AN: So this is part one of the second last episode. I'll probably update the day after tomorrow, since I'll be busy all day and night. Anyways, I'm glad to see all of the responses I'm getting from previous chapters :) Thanks to Sunofaia, 2theSky, Liza Cobbler, and PrincessKai733 for your reviews!
Chapter Thirty One
Something wasn't right. Mira knew from the moment she had walked down the stairs that something was wrong.
Tron was in the healing chamber when she saw a security alarm blinking on the screen he was always watching. Mira raised an eyebrow before hesitantly touching the screen. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw an image play out.
The renegade was attacking a shopkeeper. Beck, the one program that was afraid to derezz, was killing a shopkeeper. Mira's heart began racing as he terrorized the female program that had been protecting her boss. The renegade was hovering above the female program, hidden mask just inches form her face.
"Tell them what I did." Mira blinked in surprise when she realized that his voice was disguised. The female program watched in horror as the renegade walked away. Mira cringed when an explosion followed shortly after his disappearance. As the cloud of smoke and fire filled the screen, it suddenly went black.
Mira whipped around when she realized that Tron was just emerging from the healing chamber. Rinzler had run down the stairs to find out what the noise was about.
"What happened?" Tron demanded when he noticed how shaken she was.
"N-Nothing happened," Mira stammered. She looked over her shoulder, back at the blank screen.
That couldn't have been Beck, she tried to reassure herself. He wouldn't do something so heartless.
"You're hiding something." Tron folded his arms and glared at her accusingly.
Mira bit the bottom of her lip when she thought of what to say. She knew that she should have told him what happened. But she needed to know first hand whether it was Beck behind the mask or some other program.
Suddenly she remembered the program that Beck had come across cycles ago. A mad program that was bent on the destruction of the Grid. A program that might have followed Beck out of his prison.
"I promised Beck I'd meet him at the garage," she said after shaking the uneasy feeling off.
"You shouldn't go out there alone," Tron snapped just as Rinzler approached her feet. Mira stared at him defiantly, sure that she could go out without getting caught. He trusted her before, so why not now? "Fine, just be careful," Tron sighed when he realized that she wouldn't waver.
"I'll be back soon," she promised as she reached for her light cycle baton. Rinzler rubbed against her foot before looking at her longingly. "You'd better stay here," she told the kitten.
Rinzler gave her a longing look before he sat down. Tron eyed the kitten warily before shaking his head. Mira smirked before she left them. She knew that Rinzler would keep Tron busy while she was gone.
She rezzed her light cycle as soon as she was outside. The shop had been close to the energy plant. Mira remembered the location well after watching Tron nearly derezz Dyson. The scene didn't bring back happy memories. As she remembered the look Tron had given Dyson, her fists clenched.
Mira pulled to a halt when she reached the explosion sight. Programs were gathered around, watching curiously as the medics arrived. Mira's eyes widened in alarm when she saw a medic with Mara. She was placed on a stretcher while the medic looked her over. Beck and Zed were with her, expressions full of horror as she told them what happened.
She turned her light cycle back into a baton and stood up. Mara winced in pain as a piece of metal, or what ever was used to create a building, was pulled out of her leg. Mira couldn't help but grin when Zed fainted on the ground. While Beck helped his friend up, Mira pushed her way through the crowd until she was close enough to see the extent of the damage.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw that half of the building had been taken out by the explosion. Any programs that were in the shop would have died from the explosion.
"User." Mira whirled around when she heard the term. Her skin crawled with unease when it felt as though someone was watching her. Mira turned her head slightly enough to see a hooded program standing nearby. His face was concealed, and she had an eerie feeling that he was the one that had said the word.
Beck had noticed the program standing in the back of the crowd as well. Mira stiffened when she realized that was watching her, and than the program standing nearby. His eyes widened in horror and recognition. Without warning he dropped Zed and ran towards the crowd, only to be blocked by a medic truck.
Mira whirled around to see that the program had made a run for it. She glanced over her shoulder before running after the program. Her mind was churning with thoughts as she avoided light cycles and trucks that were leaving from or returning to work.
The program had led her to a building near the edge of the city. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that Beck had followed. Her fists were clenched as she pushed open the door after climbing several flights of stairs.
"I know you're out here!" she shouted when she reached the top of the building. She spotted the program heading for the fire escape.
"So you're the User I've heard so much about." The program spoke in a broken voice, and the hair along Mira's arms stood on end when she saw his face for the first time.
Long white lines stretched along his face and arms. The cloak came off, and Mira realized that most of his body was covered in the white circuits. She had never seen such an appearance before, and she doubted that he was safe.
"You're just as persistent as I remember," the program added when he eyed Mira calmly. She stiffened when she spotted Beck standing nearby. He was glaring coldly at the program, who seemed unnerved by the look. "Hate to say it renegade, but you're fighting a losing battle."
"I saw what you did." Mira glared at the program defiantly, well aware that he was the one who had blown up the shop. His voice sounded familiar, to a point that she could recognize it.
"Let's just say I'm giving the renegade a new image," the program sneered.
The program disappeared after jumping down the fire escape. Mira's eyes widened when she realized that he had vanished. She glanced back at Beck, but his expression was difficult to make out.
"That was Cyrus, wasn't it?" she asked in a low whisper.
