Code Lyoko: Unleashed
Season 6
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Code Lyoko! I do own Jacob, Joey, and the other OCs, however.
A/N: Welcome to the sixth season of Code: Lyoko. For those of you who haven't read the prior season, I have a catch-up course built in for you; and for those of you who did but need a refresher, same deal. This is the continuation of my Code Lyoko: Reloaded fanfic (Season 5). So, sit back, relax, and enjoy! And, oh, by the way…READ AND REVIEW! Had to get that in there!
Previously, on Code: Lyoko…
"Ahh!" Aelita screamed as she woke with a start in her dorm, drenched in sweat and shaking from head to toe. The nightmares were back…
"I thought I might find you here," Odd said quietly. "Is everything okay, Princess?"
"I guess," she replied in a whisper. "I had the nightmares again. I was thinking about my father."
"Again? Aelita, are you sure everything's all right?"
"I don't know… Something just hasn't felt right ever since we shut off the Supercomputer a couple months ago. Just…like something's been left unfinished."
"Aelita…come quickly. Help…me…"
"Daddy?" Aelita called out, seeing the words on the screen and instantly feeling a rush of adrenaline.
"I need you. Hurry…"
"I'm coming, Daddy!"
"Thank you, Aelita. Now you can rest assured that you have just reawakened your worst nightmare!" As Aelita read these words, she screamed in shock and horror as the Eye of XANA appeared on the screen of the reactivated Supercomputer and XANA returned to life…
The rest of the gang raced for the lift when they arrived at the Factory, and when they reached the Laboratory, Jeremy looked at the readouts in horror…
"Aelita's being attacked by a Manta! She's in the Tower room, but she's only got 20 life points left!"
"Do we need to head for the scanners?" Odd asked.
"No! No one will make it in time! She's trapped!"
"She's falling! AELITA!" Jeremy cried as suddenly…
A figure raced out of the Tower and towards the edge as Aelita fell. She thought to herself, "So this is what the end is like…? And I never even got to save Daddy…" Suddenly, she felt a strong grip on her wrist, and she looked up to see a brown-haired boy about Ulrich's age with glasses and in a deep purple bodysuit holding her arm and beginning to pull her up until she was back safely on the path.
"You didn't think I would let you fall, did you, Princess? Now, don't you have a Tower to deactivate?"
"Welcome to Earth, Jacob," she said with a smile. "And before I forget, thank you for saving me!"
"So, all in favor of Jacob becoming a Lyoko Warrior?" Jeremy asked. Five hands immediately went up. Jeremy added his, which made six. "That's unanimous. Welcome to the club, Jake!"
—Flashback—
"Run, Jacob!" a voice screamed from behind him as a shadowy form with glowing red eyes enveloped two people behind him. They were on a Sector almost identical to Lyoko's Forest Sector, but it was dark and shadowed; there was hardly any light… All he could hear were their screams as they were taken, and the last thing he heard was his mother say, "We will always love you…" before they were swallowed up by the darkness…
"Mom! Dad! NO!" Jacob screamed as he wheeled around to face the shadowy form, which was solidifying into a young boy with pitch-black clothes and maniacal, glowing red eyes…
—End Flashback—
Jacob's phone rang, and he took it out and looked at the screen in surprise before excusing himself to answer it. Once he was outside the door, he picked it up.
"What do you want?" he asked hotly, all traces of his exhaustion and illness instantly gone.
"I don't even get a hello?" the staticky voice on the other end hissed sweetly. "I thought you would want the information I had to give…"
"Why should I believe anything you have to say, XANA?" he hissed. "You killed my parents!"
"Ah, but that's the point… Come to Lyoko alone. Now. I can give them back to you…" At this, Jacob stopped cold, and dropped his phone, letting it clatter to the floor. He picked it up and muttered a reply before hanging up and running off. By the time Ulrich opened the door to see what the matter was, Jacob was gone…
In Sector Five, Jacob was slowly approaching the Tower room. He looked around, and at first saw nothing before he saw the blue blocks that made up the walls floating down to create a bridge to the Tower, which was suspended in mid-air. Then he watched as red ripples appeared on the outside of the Tower, and a figure walked out of the Tower. It was a young boy, about 12 or 13, wearing a pitch-black bodysuit with red embellishments and the Eye of XANA on the chest. Jacob tensed as he saw his enemy, and XANA's eyes lit up in cruel humor.
