Greetings, Programs! :D Happy Tron Tuesday! And here's my latest chapter! I'll be honest though, I did some horrible things in this one. Please don't kill me for this! :P
Also just a side note, I was listening to Fleetwood Mac while typing most of this! XD I must say, their "Say you will" album is my favorite one! It somehow got me in "the mood" while typing this, despite the fact that it wasn't a Tron soundtrack.

Chapter 21 – Attacked

Mara's POV

They came and gone. Apparently Beck and Ally managed to escape the first time and Dyson came back. Able came out of his office and they all stood together. Mara was surprised that Able and Dyson met before, and they weren't good acquaintances either.

Dyson ordered the guards to search the entire Garage for Beck until he was found. He wasn't there and when Dyson realized that, he derezzed Able right in front of everyone as an example. He told them to tell Beck about what happened when they saw him.

Something told Mara that Beck was hiding something serious enough for all this trouble to be caused. She and Zed agreed to get to the bottom of it and personally question Beck.

It was sad, the mechanics supposedly lost Able before and the pain was unbearable. But this time, Able died for real in front of everyone's eyes. They all wanted to fight back, they were going to, but Mara and Zed showed them that they were outnumbered. So they all surrendered.

When the soldiers left, Mara and Zed talked for a while until Mara planned out a speech for everyone and encouraged them that Able died over a good cause to protect everyone, including Beck and that they should all carry on what Able was trying to do.

It seemed to work because everyone cleared out of the Garage and look for Beck. Of course, they were upset about his indirect contribution to Able's death, but it wasn't entirely his fault either.

Mara looked at Zed and leaned against him as they walked down the streets, calling out Beck's name, searching the alleys, going to the public places he's been before but didn't see him.

"I hope he didn't get caught by Clu." Zed said as they kept walking.

Mara shook her head. "No, Beck's smart and not that bad of a fighter. There's no way he'd get caught…" Mara paused. "At least without making a scene and letting someone know that he's in trouble."

Zed nodded. "What do you think he did to get into trouble?"

Mara shrugged. "I don't know, but I bet he was doing it often while we were covering his shifts." They looked at each other.

"Well, let's hope that whatever he's been doing was effective." Zed commented. There was a moment of silence. "Hey, Mara." She turned and looked at him. "What if Beck's the Renegade?"

She laughed. "I'd be genuinely surprised. But we both know that despite Beck being prone to causing trouble, we know that he wouldn't go to extremes like that."

Zed nodded. "I suppose you're right. It was a stupid question."

Mara nudged him with her elbow. "But it's not impossible for Beck to be the Renegade either, you know."

Zed rubbed his arm. "Yeah, I know." He sighed. "Dang it! Where is that Program?"

Mara bit her lip. "We could check with someone to see if they know about his whereabouts-" She stopped and shook her head. "Never mind, it's stupid. Nearly suicidal if it doesn't work out."

Zed looked at her. "What's the idea?"

Mara hesitated. "Well…we could see what Gage is up to."

Zed narrowed his eyes. "You're right, it is suicidal." He paused. "But you could be right, they may have an idea." He broke into a run and dragged Mara with him. "Come on!"

Mara frowned as he pulled her along. "Um Zed, just so you know, I'm not in a hurry of getting there!"

"But the sooner we get there, the better." Mara didn't argue.

By the time they got there, they lost all confidence of talking and were about to turn back but were discovered at that moment. And Gage looked unusually happy to see them.

"Well, well, look what we have here." He smirked at Perl, who remained expressionless. "What brings you two here?"

Zed looked genuinely scared so Mara piped up the courage to talk. "We're looking for Beck. He's gone missing and we have no idea where to look for him. He's not in any of his usual places." She narrowed her eyes. "We thought you'd have a few ideas."

Gage grinned widely. "Oh? What a shame." He walked closer to the young Programs. "But sad to say, I have no idea where Beck is." He leaned over so he was in both of their faces. "Perhaps we could offer some assistance, but at a cost." He straightened up. "Don't suppose you have that vintage light cycle on you?"

