Code Lyoko belongs to Moonscoop. The idea I use from this movie is indeed from SAW IV (owned by James Wan, Lions Gate Studios, and Twisted Pictures). This is going to be rated M for the scene XANA will replicate on Lyoko but not through a simulation bubble. You just wait and see. William is out of his grip though. And I know that XANA was defeated when Yumi was 15 and the others were ranging from 13-14, but I want to get a little interesting. This is also a twisted version on a special RTTPN chapter that hasn't been released yet. And just so you know, my computer doesn't have a TV related connection. I made it up. Yumi is also taking online college courses to stay near the factory if/when XANA attacks…and to stay near Ulrich, too. I didn't include Gordon or Hoffman into this because I don't want to overcrowd the number of XANAfied victims in this list.
In the darkness of their dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cassidy McGuire, propped up against her closet wardrobe, was revving into her third or fourth hour of a SAW movie marathon. Her brown eyes now comprehended the detective's moves to the classroom, to see where the arrows were taking him. The detective in question had been there once before to investigate a child abuse claim. The father of that child had made a waggling finger motion toward her, and she knew that if she told the officer about their little secret, there would be severe consequences. Once he walked to the door with the blood-red question mark, he tested the door, to make sure there were no wires attached to it. Once it gave way, he opened it.
His gun was still drawn, to defend against those that might attack him. He looked to his right. On the white-dusted blackboard was a message written in red blood. It read, "SAVE AS I SAVE". He then turned to his left and gasped.
Two people, a man and a woman, were shown. The man's head was forward, his eyes were closed, and his arms were limp. The red blood on him contrasted against the blue long pajamas he wore. The brown harness that he also had on didn't look bloodied at all. Impaled through his heart was a big spike.
Luckily, for Cassidy, she was wearing earphones to keep her roommate, Aelita Schaeffer, also at the age of 18, from being disturbed. The former heard the light high-pitched beeping from the timer inside the room. According to the beginning, the detective's friend had only ninety minutes to live.
He walked up to the man. From the looks of it, the man was dead. He recognized him, though, as the man who was the abuser to his daughter and wife. The man had also patted him on the back, causing him to punch him in the face and attack him full force. He also remembered that a friend in the department had to hold him back.
He gasped at the spike in the man's chest and looked to the left. There was another sign on a piece of wood that said, "YOUR LIFE IS IN HER HANDS". Above it were a camera and a timer counting down from approximately thirty-two minutes. He walked around to study the blonde-haired woman wearing a bloodied nightgown. There was also a spike through her chest. It was as if the two were connected.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired woman's head shot up, her blue eyes snapping open. It made the detective jump. Off-screen, Cassidy also jumped a bit, but silently berated herself for doing so. She had seen the scene before. The first time she had seen it was on a YouTube video as a stand-alone.
"I did it," The woman rejoiced, panting, though the spike wasn't even near her lungs. "I won…"
"What the hell did you do?" the detective asked.
Then the screen flashed back to what had happened. She woke up with spikes in her body. She screamed hysterically. "What's happening?!" A few flashes later, the woman grabbed the recorder in her right hand and pressed a button.
"The human body is a fascinating organism. It can withstand the most brutal injury... and yet repair itself miraculously. But you know this all too well. How many broken bones have you suffered at the hands of your husband? How many flesh wounds have you endured? With time, the bruises have healed, but your pain has not. Today, I empower you to take control of your life. Can you disconnect from the one thing that has brought you and others so much pain? With time, your wounds will heal. His, however, will not. Remove the ties that bind, or bleed to death from your inactivity. The choice is yours," said a deep voice.
The woman screamed in the beginning of the recording, causing the man to wake up and scream, "HELP!" at the top of his lungs. The camera also flashed to the vast myriad of X-Rays of her hand, ribs, and a few other fractures she had had. The projector showed a map of the vascular system. A few dots pinpointed where the spikes were on the man.
He looked at the wood that held the warning and his eyes widened. Whoever did this was going to kill him. He looked to the ceiling. "GET ME OUTTA HERE!" He yelled hysterically.
The woman smiled and laughed in a sobbing fashion and said, "Okay, okay. Here we go!" Her right hand slowly moved for the spike in her left arm. As she grabbed it, she whimpered a little. "I'm sorry!" She slowly pulled on it.
The man noticed the spike in his arm moving. "Morgan...Morgan, what the—" the curse was deleted "—are you doing?!" He started screaming as he tried to pull the other way. It was just too slick and Morgan soon pulled the spike out. She then proceeded to do the same to the other few spikes in the non-vital points in her body, starting with the one in his neck. The cameras kept flashing to various points in the movie until…
It flashed back to the present.