"Oh, come now, I didn't come here to do you any harm," he laughed playfully, his voice as cool and clear as ice. It would have sent chills down Jacob's spine had he been on Earth. "We both know why you're here…" he said, with the faintest hint of a snarl in his voice…
"Yeah, we know why I'm here. You took my parents from me. I want them back, XANA!" he hissed as XANA laughed, a sound like none he had ever heard before.
"That can be arranged…" he growled as his eyes began to glow dark red. The Eye on his chest began to glow as Jacob backed up out of uncertainty. XANA called a stream of smoke from the side wall, and it began to split, forming a wall of Creepers between himself and his prey. A squad of Mantas began to hatch from the walls as well, and in a matter of a few seconds, Jacob was staring in the face a small army. His eyes widened as he realized it had all been a trap… "I killed your parents long ago!" he growled, his voice changing to the distorted pitch that the gang knew so well. "But you eluded me! You have for too long! It's time for me to kill the last person with the ability to get rid of me!" he screamed maniacally. "Monsters, attack!" he commanded as they began to close on Jacob, who closed his eyes and prepared for the end…
"Bonzai!" Odd yelled as a volley of Laser Arrows flew from behind Jacob, colliding with a half dozen Creepers and blowing them to bits. An Energy Field and a pair of fans soon followed behind them, taking out a Manta and two more Creepers, and XANA growled in frustration as Aelita, William, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd appeared behind Jacob. Aelita smiled as she placed a hand on Jake's shoulder.
"You're an idiot," she scolded. "But we would never leave you alone," she added as XANA looked each one of them in the eye.
"You're all gathered here in one place…this is working out better than I had planned. I'll just take all of you down at once!" he cried as his army of monsters converged on the Warriors again.
"We'll take the monsters, Jacob; you take care of XANA!" Ulrich yelled as a Creeper fired at him. He dodged the shot and sprinted around it, circling it before stabbing his sabre through its head, destroying it. Odd and Aelita were firing Laser Arrows and energy orbs at the Mantas in an effort to take them down, while Yumi and William were surrounded by a circle of Creepers, which they were working at dispatching. This left only XANA…and Jaocb stared at him for a long moment before he spoke.
"It's time I settled this!" he cried as he rushed towards XANA. XANA just grinned evilly, and dodged as Jacob fired an Energy Field. He then summoned an orb of black smoke, and returned fire. Jacob barely managed to dodge the orb before he reached XANA and prepared to strike again. XANA just laughed and tripped Jacob, mercifully allowing him time to return to his feet.
"I have to let you have a bit of a chance," he grinned. "Not that it matters anyways. Look around," he laughed as Jacob saw the monsters beginning to get the upper hand on his friends. He watched this for a moment in horror, and then a wave of rage overtook him, and he felt a surge of energy well up from within…
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he screamed as he summoned his Energy Fields and released a surge of energy from his fingertips, blasting a huge fireball across the room that turned into a firestorm which incinerated XANA's entire army. XANA just turned in shock, and then looked back at Jacob, whose eyes were lit in fury. "This ends now!" he hissed. "You and me," he added as XANA began to chuckle. Jacob looked at his friends, and used his Telepathy to tell them, "Get out of here! This is my fight!" Everyone but Aelita backed up and got out of there, but she stayed a moment longer and looked at him sadly before turning and running, leaving Jacob and XANA face-to-face.
"Protecting your friends; how noble!" XANA hissed as he summoned a stream of smoke from the Data Barrier below. It solidified into a serrated, evil-looking black sword, and over a secure connection, Jeremy said in Jacob's ear, "The firestorm was incredible! Your powers are far beyond anything I've ever seen before. From what I've found out, you can manipulate your Energy Fields into virtually any weapon you want!" With this knowledge, Jacob summoned an Energy Field and morphed it until it solidified into a deep purple sword, and he looked at XANA expectantly.
"It's time," he said simply before charging at XANA, who responded by running in himself. The two foes met in the middle of the pathway and exchanged blows, parrying each other's attacks continuously with the utmost precision and accuracy. Jacob's blade sparked as he blocked a slash by XANA, and he forced XANA's blade back, creating a shower of sparks before XANA was pushed back. Both adversaries panted in exhaustion before readying themselves one more time. XANA ran at Jacob, but Jacob twisted to the side just enough to send XANA crashing past him, and he fired a perfectly placed Energy Field which hit XANA's leg and sent him tumbling to the ground. Jacob was over him in an instant, holding the tip of his sword to XANA's throat. As he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, he hesitated, and in that instant, XANA saw weakness in his eyes. He laughed, and as he turned into a smoky cloud and flew towards the Data Barrier below them, Jacob heard him whisper, "You're weak, you coward. You couldn't bring yourself to do it!" and in that moment, Jacob dropped to his knees and did something that should have been impossible on Lyoko. He cried…
Aelita looked up, and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement in the entrance to the corridor nearest her, and she saw Jacob sprint in just as the Manta fired at her one last time…
"AELITA!" Jacob screeched as the laser hit her in the chest and knocked her off the side.
