A Hero's Identity

When he reentered his domain, Cyrus was breathing hard and fear was shooting through him along with horrific images of Tron. His last encounter with the hero Program had left him more mentally than physically beaten as he realized how much he underestimated his former mentor. The Program had never shown any signs of knowing how to fight with two discs nor had he made any mention of it. It angered Cyrus to know that he had been deceived. Ever since he was enlightened to the resetting the Grid his desire to know about his opponent before he faced them only grew in intensity. But he'd never been wrong when he finally confronted an enemy.

He clenched his fists as he looked up at the large device which was still broken beyond anything that looked to be function. It was tiring to constantly run between the Outlands and Argon, but it was necessary to keep track of both the Defiance and the Occupation.

Letting the anger consume his thoughts, the dark skinned man kicked wildly at a nearby part. The large cylindrical coil was launched toward the wall and exploded into thousands of shrapnel and sparked on its journey across the walls of the room.

I will make you acknowledge me, Tron.

"What?!" Tron exclaimed in his room as Mara and Gav informed him of their first journey to the coliseum.

"Clu rebuilding the Super Recognizer is not good," he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, the added stress causing his the back of his eyes to build in pain. The other two were also visibly distraught as they thought about the situation.

"We have no choice, we have to do destroy it," Gav announced.

"How?" the mechanic in the room asked.

"It'll require all of the Defiance," Tron started, his hand now stroking his chin in a cliché thinking pose. "All we need to do is set up bombs at every twenty levels of the legs and a core bomb at the center. That should be enough to destroy it," he informed them, clearly having already thought ahead.

"How do we get in there?" Mara asked.

"That's going to be the hard part," the Program answered while pulling up schematics on his identity disc. "When we downed it the first time I took a few scans of it while the Renegade rallied you all. The legs have long ignition energy coils that hold a volatile form of energy, unlike regular Recognizers that have a more refined source of power. Every twenty-five levels there is a cut off where the energy is channeled through different regulators and circulators. This is why we need to set up multiple bombs," Tron explained while he demonstrated on the mini diagram of the massive Recognizer.

The other two stayed silent as he went on. "It's heavily guarded, and will most likely have twice the amount of soldiers as it did with Clu here. Along the sides of the legs are small emergency exits incase of a meltdown. The rest of you will have to enter through these exits while I place the main explosive at the top in the control room,"

"That doesn't sound too bad," Gav said with boosted confidence. His leader only raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a skeptical look. "Well I think it's better sounding than our first raid," he explained a little sheepish from the look he was getting.

"This will be anything but easy, Gavistan. We'll be going in with little to no reconnaissance," Tron rebutted firmly.

"Can't we go now? What we do know is that there aren't that many guards, most of the Programs out there are engineers and mechanics," Gav responded without flinching at Tron's usual cold and commanding tone.

"We can't, the explosion would be too large and will harm Programs within the area,"

"They have it quarantined for a few kilometers around the ship!" Gav exclaimed as he imagined the explosion's relative destruction radius.

"The legs themselves could power Purgos for a few cycles. The fact that Clu and Dyson managed to keep the ship under the radar was one thing, the fact that they kept the power it needed from the general public is something far greater. It goes to show how Clu can predict and keep his true agendas from those around him," Tron said with a slight bitter tone.

"Especially his betrayal…" Mara muttered to herself.

"As I said, the explosion itself would be too devastating to the area if we destroyed the Recognizer on the ground. We'll have to destroy it far from any civilization to keep casualties to a minimum. We have two options, either we can hijack it and fly it over the ocean ourselves or wait until they decide to fly to a more secure and fortified city to complete repairs,"

"I like our first choice the most," Gav proclaimed.

"I figured you would. Then it's settled for now. Head back to the others, I'll work out the details," Tron said with finality, but before the two could leave he spoke again.

"Gav, if you could wait a moment," he asked as he sat down behind the table. Gav stopped and turned back to the older Program as Mara continued to move out of the room and earshot.

"What's up?" he asked.

"There's something I should tell you about. About the Renegades I've trained," Tron said with an heavy tone. Gav was surprised to learn about there being more than one Renegade, and seated himself across the table as he waited eagerly for Tron to continue.