Cassidy decided it was time to shut the movie off for now and head for the sheets. She sank into the pillow and drifted away for dreamland…
-The next morning-
She woke up earlier than she normally would. Aelita was still asleep, dreaming about Jeremie. Cassidy smiled. She's a good girl. I'm so glad that she and Jeremie got together when we were both 17. She slid the covers off her and got up on her feet. It was time to tackle a new day. "Time for breakfast," she whispered as she walked out of the dorm. Seeing as she had showered yesterday at six in the afternoon for her marathon movie, she felt she didn't need one. Sissi was no longer forcing other girls to wait for the showers after her father found a huge water bill.
She shrugged and walked down the stairs. Jeremie, Odd, Peter, and Ulrich were still asleep, she figured, and so was her ex, William. She still felt a lot violated from his earlier flirting attempts under XANA's control. It made her look away from him, scared and a few times about ready to cry. She couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him.
Peter and the others understood her. It was rough when he brutally broke up with her on false charges, tore up the plane tickets, and made her life a living Hell on Lyoko.
She made it to the landing when she thought she saw a figure near the front entrance. The figure looked to be taller than her, dressed all in red robes, wearing what looked to be a pig mask. Cassidy closed her eyes and shook her head. "Whoever it is, they aren't real. You're probably suffering some post-horror movie hallucinations. The thing you have seen isn't real."
She opened her eyes again to see that the figure, whoever he or she was, had vanished. She smiled. "See, girl?" she asked herself. "You are one hundred percent okay." She turned to skip off to the cafeteria, but bumped into Jim.
"Oh, Jim, I'm sorry," She looked up.
Jim hadn't changed a bit. He still wore the band-aid over his cheek, always knew when he would rather not talk about things. The only thing that seemed to change was his suspicion around the Lyoko Warriors. It wasn't there anymore.
"Are you okay, McGuire?" He asked, concern in his voice.
"Just thought I hallucinated after seeing an R-rated horror film marathon," Cassidy shrugged.
"Isn't that supposed to be rated 18…?"
"I'm of the age now. In America, the film rating goes from G-R, depending on many factors. Rated G is more suitable for kids, PG, for those needing parental guidance, PG-13, same as PG but with the age limit of 13. R rated films are the 18 rated ones. It's much more suited for adults. And I'm of that age," Cassidy smiled. "My computer has a DirecTV connection so I could watch Syfy in English. I can never get the hang of French or Italian, but I'm trying anyway."
"Well, now, you be careful, ya hear?"
She smiled at his concern. "I will, Jim." She walked off to the cafeteria.
Jim smiled, too. Nice kid. I'm going to miss her when she graduates. He walked to the dorms.
-Meanwhile, with Cassidy-
"Jim's so nice. He's definitely penciled as one of my favorite teachers," Cassidy sighed. "Along with Mr. Schaeffer."
Mr. Schaeffer, aka Franz Hopper, had been materialized about two or three years ago. He was currently serving Mrs. Hertz as a teacher's aide for until he was up to speed. Once that was achieved, the now science teacher had agreed that she would step down and retire. It was a friendly agreement, and it played off well.
She sighed. Nothing in this world could make her feel any different about today. To her, the air was warm, not too hot, the birds were chatting with each other, and Kiwi was probably dreaming about a girl dog like him with a puff of white fur on her tail as a girlfriend. The pungent, but pleasant, smell of fresh mown grass tickled her nose. It was going to be a great day indeed.
She made her way to the steps when suddenly, she saw another figure, about the same as the last one, wearing black and red robes and, as usual, a pig mask. She panted a slight bit. Okay, okay, just calm down. Take in the situation. It's probably another hallucination. Close your eyes and count to ten. Ready? She closed her eyes. Her thoughts slowly counted: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… Open them. She obeyed, but saw that the figure had come closer to her.
Okay, keep calm. You probably watched one too many SAW films last night. Just relax, and perhaps this figure may go away. She was relaxed, but saw, once again, that the figure had come closer.
The figure, whoever he or she was, took off the mask for a slight second to reveal someone she knew. John "Jigsaw Killer" Kramer? Oh, god, I am in trouble. She also saw a flickering, target-like symbol in his eyes. Double it. That's XANA!
Her heart dripped into her stomach in panic, though her head was calm. Okay, back away. Just back away until you are out of the cafeteria area. She walked backwards until she bumped into someone. She looked to see the red figure. She gulped. Okay. Figure this out. It's either Hoffman or Amanda. But Hoffman wore a black robe when he kidnapped Paul Leahy. Amanda might be it.