"Jacob…I'm sorry…" she said sadly before she disappeared from his view…
Jeremy and the others looked in horror at what was happening, and Jeremy's fist shook as he clenched it, pounding it on the desk as he realized there was nothing he could do…
"NO!" Jacob screamed as he ran to the edge of the floor and tried to fire an Energy Field off in time…
"No…" Jeremy whispered as tears began to stream down his and the gang's faces…
But it was too late as Jacob watched his energy orb hit empty space, and his throat closed up as he dropped to his knees and retched when he saw the beam of light shoot up from below…
"NOOOOOO!" he screeched in unimaginable fury and pain as he felt nothing but absolute fury pulse through his veins. He got up and wheeled around as he closed his eyes, and when they reopened, they were glowing as white as snow…
"We're out of time! He's going to destroy Lyoko!" Jeremy screeched to the others as they tried a last ditch effort to save their friend…
"Remember!" she whispered in his ear as she began to glow with a pinkish aura. She used her psychic abilities to transmit memories into Jacob's head…
"Ungh…" Jacob moaned as all the memories pierced his consciousness. All of a sudden, the glow began to fade from his eyes and the white aura faded from around him. Yumi looked into Jacob's eyes, and the last of the glow faded as his eyes returned to normal. He moaned something inaudible before swaying and passing out in Yumi's arms. She held him there for a few moments before speaking aloud:
"Jeremy, he's okay…"
"Jacob, you won't be able to go back to Lyoko until your powers are under control…" Jeremy said.
"Okay…" Jacob replied softly.
"Class, we have a new student. This is Marth Kodji…" Principal Delmas said as Marth smiled.
"So this is your secret…" a familiar voice from behind Jeremy and Jacob said. Jacob whirled around to see Marth standing behind them, looking around with a curious and yet hurt look on his face, as if he couldn't quite believe his new friends would keep something this big from him.
"Marth…" Jacob started, but then stopped, unsure of what to say.
"Well, with XANA picking up his attacks again, and Kadic not stopping for us, I think everyone will agree with me when I say we need someone else in our group to help us fight. That way, not all of us ever have to go at any one time to stop a XANA attack," Jeremy explained. "Marth, I know it's a bit sudden, but if everyone agrees, would you want to join our group?"
"Absolutely!" he exclaimed in reply. "I want to help you guys save the world!"
"Jeremy, Aelita and I came across a Restricted Access file deep in the Interface Memory. I'm going to send it to you."
"It's going to take me a while to crack the lock on this file. But it does intrigue me. The subscript says "Property of the KGB" at the bottom of the cover sheet."
"This file…which was compiled and saved by the Men in Black…is regarding and detailing information on one…Antea Hopper…" he finally said, and the pin dropped as everyone in the room looked at him in disbelief.
"You mean…"
"My mother…" Aelita whispered. "She could still be out there…"
"This letter was sent after Daddy finished the Scanners and the programming for Lyoko. This means…that my mother was still alive after we arrived on Lyoko! There's still hope!" she cried in relief.
"The file's ready. We can crack its secrets! The only catch is, I'll have to activate a Tower for my program to work, and I need you guys to defend it!"
"NO!" Jacob screamed as XANA began to download all the information of Antea's file from the Tower and destroy it piece by piece. Aelita watched in total shock and unrivaled horror as all of their hard work disappeared before her eyes. Once XANA had destroyed it all, the Tower's glow changed, and it returned to white as the screens faded. Aelita shakily walked over to the Interface and accessed it, hoping to find any scrap of information that had been missed…
"It's all gone…" she whispered in a choked voice. "There's nothing…"
"William's lost in the Digital Sea…Yumi and Odd are fighting a war for the Core they can't win…and there's another Tower active to boot…we can't be in three places at once, and even if Aelita goes on without William and deactivates the first Tower, the second one will still keep the destruction going…XANA's finally beaten us…we're out of options…"
"You called me here," Jacob said insistently. "You must have had a plan…"
"Maybe…but it's a long shot…" Jeremy said in a whisper. "Take the controls. I'm going to Lyoko," he said. "I'm the only hope we have at deactivating the other Tower and even having a chance…" he said, trailing off as an idea shot through Jacob's head and he looked intently at Jeremy.