Zed gritted his teeth. "We're not giving you the bike! And we don't need your help with finding him. We've got plenty of helpers."

Gage rolled his eyes. "Get out of here!" The gang members shoved Mara and Zed out of the alley they were in. "But could you tell Beck that we're still willing to accept him back into the gang?"

Mara scowled. "In your dreams!"

Gage sighed and turned back to Perl, who remained silent and blank the whole time. "Hmm…" He smirked. "Beck will come back eventually…he will."

Perl raised her eyebrows and smirked back. "Mmhm…"

Mara sighed and looked at Zed. "Well that didn't help at all." She said. "It was a complete waste of our time!"

Zed shrugged. "Well, at least we can rule out Beck being with Gage."

"Why did I even have that theory?" Mara said. "After everything he did to Beck and Ally, he'd never go back to them!"

Zed kept walking alongside Mara with a blank expression. "I can't imagine all the pain they went through." He said, shuddering. "I can't imagine it!"

Mara focused her gaze on the ground. "Uh huh…"

Zed leaned forward to get a better look at her face. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Mara looked up and locked eyes with Zed. They both stopped walking. "Uh…yeah, why?"

Zed shrugged. "I don't know. You just look…distracted and in deep thought at the same time."

Mara sighed. "No…I just hope Beck's okay…"

…

Courtney's POV

"First stop: Barium." She smiled as she heard her byte mutter something sarcastic from inside the bag. "Don't worry, Aurora, this'll be fun! We'll meet other Programs like me…" She paused. "Uh…I think?"

It took less than a PectroCycle to reach her first destination, and she was greeted with the sight of tall skyscrapers and the blinding reddish glow of the City. The place looked kind of ominous but Courtney and Alpha have gone here together before the ISO War just for the heck of it.

The City scared them at first but nothing about it was that bad, so Courtney felt no reason to feel worried now. Once she entered the City's borders, she realized how much everything's changed. Now the inside was just as ominous as it was from the outside.

She closed her bike into a baton and let Aurora out of her satchel before sealing shut the bag. The byte made a constant humming sound from nervousness. "IS THIS REALLY OUR DESTINATION? IT'S A LITTLE CREEPY."

Courtney honestly couldn't blame her companion. There were gangsters, soldiers, and other scary-looking Programs everywhere she looked. And she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. It may have been because someone was approaching her from behind.

She turned around the moment she sensed him and smiled kindly. "Uh hello," She started nervously. "I um…"

"You're new around here?" He asked. Courtney stopped stammering and nodded. He grinned. "Hey, I'll show you around if you want."

Courtney was about to reply but Aurora cut in. "THANKYOU BUT NO THANKYOU! WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT JOB TO DO AND CANNOT AFFORD DISTRACTIONS." The male Program frowned at the byte and glanced at Courtney.

She bit her lip and waved as she turned and walked away. "Sorry, maybe another time!" She said. When she and Aurora were alone she turned and frowned at her companion. "What the heck? He could have been helpful!"

"PERHAPS! …IF HE DOESN'T HAPPEN TO BE A GANGSTER!"

Courtney couldn't argue with that. He seemed to be trying really hard to catch her off guard when he was sneaking around. But since nothing bad happened, she wasn't going to hold anyone accountable.

"JUST START MEDITATING AND LOOK FOR OTHERS. I'LL WATCH OUT FOR ANYONE NEARBY."

Courtney closed her eyes and focused on others around her and searched for any ISOs and Specials. After a few nanos, she found a small group of Specials close by. She opened her eyes back up and looked at Aurora.

"There's a group of Specials nearby. Come on!" She took off running with her byte close behind.

"HOLD ON! DON'T BE TOO EAGER! YOU STILL SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS! WE DON'T KNOW WHO THOSE PROGRAMS ARE!"

Courtney smiled as she kept running. "Relax, Aurora! They're part of the same species as me. I'm sure we'll all get along just fine."