The two started to advance. She tried to stay calm. There was absolutely no need to cause a scene. The others were still sleeping. If there was an activated tower, Jeremie could get the others faster than lightning. Plus she didn't want to worry Peter. The two had been dating for a few years. If something was wrong, he would not rest until he was sure that 'milady' was safe.
Cassidy didn't know which was worse. The fact that she was in danger, or the fact that she couldn't tell Peter she was in danger. Live or die, make a choice, she thought in dry sarcasm. It was times like these that she wished she had her wings. They would carry her aloft and into a safe place. But her reality crashed that wish.
She looked around her surroundings to try to find something she could use as a weapon, but a leaf could not do anything, much less a pile of them. They were in the middle of March. Fall had just left after December 21. She was not going to pull out a board of the cafeteria steps out and try for a double homerun. XANAfied victims or clones (though at this point, it was hard to tell) always had intangibility powers. She knew from experience. Cassidy couldn't run—they would catch up to her with inhuman speed.
Carefully, she kept walking backwards to try to not get caught. She felt a tremor of fear enter her. Okay, just keep calm. Two of your favorite SAW villains are here right now hunting you down. Just keep backing away. Don't allow them to corner you. Just back away until you are in the dorms.
Little did she know that the dorms were getting farther and farther away. She kept looking at John and Amanda, trying to keep herself from panicking like all the other SAW victims. Panic, oftentimes for the victims, led to no team efforts. She had seen SAW V before. Adrenaline, plus the irrevocable need to prove Darwin's theory on Survival of the Fittest, had cut, exploded, and electrocuted the Fatal Five down to two. Luckily, both victims had survived with only the scar on their arms.
Suddenly, Amanda charged. Cassidy jumped to avoid her, but felt gloved hands clamp down on her shoulders, preventing another jump. She felt her hair being moved to the front of her left shoulder. Not today, Jigsaw! She dropped down and spun her foot, connecting with his ankles to successfully make him lose his footing. He should know by now that you shouldn't mess with a fighter…oh…wait. He knows how to work on fighters. Didn't the SAW series teach me anything? She couldn't get distracted. Amanda was charging at her again.
She stood and twirled. The red-cloaked female missed.
As if she had an extension of her arm, Cassidy almost pretended to have one of Yumi's tessen fans and lock it with John's head. You'll never beat me, XANA-Jigsaw, ever.
Again, gloved hands grabbed her shoulders. This again, Amanda? It seems you will never learn from your mentor, John. And a few people say that you and John love each other after Jill. She tried to do the same trick again when the hands gripped her shoulders hard and she was pulled up so she was standing. That's new, and I rarely do this to a human, much less a girl. She twisted her body so that the toes of her blue Sketchers Sport shoes were within the right spot. She kicked her in the thighs, right at the points at which Amanda had cut herself after heroin abuse in SAW III.
She let go. However, right as Cassidy backed up, a few gloved fingers moved the rest of her hair out of her way. Ay Dios mío. I nearly forgot about John. She turned to see him, but then, Amanda's fingers grabbed her hands. Refuse to be tied up, Cat Girl. That is the first rule. Go! She squirmed.
"Hello, Cassidy," John's voice had an undertone. "I want to play a game…"
"Well, you're not going to get me that easily!" Cassidy hissed. She stomped down hard on Amanda's toes and winced on the recoil. What did you do, place steel toes in your boots? Ow, Jeepers. My heels are going to be feeling that for a week or two.
The back of her neck was feeling a bit cold, despite the warm day. She tried to overthrow her opponent. There was no telling what John's game was, but she knew, like the Hunger Games, the consequences of losing were death. Winning meant life only, a major difference from the Games.
However, Amanda's grip was stronger than her strength. She often forgot that XANA's victims had enhanced strength. Dang it.
"Hand the girl over to me, Amanda, and find the other."
Cassidy's eyes widened. Whoever she was partnered with will also be subjected to harm, or subjected to harm her. Partnerships only worked with good communication in the SAW series. SAW I was the best example she could muster. Doctor Gordon and Adam Stanheight had level communication, despite being chained from one ankle and in separate, diagonal corners, thus were able to actually work out plans.
She felt her hands go free, but instead of freedom, she ended up with John. She struggled. This would remind her of when the crows attacked, if she had been possessed on Lyoko and Ulrich and Aelita had to hold her back from the tower, but she wasn't there.
She heard something unsheathe from John's pocket. Cassidy stiffened. Whatever it was, she knew. She turned her head to look behind her when one of his hands grabbed it and turned it to look at the trees in the forest. She shivered. Why doesn't he use electricity like all the other victims? Why didn't Amanda? Was it the gloves?
