Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. Just this story's plot.
Quand l'espoir est nécessaire…
What a shame we all became such fragile, broken things
A memory remains, just a tiny spark
I give it all my oxygen
So let the flames begin
-Let the Flames Begin by Paramore
It was a cold third of October in 1992 that a German military satellite attacked an international school located in France and the country's capitol. The attack killed about eight hundred students and staff, the school building itself leveled to the ground. This incident caused a great uprising in the French government and population. They quickly responded by taking this attack as a declaration of war and used their own military weapons to attack back.
The other countries, in the beginning, wanted nothing more but to not be forced to take sides. Of course that was highly unlikely in more ways than one, one of them being the coordinated air attacks of unmarked Navy planes on several countries' capitols. Within only a few months, the whole world was caught in a war where allies turned against each other. In the end, even countries like Britain, France, and the U.S. were nothing more than piles of rubble.
After several years of innocents' bloodshed, the humans stopped fighting, seeing the damage they had caused and wishing that there was never a war in the first place, the casualties caused greater than all the major wars in the history of the world.
It had been thought that with the end of the war between countries – what some called World War III – that man could use this time to reflect on their actions and rebuild. They were wrong.
In the summer of 2004, the real enemy, the culprit behind the 1992 German satellite attack, made himself known by attacking several unheard of labs hidden throughout the world that had unknown funding and also blowing up an abandon factory near the sight of the destroyed school of Kadic Academy. On that day, computers, cell phones, T.V. s and any other electronic device were jammed with a signal that transmitted throughout the world. The transmission only showed one thing: a symbol. A symbol that would soon be wildly known as the eye of Xana – the end of man's rule on Earth and the reign of machines…
Year: 2008 – the 4th year of Xanadu
Location: Remnants of Boulogne-Billancourt, France
1400 hours…
Soft, precise footsteps seemed to echo loudly through the barren land. The sky - a beautiful clear blue with fluffy white clouds – blatantly seemed to contrast greatly with the image of the city below.
Tall sky scrappers, once the pride of man's ever growing technological and architectural skill, were now ruins, rusted, toppled, structures covered in moss and creeping ivy. The roads were rough and cracked, protruding up from the ground in unpaved slopes. If one was able to travel anywhere across the seemingly endless oceans and go to any city – Paris, Chicago, New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc. – the same scene, maybe slightly variant, would be found. They were no longer the cities of mankind's rising hope but of their greatest destruction…
"Again, why did you wake me up early to come out here?" a slightly agitated brunette yawned as he leaned tiredly against a crumbling wall.
A blonde kneeled with his back towards him as he fumbled with a small, crudely made, satellite dish. The small machine whirred to life, lights flashing. "It works!" he cried happily.
"Great," the brunette replied rolling his eyes before squatting down next to the blonde. "Now what does it do?"
"Its suppose to be able to detect high frequency patterns in the air that can-"
"It's something that can tell us when we're being attacked," the brunette said cutting him off.
"Well…yeah…" the blonde replied.
"Then why didn't you just say that, Jeremy?" the brunette asked standing back up. "Not all of us can understand your big high-tech terms."
"You seem to be doing well Ulrich," Jeremy replied.
Ulrich smirked. "Only because I hang out with you so much. It's either this or…pretty much this."
Jeremy chuckled, pushing up his glasses. "Not much to choose from is it?"
"Not when you're just trying to live from day to day."
"We won't have to live this way forever," Jeremy replied soberly.
Ulrich sighed, running his hand through his hair tiredly. "Jer," he began.
"I know," the shorter male cut him off. "I'm an unrealistic optimist and if I don't sharpen up I'll get myself killed one of these days. I already have Jim breathing down my neck enough about it. I don't need you too."
A snort came from his companion and Jeremy looked up just in time to get flicked on the forehead by Ulrich's finger. The blonde looked questioningly at him but the taller male just smirked, stuffing his hands into his beige camouflage pants, a mandatory dress requirement.
"I wasn't going to say that, actually," Ulrich said watching with amused eyes as his tech-smart friend looked confused. "I was going to say that if anyone can change this sad and pathetic world it would probably be you. You've never given up even when it has looked bleak." The boy turned to Jeremy with a smirk. "Don't tell anyone but I look up to you."
Jeremy looked surprised before smirking too. "I won't tell if you promise not to tell anyone that I look up to you too."
They both chuckled. "Deal."
The quiet setting of the abandoned city was shattered as a loud roaring nose was heard. The two males looked up towards the sky to see smoke, gray smoke which relieved their tension slightly – black smoke was danger, death….Xana.
A small shape came into view cutting through the smoke revealing something that had been deemed early on years ago as banned due to the enemy's ability to control technology and the possible threat it could cause– a helicopter.
