The Mystery Sector
Note: Only recently, Jeramie discovers a fascinating new sector in Lyoko that didn't exist before. Having thought to have been freed from Umbra's influence, Umbra reassembles himself from leftover numerical strings of code and makes it seem like XANA was responsible for it, but Jeramie is smart enough to know XANA is already on their side. In order to examine the activity that has been going on in the new sector in Lyoko, he translates Jim and Suzanne to Hawaii where they learn more about this enigmatic new sector that happens to be volcanic in nature. The activity that is beginning there though is devastating. It's a new monster, the likes of which the Warriors have never seen before. Odd names it, appropriately, the Kollosus because of its gigantic size. Will they be able to save Lyoko from this menace before it destroys the original Lyoko ?
Chapter 1—Umbra's Return from the Dead
Only recently, Jeramie and his friends had remembered the stupendous wedding in Lyoko of XANA and Oleander. Lyoko resembled what it once had before Umbra's influence; peaceful, serene, glorious, verdant, and vibrant. The two now had been living happily together as the rulers of Lyoko, and were soon expecting a child of their own. Oleander wanted the child to be a surprise, and XANA didn't mind that. He too, wanted the gender of the child to be a surprise, and would be happy whatever the child would be once he or she was born. The future, however, was going to be changed by one small pulse in the digital sea. This pulse, the remnants of fragmented code that resembled Umbra's being, was slowly being knit back together. Slowly, the fragments became one. With a slow, creaking movement of his long, skeletal talons, Umbra spoke.
"I live…again.", he hissed.
Aelita checked her email as she had every day only to find a window to her home world opening. Calling it to the attention to Jeramie, he investigated it closer, only to find there was a new sector there he wasn't familiar with.
"What is this ? This wasn't here when you were living there…", Jeramie stated. It confused the both of them rather considerably.
"I know someone who could help us, though.", Aelita mentioned.
"Jim and Sue Morales.", the couple said in unison, laughing. It had been 2 years since the two had fought against. Without saying another thing, Jeramie quickly dialed a number on his cell phone and hoped that Jim and Suzanne were in for the day. Luckily, it was a holiday, so the entire faculty back at Kadic would be putting their feet up for the weekend.
Chapter 2—The Hawaii Mission
As soon as Jim and Suzanne had reached Jeramie, they had been given the information about the latest development in Lyoko. In order to unearth more clues about what this new formation was called, let alone how it was formed to begin with, would be determined by the scientist and the scientist at heart.
Aelita and Jeramie sent numerical data of the new sector to Jim and Suzanne, which promptly set off to virtualized there, but instead, landed themselves in Hawaii. Apparently, there were still some issues with the translation technique that hadn't been tweaked.
"Where are you now ? I don't see you in the Sector X.", Jeramie asked, raising a blonde eyebrow.
"It seems you've sent us on vacation, Jer.", Jim joked.
"It's not a vacation, Jim. I think you can find some information here.", Jeramie retorted, with a bit of a chuckle himself.
"Just be careful. That's a dangerous area you're in.", Aelita warned, gently. Neither of them had to be told twice, since they were both close to the menacing mouth of a volcano that was looking as if it was ready to erupt. Fortunately, for them, with their abilities, they would be safe against the heat as well as the tremendous power of the molten rock and lava.
"It seems as if we might have a problem here. Something has taken data from our world and used it to form what we're calling The Volcanic Sector in Lyoko.", Suzanne began.
"Numerical data… It exists in everything.", Aelita said, remembering what her father had told her in the past about how data could be more easily manipulated in a virtual realm more freely rather than in the physical one.
"Precisely. I think that whatever made this might be a danger to us. I am not getting a very good feeling about it. From what I could trace, it seems to be attached to XANA.", Suzanne said a little sadly. Both of them pondered about that for a minute. That was quite a bit to process at the moment. After defeating Umbra, it had seemed that XANA had freed himself from Umbra's clutches and this didn't seem like an action he would've taken.
"It's not XANA.", came a voice from the lab. It had frightened the two students but not to the point of unease.