She rounded a corner and stopped when she bumped into a Program that was part of the very group she was looking for. They were all wearing masks. Courtney smiled, a little embarrassed. "Um…s-sorry! I-I was just-" She trailed off as one of them removed their masks to reveal the face of that guy before.

He grinned. "Well hello," He said. "We meet again so quickly?" The other members of his group glanced at one another, some nodded and whispered a few things but Courtney didn't hear. "I didn't get your name, did I? I'm Jake."

She smiled back at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm Courtney." An awkward silence fell upon all of them until she continued. "Uh it's a little difficult to explain but I'm tracking down Specials and surviving ISOs in other cities." Everyone exchanged glances and there was more whispering but the guys kept his eyes trained on her and his smile got a little wider.

"Oh? Well congratulations, you've managed to track down a whole group of Specials." He paused. "However, I cannot say the same about ISOs being in this group." Courtney shrugged. Jake's eyes glinted strangely. "But how are you involved in this?"

Courtney took a deep breath. "I'm one of you…" Everyone stared (assumingly because of the masks). Courtney shrugged. "I'm just trying to get everyone that's endangered together." She smiled. "So, are you guys against Clu too?"

One of the masked Programs spoke up. "It might've been a little smarter of you to ask that question before you explained all of that." The Program then revealed their face.

Courtney gaped and stepped backwards. It was Tris. All of these Programs worked for Clu. She turned to run but Jake was faster and grabbed her by the arms and threw her to the ground, pinning her on her stomach.

Aurora immediately swung into action, but the effort was short lived before someone grabbed Courtney's satchel and roughly shoved her byte into it carelessly, sealing her in and tossing the bag to the ground. "HEY, STUPID HEADS! YOU CAN'T CONTAIN ME FOREVER! COURTNEY, GET OUT OF HERE!"

Courtney struggled until she realized how futile it was and watched Tris take her time as she walked over with a smug look. "Oh, poor Courtney." She said, mocking her helplessness with a cruel smirk.

"You've always been too trusting of others." She shook her head with amusement and false disappointment. "…So naïve." She knelt down so they were face to face. "I honestly thought you realized how untrustworthy the world was during the ISO War." She chuckled. "But you just won't learn, will you?"

Courtney glared back. "Flynn would be ashamed to call you Special! Working for an evil, delusional madman!" she spat back.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Tris straightened up and crossed her arms. "What a hurtful thing to say, not that I'd care what Flynn would think though." She shook her head at Courtney. "But if it changes anything, Clu has been looking for you for quite a while. It's a surprise you were never harmed until now."

Courtney gritted her teeth. "I have nothing nice to say about Clu!" She snapped.

"Well I must know about your sudden disappearance. You literally vanished into thin air, poof, off the radar…almost as if you never existed." She smiled. "How did you stay hidden from us for so long? We've been searching for you for quite a while now."

It was Courtney's turn to smirk just a little bit. "That's my little secret." She said. "Apparently being detached in a suitable environment does a single Program a lot of good." She glared at Tris's companions. "You don't need comfort from others, you can manage yourself easier on your own."

Tris raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm…well I may have to find out myself, won't I?" She knelt down again and tore Courtney's disk off its holder.

Courtney's face hardened as she watched Tris peek through her memory files. Everyone was focused on her disk that they didn't pay as much attention to Courtney. She noticed that Jake's grip on her loosened a little bit to her convenience.

She managed to turn onto her back and bend his hands back the wrong way. He grunted from the sudden pain and backed away from her. Everyone immediately directed their attention back to her.

She managed to deflect a few blows and throw a few of her own but she knew that if she didn't get out of there, she'd ultimately be captured. She kicked a Program away and turned to run away from them.

They gave chase to her until Tris called them back for a reason unknown to Courtney. She just kept running like the desperate Program she now was.

When she was sure she was far enough away from them, she stopped running and ducked into an alley to catch her breath. It's been a while since she's been this active. She rolled her eyes. "Now I remember why I stayed hidden from public eyes." She muttered to herself.