She had to fight, though her feet were forcefully planted in the ground and her arms were held behind her back. If you were going to scream earlier, you can, now.
No. I must fight, Cassidy growled in her head. She shifted her shoulders, trying to free her hands.
"Hold still!" John said.
It's impossible to fight against Jigsaw. You've seen him, Amanda, and Hoffman in action. They can take their subjects down in a matter of seconds, Cassidy.
Oh, so now you switch on the coward card! First, you tell me to calm down, and now you tell me to surrender? Whose side are you on anyway?
Yours. You need to find out what XANA is planning with John and Amanda. Then, if necessary, you can work on an attack plan.
Great, now I have a Voice.
John looked to the side to see his apprentice Amanda and an unmoving figure in her arms. The figure looked to still be sleeping. With a nod from the mask, he stabbed the needle into her neck.
Cassidy felt the sting, and she knew she was going to be sedated. The movies did teach her some things. Hoffman, Amanda, John, and even Doctor Gordon himself each used sedatives when kidnapping victims.
John pressed on the plunger. Soon the girl would fall asleep. And soon...
"Let the game begin..."
-Later-
Cassidy woke up a couple of minutes or so later to nothing but dark and light blue hues hazing and stirring her vision. If Odd could feel nauseous after going through Sector 5's transporter, she was definitely feeling that way now. Whoa… What happened? Where did John and Amanda go? Where am I?
Her vision gradually started to clear. Ice floes started to take form. Dark digital water began to make watery shapes. Oh… Hi digital sea. She seemed to smile, until she quickly frowned. Digital Sea?! Oh, no…
A soft groan from behind her made her jump…or at least almost flinch. Something was attached to her. "How did I get to Lyoko?" a confused voice asked.
"William?"
"Cassidy?"
"How did you—?"
"Search me. I only remember falling asleep and waking up here. What's your story?"
"Mine's more different. After watching SAW II, III, and parts of IV. I went to sleep, woke up, and thought I hallucinated near the entrance to the dorms, found that the hallucinations were real, tried the nonaggressive approach and found it didn't work. Fighting didn't do anything. Then I felt a sting, everything went black, and then woke up here. All after trying to go down to breakfast."
"Any idea why we are here."
"I have one theory."
"Which is…?" There was a tone of impatience in his voice.
"XANA wants us to play one of John 'Jigsaw Killer' Kramer's games," Cassidy gulped.
There was a scoff from behind her. "You definitely watched too much SAW last night."
"If that were the truth, how do you explain our situation?"
There was no answer on the other end. She sighed. "Didn't think so."
"What do you think the game is?" William asked.
"Seeing as we're the only two not going ax-crazy over anything, it's not the Nerve Gas House, from SAW II. I also see that we are not separated, meaning, not the Bathroom Trap from SAW I or in a test of our own or others' from later films."
"Fatal Five?"
She inspected herself. "William! We are on Lyoko! We're not giving ten pints of blood, completing a circuit with our own rhythms, smashing ceiling jars, or have collars that want to pull us to V-shaped saw blades."
"Point taken. Anything from VI?"
"No. And I haven't seen that or 3D yet."
"Maybe SAW IV?"
Her eyes widened as she inspected herself. Impaled through her were several ice rods in the same position as Morgan's. "If I said yes, would you freak out?"
"Depends on the situation. Which trap?"
"Not the end trap, William, but the penultimate one."
"Meaning…?"
"The Spike Trap," she tried not to panic.
He growled. "Find your weapons and GET US OUT OF HERE!"
She checked her sash, but found four empty slits. "I'm weaponless!"
William growled. This was useless. "Let me conjure up my zabanto." He concentrated with all his might, waiting for his sword to come up in a cloud of silver smoke. But when he clasped a hand around, he only formed a fist. He shook his head. "This is hopeless. I don't have my gear either."
Cassidy sighed. "Okay, we need to get out of here…"
"Any ideas, Einsteinette?" he asked in dry sarcasm.
"Only one, and do not call me that name. I'm undeserving of that one," she scowled, though it was pretty obvious that he wasn't able to see it.
"You are not going to do what Morgan did to Rex!" William tried to reach a hand back to slap Cassidy on the side.
"It may be our only chance to free ourselves here. Besides, I have a very good feeling that Jeremie and the others have noticed we are gone and they are looking for us as we speak. Lyoko is the last place they look. They check everywhere else first, and then they draw the conclusion that we are here."
-With Jeremie and the others-
Jeremie Belpois, not all alone on the edge of 17, was drinking his usual hot chocolate when he placed it down next to his cereal. He noticed something suspiciously off. He addressed his friends. "Hey, have you guys noticed that Cassidy and William aren't here?"
