Takes place at the end of Season 1, as an AU version of Code Earth/False Start.
Alita's POV:
"Stay focused guys. There's still one Hornet nearby." Jeremy said. Ulrick, Yumi, & I were taking cover under a large tree stump in the Forest Region.
"We hear it. We just don't see it." Yumi said. The Hornet had the advantage in this area, with plenty of trees for cover…
"Yumi, get Alita to the tower. I'll see if I can draw its attention." Ulrick said, sprinting out from our cover. The Hornet emerged when it caught sight of Ulrick & began firing at him. Yumi & I took our chance to run to the tower.
A buzzing sound behind me told me that the Hornet had changed targets. It now had its sights set on Yumi & me.
I braced myself for the laser fire, but it never came. A quick glance behind me showed me that Yumi had turned & was holding her ground. She blocked the lasers before sending her fan flying towards her target. "Run, Alita!"
I ran as fast as I could to the tower, stepping inside. I hurried to the center of the platform, & rose up to the second level. A screen appeared, & I entered in my code.
"Tower deactivated." I announced. I glanced down, waiting for the bright white light to wash over everything.
"Return to the past now." Jeremy said. In one moment, I stood in the tower…
…In the next, I found myself sitting in the Ice Sector.
I took a moment to take in my surroundings. No monsters in sight, which was a good thing. XANA should be quiet, for a little while at least.
No friends made it very lonely.
Mentally, I checked the computer's clock. It was 4:10 in the morning. My friends were probably asleep.
"Alita?" Jeremy's voice startled me out of my thoughts.
"Jeremy." I said, smiling. In my mind's eye, I connected to the computer in his dorm. "You should be asleep. It's late." I said, even though I was glad to have the company.
"I can't sleep. Too much adrenaline in my system from the XANA attack. Want to work on the materialization program? There's a way tower not too far from you."
"Ok, Jeremy. I'm on my way." I said, standing.
XANA watched the young girl as she walked to the tower. Her friend was getting close to figuring out materialization, despite XANA's best efforts to thwart them. Alita's amnesia after the supercomputer was shut down was unexpected, but it helped keep her in her place. Now that she's made contact with the outside world…if she discovered her true identity, her true legacy, it would be much more difficult for XANA to achieve his goals.
As XANA watched, an idea began to form.
Perhaps there was a way to keep Alita in his grasp once & for all…
Tomorrow (June 11th) marks 10 years since I joined this site! I've written a much longer thank you post over on Tumblr, but I want to take a moment to thank the most important people who have supported me these past 10 years…
You. You, my readers, have been so kind to me! Your support over the years means so much to me, & I am thrilled that you continue to support me.
Now, on with the story…This chapter is a bit on the short side, but I think it works well as a prologue…as well as a hint of things to come…
Please review!