"We need to get back to the garage," Beck said after recovering from the shock.
Mira glanced at him nervously before nodding in agreement. If anyone knew about the extra disk Beck had used, it was Able. He would know whether or not Cyrus had taken the disk.
She followed Beck down the fire escape and they raced back towards the garage on their light cycles. She held her breath when they reached the garage. Programs were gathered outside as if nothing had happened.
New images of the renegade began appearing around them. Mira's fist clenched against the handle bars when she heard a voice shouting that the renegade was deemed a dangerous program, and that anyone that knew something should report it.
Beck made his way towards the locker room, oblivious to the programs around him. Mira recognized a few of them - Link and Hopper were around, and Bartick was standing nearby. But they weren't important at the moment. Mira had to run after Beck in order to keep up.
"It's still here," Beck sighed when he grabbed the second disk. Mira tilted her head to one side in confusion.
"But if your disk is still here than-" She was cut off by Able's approach.
"Mira, Beck, is something wrong?" Able asked when he eyed them calmly.
"It's nothing," Beck replied after hiding the disk. Able raised an eyebrow and looked at Beck seriously.
"You sure you wanna go with that?" Mira held back a smirk when Beck looked away. Able seemed to know when he was lying, just like he had seen right through her.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Beck sounded more anxious than anything else.
Cyrus is out to get his revenge, Mira thought as she followed him out of the garage.
"Something just doesn't seem right about this," she said when they were far enough away.
"What do you mean?" Beck asked the question warily.
"I mean, why would I see Cyrus in the same white suit that you use, and the disk would still be in place?" Mira tilted her head to one side as she tried to understand it all.
Beck stared at her as if the question made no sense at all. Without warning he placed the disk on his own. Mira watched with horror as he placed the disk on his back. A cry of shock followed as electricity coursed through him. Mira lunged forward to grab the disk before it could cause any further damage. With all her strength she managed to pull it off.
"What in the Users name was that?" she demanded when she pulled the disks apart.
The code inside was different. Sparks of energy erupted when she touched it. Beck grabbed his own disk before glaring at the disk in her hand.
"Cyrus gave me a counterfeit disk," he replied in an accusing tone. "Looks like you were right... again."
Mira sighed in frustration as she studied the disk. Tron would know what it was designed for. Clearly Cyrus had managed to create a disk that looked like the renegades. But it was rigged to destroy any program that used it.
She followed Beck back to the safehouse, hoping that Cyrus didn't follow them. The psychotic program could have followed them at any time if he really wanted to. But obviously he was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike.
She wasn't surprised to see Tron waiting for them when Beck led the way in. Rinzler sat beside Tron, washing the paw of his paw as though nothing had happened. Mira couldn't help but smile when she noticed how carefree the little guy was. She wished her life could be that way.
It must be nice not to worry about anything, she thought as she remembered what they were here for.
"I found this at the bottom of my locker," Beck said in an angry voice. He grabbed the counterfeit disk and showed it to Tron, who studied the disk carefully.
Mira watched as he placed the disk in a containment unite, studying what ever code Cyrus had used to create it.
"You lied to me." Beck folded his arms and glared at Tron when he turned to face him. Mira stood beside Rinzler as he watched the two argue.
"No, it seems you lied to me," Tron snapped when he grabbed Beck by the wrist. "For all I knew Cyrus was locked away in his prison."
"Don't pin this on me!" Beck pulled his wrist away. Mira held her breath as she thought of how stupid this all was.
Cyrus was a threat to the Grid, and the two programs that should be stopping him were arguing.
"Maybe you two could actually stop arguing once and work together," she suggested when a moment of icy silence followed.
Tron glared at her this time before sighing in frustration.
"You didn't tell me about Cyrus," Beck continued his argument, anger seething in his voice as he glared at Tron. "Your lies have put my friends' lives in danger."
"Beck, don't do anything stupid." Tron met his gaze, and Beck refused to waver his expression.
"I'm done." Beck took a step back. "I've got your mess to fix."
Mira rolled her eyes in annoyance when he ran out of the safehouse. Typical Beck, always thinking of his friends over his own life. Mira glanced back at the counterfeit disk, and another feeling of unease crawled up her skin. Something told her that the disk was far from finished.
"Follow him," Tron suddenly said. Mira glanced at Tron in surprise, but she noticed how haunted his expression was. Cyrus must have brought up bad memories of Clu's betrayal. "Beck is going to need backup if he does come across Cyrus again."
She gave him one last cautious glance before nodding. She looked back at Rinzler, who had watched from behind the screen Tron normally kept an eye on.
"You stay upstairs," she told him. Rinzler's ears pricked forward to show that he'd heard. Within nanocycles he'd run up the stairs and seemed to listen for a change. Mira smiled before she looked back at Tron. "With any luck we won't come across Cyrus again," she murmured.
Tron didn't seem to notice. He was looking off to the distance, as if deep in thought. Mira rolled her eyes once more before running out of the safehouse. She hoped and prayed that Beck didn't do anything risky with Cyrus on the run. The last thing she could handle was watching him suffer another loss.
AN: Can you believe this is almost over? Feels like I've been working on this one forever. But it is also one of my best writing (sad isn't it?), and second longest fic. Hopefully it'll be finished by the beginning of next week, that way I can start on Rogue :)
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