AN: Kudos to BetaReject, Krisdaughter of Athena, The Judge of Fics, Strawberry's n Cream, Estef1110, 111111777777 and Juliet Knighly for their reviews, you guys rock :)

As Tron would put it, good news, I found work, bad news, I found work. I have enough money to keep paying my Internet subscription, but much less free time than before. I'm afraid you'll have to wait longer for each update.

This chapter is a little bit shorter than the previous ones because I wanted to end the first cycle. A lot has happened already, our characters deserve a good night's sleep, don't you think?

"... but somehow, he broke out. It seems that he decided to take revenge on us, so he impersonated me and derezzed innocent programs to tarnish my name. Then he captured you because he had discovered that Able cared about you. We decided to split, I went to fight him while Able tried to rescue you... you know how it ended."

She did. Able's screams would haunt her for a long time, and knowing that she had been used as a bait to trap her mentor made things even worse. If he hadn't cared for me, he'd still be alive... Her thoughts must have been obvious, because she suddenly felt Tron's hand on her shoulder.

"It was not your fault, Mara. If anyone is to blame, it's me, I should have... permanently disabled him when we captured him.

- Is it done now?"

He shook his masked head.

"He managed to escape. But I'll find him, you have my word.

- Him... does he have a name?"

The security program didn't reply immediately and dropped his hand from her shoulder. Mara squinted her eyes, like she was trying to see through the black visor. Why doesn't he show his face, now? But the answer he finally gave pushed her doubts to the background of her mind, and raised new questions.

"His name is Cyrus."

Cyrus. The strange program who introduced himself as a friend of Beck's. The mechanic seemed uncomfortable with him and Mara had thought that he was simply embarrassed by Cyrus' private jokes, but maybe she had been wrong. Did he know something already?

"You didn't tell everything to me, did you?

- What makes you think that?

It had taken Mara quite some time to finally understand that Able answered her questions with more questions when he didn't want her to discover something. More time than she cared to admit. But she had finally seen through the sly old mechanic's tricks, and she was not about to fall for them again in Tron's mouth, even if he seemed genuinely curious. Those old timers are all the same... but it's not going to work this time, I'll get my answer.

"I've met Cyrus. He knew Beck, and Beck knew him. Why?"

The security program turned his back on her and took a few steps towards the bay window.

"Some secrets are not mine to tell.

- What does it even mean? Is Beck safe, at least? Won't Cyrus try to hurt him too?

- I left someone in Argon, someone I trust. He'll protect Beck if Cyrus comes back for him."

He didn't say Beck was safe, and Mara noticed it. Oh Beck, I knew we shouldn't have left without you... why weren't you with us instead of Flynn knows where, doing Flynn knows what? Now he was alone, in Argon, at the mercy of a lunatic killer. She pointed an accusing finger at the white-suited program.

"Like you protected Able, you mean? Your record is not impressive so far, are you even really Tron or a wannabe hero who thought he could fill his shoes?"

That was a little harsh, considering he just helped them leave the city, but Mara was worried and unwilling to trust a third party with Beck's safety. Luckily, her little fit paid off as her interlocutor's helmet disappeared after a slight pause. Before her stood Tron. The Protector himself. Her anger vanished instantly and she managed to close her mouth.

"Happy?

- Wow... it's really you! I mean, like, Tron!

- Thank you for the vote of confidence.

- I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But Bodhi's gone, Able's gone... I can't lose Beck too. And since you didn't want to show your face, I thought that maybe...

- Fair enough. I've been impersonated often enough lately for you to be cautious."

For some reason, his own words seemed to amuse him. A small smile floated on his lips for a few seconds. Mara didn't know yet that it was as close as a laugh as her new mentor was ever going to get.

"Anyway, I hope you're satisfied now?

- Yes sir.

- Then join the others and come back here as soon as you're done with your accommodations. I'll explain what awaits you all in the foreseeable future. Hint, it's training."

The blue-haired program had always been eager for action and this prospect should have pleased her, but something held her joyful exclamation back. There was an almost predatory look on Tron's face, and she wasn't entirely sure it was aimed at the Occupation...

"My, my, you're more devious than I thought, sir!"

Truth to be told, Pavel was quite admiring of Tesler. The man had his moments, but usually he wasn't the most cunning officer the commander had served under. Dyson, for example, was far more intelligent and far scarier. At least that's what Pavel had thought until a few moments ago. He set the datapad back on the desk and crossed his hands behind his neck.

"Not very nice of you to have Paige's friends derezzed and to frame someone else for it... how would my dear colleague react if she realized that her loyalty toward you was built on such a lie, I wonder?"

He didn't actually wonder, of course. He perfectly knew. His fellow commander would instantly turn against Tesler to avenge her friends. And rightly so... that was a nasty trick to play on her. Pavel's newfound respect for the general didn't last, however. The idea had been great, earning him the fierce devotion of a capable subordinate. The execution had been almost flawless, leaving very few witnesses who had no interest whatsoever in telling Paige the truth, considering she'd probably derezz them for their participation right before confronting Tesler. But after that? Pavel sneered at the general's imprudence. With such damnable evidence on your disk, why would you ever let anyone access it?

Now, the precious information was available to someone who could make good use of it. Getting rid of Tesler and turning Paige into a real traitor in the same move... how practical! It was, almost literally, derezzing two programs with one disk.

"When I think of all the time I've wasted trying to frame you, my dear Paige... had I known that there was actually a good reason for you to rebel!"

There was, however, a slight problem. Paige didn't know Tesler had betrayed her. And there was no way Pavel could convince her of it, since she was well placed to know how unreliable a disk memory could be when it came from him. He frowned. Had he accidentally secured Tesler's position by failing to frame Paige the first time?

"Come on, Pavel, think. There has to be a way. She doesn't trust you, that much it certain. Which means someone else has to tell her the truth. Someone who doesn't know it yet... someone who must discover it... someone foolishly honest she'll have no reason to doubt..."

And he knew someone exactly like that. A creepy smile pursed his lips.

"Now, Renegade... how are we going to get this interesting memory file to you?"

The white-suited program had always gone easy on Paige and had rescued her at least once. He obviously hoped for her to switch sides. If Pavel managed to make the leak look like an accident, the Renegade would jump on the occasion to rally his precious Paige...

"You two will make a lovely couple. Until I get you fighting each other in the Coliseum for Clu's entertainment, that is... then Argon will have a new general."

It sounded like a plan.

Much to Beck's disappointment, Paige's only reaction to his antics had been to glare at him and to leave Able's office. His office. But he was not about to concede defeat. They'd be stuck together for most of their time and he knew that something between them only waited to be awaken again. Or so he hoped, at least. And since he couldn't be the Renegade anymore with a garage to manage and a watchful commander behind his shoulder, he had nothing better to do that to court the charming brunette again. The charming brunette... I'd get a close look at the points of her heels if I called her that aloud.

For now, however, she didn't want Beck. She wanted the Renegade, and Beck had promised her to contact him. A piece of cake.

"Renegade?

- Why, hello Beck, how can I help you?

- Someone wants to meet you.

- Who?

- It's a surprise, but I'll tell you this : she's stunning.

- You had my curiosity but now you have my attention.

- You player...

- Guilty. Where and when shall I meet her?

- The next night cycle, on the docks?

- Let me check... that would work.

- Alright, I'll tell her. Behave!

- Always."

Secret communication was definitely easier when it was limited to one's head. But since Paige probably expected him to discretely leave the garage and leave an encrypted message somewhere, he couldn't exactly tell her the meeting was already set. He decided to wait for the following cycle, and left the office for his quarters to finally get some deserved rest.