She straightened up and looked around to find herself lost. She sighed in irritancy. "Great…just great…" She said. "Not only am I being chased by old enemies but now I don't know where I am." She started walking in a random direction. "This cycle just get better and better…"

The buzzing sound of activated disks quickly reached her ear and whirled around fast enough to miss the flying object. She looked at its owner and found it was a small gang that was trying to corner her. And the one that appeared to be the leader was looking smug but surprised at her reflexes.

"I thought you'd be slower and less…aware." He commented.

Courtney glared at him. "And why is that?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow as he leaned to the side to take a glimpse at her back.

"Ah, you're not a stray yet." He raised his disk. "Oh well, I have no problem taking you out early."

Courtney's eyes widened as she dodged his disk again and kicked him aside. She touched her side where she thought her satchel was but quickly remembered that the Specials took it to contain Aurora. She was unarmed and alone.

"Oh Users, help me now." She prayed after she managed to get away from the gang. She knew she was a doomed Program. If she turned into a stray, she'd lose every thought, memory, and knowledge she had now. She wouldn't remember how to talk, she'd forget the name Flynn gave her, and she'd fail the Revolutionists.

After spending more time walking and looking around, she could feel herself mentally slipping. She breathed deeply a few times as she kept repeating important things. "My name is Courtney, I'm looking for Revolting ISOs and Specials. I will not let amnesia get the better of me!"

She gritted her teeth. "My name is Courtney, I'm looking for-" She trailed off, staring at the ground with a blank mind. She forgot what she was going to say, she forgot how to say whatever she wanted to say.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head violently as she started to feel dizzy. She staggered backwards and gripped the sides of her head and groaning.

After it all stopped, she blinked her eyes opened and looked around. She sighed and counted her first glitch. "My name's Courtney, I'm looking for refuge Specials and surviving ISOs, I won't let amnesia get the better of me!"

Of course, oblivion was her natural state and was the only thing she ever knew since the beginning of her life. It was sad, really…pitiful. She didn't want to go back to oblivion again. She liked remembering things, she wanted to help Alpha. She didn't want to let anyone down.

But she probably was. Courtney already had her first two glitches within a PectroCycle. Her third one could happen any moment. She stopped walking and stood there for a few nanos before sitting down. What was the point? She didn't know where she was heading in the first place.

Her eyebrows knitted together as she heard a single person's footsteps approaching her. She looked up at the Program and got the sense that she somehow knew him. But she couldn't remember when or where.

He smiled shyly at her. "Uh, hi" He said. "Do you remember me?" He asked gently, kneeling down in front of her sitting figure.

Courtney hesitantly shook her head as she closely examined the features of his face. He was kind of cute. His perfectly symmetric face, shaggy brown hair, greenish brown eyes. His suit had orange primary circuits and the secondary ones were green.

For some reason, the orange had a sort of ominous appearance, but the guy himself looked very reassuring. His smile faded slightly. "Can you talk at all?"

Courtney opened and closed her mouth a few times, but couldn't get any words. Eventually, she just closed her eyes and shook her head. He frowned, but his disappointment almost looked false. He gently touched her shoulder and peeked at her back. "You have no disk?" The tone of his voice sounded strange when he asked this.

He sighed and stood up, holding out a hand to her. "Come on," He said with a hopeful smile. "Maybe we can fix that." Courtney placed her hand in his and he helped her back onto her wobbly feet. He locked eyes with her. "I'll everything in my power to help you out."

He took it upon himself to shake her hand customarily. "My name's Jake by the way." He smiled. "And I bet Clu would know who you are." He wound an arm around her waist and guided her carefully in a certain direction. "And we'll get you a new disk so you can start to remember again."

Courtney slowly nodded in understanding as she leaned against Jake and let him guide her to Clu. From what he said about his capabilities of helping her, she felt like it was enough to trust them.

…

Beck's POV

He slowly opened his eyes to bright light and found he didn't like that so he closed them again. For some reason, the extremely bright light made his headache a lot worse.

