AN: Okay, so here's the next chapter :) And yep, I'm finally updating quickly! It's been a while since I've updated this quickly, but I really want to get Rogue started. I can't do that until this is finished though. Thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai377 for reviewing! And special thanks to 2theSky, who is currently working on the new cover! You're an awesome friend and reviewer :D

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Get this thing off of me!" Mira nearly burst out laughing when she saw that Rinzler had tackled Tron to the floor. Beck had returned to the garage after they reached the Outlands, and Mira walked into the safehouse to find Tron arguing with Rinzler.

The kitten was standing on top of his chest, purring as he looked down at Tron proudly.

"Come on," Mira cooed as Rinzler looked back at her. He gave Tron one last look before jumping off and bounding towards her. Mira couldn't help but giggle when Rinzler jumped onto her shoulder. "You are asking for it," she warned the kitten as he nuzzled her cheek affectionately. "I take it he doesn't get alone with you," she added when Tron glared at Rinzler.

"He decided to attack me while you were away," Tron replied accusingly.

"He just wanted some attention," Mira murmured as she rubbed Rinzler's back ear. For some reason he loved getting rubbed or pet in that spot. "Keller decided to go back," she added after looking out the window that overlooked the Outlands.

"I've noticed." Tron folded his arms and followed her gaze. "There are always going to be losses."

Mira rolled her eyes when he referred to Beck's loss of the scientist Shaw. He was told to keep the scientist alive, but in the end Shaw had fallen to his death. Shaw was a crazy scientist though from what she had heard. He had used the weapon upgrade on himself, and he would have used it to destroy countless innocent programs.

"Guess it's time for us to get some rest," Mira said when Rinzler jumped down to look at her. He glanced longingly at Tron, and she rolled her eyes. Tron seemed indifferent to it. He was still glaring, but Mira knew that he would get used to Rinzler eventually. Hopefully Rinzler wouldn't end up getting derezzed in the process.

"You're hiding something." Mira flinched when Tron spoke again. She turned to see him standing nearby, eyes narrowed in an accusing manner. "What happened after the train incident?" he demanded when she met his gaze.

"Beck and I may have... agreed to hang out with Paige the following cycle," she admitted warily.

"And you trust Paige?" Tron raised an eyebrow, and Mira let out a sigh of frustration.

"No, but she'd make a good recruit if we can win her over," she replied with a shake of her head. "I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

It wasn't like she had a say in the matter. Beck had jumped at the opportunity of meeting with Paige. Mira rolled her eyes at the memory. If Paige was once a medic program than maybe they could sway her into getting a job at the medical center in Argon City.

"Paige is a commander in Tesler's army." Tron had looked away by now. "She may be a lost cause."

"Try telling that to Beck," Mira muttered under her breath. Tron gave her a look of amusement before she walked over to the stairs. She was exhausted now, after escaping from a runaway train. Besides, the next cycle would be interesting enough.

Rinzler bounded after her and jumped onto the bed as soon as she did. Once he was curled up beside her, she found it easy to fall asleep. Having a companion was a good idea, especially when she felt lonelier than ever.

. . .

Mira's eyes opened to find that Rinzler was gone. She jumped to her feet to see that Rinzler had wandered away from the room, down the stairs. With a sigh of annoyance she suddenly remembered what was about to happen this cycle.

Time to get close to the enemy, she thought as she walked down the stairs.

She did see when she got down made her smirk. Beck was observing his memories - previous fights against Paige. Rinzler sat beside him, watching the screen with fascinated red eyes. Mira fought back a laugh when Beck realized that he wasn't alone.

"I was uh... observing her moves." He stammered as he spoke.

"Of course you were," Mira replied with a roll of her eyes. "You know, if you like her just say it, I don't mind." She folder her arms as Beck looked away in embarrassment.

"It's not that I don't like her, I'm just... worried," he admitted.

"About?" Mira raised an eyebrow this time.