"Send me…" he said…
"Jacob, I was meaning to ask you. Was what XANA said true? Did you really have control of your powers?" Jacob just looked at him for a moment and then it clicked in his head.
"Oh…yes, I did," he nodded, and Aelita and Marth smiled while Jeremy's eyes showed relief and thankfulness that Jake would be able to go back and continue fighting on Lyoko…
"We have a student returning to us, Taelia Winthrop…" Delmas said as Jeremy's gaze burned with fury…
"Hello, Taelia…" he said in an icy-cool voice that sent a chill up Taelia's spine.
"How…how do you know my name…?" she asked in a stutter as he smiled knowingly.
"Let's just say I've been watching you…even before you came here, my dear…" he said calmly as he gazed softly at her. She shivered at this comment, but settled slightly when he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and whispered, "Shh…I know the pain you've been suffering…the hurt…the insults…the heartache… You don't deserve it, my dear…" He paused as a tear dripped down her cheek. "I haven't said anything to upset you, have I?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"No…not at all…" she replied through muffled sobs. "It's just…I was thinking about everything…"
"I know…I know what you've endured. No one, especially a beautiful girl like yourself, deserves the torment that those heartless geeks have put you through…" As he trailed off, Taelia slowly nodded.
"I hate them…" she whispered. "They treated me like trash when I was at Kadic before…especially Belpois. And that new kid they've become friends with seems to be just the same. I could see it in his eyes; he had no welcome for me, only disgust. I'm tired of being thrown aside and stepped on like I don't matter…"
"Oh, but you do matter, my dear, and don't you forget that. I sympathize with you…I too have been fighting Jeremy and his little gang for a long time, and I've been treated in a similar way to how they are treating you now… Is it revenge you want?" he asked, and after a long moment of consideration, Taelia nodded.
"Yes…" she whispered harshly, her voice becoming steely. "I want to make them pay for disrespecting me…" she hissed. The boy nodded and looked into her eyes one more time.
"I can give you all the power to do what you want, and more…"
"Have you thought about what I said…? Do you still want your revenge?" He had barely finished the last word when Taelia looked up with a steely glint in her eyes and met his cold gaze easily.
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I want the power you promised. I want to take Jeremy and his friends down. For good," she added in a hiss as the boy's grin widened. "But first, tell me your name. I never caught it before," she added as he nodded.
"My name…is XANA. And you have made a wise choice, my dear…"
"I have some amazing news!" he grinned as he pulled up the file that Jacob had found in his search of the cabin Supercomputer. "Watch this…" he said as he played the video file…
The screen went static for a moment before reverting to black, and then a fuzzy image gradually grew sharper as an overhead shot of the entrance to the Siberian lab came into view… Everything looked quiet, until some faint shouting could be heard, and the door burst open as a guard in a black suit exploded out of it into the snow, dragging a chained, blindfolded, and gagged figure along behind him. He shoved the figure down into the snow, and then proceeded to beat it, slamming punches and kicks into the trembling body. When he had finished attacking the figure, he finally pulled the sack covering its head off, and all that you could see for a moment was a flash of bright pink hair before the face turned to the camera…and a woman's face could be seen as Jeremy paused the video, zooming in on the face and enhancing the image as he did so… As the image sharpened, even though the face was older than he had seen it before, Jacob's mouth fell open, and Ulrich dropped to a knee in total shock. Aelita just shook as William and Marth laid a hand each on her shoulder to comfort her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing…it must be a mistake…
"That's not possible…" Aelita whispered as she looked at her mother's face on the screen. "No way…" she reaffirmed as Jeremy pointed to the bottom corner of the video.
"But look at the time stamp of this security footage," he said as Aelita's eyes gazed at the date and time, and she just broke down in tears when she saw it. Jacob just hugged her and told her to breathe, that it was all right as Jeremy continued. "That's no trick. This video was taken less than twenty-four hours ago. Aelita…your mom's still alive…" he finished in a quiet, choked whisper as she cried, maybe in joy, disbelief, or fear… Jacob just looked up with a steely glint in his eyes as Marth nodded and spoke.
"Then we have to bring her home. It's our mission now," he said simply as Jacob nodded.
