AN: Alright, here's chapter twelve! And this one is similar to the way Paige's episode worked. You'll find out what I mean when you read on, but you also finally get to read a little into Mira's past. This is gonna be a fun next couple of chapters XP

Chapter Twelve

The arcade was a place that she loved to visit. There were endless amounts of games just for kids, and the owner was fond of children. So every birthday she went to the arcade with her mother and father. This was her sixth birthday, and now she was tall enough to try the older games.

Inside the arcade it was busy as usual. It was summer time, and with schools out the kids were eager to spend their money. So when she came into the arcade she wasn't surprised to see a crowd gathered around one of the larger video games. The crowd was cheering as two players fought to win the high score.

She stopped when she saw the Tron game. Tron was one of her favorite video games in the arcade. Even though she didn't understand what was going on, she loved watching the pretty ribbons of light that sped after one another. The owner and his son were usually there, but she was surprised to see just Flynn.

"Alright, adjust that and..." He looked around warily, and she hid behind another game. She assumed that he was making sure that no one was watching. "See ya around kiddos."

Curiosity made her run after him. A door had suddenly swung open where the game had moved. She knew that her parents would be looking for her. They had a time limit as to how long she could spend in the arcade on her own. Once that time limit was up she was sure to be grounded.

She followed the owner - Kevin Flynn as her parents had called him - down what appeared to be a set of stairs before the door closed again. To her surprise there were no lights to guide her. She kept a hand on the walls for support. She didn't stop moving until she heard the sounds of a machine running. Suddenly light flowed in from where Flynn had vanished. She crouched on the edge of the steps and saw that he was sitting on a chair in front of a large panel.

Creepy arcade guy just got even weirder, she thought when she heard an alarm sounding. She made a run for it when a light suddenly flashed from what looked like a gun that was used in video games. Running into the light was probably a dumb thing to do, but she couldn't resist. She wanted to know what this light did.

Flynn disappeared when the light struck him. She gasped in surprise when the world flashed around her. It was then that her life was changed forever.

. . .

Mira gasped when she woke up from her sleep. She realized the her hands were shaking, and beads of sweat rolled down her nose. She glanced around warily and saw that she was back in the room Tron had designed for her.

Relief washed over Mira when she realized that it had been a dream.

Calm down, only memories, she thought as she caught her breath. She remembered following Flynn into the Grid. That was the first mistake she had made. Then when she left the building the light had rezzed her in, she came across sirens that were patrolling the area.

Her fists clenched together as she recalled what had happened over the past couple of cycles. She desperately wanted revenge on Clu for what had happened to her. He was the reason she was trapped here. He and his puppet Rinzler had forced her into the Games, where she was brutally scarred.

Nothing would satisfy me more than watching Clu get derezzed, she told herself bitterly.

When she recovered from the shock of her dream she ran down the stairs. Beck was standing beside Tron as usual. Tron was sifting through images on the screen that overlooked the Outlands. Mira didn't bother announcing that she was awake. She walked up to the panel and stood on Tron's other side.

"So what are we doing this time?" she asked. She was surprised at how shaken her voice sounded. Embarrassment washed over her when Tron glanced at her in confusion. "Bad dream, I'm still... getting over it," she explained with a shrug.

"This mission will test your nerves," he said. "Tessler's base holds a cube with information that could give us a head start on the revolution."

"Wait, you're actually letting me go?" Mira was shocked that Tron trusted her enough.

"You'll need the experience. Besides, Beck could use some backup for this one." Beck rolled his eyes and Mira stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned back and she forced back a fit of laughter. It helped calm down the fear of explaining what had happened in her dream. "Tessler's base is heavily guarded. You'll need to be quick about getting the cube."

"Stealth, now that I can do," Beck announced.

"Keep an eye on Mira." Tron suddenly turned away from the screen and looked at Mira sternly. "If any of the guards catches you, they will know that you're a User."

And I know what will happen after that, she finished for him.

"Don't worry, I'll look after him." Mira grinned when she made that promise. She glanced at Beck, half expecting to see him glaring at her.