"Why do you think that, Sissi ?", Aelita asked, wondering when she had come in. She, like the rest of the Warriors who had come in quite unannounced had probably heard what was going on, and had a feeling something was going on.
"It isn't like him. He's liberated.", Sissi said.
"Which can only mean one thing.", Patric added.
"Umbra's returned.", Ulrich said, darkly.
"Then we have no time to loose. We need to do what we can, find what we need and get out of here. Lyoko could be in trouble.", Suzanne concurred, as she and Jim continued their search before translating themselves back to the supercomputer with their findings.
Chapter 3—Lyoko In Trouble
Jim and Suzanne continued into the area, until they came across a room filled with what appeared to be battle droids with the mark of Umbra's Eye on them.
"Mayday…", Jim said quietly over his headset. The others could see the droids and knew something was amiss. Quickly sending them back to the lab, they wondered why the droids had been there to begin with.
"I almost had what I needed ! Why did you translate us back here ?", Suzanne asked, a bit upset. They had plenty of information to get the gist of what Umbra was up to, but Lyoko was still in a state of unease.
"Something is awakening.", Aelita said, ominously.
"What does she mean by that ?", Taelia asked, confused.
"Oh, no. I think she means that Umbra is creating something. Something horrible.", Suzanne said, her face becoming piquant. The others looked at each other almost in total disarray.
"We'll find a way to keep the citizens of Lyoko safe. I have means of moving them all at once so they will remain unharmed from whatever Umbra might be plotting.", Jeramie said. It wasn't enough to put the Warriors at rest, however.
"But whatever is forming is still going to be an issue.", Patric mentioned. Over the monitor, they could see Jeramie's transport working its wonders but gasped at Umbra's handiwork. The Lyokoians would be safe, but this abomination, the Kollosus as Odd labeled it, was going to be a menace. No longer could they stand about idly as it started on its rampage. They had to stop it before anymore devastation could be enacted.
Chapter 4—Mech against Kollosus
The gang was re-virtualized and they moved quickly to the VirtuaMech's holding dock near the Heaven's Gate in Sector Five. As soon as they beamed into the VirtuaMech, they followed the trail of the Kollusus to face it head on.
Only beginning its rampage, the humongous abomination growled furiously. It had been caught off guard from its destruction and was rather miffed that it had been interrupted. It took a swing at the Mech, causing it to tumble backward. Already, the backlash had caused quite a bit of damage to the Mech.
"Power cells are already down, what a hit !", Odd said. All of the Warriors had been jostled around a bit and were feeling bruises from the aftershock.
"I've updated the programming on the Mech though. With Jeramie's permission of course.", Suzanne interjected.
"What would we do without your know-how ?", Jim complimented, which elicited a blush from his spectacular spouse. They were far from done with their battle, however. Kollossus couldn't be destroyed in the typical manner. It had many Eyes, and none of them seemed to affect it in any way.
Taelia did some imaging of the Kolossus' weaknesses and shouted rapidly,
"Those big eyes the ones on either of its shoulders. Those spots are the vulnerable ones." Understanding what points needed to be attacked, the Warriors made their strike, but Umbra stopped them.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You think I'm going to let you have the easy way out ?", the dark Lord's voice questioned sadistically. The Warriors felt their hatred seething in their hearts, but didn't let it affect them.
"Let's see how you deal with Kollosus back on your planet, eh ? I call that fair playing ground.", Umbra said, laughing maniacally as Kollosus disappeared and the cackling dissipated.
The Lyoko Warriors, try as they might to keep Lyoko a secret from the others of the human realm of Earth, had to bring the Mech to Earth if they were to beat the Kollosus, who had already had been gaining energy from the many replicas that existed within the World Information Network. In this instance, they had no other recourse. Their friends, family, and even worse, the academy were all at the mercy of this behemoth. Together they knew that they were invincible, and even the Kollosus didn't stand a chance against their faith.
Kollosus had begun demolishing everything in its wake as it walked through Paris, thousands of people were hiding and fleeing it, praying they wouldn't be crushed by its massive feet.