Aelita looked to see that her friends were nowhere to be seen. "Yeah. She was gone by the time I woke up. As for William, I don't think he was anywhere today."
Odd Della Robbia, at the age of 18, finished off his eighth serving. "Maybe they went to practice in the woods."
"I don't think so, Odd," Ulrich Stern, also 18, shook his head. "William would've told us if he was taking Cassidy over to practice."
"I think I know." The voice sounded like it had been sobbing for a while.
They turned to see Milly Solovieff, about the age of 16, in the corner. As she aged, she let her hair down a little more, leaving Hiroki Ishiyama, about 15, in a whirlwind of emotions. Today she wore it all down. "I saw everything…" she squeaked.
Yumi, Hiroki's older sister, who had the gracious offer of guest passing in the mornings, age of 19, walked up to her side. "What happened?"
"There were these two cloaked figures with pig masks…"
"What?" Ulrich scoffed as if he didn't want to believe it. "That's impossible. The movie's fiction."
"I'm telling the truth, Ulrich Stern!" Milly snapped, making Ulrich step back three steps. "Cassidy was trapped. She did everything she could, and I could tell she wasn't trying to make a big scene. She held back until the black and red-cloaked figure caught her…"
"What did he or she have? Was it the Eye, Milly?" Jeremie asked, trying to comfort her.
Lyoko was revealed at the same time that Franz was materialized. Everyone had the clues now. The rule that the dead could not come back after the return trip was still in play.
Peter Carter/Morales, around the ages of 17 and 18, acted as if shocked. Cassidy, his girlfriend, was in danger? Why didn't she warn him? Was she okay? If so, where was she? Would she make it?
"They were too far away, Jeremie," Milly informed. "I couldn't see it from where I was."
"What's so significant about the pig masks?" Jeremie looked to Odd. Next to Cassidy, Odd was first place in horror films.
"Well, in SAW, a film series about John 'Jigsaw' Kramer wanting to enrich people's lives with death traps, pig masks are a commonplace item. It hides anyone on his side's identities. John must've kidnapped her and William."
Peter gasped and clenched his fists. "This John guy is going to regret the day he came to life!"
"Forget it, Peter. The guy's already dead. He was dead from SAW III onward," Odd sighed. "So are Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman."
That didn't relax him. "She's going to be hurt, Odd."
"The best thing to do right now is to try and search around," Jeremie placated. "Maybe they are on Earth. We'll rendezvous at the factory if we can't find them." He placed a warm, slightly calloused hand on Peter's shoulder. "We'll find Cassidy. You'll see."
"And William, too," Milly interjected.
"And William, too," Aelita agreed.
"First we need to make our routes," Jeremie pulled out a copy of Kadic's map from aerial view. His old copy was so badly mangled that he had to request a new one. He didn't keep one just because he forgot the routes or anything. He kept one to map out missing member routes.
He began penciling the usual hangouts between William and Cassidy. "Okay, Aelita and Yumi, since she's not in her dorm, I want you to go to the factory to search around. Be careful. If the two are tied up in the factory somewhere other than Lyoko, then Amanda and John can't be too far away."
Aelita and Yumi nodded. "Right."
"Odd and Ulrich, search the park. William likes to practice his martial arts there and Cassidy loves listening to music with her iPod Touch underneath your tree, Ulrich. I advise caution to you two as well."
The two roommates nodded.
"Peter, you'll come with me to check the town. Cassidy likes to hang at the bookstore, the crafts store, and the electronics. William likes to go to the comic book store."
"Let's go, Einstein," Odd protested.
Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, Odd." Then he muttered to himself, "Two of our gang disappears and then everyone gets all wound up. Who knew?"
Aelita gave him a small kiss on the cheek before heading off with Yumi.
"Okay," Peter nodded. It was hero time once again.
-Back to William and Cassidy-
William fiddled with the harness strapped to them, but it stood firm against his efforts to liberate themselves.
"If it's stuck, it's a trap," Cassidy sighed.
"Cassidy, this is no time to be quoting. Now, try to work the harness your way," he shook his head.
Cassidy shrugged a little. "Have it your way then." She tried taking the harness off as if she was undoing a T-shirt to no avail. She growled. "I can't get it off either."
William took a hold of one of the rods, but felt electricity go up his arm. "Whatever you do, do not remove the rods," he said as he let go.
She felt one of them, but the spark of electricity wasn't there. "I don't feel whatever current is in your side of the rods."
"But how are they affecting me and not you?"