"We'll look after each other," he suddenly promised.

She blushed at those words and decided to leave it at that. They both ran out of the safehouse once Tron said it was safe to leave. Mira had grabbed the fastest light cycle she could find. Beck had grabbed both a light cycle and a light jet baton for later use. She didn't even think of using a light jet.

"How far is the ship?" she asked as they sped across the Outlands.

"According to the map it's at the edge of the city," Beck replied.

Mira didn't bother asking how they would take the cube. Beck had that covered - he was the future Tron after all. She studied the road and thought of what she could do while they were on the ship. Thoughts of getting Tessler knocked out filled her with satisfaction.

"You okay?" Mira flinched when Beck swerved his light cycle towards her. "You've been acting differently since you mentioned that dream of yours."

She glanced at him in surprise. Had she? She hardly noticed any changes in her attitude.

"It just shook me a little," she replied. "I'll be fine."

She sped forward just as the ship came into view. It was large enough to match Clu's ship. She saw guards keeping watch outside while others came in from the city. Without warning she rezzed her light cycle into a baton and came to a halt near a snowbank. Beck did the same and joined her shortly after.

"So now what?" She watched the guards as they exchanged a few words.

"We get past those guards." Beck grabbed the light staff she normally used for offensive strikes. "Think you can use this to knock 'em out?"

"Of course, Tron." She grinned before rushing forward. Beck looked surprise that she had called him by his alter-ego. By now the guards that were speaking had left their posts. Only a couple of guards were standing in place, waiting to be taken down.

With one leap she was able to overtake the first guard by surprise. He let out a sharp gasp before he fell to the ground. The second guard was a bit more difficult to contend with. He blocked her blows with his kicks and threw fists in her direction. She managed to knock him off balance with her light staff and slammed it on his forehead. A third guard was running back to call an alarm, but she'd managed to pin him to the ground as well.

Her fight came to an end as Beck came out to join her. "Not bad," he said when the mask came over his face. "Come on, we'll need to be careful."

Mira nodded and followed him. Slowly but surely they made their way into the ship. Guards were stationed throughout the ship, and several were lined up as if they were ready for battle. Mira knew that a war was being fought in the Grid. She wouldn't be surprised if this was what they were training for.

Other guards were practicing their disk battles by fighting to the death. A few watched in the background while other cheered the fighters on. Disgust made her fists clench as she wondered how any program could stand being under such pressure.

Beck pulled out a map that Tron had given him. A light blinking told Mira that that was where the cube was hiding. She knew that there would be more guards keeping an eye on Tessler's most prized possession. She also knew that they could both handle the guards.

They moved carefully throughout the ship, stopping every now and than when guards came too close for comfort. One guard had come to a stop near one of the many tanks that were lined throughout the ship. Mira held her breath until the guard left his post.

The light began blinking faster when they reached what appeared to be another room in the ship. Once again there were four guards posted near the door's entrance. Mira glanced at her light staff and thought of knocking some sense back into their programming.

"Come on." Beck led the way into the fight.

"The renegades!" One of the guards shouted and held a staff. Mira recognized it as one of the staffs that had been used to derezz Beck's friend Bodhi. She gripped her own light staff and swung it across the guard's chest. He let out a choking noise and fell to the ground. Beck was fighting too guards at once, but he could easily handle them. Mira jumped and spun around, using her legs to knock the second guard that had spotted her off of his feet.

"Keep an eye on the entrance," Beck told her when he was finished with the other two guards. "If you see anything give a call, I'll be out in a few nanocycles."

Mira nodded and stood near the entrance of the door. As she leaned against the wall she tried to piece together the dream that kept coming back to her. She breathed in a sigh when she remembered meeting the sirens for the first time.

Suddenly an alarm buzzed around her, jolting Mira from her memories. She jumped and stood firm when Beck slammed the door open.

"He didn't say there was a second alarm system," Beck grumbled when he showed her the cube. It was tiny. Mira didn't expect it to be so small. "This data cube should be enough to satisfy him for a while."