Wait.

Why did he have a headache? His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up – despite the throbbing pain in his head – to make sure he wasn't in Clu's clutches. He laid back down when he realized that he was in one of the bedrooms in Tron's hideout.

Memories of what happened quickly came back to him and he sighed. He officially decided to never take Liz's advice again. But then again, he shouldn't have taken more than what she gave him.

Now he learned his lesson and decided he wasn't going to have that green energy again. He was just going to stick to the pink, blue, and white kinds. It sounded a lot better for him.

He looked at the door as it opened to reveal Tron stepping inside. "How are you feeling?" He asked, stepping closer to him yet not sounding too concerned.

Beck shrugged. "Oh, nothing much, just a pounding headache that feels like it's going to kill me. And I'm a little dizzy, too." He looked at his mentor. "How are you doing?" His question was almost a shout.

Tron nodded slowly as he pulled up a chair and sat down so he was facing Beck. "I'm managing, but I'm not sure how you'll react to this news."

"That Liz got me drunk and is responsible for all of this?" Beck asked matter-of-factly. "You're right, I'm not handling it very well. I'm really mad at her."

Tron inhaled sharply through his teeth. "I wasn't referring to that." He said. Beck looked at Tron with curious eyes. Tron folded his hands and rested his chin on them, trying to figure out how to word out what he wanted to tell Beck.

"Uh Beck, you may be devastated by this news but I need you to hold up for me." He said.

"Don't worry, I think I can handle it. I'm managing this headache just fine, aren't I?"

Tron sighed and closed his eyes. "Beck…while you were here with Liz, Zoe and I were investigating something that was going on at the Garage."

Beck's pained expression turned more serious. "And?" He asked.

Tron sighed. "Dyson was looking for you. Able stepped forward and said you weren't there and…" He paused. "Dyson derezzed him in front of everyone as an example." He looked at Beck with sympathetic eyes. "Beck…"

"Don't." Beck said, staring at the bed. "Don't say it." He closed his eyes. "You didn't do anything? You didn't get involved?"

"We were too far away to be able to do anything Beck." Tron said. "It was a short visit, Zoe and I wouldn't have gotten there until they were already gone." He held up an identity disk. "Zoe managed to snatch this though before anyone decided to snoop through it."

Beck took the disk from Tron's hands and looked at it with an unreadable expression. "Able died…protecting me…" He stated. "I-I don't deserve that." He set down the disk. "He gave up his life for nothing!"

Tron placed a hand on his mentee's shoulder. "Beck, Able gave his life for you because he believed that you could make a difference. He knew what you were capable of doing." Tron picked up Able's disk and pressed it back into Beck's hands. "He knew you could bring justice to all the bad things that happened."

Beck stared at the disk in his hands as Tron stood up and walked to the door. He gave Beck one final backward glance before opening the door and stepping outside.

Beck no longer felt his headache or dizziness. He only felt a terrible pain in his chest. He thought he lost Able before and it was unbearable, but now he knew this was real. But this time, he'd handle it. He'd avenge the owner of his workplace and give Dyson what he deserved.

Beck vowed that he'd free Argon City by any means necessary, even if he had to die in the end. His grip on Able's disk tightened until his hand hurt. "I won't lose another Program." He said. "I'm not going to let another close friend die."

Beck looked up and glared out a window. "I'll make sure that Clu and the rest of his goons get what they deserve."

…

Ally's POV

She didn't waste any time getting into Iodine City. She heard that it was a tough City to go to, considering it was mostly run by gangs and criminals mingled with Occupation Soldiers.

But either her memories were a little darker than it really was or maybe she was just too used to chaos because the City wasn't half bad. Sure, there were either gangs or drunken Occupation soldiers on every single street, in every alley and around every corner but there was nothing she couldn't handle.

She turned onto an empty street and looked around to make sure she was safe before she closed her eyes and looked for any signs of Specials or ISOs around. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration when she realized how everyone was scattered.