"I think it has something to do with the fact that Rex didn't feel at the rods until Morgan moved the first one in her arm," Cassidy theorized.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No. Look, pulling out the rods may be the only answer," Cassidy sighed.
"No, you are not going to do that!"
"Yes, I have to, William. Did you ever hear that part of the recording in SAW IV? 'Remove the ties that bind, or bleed to death from your inactivity'?" She scowled again.
"I probably overlooked that part."
"You can't overlook a recording. You can overlook a rule, but you cannot not pay attention to a horror film's recording," Cassidy would have kicked him in the thighs for that thought.
William growled. "Curse you and your memory!"
"Hey! I'm trying to get us out of here! Now shut up and allow me to work on my plan!" She yelled.
"No! I can't let you do this," he accidentally touched the rod in his leg, making electricity go up it. "DARN IT!"
"See?"
"Point taken. Just hurry."
She slowly grabbed the rod in her arm. "Whatever you feel, I'm sorry. It's going to hurt us both."
"Thanks for the tip. Now, GO!"
She nodded. Here I go. Pulling it, she tried not to scream. It slowly slipped out as William started to yell in pain. "Could you be any gentler?!"
"NO! It's the only way." She sighed for a slight second as the rod gave way and she saw a light-bluish blood-like substance ooze out with some electric sparks. Soon the substance disappeared and the sparks disappeared.
"We lose life points with every rod pull. Cassidy, stop!" William ordered.
"I have to, William Dunbar. Now just shut it until the rods are gone."
"This isn't helping our situation."
"It did for Morgan's situation!"
"Stubborn. That's what you are!"
"I don't care right now." Her hand reached for the one in her shoulder leading to his neck. Here goes nothing. She started pulling again. It was the same as the last one, William shouting in pain, trying to get her to stop, but Cassidy was relieved to pull the rod out. She dropped it next to the one that was formerly in her arm. Two down, a few more to go.
William panted, "Please, Cassidy, stop."
"William, we're on Lyoko. We can't be killed here, unless XANA has managed to sabotage the devirtualization program, but it's impossible for us to tell right now. I have no other choice but to do this." She grabbed at another one, near her side. This time, the pulling was a bit slower. William almost sighed in relief, though in pain and concern at the same time.
"You okay, Cassidy?"
"Just a bit tired. I'm done with the third rod," she panted.
"Why don't you take a small break and then continue?" He was starting to feel drowsy himself.
She nodded. "Okay." She let her pawed hand fall to the side. "Just about four or so more to go, William…"
"Don't worry. Three out of seven or eight isn't that bad."
"How are we going to get home without our weapons after this? XANA probably dematerialized them when we were unconscious," Cassidy's voice sounded a bit thick, though tears weren't possible on Lyoko. You could sob on Lyoko, but there would be no tears.
"I have no clue. Maybe we could stab each other with the rods!" William looked to them, but then, the three rods, almost like an unfinished conveyor belt, started to depixilate in front of him. "Okay…?"
"They disappear after removal."
"My idea just flew out the window."
"No kidding, Sherlock Jr. to the twenty-sixth power."
"What does that make you?"
"Our rescuer." Her hand reached for another rod. "Now shut it and allow me to pull."
-With Peter and Jeremie-
"Okay, so they aren't at their usual hangouts," Jeremie deduced.
"We need to go see what Yumi and Aelita have dug up." Peter's nervousness was eating at his insides. The more time they spent investigating was more time that Cassidy could be in serious danger.
"Hey, Peter, don't worry. I'm sure that Cassidy is okay."
"Don't tell me to not to worry, right now, please. Cassidy is in danger and may need our help."
"I'm sure she'll be okay. Right now, let's head to the factory," Jeremie assured.
Peter only nodded. If she was harmed, there would be only one person to blame. And that person would be feeling his wrath from dawn until dusk.
Jeremie picked up his cell phone. "Hey, Odd? Any luck trying to find them?"
The other boy leaned in to listen.
"Trying to find them is like trying to find an idea in Jim's head." Odd's voice only deepened his friend's anxieties.
"Gather Ulrich and meet us at the lab," Jeremie said.
"Roger."
Peter only looked at Jeremie with wide eyes. "We need to check Lyoko, Jeremie. Cassidy could be in danger there."
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
-With Cassidy and William-
"There are two rods left… William, please… Try to hold on," Cassidy did the same. Somehow, to her theories, XANA had turned on the exhaustion factor. Her vision had doubled near the fifth rod and she found it more difficult to concentrate. Her head pain came one rod later. Her arm heavily moved to the one in her leg. Come on, Cat Girl… You can make it. You're nearly there. What she didn't know was that William had passed out after she yanked the last rod out.
