Chapter 21

"That…was awesome!" Sapphire's laughter bubbles within her and escapes without much of a struggle. She flops into the seat, and looks up to see Kira had thrown off her mask too and now grins.

"Did you see the look on that patrol's faces?"

Sapphire nods, still laughing as she clutches her side and tears gather at the edge of her eyes. Kira's laughter diminishes relatively quickly compared to Sapphire's, whose laughter doesn't fade until she's wiping tears from her eyes. Kira gives her a couple moments to breathe before she speaks again.

"Do you want to look at the cube?" She holds it up in her hand.

Wait!

Sapphire's hand bolts down to the empty spot on her waist where the cube used to sit before she sits up. "How did you_?"

"Wonder where I can set this up…" Kira ignores her as she searches for what she hopes to be a prime spot. Finally, she sets it down on an empty space on Sapphire's work table. Sighing, Sapphire joins her as she opens the cube, and the file menu projects in front of them.

"Whoa…"

Kira doesn't respond. Sapphire follows her transfixed gaze to the file labeled 'KAILSBURG- DEMOLISHED'.

"Mind if I…?"

Kira shrugs, no longer able to look at the screen. Sapphire takes the answer, and opens the file, beginning to read the latest report.

"Kira?" She doesn't look up at her name. "Who's this?"

She finally looks up to the wanted poster of the program on the screen, circuits unintelligible due to the fact the picture only shows from the shoulders upward. She doesn't answer for a long moment, but when she does, her voice struggles for control.

"That would be the Outsider…"

"Did you come back with the information?" Tron barely glances to his apprentice's reflection and already knows the answer.

"No." Tron turns to Beck as he continues. "Someone got it before me."

"Who?"

"Two programs, both wearing masks. I don't know how they knew about it, but they cornered the truck and stole it. I only know it was them because they were almost caught."

"Show me."

Beck doesn't question his mentor's command, and pulls out his disc. The memory replays in front of Tron, who says and conveys nothing to Beck. When the replay is over, he turns his back again.

"And you said they have it?"

"Yes. They fought past the guards and fled."

Beck pauses, and tilts his head as he watches Tron for a long moment. "…You alright?"

Tron does not speak or turn his head to Beck for a long moment. Beck's brow furrows, but he says nothing as he waits a response.

"I'm fine." He says finally, looking over his shoulder to Beck for only a moment before returning to his work. "You need to figure out their pattern, if they show themselves again. Don't approach them."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons." Are Tron's final words on the matter, and Beck knows prying would get him nowhere. After a pause, he nods, and leaves the way he had entered.

"Kira!"

The banging on the door jolts Kira from her rest. Blinking rapidly, she shakes her head and tosses her blanket off. As the knocking continues, she stumbles to her feet and to the door.

"Hi Zed." She yawns, then takes in his expression. "...Is something wrong?"

"There's someone here to see you."

"Who?"

His frown deepens, and he averts his gaze to the floor. "You'll have to see." And with that, he leaves.

The frown sets in her face and she runs a hand through her hair before stepping out to follow Zed. He has already disappeared, though. No matter. Whoever it is must be downstairs waiting for her.

And she's right. Mara is waiting for her as soon as she gets out of the elevator.

"Your…guest is inside Abel's office."

"Who is it? Zed didn't say when he told me upstairs..."

Not even her eyes have a happy residue in them. All pity and pain, and a pit feels as if it has opened within Kira.

"I'm sorry." She walks off quickly before Kira can ask what she should be sorry for, or if it was just a gesture of some warped idea of pity.

She turns and studies the office door. In a dreaded silence that seemed to weigh upon her shoulders and gait, she approaches the door. Grabbing the knob, she closes her eyes, silently attempting to prepare herself for whoever was inside, before turning it.

Kir looks up from the floor to her as the door opens. There is a slight hiatus in her approach at the sight of him, and her whole body stiffens.

"Kir." His name is hushed, as if the walls would collapse around them if she said it loud enough. She closes the door behind her, and slowly approaches.

"Kira." He stands up straight as she approaches. He seems truly apologetic, and yet this doesn't ease her. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What? What is it?"

He sighs, his gaze lowering before he continues. "Well…last cycle, two programs were found vandalizing the square… and there are reports that one of them…I'm sorry, but they seemed similar to her."

Her shoulders slump, as her emotions mix between relief that it was nothing worse, and discouragement. Why does this always follow me?

"I guess you were right then." Kira drops her stare too, and holds her arm tight. "She is still out there."

"I'm sorry. I thought I had stopped her, but apparently not_"

"It's not your fault." She cuts him off, looking to him. "You thought she was gone. We all did."

He puts a hand on her shoulder. She glances to it, but doesn't push it off. Instead, she looks back to him.

"Look at me."

Kir obeys, and only when she's certain she has his attention does she continue.

"It could be her, it could not be. We can't be sure. Don't worry about it, okay?"

He nods, and a harsh determination creeps back into his gaze. "And if it is her, I'll make sure she'll never do what she did to us."

She says nothing in return but he doesn't care. He lifts a small smile and his hand returns to his side.

"I better go. Be careful, Kira."

He passes her to the door, and her gaze follows him. "Tell Paige I said hi."

He nods, regarding her one last time before closing the door behind him. As soon as he's gone, she flops down into the seat with a sigh. Her posture slumps as she looks to her shoes. She feels older than she had before the conversation, as if rings had grown under her eyes in that time span. She rubs her eyes, then runs a her hand through her hair as she looks out to the window to Argon's skyline.

What now?