AN: Fast update! Thanks to Ridyr for reviewing, I love hearing feedback from anyone. This chapter basically finishes off the first episode, and things start to move a little faster once the second episode starts :P So stop reading this author's note and read the chapter!
Chapter Three
When she woke up again she found herself in the room once more. Half of her expected it to become some kind of dream. When Tron had offered her a home she didn't know it would bring her so much hope or happiness.
Mira swallowed back a fit of tears as she reached for an energy drink. Beck would likely be gone by now, or have chosen to accept the training Tron had offered. She wondered if he would have asked for her, or if he would have even cared.
She tried not to think about it when she was finished with her energy drink. There was a small table near the window where she could sit and relax while waiting for something to happen. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she fell asleep. It could have been an entire cycle or just a few minutes.
Suddenly the door to her room swung open. Mira looked over her shoulder in surprise to see Tron standing at the entrance.
"What happened to Beck?" she asked after getting to her feet.
"He returned to Argon," he replied with a heavy sigh. "He's... rather reluctant to join the Uprising."
When she tilted her head to one side she realized that he must be talking about defeating Clu. Excitement suddenly coursed through Mira as she wondered how she would end up defeating Clu. Going back to the User world was impossible unless someone had found the portal. Maybe she could take part in the Uprising and help Tron defeat Clu.
"Maybe I can help," she said with a tiny jump. "I know Argon city as well as Beck does. In fact I know most of the cities as well as any other program because of how long I've lived on my own."
"Absolutely not." The sudden tension made Mira blink in surprise as she met his gaze. "I failed once as a guardian to the Users. I won't fail again, and that means I am not putting your life at risk."
Mira rolled her eyes when she realized that he was right. She regretted choosing those words, especially because Tron had likely been through more than he would let on.
"Okay... so what exactly can I do?" she murmured after trying to calm herself down.
"I want to see just how much you have learned. From what I've seen in Beck's disk you've proven a skilled fighter, but how skilled are you?" His question caught Mira by surprise. Almost instinctively she reached for the baton at her heel. It was a light sword that she used for self-defense, the one that Gem had given her.
"Castor taught me a few moves," she explained before lunging forward with her light sword unsheathed. "I've learned some fighting techniques from an ISO named Quorra as well." That seemed to take Tron by surprise as well. Quorra had been a friendly ISO, always eager to talk with Mira when she had the chance. It wasn't until the Purge that they'd stopped meeting. Mira had felt that she was putting Quorra's life on the line by meeting with her, even if the ISO had acted like a mother more than a friend.
Each swipe of her blade barely grazed his skin as the security program dodged them. Mira saw what he was doing - tiring her out wasn't going to work. She suddenly jumped into the air and gave him a mighty kick in the chest.
When she landed back on her feet she rushed over when he lurched as if he was in pain.
"You okay?" she demanded.
Users, don't tell me I've hurt him, she thought desperately.
"I'm fine," he said in a low voice. "You've obviously been taught well."
"Sorry. I sometimes forget the strength of my kicks," she admitted sheepishly.
"Don't be sorry. Strength like that comes in handy when it comes to self-defense." Tron's words caught her by surprise. She felt heat rush into her cheeks before she looked away in embarrassment. "You're obviously skilled in light cycling as well. I've seen the way you handled your light cycle yesterday. I'm assuming this was all self-taught."
"For the most part it was," she said. "Of course I can always learn new tricks. I'm not exactly the best when it comes to riding in the Outlands. I lost my last baton because of that."
For the first time she wondered how much Tron had known about her existence in the Grid. He'd obviously been watching the Outlands. The view from her room was exceptional. She could see just about everything from up there if she searched long enough. When Tron told her that he'd seen someone follow Flynn into the Grid she wondered if he regretted not following her.
Silence fell upon them before Tron led her down to the room he had kept Beck in. The glowing white lights made her feel slightly uncomfortable as they reflected off of her pale skin. She was used to living in the darkness for so long that it seemed almost distracting now.
"Do I have the freedom of leaving the place now?" she asked when Tron began to sift through images on the window panel.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that," he told her. "Would the programs in Argon city recognize you?"
"Able will be worried about me," she explained. "He offered me a place in the garage but I know next to nothing about fixing things. The only thing I've ever worked on was my light cycle, and look where that's gotten me."
"Then I suggest you stay here for the time being, at least until things settle down during the occupation."
Mira simply shrugged in response and realized that he was right. There was no point in returning unless she wanted to put the city itself in danger. She thought of Beck and Able. Both programs had shown some kindness to her, and she wanted to make sure they were protected.
"What kind of training will we do?" she asked when he was finished searching through files that were too complicated for her to understand.
"Light cycle training for the time being. We will do outside training to see just how much work is needed."
When she nodded he led her towards the outside once more. One single flick of the hand was enough for the door to swing open. Mira was surprised at how much power Tron had over what must have been his safe house.