She grabbed at it. Now pull… She started to withdraw the rod. This time, she couldn't contain her unbridled yelps of pain. The sector was starting to blur and stir in front of her. Her coherent thoughts were able to make out, you can get it out. Come on! Pull…!
She felt the rod get loose before she lost her grip on her consciousness.
-With Jeremie and the others a few minutes later-
Jeremie typed on the supercomputer, having gathered Franz at the school earlier. "Okay, I've checked the virtualization logs. They're—"
"Where, Jeremie?" Peter asked.
A map window came up at the press of the enter key. "They're in the Ice Sector. And strangely, their arrows are pointing in opposite directions. One's facing east, and the other is facing west."
"Must've had a fight," Odd teased.
"Not funny, Odd!" Peter worried.
"None of them seems to have moved. No monsters around as far as our eyes can see. But this is concerning…"
"What, Jeremie? What?" Peter nearly sprang on Jeremie and shook him where he sat.
"William has ten less life points than Cassidy." He kept typing on the keys. "But strangely, there were no monsters in the stats list."
"We need to go to Lyoko, fast."
"Okay, to save them. Head down to the scanner room," Jeremie ordered.
Peter and the others nodded.
"I'm sure they're all right, Peter," Aelita reassured.
"They could be in danger, Aelita. Cassidy could be forced to battle him at any moment."
-At the scanner room-
"Are you ready?" Jeremie asked.
Peter took the middle scanner, while Ulrich and Aelita took the left and right respectively. "Ready."
"Cassidy, we'll save you!" Peter whispered under his breath.
"Transfer, Aelita, Transfer, Ulrich, Transfer, Peter." The doors slid shut. "Scanner, Aelita, Scanner, Ulrich, Scanner, Peter." Suddenly two doors parted open, and Aelita and Ulrich stepped out.
"Virtualization."
Peter was scanned and virtualized.
"Jeremie, that was so weird. Peter virtualized but Aelita and I didn't," Ulrich looked to the ceiling.
"I must've made a mistake. Head to the scanners again, you two. Yumi, you too." Yumi nodded and walked into the scanner that Peter had been just moments earlier. "Ready, everyone? Here we go again. Transfer, Aelita, Transfer, Ulrich, Transfer, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita, Scanner, Ulrich, Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization."
The same effect happened again, but this time Yumi came out also. "Jeremie, we didn't transfer onto Lyoko. What's going on?"
"I don't know. There is nothing to suggest that you three don't exist. I can hear you, and I saw you go into the elevator," Jeremie said.
-Lab-
He typed when he came across a popup window that had a red exclamation point. "What is going on here?" Jeremie panicked.
Franz put a hand on Jeremie's shoulder to calm him down. "It's a transfer error. That XANA must've placed a virus in the program so that only three people could get transferred."
"So what do we do now?" Odd asked.
"If I was any of you, I'd wait for Peter to get down there and check things out," Franz tried to soothe.
"Do you think he'll find them, Daddy?" Aelita sounded concerned.
"I'm sure he will, my dear."
"Remember me?" Peter sounded annoyed.
"Sorry, Peter. You'll have to go without back-up this time," Jeremie informed.
"That's fine, but I'd rather see Cassidy safe. Anything from the Lyoko Garage I can use?" he asked.
He typed to see that the vehicular program was still functional. All four vehicles were at the ready. "Take your pick? The garage is free."
"I want to take the OverBike. Odd nearly killed me the last time I used his OverBoard."
"Vehicle for the man coming right up," Jeremie smiled as he typed on the keys.
-On Lyoko's Ice Sector-
The OverBike appeared next to Peter. He smiled as he got on. Soon he would save his girl and her ex. "Which direction, Jeremie?"
"Take the path in front of you. There should be a cliff, there."
"Gotcha." He swung his leg over the seat and revved off. "Any monsters so far?"
"No, but be on watch just in case, Peter."
"I will," he nodded as his brown hair kicked up in the artificial air.
Strangely, XANA seemed to be asleep on the switch. No laser fire overtook him. There wasn't any life point loss. Suddenly, Peter braked near an edge.
"Jeremie, I see a pillar near the base of the cliff."
"Then you are in the right place according to my screens."
He looked up to the sky. "Should I check it out? There aren't any guards."
"I advise against it, because XANA might be setting a trap for you, but go ahead," Jeremie said nervously.
"Here I go." That could be Cassidy, Peter worried. He found a ramp and revved for it. All the while, he prayed. Please be okay, Cassidy. Please…
He slowed to turn against the ice wall so he was face to face with William. The now-silver clad boy was unconscious. "Jeremie, I found William." Even though his XANAfied days were over, William's name still put a bad taste in Peter's mouth.
