So I noticed that there are a lot of stories about how Taz came to be and how TUp was created starting at the quinceñera, but nothing about Up. After all, TUp ain't TUp without Up! So I'm setting out to change that. This is Up's story and how he became the best commander the GLEE ever had. Enjoy!

A teenage boy, lying awake at midnight, under an Alabama sky. That's where this story begins.

"The future is n-" The boy's viewscreen abruptly turned off. The surly teen, who was only half paying attention to whatever program was on at this time at night, turned his attention back to the now blank screen, studied it for a moment, then resorted to staring out of his bedroom window. He took in the sights of his small Alabama town at midnight; The buildings and streets were dark, even with the flickering streetlights. There was a man holding a bottle and drunkenly stumbling along the sidewalk while three military Jeeps drove by. It used to be rare that Ranger Jeeps drove by, but the Robot Wars had come to the American South and ground units were everywhere now. The teenager had also noticed that more and more Starship Rangers were passing by every day. The boy then looked up at the sky, a haze of pink and grey smoke with little dots in the distance that were supposed to be the stars. The boy had seen pictures of what the night sky had looked like before the war and often dreamed of seeing the navy blanket of stars and planets for himself. He had no idea why the skies had always been so captivating to him. Perhaps it was the freedom, the openness, or the unknown that attracted him. No matter the reason, he stared up at the night sky anyway.

Looking up at things like the night sky was nothing new to this boy. In fact, he did it so often, people began to call him 'Up'. His real name was actually Ulysses Peter Upton, but no one had called him that since he said his first word, which was ironically enough, 'up'. But what really gave him the nickname was not his initials and his last name, but the fact that he when he was little, he was always looking up hopefully at the stairs, at the older children, and at anyone who entered his home. You see, Up was raised in an orphanage, Saint Frances' Home For Orphaned and Lost Children was its name, and had dreamed of getting picked up and taken home by one of the hundreds of prospective parents who came through his orphanage. But as time went on, his friends would get adopted and taken to their new homes with their new families and their lives would turn out perfect. So every time another couple would pass through and play with all the children, Up would get excited and would dream about his new life if this couple chose him. He would stare up at them and smile and try his best to be charming and lovable. It never worked though. Even when there was no one looking to take home a child, Up would look up at the stairs and just wait for someone to come down the stairs, then pick him up, and take him home. Although Up was too young to understand what was truly going on around him, he understood that his mom and dad were on a "vacation", and were never coming back. Everyone in the orphanage understood this and knew where their parents were "vacationing", except for Up. He never knew whether his parents were dead or alive. As he got older, he tried to decide which was worse, having dead parents, or to be dead to his parents. Up could not bear to answer his own question once he realized what he was asking himself.

As far as Up was concerned, his friends died all the time. One day he would be playing his friends; the next, they would be out of his life forever. Everyone got adopted Saint Frances, except for Up. Up was a rowdy child, always getting into trouble, and no parent wants a troublesome child. Therefore, Up was never adopted. In a way it created a vicious circle; Up realized that no one wanted him, so he became angry, and when he got angry, he would get in trouble, and when he would get in trouble, less possible parents would want him, thus making it seem that no one would want him. The circle continued for Up's entire life, until he was about 14. At that age, no one would take him. He was simply too old. Up decided on his 14th birthday that he would live at Saint Frances' until he was in college and allowed to move out to do something with his life, but he had no idea of what he wanted to do. He just wanted to get out of Alabama. However, the day after his 14th birthday, he decided what he wanted to do.

The day after Up turned 14, the Starship Rangers came to town. The Rangers were so strong and brave and everything Up had ever wanted to be. They toured the universe and met strange and exotic creatures. The video they showed was glossy and made the Rangers out to be the greatest people in the world and made the military seem like an easy job. While all of the heroic stories were entertaining to listen to, there were two things that made up Up's mind: all the beautiful vixens they had surrounding the male rangers and a picture of what the night sky was supposed to look like. It looked so large, dark, open, and almost inviting. Up was used to seeing hues of pink and grey as he fell asleep at night, not this dark and starry night. Up wanted to touch it. He wanted to own a star and fly around in outer space. Up wanted to be a Starship Ranger.

Just over two years had passed, Up was now 16 and the Robot wars had gotten worse, but Up's dreams never faltered. If anything, Up's passion for touching the heavens grew stronger and stronger with each passing day. Suddenly, the viewscreen turned back on with words spralled across the screen and with a horrendous alarm in the background.

"Attention citizens of the greater north eastern Alabama, north western Georgia, and south eastern Tennessee areas . Robots have officially invaded the area. The robots have moved from central Alabama and are moving northeast. There is a mandatory evacuation of all the following counties: Jackson, Franklin, Walker, Chattanooga, Dade..." The list went on and on. Luckily, Up did not hear his county, but felt as if he had. Babies were screaming a couple rooms down the hall due to the loud screech coming from Saint Frances' alarm system. He heard nurses and caretakers scurry down the halls to tend to the crying children. Up couldn't take it. He needed to help. "The Starship Rangers are in Douglasville." The Starship Rangers, that was it. He thought back to when he had just turned 14 and meet the rangers for the first time. That desire to help and to touch the night sky suddenly overwhelmed him. Without thinking, he grabbed a backpack, stuffed it with necessities and found himself at the ledge of his window. With a heavy sigh, turned around and took one last look at the life he was leaving behind, then jumped.

So nothing happened this chapter, its meant mostly for background info. Like all my other stories, I probably won't update all that often, sorry. Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I love reviews and pm messages! You have no idea how much they mean to me!