Beck was about to answer when Tron walked in on them. Mira whirled around to see him eying the screens in amusement. Beck ruffled the back of his hair when he realized that he was caught by his own mentor. Mira stepped back just as Rinzler jumped onto her shoulder to watch Tron.

"Paige is a commander in Tesler's army, I'm studying her moves," Beck tried to explain as Tron looked at the images from his disk.

"Then you shouldn't have agreed to go on that date," Tron pointed out.

Mira tried not to laugh again when Beck looked away once more in embarrassment. She knew that Beck had feelings for Paige, and rightfully so. Paige was attractive, strong, and lethal in battle. Any male program would have fallen for her charm.

"How'd you find out?" Beck demanded under his breath.

"I may have told him." Mira glanced at the window to see that Beck was fumbling with his hair. Again she rolled her eyes, wondering just how bitbrained Beck really was.

"Your hair's fine," Tron snapped. "It's your stance that's all over the place."

Without warning Tron pulled Beck aside and tossed him across the floor. Rinzler jumped off of Mira's shoulders and ran up the stairs. She smiled and assumed that he wasn't too fond of fighting. Beck fought back by throwing failed punches at his attacker. Tron easily dodged them and managed to flip Beck once more.

"I'm not trying to recruit her!" Beck shouted when Tron kicked him aside.

"Who said anything about recruiting her? I thought she was the enemy?" Mira winced when she realized that Tron was playing with Beck's emotions. Again. Beck had realized where Tron was getting at and stopped.

"There's more to her than meets the eye," Beck said once he caught his breath. "I think I can turn her to our side... maybe."

"Winning her over may be a lost cause Beck, but I won't stop you," Tron replied after shaking off their fight.

Mira glanced at Tron in surprise. There was a hidden emotion in his eyes. The moment she caught it, the look faded and Tron left them standing there alone.

"I guess that means we're free," she sighed after shaking her head. Beck wasn't listening. He was gazing out of the window, and for a moment Mira wondered if Tron had pushed him too far. But than he flashed a grin at her and straightened up.

"Let's go." Mira tilted her head to one side as she ran after him. She hoped that Rinzler didn't cause too much trouble while they were away. He was already getting himself into mischief with Tron. She could only imagine what sort of horrors he would cause this time.

She grabbed her upgraded light cycle baton and rezzed it once they were outside. In what felt like the blink of an eye they were racing each other in the Outlands before they reached the city. Mira laughed when she sprayed snow into Beck's face after he fell in behind her. He glared at her before using his light rail to gain a boost of speed. Mira rolled her eyes as she swerved to the right to avoid hitting the light wall.

"You'll have to do better than that!" she shouted when she began jumping the natural ramps.

Beck saw what she was doing and avoided the path they normally took to reach the city. Mira looked ahead to see that he had already reached the edge.

"Yeah, I'm that good," Beck said tauntingly.

"Sure you are tough guy, after getting your butt kicked by you-know-who several times." Mira grinned sheepishly when Beck frowned in mock-defeat. "Don't worry, Paige will never know," she added as they made their way towards the inner part of the city.

The square was crowded as ever when Mira followed Beck into the heart of the crowd. Programs were returning to their jobs or apartments after a long day of work. She spotted several guards heading for the club, and a few medic trucks making their way to what appeared to be an accident.

"Over here!" Mira flinched when she heard Paige's familiar voice. She turned to see the commander waving to them. Programs made a good point to avoid her, knowing full well that she had high authority over them. Mira exchanged a look with Beck before shrugging. She let him lead the way to where Paige was standing. "I thought you weren't going to make it," Paige said when Beck shook her hand.

"Beck got a little lost before getting here," Mira said playfully. Beck gave her a glare before looking back at Paige. She was grinning as well, and her grin disappeared when she looked at Mira.