They watched as the helicopter swerved uncontrolled in the air, hovering for a few seconds before dipping down and then jerking back up. The flying object wavered from side to side with harsh jerks – like invisible children fighting over a wanted toy. One moment, it was flying above the ruin city and the next, one of its blades clipped the side of a building causing more smoke to billow up in the sky.
"It's going to crash," Jeremy murmured.
"Come on!" Ulrich called running towards where the helicopter was about to descend. Whether safely or not was still uncertain.
"Wait! Ulrich!" the blonde called after his friend but after only a second seeing that the brunette wasn't going to listen he sighed running after him, not noticing the small strand of dark smoke creeping into his satellite device.
Ulrich heard and felt it before he saw it; the helicopter crashing into the earth. He climbed over a large piece of crumbled debris caused by the flying machine's descent. He was soon able to see the wreckage.
Flames licked the skies turning to a dark gray smoke. He could feel the heat all the way from where he was standing but that didn't stop him from getting closer, something drawing him near.
"What are you doing, Ulrich? That thing could blow up!" Jeremy's voice shouted behind him but the brunette ignored him wanting to get closer to the helicopter, his need growing even stronger when he saw a foot kick the glass free from the front window of the chopper.
He ran towards it, seeing a blonde struggle to pull two bodies out of the chopper. Ulrich didn't hesitate to help as he ran up, taking one of the bodies, the blonde only giving him the barest of glances before pulling out the other body. Stern only had enough time to realize that the person he was carrying was female as he slipped one of her arms over his shoulder, the blonde from the helicopter doing the same with the person he held.
Jeremy ran towards them, helping his fellow blonde who seemed to be struggling to hold up the weight of the person he was carrying. A loud, resounding pop came from the helicopter and the three only had enough time to hide behind the crumbling piece of wall before the chopper exploded with a trembling boom.
Dust, dirt, and smoke swirled in the air, Jeremy, Ulrich, and the other blonde coughing from the inhalation as the particles clung to their hair and skin.
Ulrich breathed heavily as he propped the female he had been holding against the wall. He watched tiredly as the unnamed blonde checked the pulse of his unmoving companions before he sighed in relief. "Just unconscious," the brunette heard him murmur.
"We could have been killed. We could have been killed. We could have been killed. We could-"
"Jer, cut it," Ulrich said. "We're alive so relax. Anyway," he said turning to the other blonde, "who are you?" That's what the brunette wanted to say but when he turned towards the unknown blonde he was passed out. "Great," Ulrich murmured. "How are we going to get them back to the base?"
"You're bringing them with us?" Jeremy asked. "We don't know who they are!"
"Yeah, that's true," Ulrich said leaning over each of the people checking their eyes. "But they're human and at this point, that doesn't make them the enemy, whoever they are."
Jeremy sighed rubbing his temples. "I left my stuff back over at the place we were. I'll go get it and send out a flare signal."
"Sounds good," Ulrich nodded as he watched his friend leave. He got back up to his feet, looking beyond the wall towards the large flaming torch which once was a helicopter. He wondered where these three got it from and where did they come from. It was known that there were human settlements throughout the world but it was hard for one to come into contact with another, near impossible for someone to actually travel to another settlement that was not their own.
Stern looked back down at the three unconscious but alive people – two males and a female. They all appeared to be around his age – sixteen. The blonde who had pulled his companions out of the chopper was what Ulrich would call scrawny. He had a buzz cut hair style and a purple spot of hair in the middle which the brunette found strange. The other male had dark shaggy hair, stubble starting to show on his chin. Nothing really special about him, Ulrich thought. The female had short raven hair framing a pale Asian face. Even when she was unconscious she had a look of determination on her face that he found interesting.
Ulrich knelt in front of the inert female, cocking his head to the side as he looked at her. "So…who are you?"
--
Location: Boulogne-Billancourt Underground Human Settlement
2100 hours
Soft murmured voices filtered through the earthen hallways, gas lanterns hanging from the ceilings along with the hanging roots. Jeremy, Ulrich, and an older brunette hair man leaned against the wall opposite from the medical room.
"So where did you say ya found 'em?" the older man asked gruffly. Ulrich rolled his eyes. He and Jeremy had gone through this several times before and it was quickly getting tired and irritating to repeat.
"We found them in the city's ruins, Jim," Jeremy explained. "They were traveling in a helicopter when we first saw them – smoke coming from their helicopter– something must have been wrong with the systems. An unknown factor. Anyway, they managed to land safely enough for the blonde to get his friends out before the thing exploded."