And there was an even larger amount of ISOs and Specials living in one large group in the ruins of Neon. Ally made a mental note to stop over there some time to check it out.

She decided to cautiously approach the closest Special first. But that Special appeared to be part of a gang. She opened her eyes and walked down the street, taking a few turns here and there until she came across the gang.

She identified the Special and ducked into an alley, using the shadows to hide her as she crept closer to the Program. She smirked as she put on her mask.

The gang was moving out of this location and to another that she didn't care about. The Special appeared to be lagging behind a little bit, out of everyone's eyes.

Ally waited for the right moment before sneaking up behind the Program, clamping a hand over their mouth and pulling them into a shadowy street. "Shh!" Ally shushed the Program before releasing the Special.

Ally realized it was female as the Special turned around to face her with a look of surprise plastered onto her face. Her eyes widened as she instantly recognized Ally.

"No way!" She said, her pretty, excited grin was hard for Ally to ignore. Her ecstatic voice lowered to a whisper. "I thought Clu caught you, but you're here!" She gripped Ally's shoulders. "You're safe!"

Ally tilted her head to the side so she could see the Program's face. She smiled back and removed her mask. "Oh Jude, it's good to see you again!" She hugged her old friend tightly.

Jude smile got wider. "So, what are you doing here?" She asked.

Ally pulled away and her expression turned serious again. "I'm looking for each and every refuge Special and ISO around here. My goal is to find them all and bring them to a safe location in a far-off City."

Jude nodded. "Okay, I may be able to help you." She said. "When the refugees of the war came here, we decided to split and join them into small groups all over the City that are supposed to keep in touch." Jude patted Ally's shoulder.

"We can track down one group at a time and tell one member of each group to tell their partners to meet with us in a certain location at a certain time so you can speak with them about your plan."

Ally smiled. "Sounds great." She paused. "And I'm aware that a large group of ISOs are hiding in the ruins of Neon as well."

Jude nodded. "Yeah, the Specials are hiding in this City while the ISOs take refuge in the smoky City."

Ally frowned. "Why?"

Jude sighed, her smile drooped. "Because they wanted to. They wanted to stay detached from the rest of the world." She shrugged. "And I honestly couldn't blame them."

Ally didn't speak. "I understand their beliefs that if they pretend to be dead like the rest of their surroundings, it'll be convincing. And judging by the state of Neon now, I doubt anyone would want to come along and fix it."

Jude sighed. "Truly, I envy the ISOs there. They don't have to worry about others hunting them down because and old ISO District would be the last place Clu's forces would look because of how devastating the destruction was."

Ally placed her hand down on Jude's shoulder. "You're getting off topic," She paused with a frown. "Are you okay?"

Jude's frown deepened. "Uh, well…a lot's happened since the War…you know?" Ally studied her friend carefully. "I wasn't lucky when I fought for the ISOs." Jude pinched her lips together. "I was in an exploding building while rescuing some ISOs trapped inside a room."

Ally's eyes widened as Jude told the rest of the story. "The bomb detonated before I could get them out…the building collapsed while I was inside and…I hit my head pretty hard." Jude moved some of her black hair out of the way so Ally could see the damage that was done to the back of her head.

The gaping wound wasn't too bad, but it wasn't that good either. It was more than enough to knock her mental health out of whack. It may involve easy distractions as well. Ally gasped. "Oh my Users…Jude, I-"

Jude held up a hand to silence Ally. "Say no more, it's not as important as your mission right now. Whether you know it or not, our time is limited before Clu tries to wipe out all the ISOs once and for all." Jude's expression turned completely serious.

Ally nodded. "So is the groups' thing the only way you keep track of everyone?"

Jude frowned. "Yeah? Why? Is there another way?"

Ally nodded. "If you focus on life forces around you, you can sense everyone's presence." She grinned. "No one's been able to sneak up on me since I discovered this ability. It's really cool."

Jude giggled. "Well I guess I'll have to try that sometime then, won't I?"

