AN: Sorry it took so long for this to come out. I've been really busy lately and with life getting in the way it's just plan crazy. But I finally managed to get this chapter written. Episode Five will be written differently, and the rest of the story will be different too, hence the title of the story :P
Chapter Nine
They had returned to the safehouse with little to no conversation by the end of that cycle. Mira knew that she was in for a speech when they returned. Her stunt with Beck had nearly cost them both their lives, and Tron wasn't about to let her get away with it. At the end of their journey they had watched Tessler rile of the citizens of Argon by telling them it was the work of the renegades that had caused the blackouts. Mira was furious about this of course, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her image along with Beck's were plastered around the screens that had surrounded the crowd.
"There's no turning back now," she had said when they walked away.
"I wasn't planning on turning back." Beck had sounded uncertain though, and she could see that he was worried.
He has every right to worry, she thought as she leaned at the edge of her light cycle. His life along with the lives of his friends are in danger.
"I need to get back to the garage," Beck said when Tron stood in front of the panel. Mira stood nearby and waited for the scolding that would likely follow when he left.
"Try to stay out of trouble," Tron finally said after turning around to face the mechanic. When Beck left the room the tension had suddenly increased. Mira raised an eyebrow when Tron looked at her. She held her breath and waited for the scolding that would come. "You should get some rest," he suddenly muttered as he sifted through images on the panel. Mira noticed that some of the images were the faces of programs that she'd never seen. "You'll need it for tomorrow."
She simply shrugged in response and headed for the stairs that led to her room. For once she wasn't in the mood to argue. After everything that had happened in the past few nanocycles she wanted rest. Once she hit the bed exhaustion quickly took over. When she fell asleep she knew there would be no dreams to haunt her.
. . .
Her eyes snapped open when she heard voices coming from down below. Mira jumped out of the bed and realized that she must have overslept.
She ran down the stairs only to find Beck standing in the room fumbling around with an identity disk. Tron was sifting through his own disk while Beck continued to observe the disk in his hands.
"It doesn't work," he announced after sighing in annoyance.
"That's because it's a fake. You'll need a temporary disk until we find your real one, or Tessler's guards will pick you off the streets as a stray." Tron's words sent chills down Mira's spine.
"You lost your disk," she muttered.
"I didn't lose it... someone took it," he grumbled. Mira rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"You just let someone take it?" she demanded. Beck was about to make a retort when Tron placed his disk on his back.
"We've lost valuable time already," he told them. "If we don't get your disk back you will become a stray, and the Uprising will be lost."
"Where do we start looking?" Mira asked when she realized how serious the situation was. Beck remained icily silent when Tron eyed her suspiciously.
"You are to stay here and stay out of trouble," he ordered. "We're going to Purgos. There's a black market for stolen disks, but you can't go there alone, not in your condition. I'll go with you." He glared at Mira before she could protest.
I thought we were in this together, she thought angrily. Besides, I know just about every city there is on the Grid.
She didn't bother saying it out loud. Tron would have looked for any excuse to keep her locked up. She was the User who was supposedly defenseless. Yet she had survived the Games, fought Rinzler and helped Beck blow up the drill.
When the two left her alone she grinned. There was no holding her back when her mind was made up.
I'm going to help them even if they don't want it, she told herself. Tron wouldn't be able to defend Beck on his own, even if he was the security program.
Mira grabbed the baton that she always used and thought of how she would get to Purgos. There was a tunnel that led to the city that she could take. She knew that she would have to wear a disguise while out on her own, so she fumbled around with her disk until bright white circuits replaced the blue stripes.
Once she was finished getting ready to rezzed her light cycle and sped out of the safehouse.
Programs jumped out of the way as she sped down the streets of Argon. She didn't want to waste any time speaking to them. She was still trying to decide what she would say when she got there. Tron would likely burst a circuit knowing she had left without permission.
He told me I couldn't go alone, she thought with a smirk.
The tunnel loomed ahead as she dodged light cycles and armored cycles. Mira didn't stop until she spotted Tron and Beck ahead. She was surprised that she had reached them so fast.
"You boys really think you can keep me locked up?" she shouted when she sped forward.
"What are you doing here?" Tron sounded furious, but he didn't have time to argue with her.
"I told you it's impossible to keep me locked up," she replied. "Besides, you need more than just an extra program for protection. I know Purgos just as well as Argon."
Beck simply smirked at her before he sped forward. Tron remained icily silent until they reached the first shop. Once they got off their light cycles Mira knew what would happen next. She braced herself for the lecture of the cycle.
"Since you are so determined to help, you can stand guard out here," he told her. "Don't get into trouble."
Mira rolled her eyes once more and waited until they were gone. There were plenty of shops in Purgos she could check out. Though the programs in this city were mostly slums, they had a good idea as to what she was looking for.
She walked across the street to another shop with bright red and green lights circling the entrance. She was about to walk in when a program standing outside stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"I just wanted to see if there's anything worth getting," she replied.
"No programs allowed unless they show ID," the program suddenly snarled.
Mira eyed the program suspiciously. His short brown hair told her that he was older than he appeared. He was likely part of a gang - Purgos was infamous for the gangs that ruled the city - and this shop was his to guard.
"I don't think an ID is required," she said. "Since when have shops started requiring them?"
"Since I said so," the program retorted. "Get lost before I derez you."
A grin fell upon Mira's face as she reached for her light sword. "Now see, I can't let you do that," she told him. "Derezzing isn't nice you know."
The program chuckled in amusement at her reply and reached for his disk. Mira swung her light sword into his ribs and watched him recoil at the impact. A rush of air escaped his lungs before he glared at her.
"You are going to regret that," he hissed.
"Oh, I don't think so." Mira stepped aside just as a disk flew in the program's direction. He gasped in surprise at the sudden damage that was taken.
"What did I tell you about staying out of trouble?" Tron was at her side in a heartbeat.
"The program was asking for it," she replied when he fled. Fortunately the disk had not caused an immediate deresolution. Mira was surprised that Tron could pull such a stunt off. "I think we may find what we're searching for here," she added when she peered through the shop's entrance.
Beck stood beside Tron while the security program tried to control his temper.
"Let's go check it out," Beck said before Tron could reply.
Mira nodded and led the way into the shop. Hopefully soon they would find Beck's disk before the memory loss became a problem. She didn't want to know what it was like to watch someone lose their memory.
AN: Not my best writing, but I finally got it finished. I was listening to Enya while writing this, so sorry if the chapter was a bit mellowed down XP
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