"Before Beck I had another Renegade named Cyrus. I had to imprison him when he started acting without my authority. He got free, and has been trying to get revenge on me since,"

"Did you tell Beck about him?"

"No. In fact, it was Beck who freed him, not on purpose, though,"

"Where is he now?"

"I wish I knew. He confronted me in the coliseum. He makes it obvious that he watches us, finds us predictable, yet he's still sloppy. I fought him off, but I couldn't derez him. If you cross paths with him, run. Run as fast as you can," Tron warned seriously.

"What happened to him? How come you made him a Renegade in the first place?" Gav ignored the dire tone and continued his inquiry.

"I had no choice. He saved me from Clu's repurposing and helped me build this place. I need his help, back then I was too weak from my wounds.

"At first he wasn't so extreme, but I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before his inhibitions took over. I thought I could stop him, but he had grown too powerful. Thankfully I had Able to help me. He constructed a trapdoor, a oneway entrance to another dimension within the Grid,"

"So he's just a crazy Program?"

"It'd be so much simpler if he was, he's more than just 'crazy'. He's determined enough to see his plans through to the end... When he rescued me from Clu, he thought I was fighting to cleanse the Grid,"

"Cleanse it of what?" Gav asked confused.

"Of everything," Tron answered in baritone. "His version of saving the Grid is destroying it and letting it reset,"

"He acts like the Grid is infected with a virus!" the soldier exclaimed, setting his fists on the table.

"I know… Do you remember Abraxas?"

"The only virus who managed to get into the system? Course,"

"I can't prove it, but I think he was partially infected by him,"

"How do you figure?"

"The arrival of Abraxas, Cyrus's appearance, and Radia's integration as co-Administrator were not by chance. What I've gathered over the time of my exile is that Clu somehow manufactured Abraxas. He already has the abilities to repurpose Programs and their coding, no doubt he found other manipulations. Cyrus himself was one of Clu's first repurposed Monitors, what he's told me is that he kept his consciousness through the reprogramming and was able to defy the new coding," Gav remained silent as Tron gathered his thoughts again.

"My theory is that Cyrus had exposure to the Abraxas virus before he was sent to be reprogrammed and that's what kept him through the repurposing. If Clu made Abraxas as I suspect he did, then the coding must be similar to the repurposing process. I think the machine saw the virus and figured Cyrus was already a repurposed sentry,"

"Why hasn't he show any evidence of being infected then?"

"I'm not sure. My theory is weak at best, but what I can think of now is that the repurposing did somehow stop his coding from becoming fully infected,"

"So if what you're telling me is right, then we could possibly undo the repurposing?" Gav offered in hope.

"You're thinking that Clu's reprogramming is just a form of a virus? Sadly, I don't think that's the case. I fought off Programs infected by Abraxas, they don't act anything like Black Guards or sentries. Whatever the processes is, it's irreversible," Tron stated solemnly. Gav sighed and slumped back against the chair in disappointment. The idea, the hope, that came with the possibility of reverting Clu's army against him and ending the war was right there, only to be instantly crushed.

"How do we stop him?" Gav asked while he rubbed his right temple.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that he's holding off until he can get me alone. He's obsessed with my approval. He wants me to acknowledge that I'm weaker than him, but even he knows that he can't go against all of the Defiance," the Child Basic answered.

"We don't have to think about him. We have to focus on the Super Recognizer. Keep training with the others, I want to make sure you can handle battles with three sides,"

"Tron, it's me we're talking about, I can handle it,"

"Gav, I know you've had experience but you may come into a situation where you have two opponents who aren't working together. It's very different from simply having two attacking you together. I need to make sure you are properly trained," Tron spoke with serious darkness.

"Why? We still have you as our leader, with you here-"

"Anything can happen!" Tron cut him off sharply. Gav opened his mouth to retort but the words died in his throat as he thought better of it. He wondered how anxious the great hero had become ever since the loss of his Renegade, of his friend.

"If I'm lost it'll be up to you three to lead this Defiance," Tron stated again, his eyes piercing into Gav's with a mixture of sorrow, acceptance, and determination. Yet again, the younger went to make a comical rebuttal but refrained from his casual manner. Instead, he gave a curt nod with his own combination of emotions shining in his eyes.