"You seem like the type that would get lost easily." Paige smirked when Beck glared at her as well.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked when an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"I thought I'd give you a tour," Paige replied. "From a commander's point of view." She glanced at Mira before looking up at the sky. Mira looked up in surprise to see that a light copter was flying towards the center of the square. Programs rushed away from the area to avoid getting caught by the blades. "You ready?"

Mira hesitated for a moment before she followed them. She wasn't sure if trusting Paige was such a good idea. The way Paige looked at her made her feel as though she didn't belong.

Technically I don't belong in this world, Mira reminded herself. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't followed Flynn. She often wondered what her life would have been like had she never followed Flynn down those flight of stairs. Would she have stayed with her parents? Would they even remember her if she ever returned? She tried to shake the thoughts away when they climbed into the light copter. It was better not to think of her past - it wouldn't get her anywhere in the future.

Paige signaled for the pilot to fly them up, above the buildings and busy streets. Mira looked down at the city in wonder. The lights were always so haunting to her. Even before she come across Tron, or Tron came across her, she would get lost in the beauty of the lights. Paige suddenly handed them chutes she had grabbed from the back of the light copter.

"You land with your legs and arms bent," she explained when she handed the chutes towards them. Mira exchanged a knowing grin with Beck. Of course they had done this before, but it was better not to let Paige know. "I bet this is your first time skydiving out of a light copter!" Paige shouted over the roar of the engine. They were leaning outside the window, and Mira clutched on to the bars carefully. Mira rolled her eyes when they flew towards the entrance of the city.

Paige suddenly jumped out of the light copter, followed by Beck. Mira followed soon after. She aimed for the arches that were connected to the bridge that led into the city. She looked down to see that Paige and Beck were racing to reach the arch. With another roll of her eyes Mira opened her chute so that she would make a clean landing. Beck and Paige followed soon after, landing nearby.

"I give you the best view of the city," Paige announced when their chutes came off. Mira followed her gaze to see the towering buildings and glowing lights.

I wouldn't go that far, she thought as she remembered the old building she and Beck had stood on. Beck stood between them as he gazed across the city, than back at Paige.

"It's beautiful," he whispered.

"I come here a lot when I need to think," Paige admitted. "Helps me when I'm feeling annoyed or alone."

"It's like seeing things at a fresh perspective," Mira said. Paige glanced at her in surprise before nodding in agreement.

"It's getting late," Paige sighed as she straightened up. "You should both get back before curfew starts, otherwise I'll be hunting you down." She added the last part with a smile. Mira wondered just how much Paige meant by those words. Mira simply shook her head and followed them down to the bridge where they rezzed their light cycles. "I'll see you next cycle!" she called when she began heading towards the coliseum.

Mira swerved towards the Outlands once Paige was out of sight. Beck was riding alongside her, keeping his head low and eyes on the path ahead.

"That went well," he finally said after they rode on in silence.

"Beck, you know it's going to be impossible to recruit her." She meant it as a whisper so that he couldn't hear, but Beck turned to give her a look of determination.

"If she sees that Tron is alive she'll change her mind."

"You know that's not going to happen."

Mira glared as she imagined what Tron would have said to that. Not only would that risk Tron's safety, but it would risk Beck's safety as well, and the uprising would end as fast as it had started. Beck sighed in frustration when he realized that she was right.

"I'll think of something to tell her. Paige helped programs before, I'm sure she'd be willing to help again if she was given the chance."

Mira wished that she could believe him. But sometimes false hope was worse than the real thing. Paige was ruthless when it came to hunting down the renegades. Mira knew that if she found out their real identities, it would be game over.

"I'll see you next cycle." She repeated what Paige had told them before leaving. Beck raised an eyebrow before taking off towards the garage. Mira watched until he disappeared from sight. "Be careful," she added before returning to the safehouse. If Beck got careless he could put all of their lives at danger, and not just the uprising. His friends' lives would be in danger as well. Mira hoped that he knew what he was getting himself into.

AN: Other half will likely come out tomorrow or the day after. Not making any promises though ;) Tell me what you thought, I love reading your reviews!

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