Ally nodded. "You should."

Jude nodded. "Okay, here's my plan. I'll round up every group of Specials and you can head to Neon to round up everyone else…" She paused. "If you're okay with that."

Ally nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah, I guess…it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Jude smiled. "Good! Then let's go!" She turned around and paused before turning to face Ally again. "Hey, we should make this more interesting." She proposed. "How about a little competition…a race, perhaps?" She asked.

Ally grinned mischievously. "You're on!" They turned back to back and faced their ultimate destinations. "Ready…set…go!" Ally took out her baton and rezzed her bike to head towards Neon. "We'll rendezvous back here in this alley when we're ready!" Ally shouted over her shoulder.

Jude nodded and ran out of the alley, heading down a random street. Ally smirked. I'm so gonna win. She thought to herself.

…

Tris's POV

Tris smirked as she strode through the hallway in Clu's base. It didn't take very long to reach Argon, maybe thirty Micros at least. She knocked twice on a door to Clu's chambers.

The door slid open for her before she could knock a third time. She lowered her fist and bowed respectfully to her leader before entering the room.

Clu was standing in front of a window…as usual, but he wasn't looking through it. His head was turned so he was looking directly at her. "What is it?" His eyes flickered down to the disk in her hands, and then looked at her smirk.

Tris twirled the disk on her finger. "Oh, I just took the amnesiac's disk…nothing serious." She grinned evilly.

Clu studied her face carefully. "So where's the Program?" He asked.

Tris sighed. "Jake's handling her. I took her disk and just waited for her to go astray before Jake came and picked her up. She rolled her eyes with a sly smirk. "She's so naïve…too trustworthy of others." She shrugged. "I used to tell her it'd get her into trouble one day…she apparently didn't listen."

Clu listened to her words carefully. "Is Courtney here?" He asked.

Tris shrugged. "She'll probably be here in less than a PectroCycle."

Clu nodded towards Courtney's disk. "See to it that her disk is destroyed and that she gets a new one." He smiled. "She probably could join your little task force afterwards if I don't have a different purpose for her."

Tris nodded and her grin slowly faded to a thoughtful look. She bowed to Clu before turning and leaving the room. "Yes, Sir." The door slid open to let Tris out but she stopped when she saw Courtney and Jake step inside.

Courtney's blank eyes flickered to Tris, who tensed under the unusual gaze. Tris's grip on Courtney's disk tightened when the empty eyes focused to the circular object.

Clu pressed his lips together. "Hold on, Tris. Stay here for a while." Tris nodded and stood behind Courtney, facing her great leader again. He knit his eyebrows together when he noticed Jake's slightly worried expression.

"Is there a problem, Commander?" Clu drawled out carefully.

Jake quickly looked at Courtney and back to Clu. "Uh, she's having talking problems." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I don't think anyone has the time and patience to reteach her."

Clu sighed and looked at Tris. "Before you destroy that," He gestured to Courtney's disk. "See what you can do about transferring some of those memories of her being taught how to talk." Clu folded his hands. "You're dismissed."

Tris nodded and left the room. Jake turned to leave with Courtney but Clu stopped them. "Not you two." He said. Jake closed the door in response and turned to face Clu again.

Clu gave the two young Programs a thoughtful look. "Jake, I need you to take Courtney here," He gestured to the oblivious female. "Under your wing." He commanded. "Can you do that until further notice?"

Jake nodded firmly. "Of course, sir." He wound an arm around her shoulders and side-hugged her. "We won't be separated unless you say so!" He grinned.

Clu pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Good, now see if you can get Courtney a new disk with transferred memories of how to talk." Jake saluted. "Yes, sir!"

He hooked his arm around Courtney's and led her out of the room. "So…" He looked around. "Where's Tris?" He snapped his fingers and nodded. "Uh huh, she's in manufacturing chamber!" He led Courtney down the hall until he opened a large, heavy door.

He scrunched up his nose. "Ah, it's hot in there." He let go of her hand and beckoned her. "Follow me, please." She came along without question. Jake stopped by a railing and looked around for Tris.