"Keep moving,"

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" the citizen cried back at the hooded sentry who gave no indication of caring.

"Keep moving, Program," the sentry reiterated with force. The Program and others around him in Light Cuffs, saw the glowing end of the baton as it flared with energy. Quickly shutting up, the arrested Program continued forward into the shipping container onboard a Light Train.

Dyson watched from a nearby ledge. His hands clasped together behind his back as he stood tall and ridged above everyone with a lopsided grin. It was one thing he felt that changed about him when he was fixed by Clu. No longer feeling the need to protect those who were weaker than him but instead reaping pleasure from their misfortune. If they were to weak to fight for themselves then why should they be happy?

Weak. Dyson thought as he glared individually at the last of the Programs being rounded up for transport back to Tron City.

"Sir, all Programs in the previous sector have been detained," A Black Guard spoke from behind him. Without turning he answered.

"Good. Prepare to move to the next,"

"Right away," the guard left without another word, or thought.

They had initiated with sending the Programs at the final set of Games off to Tron City and followed by hitting the lower sections of the Purgos where no one would be missed and most of the Programs there and no one to go to for help. It was the best way to hold off the Defiance, from their trail.

Looking at it now it made sense to Dyson what Clu's plans were. While Dyson would have preferred to start in the most populated area of Argon and try to be as efficient as possible, the Defiance would come to stop their plan almost immediately. Clu's strategy was to stay under the radar, as always, but in the long term it would most likely be more effective time wise. Along with the diversion of the Super Recognizer.

He couldn't help his smile as he felt reassure of picking the right person to follow. Clu was everything he strived to be. Something greater than he already was. Someone who could oppose Tron. Someone who had the power to fix the wrong in the Grid.

Your move Tron.

After a few millis the Defiance had finished their daily training and were seated in the main room of the hideout patiently waiting for the briefing of the mission they were about to embark on.

"It's time to prepare for our next assault," Tron called out to the gathered Programs in the main lobby of the hideout.

"As most of you are aware, the Renegade brought down Clu's Super Recognizer a while back. It's the cycle the Uprising finally grew past just an idea. What you didn't know, is that the machine is being operated on and fixed. Our objective," he paused and looked back at the holoscreen, bringing up an enlarged model of the Super Recognzier. "Is to destroy it once and for all,"

"While our information is scarce, our time is even more so. From what I could gather, the ship itself looks almost complete. I'm guessing we only have one, maybe two cycles until it's back online. That means we have that same amount of time to prepare for our strike,"

"My best guess is that the ship will fly back to a safe location beyond Argon, or, more likely, Tesler's command ship to rearm and replenish the ship's energy and soldier base. This will be our best time to attack. Before the Recognizer can be restored, we will hijack it, fly it away from the city and blow it up over the Outlands, safe from any innocent Programs,"

"Renegade, why don't we just blow it up next to Tesler's ship and take out both?"

"If we did that then we'd also be destroying a large section of Argon. The combined forces of the explosions would break apart the cliffside causing it to break the city around it, not to mention the amount of debris and shrapnel there would be,"

"I will pilot the Recognizer while the rest of you set up the bombs along the legs. You will be split up into groups of four or five, each taking on a different level of a leg. Once you have set up the explosives you will make it to the nearest emergency exit and retreat to safety. This will be the dangerous part of the mission. No doubt Clu's forces will follow and try to stop the ship. Do not engage these forces unless absolutely necessary, the explosion should be more than enough to deal with the pursuing vehicles,"

"What about you?" Mara asked.

"Part of the plan is to fly the ship to a high elevation. Once I've set up my own bomb and made sure everyone is safely away, I'll lock the controls at the altitude and jump,"

"This operation is simpler than the first, but it's far more dangerous. Clu will know what we're doing and he'll try to stop us at any means. Stick with your group, when you bail from the ship make sure to keep a distance from other groups. The best thing you can do is spread Clu's forces out and coordinate with your team to take out who's following you,"

"So, use teamwork but don't use teamwork," Zed joked as he propped his head against his closed fist.

"To put it simply, yes. Any questions?"