"Yeah," he agreed. "And now we know where we're going to find her," he added as the gang, save for Aelita, who was still crying into Jeremy's shoulder, looked up expectantly at him. "We're going back to Siberia, gang…"
Aelita panted as she ran for the door handle and opened the door with a clatter, racing in and looking furiously around until her eyes came to rest on a disheveled, grimy, pink-haired figure on the ground in front of her, chained to the wall. She looked up with gaunt eyes at the two seemingly spectral figures in front of her, and her jaw fell open when she laid eyes on Aelita, unable to believe that this was actually happening…
"Aelita…?" she choked out in a raspy voice.
"Mom…" Aelita said with a tear in her eye as she rushed forward and hugged her mother for the first time in years, and cried tears of joy, knowing she had family once again…
"Jeremy! Prep the programs! We're coming home!" Jacob said in relief and joy as Aelita hugged her mother. "It's time…at long last…" she thought to herself…
Back in the Scanner Room, everyone had gathered expectantly around the three Scanners, and the doors opened and Jacob came out first in a cloud of steam and smiled, high-fiving the guys and hugging Jeremy as Aleita too came out of her Scanner and hugged Jeremy, knowing that she was finally home. But the biggest moment was yet to come as the entire gang huddled around the last Scanner, waiting for Antea. The doors slowly opened, and standing there…
…was Antea, looking more alive than she had since they had rescued her. All Aelita could do was burst into tears as she ran forward and hugged her mother, amidst the cheets of the entire gang. Jeremy looked on proudly as Aelita whispered two words to her mom…
"Welcome home…"
As she said this, Jacob looked at his watch and read 3:00. He looked at it slowly, and then smiled as he looked up and around at the group. Odd caught this and saw the smile on Jake's face, and asked:
"What is it, Einstein?" Jacob just grinned as he showed them his watch and what time it was. Odd looked back at him with a puzzled look, and Jacob smacked his forehead in mock exasperation.
"The last bell just rang at Kadic. It's officially summer…" he said as the whole gang burst into wide smiles at the fact that they now had time to get their lives in order, especially Aelita, who could not stop smiling as she buried herself in her mother's arms again.
"This is truly home now…" she thought to herself as she let out a small laugh. Time to start living…
Episode 123: Strange Occurrences (1)
Three months had passed since the end of the gang's last mission in Siberia, and there had been no XANA attacks to speak of in that time. Over the summer break, Aelita and her mom had gotten to work repairing the Hermitage so that it could be lived in again, and with the whole gang helping, it was looking like a home again. All the while, she had been feverishly keeping a lookout for her father, hoping that maybe, they would eventually find him and bring him home. Antea had to adopt her daughter, because of the last-name thing (Odd's cousin and all…) but Jeremy had fixed the paperwork for that. Odd, Ulrich, and Marth had gone away for part of the summer, and were back just in time for classes to resume. Odd got a shock when he heard that Sam was transferring in to be a full-year student at Kadic. Ulrich was getting along a little better with his dad, and his grades were better than they had been in a long time. He and Yumi were still going steady, and William was still hoping that Yumi would eventually change her mind and choose him. Jeremy had been taking summer classes with Jacob, and the two brainiacs were continually upgrading things on Lyoko for the gang. But all eight of them knew that school was about to start; and XANA would not be quiet forever…
Aelita blinked and sat up in her bed as she gazed around her room at the Academy. She put a hand to her forehead and felt no sweat or heat. She couldn't believe it. It was the first time since she had been materialized that she had not been plagued with the nightmares. She sighed in relief and slowly got up to go through her normal morning activities…
A little while later, she entered the cafeteria and grabbed a plate, looking around as she did so. It was odd; everything for once seemed to be at peace. Sam was sitting with a group of her friends, and had hung around some with the group, but not a ton as of yet. Odd was of course, still drooling over her. William and Marth were leaned over discussing something quietly, and Jeremy was buried in his laptop screen. Aelita just smiled as she looked around and saw Ulrich and Yumi join the gang at their usual table. As Aelita scanned back across the cafeteria, she saw a flash of jet-black and blue-streaked hair, and she stopped cold as she tried to get a glimpse of the face it belonged to…
"Something's not right…" she thought. "Could it be…?" She sighed as she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Jacob had gotten up from the table to come over and check on her.
"You okay, Princess?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "You looked really lost…" Aelita just blinked before his words really sunk in and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…thought I saw someone I knew…" she muttered as Jacob frowned.
"That's strange…" he murmured. "Bad or good?" he asked instinctively as Aelita sighed again and looked up at him.
