the large window overlooking the Outlands. "No, Zed." He answered sadly. "Cyrus managed to get the bomb off of himself before it exploded. He's still out there, vowing revenge on me and Beck."
So now the truth behind Able's death is out as well. Thank goodness Beck cleared his name! But is there more information that Beck and Tron need to tell?…