A hand tapped his shoulder hard and he whirled around to see the Program he was looking for. He gasped in surprise and backed up. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" He said, holding his chest as he tried to catch his breath. "Do you have Courtney's new disk?"

Tris smirked and waved it teasingly in front of Jake's face. He narrowed his eyes and snatched it. He grinned as he held it up. "Thank you, young lady." He said before turning around and looking through its files.

It was brand new and had no memories except the needed ones that were transferred from Courtney's old disk. He closed up the disk and smiled. "Thank you, Tris; much appreciated." He turned to Courtney and pulled her towards the exit. Tris followed. "Let's get you to a different room, shall we?"

Courtney didn't protest as he led her to an empty room with some tables. He instructed her to sit on one of the tables and he tinkered with some other things on her disk before attaching it to her back and standing back to let the new disk synchronize with the Program.

Courtney inhaled sharply as her golden eyes flashed white before turning normal again. She then groaned and held her forehead. "Oh, what's going on?" She asked, looking around. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Uh…where am I?"

Tris lifted an eyebrow. "This may have been a bit of a drag at first, but I think this was also one of the best plans I've ever had." She smirked. "We now have a secret weapon against Alpha!"

Jake rolled his eyes at Tris before turning to Courtney with a soft expression to put her at ease. "It's alright." He said gently but firmly. "You're safe, for now."

She raised a quizzical eyebrow. "'For now'?"

Jake smiled. "I'm Jake," He pointed to his other companion. "And this is Tris." He said. "We're here to help you."

Courtney looked at them with uncertainty. "What do you mean 'I'm safe for now'?" She asked, slowly backing up on the table.

Tris and Jake glanced at each other. "Don't worry about it right now; we'll catch you up to what's happening, but first things first. We have a serious threat that is close to toppling over our system of Perfection."

Jake paused. "And it may also jeopardize your safety."

Tris glared at him. He could blow our cover if he isn't careful! She tried to show him what she was thinking when he looked at her.

Jake turned to Tris and looked at her for her 'ok', but flinched when his natural gaze met her angry eyes. "Sorry," He whispered.

Courtney didn't heed their private talk as she looked around the room in curiosity. "So…where am I?" She asked carefully.

Before Jake could answer, Tris interrupted. "You're at a military base." She said. "Don't worry though, we're the good guys." Courtney relaxed a little from the response. Tris continued. "Tell you what, we'll take you to a room to relax and recover from what's happened today and we'll fill you in next cycle when you're ready."

Courtney nodded again and jumped down from the table she was sitting on, following Tris out of the room and into a hallway. She was led down a few corridors until they stopped at a door, which opened and welcomed them inside.

Courtney leaned through the doorway and carefully examined the room. Everything was white and had a soft, friendly glow to it. She smiled kindly to Tris. "Uh, thanks." She said politely.

Tris nodded curtly and shut the door behind her without a word. Courtney frowned at the rude response but shrugged it off as she walked over to a bed and lay down, closing her eyes immediately.

She fell asleep quickly, despite the millions of questions running through her head. Where am I? What's going on? How come I only remember learning how to speak and then everything else goes blank? She sighed. What's my name?

...Yeeeeaaaaaahhhh...sorry about that. Truthfully, I loved Able, but he didn't really have much of a story to tell anymore. He had to go... :'(

Zed: I hate you... -_-

Me: I DON'T CARE! :P

Ally: Uhhh...I don't remember meeting Jude... :l

Well she's new, and I'm gonna make you think of her as one of your besties! XD

But I think that's enough for this one. Just a shoutout to QuilSniv's latest fanfic, Tron: Unlimited. It's awesome so far...he's brilliant! ;)

Friend of mine: No farts allowed... :P (She dared me to type that) XD

Me: But anyways, feel free to give feedback if you have thirty seconds to spare ;) luv ya, readers! Reviews are always valued.

TRON LIVES! Toodles.