"What if they destroy the ship while we're still on it?"

"They won't. Not while I'm on," there was an heavy pause as they Defiance waited for him to continue and explain what he meant. Deliberately slow, the white suited Program pulled his helmet back to reveal his face. The three who knew of his identity looked to each other for any explanation but seeing the genuine shock on the others' faces made them turn back to Tron.

"Tron…" Pearl muttered softly, the sound passing through the deafly silent room and vocalizing most of the Programs' thoughts.

"I think it's time you know the truth," he announced. "I'm not dead. And the fact that I'm not one of Clu's reprogrammed General's is the reason he's here. He's come here to repurpose me. I don't know why he's so determined to see me repurposed but I can tell you he'll stop at nothing to get me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you all sooner, but I had to make sure I could trust you. This Defiance is all we have to stop him, I couldn't risk jeopardizing it. This next mission will have losses. There always are in war. Just like there are victories, there are setbacks as well…" Tron faltered as he remembered his first training session with Beck.

"What about the Renegade?" Dash distraughtly called out. He was clearly taking the reveal in a bad way as a handful of others were also on the same wavelength.

"The Renegade…" he started but glanced at Mara and Zed briefly. His eyes were questioning as if he was asking for permission to tell them. Zed was first to get the meaning of his look and nodded softly.

"The Renegade was a mechanic. His name was Beck…"

"Tron!" Zed called out after the meeting and the people who were sent for recon had resigned to get what little rest they could.

"Zed, if you're here to talk about me revealing my identity-"

"No! That's not why I need to talk to you," Zed spoke urgently. "I made a device for a Light Cycle that was supposed to help catch the Renegade," Tron raised an eyebrow and gave the mechanic a questioning look.

"It's, well. I don't have time to explain that but we can use it! I can remake it and attach it to our Baton Jets," he continued.

"What does the device do?"

"It locks onto a Light Ribbon and sends a pulse to the ship, or bike, or whatever is making the ribbon and overloads the engine," Zed explained. Tron stroked his chin at the thought of it.

"How long would it take you to rebuild?"

"Probably a millicycle at the most, if I get a few of the other mechanics to help me we should be able to attach one to all of our batons," Zed answered in his hurried tone.

"Are there any negatives or side-effects with it?"

"No. It takes a bit of power and time to charge up but it uses most of the energy in the Light Ribbon to overload the engine. I haven't actually used it besides the one time I made it but it should work," there was a small pause between them as Tron thought over the idea. It didn't take long for him to come to a decision.

"Do it. Take who you need and start setting it up. If this works out then this mission won't have any casualties," Tron ordered. Zed raised his fist to his chest and gave a quiet victory to himself, before running off toward the holo room.

It was different for the Doctor of Death to be sneaking around, especially on her hands and knees, but knowing her current target, she figured the only way to get him was with stealth. Crawling through the secret passage ways and ventilation systems of the command ship she was all to familiar with, she was making her way towards her old room onboard the vessel. The dark red utility lights overcast the hue of her green circuits and engulfed the small square tunnels in alarm lightening and ambiance. To say it was unnerving was an understatement. Luckily, she wouldn't be in the cramped space for much longer.

Breaking a grate and landing in the room below her with a not so quiet roll, she quickly went to the door of her old room and prepared to ambush anyone who may have heard the metal crash. After a few moments of bated breaths, she chanced opening the door and peered into the hall. She was happy to find that no one was patrolling and started to make her way through the tall skinny tunnels towards Pavel's room. It wasn't far from her own and after waiting for one squad of Black Guards to pass the main hallway she had ducked into the hallway that Pavel's room was connected to. When she reached his door she didn't want to waste any time and sliced at the edge of it. She immediately slammed into it with her body and with no resistance was in her old acquaintance's room. Only to be confused at what she saw. In front of her was a room as barren as her own. She made a quick sweep of the room and all the storage areas to find that the place truly was as barren as it appeared to be. Making haste, she headed back out into the hall and headed toward Tesler's quarters.