"Hey, Kollosus, pick on someone your own size !", came Ulrich's voice from the mech. The beast turned, roared, and charged at the Mech, swinging its arms violently. It belched flames, trying to damage the Mech even to the point of disabling it permanently. The Mech's pilots were swift enough to avoid getting burned or hit, and the arms of the robot swung the sword that sliced the first arm of the Kollosus completely off.
"One more arm to go, and we're…", Jim said before the Kollossus sent out a resounding shockwave. The entire ground shook and the Mech fell backward before the quake had taken place. It was difficult for the VirtuaMech to regain its footing. Kollosus was still a threat in its injured state.
Burning the Eiffel tower in flames, the Mech put forth an ice blast thanks to the help of Frieda and Tamiya's combined attack of ice and water. Kollusus had become immobilized by the chilly counterattack. Using super-sprint, Ulrich had caused the Mech to have the advantage in attacking Kollosus head on again. With another slash of the Mech's sword, the second arm came toppling down from the mighty beast. With a bellowing groan, the Kollosus disappeared.
Chapter 5—Short-Lived Victory
The victory came with exuberant celebration as the Lyoko Warriors were awarded for saving their beloved worlds. But, the celebration was short lived. Umbra was positively fuming that his precious Kollosus had been dispensed of so easily. To him, he believed it was an invincible creature. He cursed his luck quietly, tossing a random book of spells across the hallway in his dark throne room. Soon enough he would have his revenge, but at the time, his thoughts had been blocked by the loss of his favorite and most glorious creation.
Franz and Antea had come to the Warriors' grand celebration to congratulate them on restoring France and saving Lyoko. They expressed how proud they were, and told them to remain vigilant with Umbra as they had in the past. The Warriors would be glad they took that advice, but they didn't know they would be getting assistance from Franz and Antea themselves. They wouldn't be asking twice, since they had been the original Warriors all along.
Umbra kept the Volcano sector and started formulating a new sinister plot. Using the materials around him, Umbra would become the next unstoppable force. No number of Warriors combined could ever defeat him. Already he was celebrating his coming victory, not realizing if one cheers too early in the game, they might meat with disappointment and worse, failure.
Umbra kept the Volcano sector and started formulating a new sinister plot. Using the materials around him, Umbra would become the next unstoppable force. No number of Warriors combined could ever defeat him. Already he was celebrating his coming victory, not realizing if one cheers too early in the game, they might meat with disappointment and worse, failure. His body immersed itself with the molten lava around him. His transformation would be complete soon.
Albeit everyone was jubilant about their latest victory, it had been difficult for them to sleep during the night. Michael had awakened after experiencing a horrible nightmare. He called Emily, hoping that he wouldn't startle her too much.
"Lili, you aren't going to believe the nightmare I just had.", he began.
"Actually, I think I know what you're talking about. I have the same awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.", Emily said. The two realized they should call the others and check the supercomputer to see if there had been any new activity on Lyoko. Providentially, they hadn't arrived too late to virtualize themselves, even though they hadn't awakened entirely. They had no time to worry about sleep deprivation. Their only concern now was destroying Umbra once and for all.
Chapter 6—Help From the Original Lyoko Warriors
It had been a godsend that the Lyokoians hadn't been moved from the replica back to their homes on the original Lyoko, since Umbra had only begun his reign of destruction upon it. XANA and Oleander had only recently joined their team and then, unexpectedly, Franz and Antea joined them.
"Mother ! Father ! What are you doing with us ?", Aelita inquired, very curious as to why they had come to fight alongside them.
"Why, what we were meant to, dear. We're Warriors too, remember.", Franz said, hugging his beloved daughter from the side. Seeing him in Warrior garb would take her some time to get used to, but he looked incredibly handsome, fierce and proud. Her mother, she was ethereal, majestic and breathtaking as she had remembered her.
"Good to have you aboard !", Patric chimed in with a spontaneous cheer.
