Title: The Life of Carlito, Manta
Summary: Be sure to read AwesomeFanFictionAuthor's Code: Revenge before reading this! Or, you could just read the last chapter of that. This is about the poor Manta Morgan sacrificed. One-shot.
Rating: K+
Characters: Manta
Genre: Supernatural, Fantasy
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko.
The Life of Carlito, Manta
Dawn broke in the underworld of Lyoko, where the Monsters virtualized and devirtualized themselves to start and end the day. Baby Kankrelats chased each other on the street, dodging the adult Krabs who glared grouchily at them. Creepers had their morning exercises by looking up to their (secret) role model, the Lyoko Warrior Yumi. She was excellent at gymnastics and this spurred the Creepers to train hard and be as flexible as her—although their stick-thin hands didn't help much.
The psychic Mantas predicted that a huge shift in their world would come soon. Some would live to see this new dimension but many would be left behind. In fact, some had already been there, and they eagerly shared their stories of places crowded with tall rectangular buildings, leaving no room for play (as many Kankrelats whined about). The Krabs who had visited the human world remarked that there were miniature versions of them there, but were called "crabs" instead.
Hornets and Tarantulas played together, and the Scyphozoa watched over them, though it spent most of its time with the Kongre, swimming in the digital sea. The lonely Megatanks watched, and in particular one of them, Neurio, left her Megatanks to find someone else. She was an optimistic girl, but her laser wall broke easily. She tried to socialize with the Bloks, but they weren't very keen on befriending a sphere-shaped monster.
Neurio wandered around hopelessly, when she caught sight of the Mantas. Most were meditating upon request of many monsters; who was going with Morgan out into the human world, and who would die here? Kanky, Morgan's favourite Kankrelat, would definitely be going. No matter how psychic Mantas were, however, not many would leave Lyoko. Neurio overheard that the Megatanks weren't really involved either, which saddened her.
She noticed, in particular, one of the Mantas stealthily leaving the group to see the creepers. Maybe he was a loner too. Neurio smiled happily, and went to him.
'Hi,' she said shyly. 'I'm Neurio.'
The Manta turned around, surprised. He hesitated for a while. 'I'm Carlito. You're a Megatank.'
'So?'
'Nothing—I don't like predicting the future anyway, so I'm practically an outcast as well,' Carlito explained. 'Wanna take a walk?'
It had been a couple of days since Carlito and Neurio had become friends. They hung out a lot, much to the displeasure and sometimes envy of Neurio's fellow Megatanks. They eventually, somehow, morphed into dating (cheered on by the love-orientated Kalamari), and they officially became a couple. It had been a month, and they adored each other. They were in their own world and nothing could ever break them apart—or so they thought.
Lyoko was dying. Morgan would pick only a few monsters to bring with her, so this put an end to Carlito and Neurio's relationship. All the Mantas except Carlito wanted to be picked to see the human world, but of course Carlito got picked. In the vast square, he was separated from Neurio by the Krabs, but as monsters were picked to go, he felt something tug him out of the world. He flew higher than any other Manta and searched for Neurio.
She watched as he slowly faded into nothingness, wiggling her body as a goodbye wave and actually knocking aside some of her friends. One of her sisters was chosen to go, and she dearly hoped she would too. But alas, luck was not on her side—Morgan had enough monsters for now and had left with them.
Carlito followed Morgan through with everything. He didn't have the will to disobey her, as her slave. He blanked out on most of what happened, when suddenly she focused on him, and him only; she wanted him to sacrifice himself. Carlito watched the unknown object fly to him. It was much like the lasers that Lyoko monsters shot, except bigger and more solid. He was charging straight towards it. He was near. Would it destroy him? Maybe he'd be sent back to Lyoko, and he could reconcile with Neurio.
Monsters on Earth, when killed, were gone forever.