Jim raised a thick cigar to his mouth – not lighting it – chewing on it thoughtfully. "I see," he murmured thoughtfully. Ulrich snorted, rolling his eyes once again but held back his tongue. Jim was like a second father figure to both Ulrich and Jeremy. Though Jeremy's father was actually a nice guy, Ulrich's on the other hand was…well, that's a different story for another time. The fact was that both males respected the man to some degree. "So," Jim said looking at both of them, arms crossed over his chest. "You two told me how you met those three but ya haven't told me why you two were out there in the first place.
Jeremy chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, uh you know, we-"
Just then the nurse of the settlement stepped out from the curtain that led to the next room. Both boys sighed in relief.
"Well I checked all of their vitals, and save for a few scrapes and bruises, they all seem to be okay though their still unconscious," she informed. "They should be back up and running by tomorrow. It was lucky that you two found them," she said to the two boys.
"No problem ma'am," Ulrich grinned pulling Jeremy slowly away. "Well, we need to head to bed so see ya!"
Jim's shouts could be heard from behind them but the man's voice quickly faded away as the two boys got further away. Finally, they stopped, both breathing hard but with wry grins on their faces.
"Another great escape," Ulrich chuckled. "Though you almost dragged me behind."
"Yeah, well, we all can't be athletes like you," Jeremy teased as they walked through the part of the underground where the resident rooms were located. They stepped into a room that they shared, the boys' obvious personality clashing in the room. One side was filled with books, blue prints, and computer parts while the other side was covered in old faded martial arts posters and a small practice mat.
Jeremy went over to his desk where his miniature satellite sat while Ulrich plopped down on his messy bed.
"I think a few adjustments and this might be out for testing soon enough," Jeremy said excitedly.
"Yeah," Ulrich replied, "if you can get the chief – aka my dad, Mr. No Nonsense - to agree on that than sure. It's perfectly ready for testing."
Jeremy ignored his friend's sarcastic reply. "You know the best thing about having you as a friend?"
"My basically limitless access to the entire base?" Ulrich suggested.
"Yep," the blonde said before turning to his work. The brunette leaned back on his bed, hands pillowing his head.
"Let's say that you some how convince my dad to actually use this," the brunette said thoughtfully, nodding to his friend's device. "Will it really help us?"
Jeremy paused before continuing his work. "I hope. That's all we can do now. Hope and keep trying."
"I wish I was born in another time," Ulrich murmured.
"Past or future?"
"The present, but not this one, you know?"
Jeremy turned around to face him. "Like in an alternate universe parallel to this world?"
"I guess. Is that even possible?"
The blonde shrugged. "It was a common theme in a lot of science fiction but I do think I read something about a theory on it. Anyway, there's no real way to prove it, especially now with the way things are."
Closing his eyes, Ulrich murmured, "A world without Xana. A world without danger."
"Hard to believe," Jeremy sighed, "but anything's possible right? I mean it was that way before we were born." He turned back to his satellite without waiting for a response. It wasn't like he was waiting for one anyway. He was used to Ulrich being in his "what's my place in the universe?" type brooding. Though Jeremy didn't think it was the best way to see things he couldn't really complain. Everyone had their own ways of escaping this hell.
As he opened a plate on the satellite, Jeremy jumped back as he saw a long curl of smoke – black smoke – creep out from it. "Xana!" he gasped as the smoke split, pilling on the floor, creating and solidifying into two forms.
He heard Ulrich get up from his bed, yelling out into the hallway, but the tech savvy blonde stood in disbelief as he stared at two strange creatures – tarantulas. Both monsters aimed their cannons at the blonde. Ulrich came back into the room with a metal pipe in hand. He swung it wildly at the monsters but they merely shot it from his hands with their lasers.
Jeremy, still standing in shock couldn't even comprehend what was happening as a figure ran into the room – the blonde from the helicopter. Jeremy heard Ulrich shouting at the boy, something about it being dangerous, but the unknown blonde smirked over his shoulder before turning to the tarantulas. He pulled something out from a pouch on his hip. It looked like two laser guns. The unidentified blonde twirled them around his fingers before stopping them, aimed on the monsters.
Though everything else was blurry Jeremy remembered two things: the blonde's amused tone as he cried out "laser arrow" and the monsters – Xana's monsters, the same monsters that just one by themselves could create total damage - being destroyed completely and effortlessly.
Okay so this is an alternate universe multi-shot I'm doing for AmericanElemental that I decided to do since they asked me so nicely and this idea has been running in my head for a while anyway. I hope you like it. Forgive me for any political mistakes, if any, that might have been in the very beginning.
I'm still deciding on whether or not I should add my original characters, Musa and Cascada, from Code Moon in here. What do you guys think?
Anyway, nothing more to say so...PLEASE REVIEW!!