Tesler's room was much larger than her own and was closer to the bridge of the ship. Doing her best to keep to the shadows and avoid patrols was slowing her down, but with trained practice she stayed vigilant in keeping a low profile. After what seemed like long agonizing millis, she was finally one hallway away from the room. Sadly, her destination was guarded by four guards. She took a step back to figure out a strategy other than killing the guards and risking exposure, when she heard the sound of a door opening down the hall. Taking a peek, she saw Pavel's smudge, egotistical person stepping out of the room before heading toward the bridge, the four guards following close behind.

In the brief moment it all clicked for Paige. Tesler was dead and the slimy commander had been promoted to General. Letting the disgust pass of Pavel's new position pass, she double checked her corners before dashing to the room. This time she checked to see if it was locked. She was rewarded with a quick whooshing of the door as they retracted into the walls. She quickly entered and went to work searching the room for anything valuable, not prepared to find anything. While in her raid of the closet she stumbled upon a small box. Opening it, she couldn't help the shock of what was before her flow through her and onto her face.

The weapon… She thought, picking up the small red and white translucent disc mod. The very same mod that the scientist Shaw brought with him to show to Tesler only to be intercepted and killed by the Renegade. The disc modification had somehow ended up in Pavel's hand but he had turned it over to Tesler soon after Paige's warning of blowing his secret. Apparently, the late General never got around to using it and the weapon ended back up with Pavel.

She picked it up and stared at the intricate patterns and pulses traveling through the small disc.

Be careful, it's more dangerous than you know. Beck's voice whispered into her ear. She let out a sigh and lifted the disc she held in her off hand to her eye level. She glared at it with annoyance as if she was looking at Beck and her look would silence him.

You were more dangerous that I knew, Renegade. She mused mockingly, before returning her gaze on the disc mod in her right hand.

Don't let the power and anger control you. Came another ominous warning. Ignoring his words, the medic took out her disc and combined Shaw's mod to it. Placing the disc back on her dock she felt the surge of energy course through the center of her body to her head and all the way down to her toes. It was intoxicating and invigorating to say the least. She quickly looked around to see if there was an area where she could truly feel the effects of the mod when she remembered Tesler's meditation/sleep room. In a flash she had found the door and made her way to the center of the large circular area.

In the back of her mind she could feel the tingling of something new wanting to be unleashed and let rampant. It tickled and prodded her thoughts, making her all the more eager to stretch her arms and legs. Ripping her disc from the dock she performed a series of light attacks with a blur of movement. Her empowered legerity caused the lights from the discs to appear like lightening. Some of her disc punches were so quick that at times the disc didn't appear to move from her side or from in front of her. Continuing to flip, roll, swing, toss, and stab with and around her discs, she was basking in the pleasure of having so much control and power. Like a green haze, she moved about the dimly lit room with precise and accurate speed.

When she felt she had her fun, she slowed to a stop, breathing hard from the exertion of her exercise. She could now feel the tingling in the back of her mind again, telling her to continue, fight, and destroy. She quickly realized that this was what Beck's warning was talking about. Feeling the grin form of her face she gloated to herself as she squashed the feeling in the back of her mind. It used anger, something Paige was all too familiar with and far too disciplined to let a small tickle control her.

You worry too much, Mechanic. She thought gleefully.

Unknown to the Doctor was the giant Recognizer high above Argon making its way to the command ship. Escorted by a few thousand smaller Recognizers, Light Copters, and other airborne vehicles, the behemoth machine dominated the dark digital sky with terrorizing realism. And while the ship headed closer to the unsuspecting Paige, the Defiance also moved in the shadows of the Outlands, closing in on the meeting point. Prepared to destroy the great machine once and for all.

AN: So a little backstory for Cyrus. Just my crazy thinking to how he is. This was my hardest chapter, and I'm not sure why. It really isn't anything special.

So Star Wars recently came out, and that sort of distracted me. I liked it. Though, my thoughts align more with Max Landis, I thought it was good. And I learned of a new term for characters. Mary Sue, the term where one character, usually just beginning or is inexperienced, can beat everything in front of her, or him, and never losses. I'm sort of feeling that way with Paige. But is her journey more of a emotional and personal one and does Mary Sue apply to mental wars? I wonder.

What'd you guys think of Star Wars?

I hope you enjoyed it, and my mediocre update.

-Rose's Requiem