AN: Early update! Thought I'd write this chapter since I'm in the mood. For some reason I was listening to the March Of The Penguins soundtrack when writing this. I can't resist soundtrack music, especially when it's so pretty and meant for Antarctic themes XP

Chapter Five

Mira swung her disk at one of the black guards. She was eager to get this done and over with - these guards were pushovers compared to Rinzler. Beck and Rilo fought alongside each other, while Cutler fought on the platform above them. She didn't know who the other programs chosen to be part of their team was, but at this point she wasn't concerned about them.

The black guard saw her move coming and leaped into the air while twisting around to throw his own disk. Mira blocked the blow with her disk, but the throw made her unbalanced.

With a smirk she swerved to the left and managed to knock her opponent down. The guard made a gurgling noise before she knocked him unconscious. When she was finished with her first enemy she faced yet another guard. This one was slightly larger than her first opponent. He leaped into the air and gave her a mighty kick that knocked her off of the platform, sending her straight into the back of another guard that had been fighting Beck. She gasped in shock at the impact that made her teeth clatter.

The guard was about to lung towards her and use his disk for deresolution when she threw her own disk into his chest. The program was sent flying onto the coliseum's floor, but to her relief he wasn't derezzed, only injured.

"You okay?" Beck sounded concerned as he walked towards her. Mira looked over her shoulder to see that Rilo had been derezzed as well. When she nodded Beck looked more relieved than worried. "I couldn't save Rilo," he added with a heavy sigh.

"But we're still in the game," she reminded him. Mira was about to say something else when another program threw their disk towards them. She ducked out of the way while Beck fended it off with a kick. "Round three coming up." She grinned to herself before leaping to her feet and running forward. The program didn't see the move coming as she slammed her elbow into their ribs. She gripped the program's shoulders with her hand and jumped into the air before giving the enemy a good kick in the back.

"Cutler!" Beck suddenly called out the program's name. Mira looked up to see that a program had been thrown off of the platform Cutler was on. Another had replaced it almost instantly, but Cutler managed to derezz the program before he jumped down to join them. Suddenly an alarm bell sounded just as another program was about to face them.

"Due to technical difficulties this round has ended early," a voice announced. The crowd began to boo and shout insulting words as the three of them were led away by the guards.

Mira's shoulders sagged with both relief and exhaustion. Despite the rush of battle she knew that sleep was something she desperately needed. It was always hard to keep time on the Grid because there were no day and night cycles. Time went on in strange ways on the Grid from what she'd learned. A picocycle meant that a second had passed, while a nanocycle meant that a minute had passed.

The guards were leading them towards holding chambers. Mira held her head high as she felt a light staff poke at her back. One of the guards looked like they were ready to derezz her on the spot, but she wasn't about to let them get away with it. She was about to mutter a curse under her breath when Beck shot her a warning look. He was right to say that no wasn't the time to start a fight. If they got through this alive than she could extract her revenge.

Once they were tossed into the holding cells Mira found herself relaxing a bit more. Beck and Cutler were placed in one holding cell while she was put in another. She was thankful to be alone, but at least they could still chat if they had the time.

"Visitor accommodations," one of the guards muttered as she was pushed into the cell. To their right another couple of programs were thrown into a different holding cell.

"We have more teammates to break in," Cutler sighed as he leaned against the wall.

"You mean more programs to be derezzed," Beck grumbled. Mira sighed irritably and wished that Beck would stop trying to sound so downcast. It was already depressing enough to know that she was stuck in the games again.

"Don't tell me you believe that? We could use someone out there you're not a bad fighter." Cutler sounded just as annoyed as he looked at Beck curiously.

"Tell that to Rilo. I wasn't programed for this. I'm just a mechanic."

"Beck, seriously, just shut up for once," Mira groaned. That statement earned a glare from both Beck and Cutler. She didn't care whether or not it was insulting - she was tired of Beck always trying to put himself down. "You've already saved my life three times. I don't think any mechanic can do that."

"You know you never did tell me how you were able to get away alive," Cutler said when he looked at Mira. "Quorra told me that you had been captured by Rinzler, and used for the games. So, how did you make it out alive?" Now Beck was watching her curiously as her face hardened.

She began to shudder as she recalled the many beatings she'd received while she was under captivity. "I suppose I should be thankful he didn't take me to Clu. My punishment would have likely been worse." She paused and wondered what had held Rinzler back from sending her to Clu. "During the games he would stab me with light swords or use the disk battles as an excuse to take out his anger or frustration while Clu wasn't controlling him. By the time he was finished he would send me back to a holding cell where a medical program would look me over."

Even that wasn't enough to hide the scars buried deeper within her memory. Mira knew that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't push back the foreboding fear that Rinzler would find her again. And when he did find her he would never let her go again.

Beck was scowling in disgust while Cutler's eyes widened in disbelief. She'd shown them some of the scars that were more visible. On her face were hidden patches that the medical program had tried to hide. Once those patches were pulled away the scars reminded her of the ones that lined Tron's face.

"Quorra didn't tell me that," Cutler murmured sympathetically.

"Who is Quorra?" Beck's question caught them both off guard. Mira looked down at the floor while Cutler fell silent. "Okay fine, guess it's some secret than."

"If we told you the guards would likely derezz us," Mira whispered. And it would put Quorra's life in danger, she added silently. "You never told me why you are here," she countered after an awkward silence filled the air.

This time Cutler grinned and looked more sheepish than angry. "I was heading to Argon to find the renegade," he explained. Beck looked up at him in surprise.

"Aren't we here because of the renegade?" Beck demanded.

"I don't think so." Cutler shrugged and earned a grin from Mira. She couldn't help but respect the fact that he was willing to risk his life for someone he barely knew. "If he's willing to risk his life to free the Grid from Clu, than I want to be right there beside him." Beck looked at Cutler as if he was about to derezz. Mira stifled a laugh at his reaction. "Besides, I know who the renegade really is."

"Who?" They both asked the question at the same time, and Mira looked away in embarrassment.

"We all know who the renegade is. It's Tron." Cutler's words made Mira stiffen in surprise.

Tron... I wonder if he knows what we've got ourselves into, she thought as she leaned against the wall. Wariness suddenly began to wash over her as her eyes became heavy. She knew that if she didn't get sleep soon she would pass out during the games, and that would likely end in disaster.

"Get some rest Mira," Beck told her when he realized what was happening before it started. "I'll warn you if there's a guard near."

Some small part of her refused to believe that he was telling the truth. He was still another program, and would likely forget that she was User. Yet despite all of the instinctive warnings that coursed through her mind, she suddenly began to fall asleep.

AN: And now Fields Of Glory by the High Kings is on Oo My iTunes plays very random music... Anyways, that about sums up Mira's history with Rinzler, though she hasn't exactly told Cutler or Beck everything *Mischievous grin* I was thinking of writing an entire chapter or two of her time spent on the Grid up until now, but that would become more of a prologue than anything else. But on a higher note, thanks to Ridyr and ice for reviewing, those reviews make me very happy :D

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