"You do realize this is Tron we're talking about," Mira said with a grin. From what she had seen Tron was incredibly difficult to please. Maybe it had something to do with his past. She understood what it was like to hide the anger and need for revenge that churned within her. "We should go before there are too many guards, and before these bit-brains wake up."

Beck nodded in agreement. The two of them made a run for it. By this point it didn't even matter that the guards had spotted them. It was a matter of getting out before either of them were captured. Beck grabbed the baton that would turn into a light jet.

"Get on," he ordered when he realized she hadn't grabbed one for herself.

She didn't bother arguing and jumped on as soon as the light jet was rezzed and ready to go. The door to the ship was slowly closing, giving them little time to escape. Mira held on for dear life when Beck sped forward, using the light trail for extra speed and control. They only just made it when the door sealed shut behind them.

Mira looked over her shoulder to see a light copter giving chase. She wasn't surprised to see that Paige was the one driving it.

"Looks like we've got company," she announced when she looked forward.

"A light copter? That will never catch us," Beck scoffed. As if Paige had heard him more light jets chased after them. "Light jets on the other hand..." He didn't get the chance to finish.

Paige was trying to take them down with turrets as she fired them at the light trail. One good shot and they would fall into the Sea Of Simulation. Mira shuddered at the thought and wondered what would happen if they did fall in.

"Hand on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Beck's shout made Mira cry out in surprise as he swerved upwards towards a cliff that towered above an island.

He moved to the right and tried to push Paige into the light trail. Mira gasped when Paige only just missed it. She pulled up and began shooting the turrets again. Suddenly one of the turrets had slammed into the light trail, causing pixels to fly in the air. Mira realized that the engine had been destroyed.

"This is where having a chute would come in handy," Mira groaned when the light jet began to rezz and derezz. She guessed that hitting the light trail had caused it to malfunction.

"Now would be a really good time to turn back into a baton!" Beck shouted.

The light jet he'd used didn't have a chance to turn back into a baton. They came crashing onto the island. The only problem was that Mira had fallen on one side of the island, while Beck slammed into the other side. Black spots began to clot Mira's vision before she passed out near the edge of the island.

. . .

When her eyes opened she found herself back in the past.

The first thing she noticed was that the room Flynn had been standing in was now dark. A few faint lights penetrated from outside. She tried to think of what had happened before she opened her eyes.

I was in the arcade... I followed Flynn, and this happened, she thought. Great, now mommy and daddy are really going to yell at me.

She walked out of the room and tried to blink away the shock that was quickly taking over. There was no outside to this place. No blue skies greeted her; the sun wasn't even shining. She turned around to see a bright light reaching out to what looked like the night sky.

Where am I? she wondered fearfully.

She whimpered when she saw a stranger dressed in white walk towards her. A few other strangers were with the woman, but she knew better than to talk to strangers. Her father had told her strictly not to speak to strangers, especially when they were dressed so oddly.

"This one is so odd looking," said the first woman. She had short black hair and brown eyes - similar to her mother's eyes. "I've never seen such a small program."

Program? What is that supposed to mean? She found that she couldn't speak under the stares of so many strangers.

"We should take this one to Clu," one of them said.

"Tron would know what to do," another announced.

"Where am I?" She was surprised at how small her voice sounded compared to these four women. She remembered what her mother had told her a few nights ago when she got angry. Her eyes changed from blue to green when ever she got scared or angry. Now she could understand what her mother had meant.

The four women stared at her in alarm. One of them took a startled step back, while the black-haired woman stepped forward.

"You are on the Grid," she explained calmly. "We are sirens, and we give programs who need them identity disks." She stared at the woman blankly. "Come with us. We will help you." She remembered what her father had said a siren was, and these were no sirens.

Suspicion crept over her, but she realized she had no other choice. She would get lost wandering around. Someone much worse might find her, and she had a feeling this wasn't like the world she grew up in. She reached out with her hand and the black-haired siren took it.

Something told her that this was only the beginning of her journey.

AN: So what did you think? Wonder what will happen next... anything can happen when I'm the author XD Of course I doubt this would actually happen in the show, but it would've made the show more interesting if it did!

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