A blast of cold wind greeted her face when they reached the outside. Mira glanced at Tron as he rezzed up a light cycle. She picked up her own baton - the one that he'd given her the day before - and rezzed it up.
Once he was on his light cycle she saw just how skilled Tron really was. He didn't need to use the light ribbon for a boost of speed. The light cycle let out a flash of white before he was off in a second.
Mira followed him as quickly as she could. Keeping up with Tron was difficult. She found that out the hard way, and was searching for any sign of the light cycle that would suddenly pop up. She gasped when he suddenly emerged from what must have been a tunnel.
"Use the terrain to your advantage," he called out before running into her light cycle. "Always keep your guard."
She nodded in response and suddenly surged faster, using her light ribbon to her advantage. Speed was something that she loved, especially when it came to escaping her enemies. She'd learned to use smooth surfacing to her advantage and gain yet more speed while avoiding enemies that were in any direction.
Suddenly she swerved in and out of the light ribbon that Tron had started. Such a move would have been considered as dangerous to most programs. Mira found it a rush to avoid getting her light cycle derezzed.
"Don't get distracted!" She was shaken back into reality when he rammed his light cycle into hers.
Mira grinned at Tron before she suddenly dove forward with her light cycle in hand. Her movement caught the security program off guard and he hit the brakes before his own light cycle was derezzed by the light ribbon.
"That was dangerous," he said when they came to a halt.
"I improvised," she told him. "When I was living on my own I improvised a lot."
"You're not on your own any longer. You need to control how often you improvise. It's better to know what the situation calls for." Mira simply shrugged him off and looked at the snow covering her feet. Though they were covered by the suit her toes still felt strangely cold.
"Okay, I won't improvise as much anymore," she said.
That seemed to alleviate any worry that was etched within the security program's gaze. Mira would have rather done her own thing and learn from her mistakes. That was how she had survived for long on her own. But now she had an unexpected teacher.
"We should go back." Mira was about to ask why when a sudden explosion sounded from the distance. Her hands were still trembling slightly when she saw that it had come from the direction of the coliseum designed by Clu himself.
"What happened there?" she asked out loud as they returned to the safe house.
She hoped that nothing had happened to the programs that lived in the city. Though some of them were likely rogue programs they didn't deserve the treatment that Clu or his generals would put them through.
When they reached the safe house Mira went up to her room. She was certain that something had happened to the coliseum, though she wasn't sure what it was. An explosion that had shaken the Outlands was enough to stir trouble with General Tessler though, and he would likely tighten the security around Argon.
"I know what I have to do now." A familiar voice made Mira spring up in surprise. She'd landed on a sofa to relax, but her thoughts were churning with anxiety as she wondered what had happened in Argon. "I want to do this. I'm ready."
When she peered out of the door Mira wasn't surprised to see Beck standing in front of Tron. Tron wasn't nearly as surprised as she was.
"You're not ready. Not yet, but you will be," Tron told him in a serious voice.
He reached for the disk on his back and pulled it apart, revealing the white-rimmed disk that had given Tron his identity. Mira watched curiously as he gave it to Beck, who latched the white disk to his own. When the mechanic placed his disk back, the black suit was replaced by an eye-popping white.
"There's someone else I'd like you to see as well." Tron looked towards the invisible stairs, and suddenly they became visible once more. Mira ran down the steps and stood before Beck, whose own eyes were wide with shock.
"Mira... I thought..." He thought she'd been derezzed. A small smile formed around her lips before she met his gaze. "Why did she stay here?" He glanced at Tron as if he didn't quite believe what was in front of him.
"She is a User," Tron replied. "I fight for the Users, and her life was in danger."
Beck folded his arms and looked at Mira accusingly. "Is this what you were trying to tell me?" he demanded.
"I didn't want to put your own life in danger," she explained. She was surprised by the amount of guilt she felt when it came to lying. Maybe this was part of her User past, some strong part of her will telling her that it was wrong to lie. "Besides, I told you I could take care of myself. Look where it's gotten me."
"Okay, so what now?" He turned to face Tron, who seemed undisturbed by their exchange of greetings.
"We begin training. The two of you could use work, and you would make a good team." Tron looked at Mira this time, and once again she felt heat rising in her cheeks.
We're not a... couple, she thought as she tried to search for the right words. This time it was her turn to grin at Beck as he ruffled the back of his hair in embarrassment. Despite the awkwardness of the situation Tron was making the most of it by watching them.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you can keep up," Mira suddenly said as she punched Beck in the arm playfully.
"I'm sure you will." He groaned and rolled his eyes before grinning back.
Something told Mira that this was the start of something better than hope. This was the start of a family.
AN: I thought it would be fun to add Castor and Gem into the story. Mira doesn't know at the time that Castor is actually Zuse, and of course she didn't think of asking. I hope she's not becoming a bit of a Mary-Sue, but erm... yeah. Hope for some more reviews ;)
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