"Cassidy must be behind him. Go check," Jeremie said.
He dismounted and walked toward him. Impaled through William's chest was an ice rod. Please, don't let Cassidy be the same. His feet made their way around the first victim and his eyes found…
"CASSIDY! OH, MY GOD! OH, GOD, PLEASE, CASSIDY, WAKE UP!" Peter yelled frantically.
She didn't look to be moving. He moved to her and tried to wrap his arms around her. "PLEASE, CASSIDY! Wake up…"
To Cassidy, she slowly opened her eyes. What's going on? Who's there? Her slightly heavy eyes focused on a bit of red and brown. She swore she felt her insides jolt in involuntary panic. Was she bleeding for real now? But this was Lyoko. How was this possible? Was she dying along with William?
"Cassidy, please…we need you. I need you," she heard a pleading voice.
She gasped and started waking up. "P-Peter?"
"Cassidy! Oh, thank God!" Peter looked up at her, a smile now forming on his lips.
"Peter, what…what's going on?" she panicked.
"Shh…it'll be okay." He rose to his feet and stroked her hair.
She flinched. "Please, don't do that!" she almost shouted.
"It's okay, it's okay," he soothed. Whatever this John man did, he must've done something to make her scared of hair strokes. I'm going to help her, and then I'm going to kill the clone that did this to her. His brown eyes shot to the rod in her shoulder. "I need to remove the rod."
She nodded. "Be gentle…"
He met her gaze. She was weak, he could softly figure, from whatever hell she went through. She was also scared from trying to be brave for so long. The only thing he could do was whisper, "I'll do my best, but I won't promise you anything painless."
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away. This would hurt a lot.
Peter looked at her. "I'm sorry if it hurts."
Cassidy couldn't look.
"Ready?"
She nodded, clenching her teeth.
"Three…" He grabbed the rod.
"T-two," she tried to keep calm.
"One…" he took a few deep breaths to prepare himself.
"Z-zero…"
He pulled on it slowly.
"Be careful, Peter…" Jeremie advised.
She screamed a few times.
"You're hurting her, Fire Boy! Stop!" Odd and Yumi yelled together.
However, Peter's intentions were surrounded around Cassidy. "It's almost out, Cat Girl. Everything will be okay."
She nodded. "I feel so cold, Fire Boy…" she whimpered.
"Don't worry. This is Lyoko, sweetie. Just trust me. It'll come out—NOW!" He fell onto the ground, rod in hand. He looked at it.
She started sighing in relief. Suddenly the harness the two were attached to started to disappear. William's body collapsed in a heap beside the pillar. She fell in, though half-way there, she felt arms grab her. "I'm here, don't worry." She looked up into the brown eyes of her boyfriend.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you. I couldn't make a scene. It was…" She started to babble on and on and on, before Peter touched a finger to her lips.
"Shh… You're going to be alright, milady," Peter reassured.
"Okay, everything is back online. I'll rematerialize you," Jeremie came on.
Peter looked over Cassidy's shoulder. "Jeremie, William's devirtualizing."
"He'll be fine," Jeremie reassured. "The injury or injuries that the two have accumulated won't affect them."
"Because of the fact that this is Lyoko, right?" Peter cradled his sweetheart.
"Yes."
Just then Cassidy gasped, and she devirtualized.
"Cassidy!" everyone exclaimed.
"Aelita says she's fine, everyone. She just passed out from shock. I'm going to rematerialize you now okay?" Jeremie asked.
"Materialization: Peter!"
Peter was soon materialized back on Earth, as his scanner opened. William was in the arms of Ulrich and Odd, as Cassidy was in Franz's arms.
"She'll be okay. She just needs a little rest," Franz looked to Peter.
"I think we all do Franz, I think we all do." Peter said.
"Let's bring them back to their rooms. We'll bring Cassidy to our room, Daddy." Aelita smiled, relieved that Cassidy was okay.
"Alright, sweetheart," Franz said.
A pair of bluish shoes made their way down the ladder. "I'll research what John did to William and Cassidy. But from what I can see Peter, they didn't do anything harmful."
Peter looked up at the genius. "I'm glad Jeremie, I'm glad."
"Alright, let's get going now," Odd and Ulrich said.
"What about comforting Milly?" Yumi asked.
"We'll think of something," Jeremie nodded.
"Right, I'll get the elevator for you guys." Yumi said.
Yumi pressed the elevator button to go up. Soon, they brought William and Cassidy to their rooms, Aelita joining the later girl. Afterwards everyone went to their rooms, and Franz went to the Hermitage for a well deserved rest.