"Yes ! Welcome to our crew !", Tamiya said, pleasantly. It was a short reunion of sorts before they fired off their rockets to the Volcano Sector. Girding themselves for a battle royal, they knew they would need all their strength and faith to come out of this in one piece.
Umbra watched the large group come towards his abode. His grin spread across his face was a twisted, snarling set of nothing but canine teeth. He was a vicious hyena, waiting to devour the carcass of anything that got in his way of ultimate dominion. Snarling, he started to charge at the Mech, taking a rather sizeable slice out of its chest. Umbra's scythe was unbearably powerful, but with Antea and Franz' new shielding ability, the scratch was minor.
"No, no, no, no ! This is my world we play by my rules !", Umbra shrieked, as he backed away, hovering a few feet above ground. The Warriors wondered why he had retreated so suddenly, but could see he was going to begin a second attack. He had appeared behind the Mech, grabbing it by the neck. Before they could react, the Warriors were looking up at Umbra and felt the pressure of his foot coming down on the robot.
"Fighting dirty…What is this, the WWE ?", Ulrich asked, remembering all those times Odd had forced him to watch professional wrestling, much to his resentment.
"At least you know what a takedown is now. Oldest trick in the book.", Odd added.
"Not helping !", Millie chimed in becoming a little upset.
"Look, we can't sulk…Guys, get it together.", Yumi said, hoping to get them to focus their minds and get back up. XANA and Oleander began a chant that transformed the Mech into something stronger, lighter, and easier to maneuver. They had done the same trick that Umbra had used with the super-smoke method.
"The former disciple now becomes the teacher, Umbra.", XANA thought to himself, sensing the heat of Umbra's rage. The battle was only about to become more intense as the two forces tussled against one another, wrestling like sumos of feudal days, right up to sword fighters and pro-wrestlers. Only one would remain standing when all was said and done.
After hours and hours of intense combat, the two sides were left panting for breath. Both combatants had suffered numerous gashes, bruises and multiple injuries, but the VirtuaMech was able to heal itself through the combined MP of the Warriors. Umbra had lost his ability to repair any damage he had suffered. All of his MP was depleted, and he barely had enough energy to stand up. Leaning on his sword, he helped himself up to his feet.
"Come on…Come at me !", he challenged them, preparing to charge for the last time. Mustering what MP and HP the Warriors had summoned, the Mech dashed forward, sword ahead of them.
In one decisive moment, the battle was over. Umbra slumped over without sound, black pools of blood billowing from his midsection. He soon vanished without one more sound. What occurred after was a lengthy silence and a rebirth of what had been lost and they exited the Mech. Before they knew it a deafening roar had surrounded them and they were inundated with grateful Lyokoians. At least for now, perhaps Umbra had been taken care of for good, because the Volcano sector seemed "stabilized" from foreign influence.
Epilogue
"Hail the Lyoko Warriors and our Princess, the heroes and saviors of Lyoko and Earth!", the Lyokoians chanted. A loud, exuberant cheer roared from the many crowds.
Herve was enjoying the view from the crowd carrying him, even though he was carried high above in a throne with the others.
"Still love the procession even after all this time.", Franz said, holding his Queen's hand.
"And you are still as handsome as ever, my dear. My brave knight.", Antea said, leaning over to kiss the cheek of her hero. As soon as the Warriors were set down before a long, bountiful table was displayed before them. After they gave their praise for their meal, they ate, danced, and enjoyed some ballads composed in their honor.
After the grand display and fireworks at their celebration, the Warriors said their goodbyes. "We'll keep you updated once our little prince or princess comes into the world.", Oleander added before they left.
"Thanks for that, we can't wait to meet him.", Jeramie said, as they virtualized back home. It was such a breath of fresh air to see XANA enjoying life for once, and now he was going to be a father. At least Umbra had been defeated, for good, so it seemed. However, the Warriors decided to continue watching Lyoko, getting their updates daily, staying ever vigilant just in case they had to mobilize again.
Even the original Warriors did the same to remain well-rounded. As long as evil continued to exist, they would fight until their last breath.
The End