"Not sure…" she replied distantly as her mind drifted off to broken memories of her past…
—Flashback—
"Aelita! Hurry up!" a young boy yelled playfully as Aelita ran to catch up with him. She saw him run ahead but let out a small "Oof!" as she hit something solid. She fell to the ground and looked up to see her father staring gently down at her.
"Now Aelita…" he chided gently. "You and Hunter need to be just a bit more careful…" he said with the faintest trace of a smile as another pair of adults walked into the room and looked over at Hunter, who was standing next to Aelita now. "Remember, we're working in here…" he reminded them gently, gesturing to Hunter's parents, who nodded.
"Just watch the technology in here, you two…" Hunter's mom said. "We don't need any accidents…"
"We'll be careful," Aelita chirped as she took Hunter's hand and ran off as Antea watched from the desk seat of the nearby Supercomputer.
"Kids will be kids…" she said softly as Aelita's laughter could be heard echoing through the nearby rooms…
—End Flashback—
Later, in Mrs. Hertz's class…
"Class, first off; congratulations on becoming 9th graders. I'm sure for some of you, the process was not as easy as for others, but for all of you sitting here, good job to you. Now, today we are going to look at electromagnetism. But first, I would like to introduce a new student. This is Maverick Ryan Hunter…"
"Hunter," he said as he brushed a strand of black hair out of his eyes. Jeremy and Aelita turned around to see a face they had not noticed enter the classroom. Hunter was a boy just about the same age as Jeremy, and taller than Ulrich or Odd. He had striking, jet-black hair with jagged, neon-blue streaks in it, and piercing blue eyes that looked as if they could bore right through you. He looked around at the class, and it was strange looking back at him because he bore this emotionless, unreadable expression on his face; one that seemed like it could see straight into your soul. Aelita froze up when his gaze landed on her, and Jeremy saw her tense up. As she turned back to her notes, Jeremy laid a hand on her shoulder and whispered quietly, "You okay?" She turned her head slightly and looked at him with a faint flash in her eyes as she responded.
"I'm fine," she snapped, in that tone that said to Jeremy everything definitely was not fine. But, Jeremy knew better than to press the issue either, especially if she was agitated or worried over something.
"Alright…" he said softly as he turned back to his notebook. "She must have just been reminded of an old memory, that's all…" he thought to himself as Aelita continued to write furiously, her hand shaking slightly as she tried to block the memory flashes she was having out of her mind…
About halfway through the class, Aelita was still incessantly worrying about the new student sitting behind her. "He looks so similar to someone I used to know…" she thought to herself as she started to open her binder. As she did, she felt a sharp gaze piercing her neck, and she turned around to see Hunter staring intently at her, his eyes shimmering as Aelita's flashbacks pierced her thoughts even more persistently. She cried out as she felt a sharp pain in her temple, and as she turned back around, she slumped to the floor as the flashes became too overwhelming. "What's happening to me…?" she asked as she heard Jeremy's voice, rising in panic, over her head, but it was distant and far away as her vision swam in front of her and she succumbed to the visions dancing behind her eyelids…
That afternoon…
"Unh…" Aelita groaned as she held her head in her hands and tried to sit up. The pain in her head was blinding, and she sat for a few minutes, not opening her eyes, before blinking slowly, and no more had she done that than her eyes flew open like camera shutters. She looked around and found herself in the Forest Sector, sitting almost in the exact spot where she had last seen her father. She noticed this, and got up slowly, her head swiveling and snapping around to scope out her surroundings. When she saw nothing, her gaze flitted back to the Tower, in time for its aura to change from white to silver, and all of a sudden, she saw a sparkle of light from below her as a brilliantly gleaming orb of light rose from the Digital Sea below to float in front of her on the green pathway. Aelita gaped as she laid eyes on her father for the first time in a long time…and she was struck speechless, unable to make coherent sentences due to her shock. She heard her father's deep laughter ring in her head, and she looked up to see the orb in front of her sparkling in amusement.
"It's so good to see you again, my darling…" Franz said as Aelita looked up at him, eyes sparkling with tears. "I had hoped I would find you again…"
"Daddy, I missed you!" she said in a choked sob as he floated closer to her, almost near enough for her to touch him, but not quite.
"I know…and I'm sorry…the only person we have to blame for that is XANA…"
"Does this mean you can come home…?" Aelita asked quietly as Franz…well…if an orb can shake its head, he did just that…
"No…I'm still on the run…XANA still wants me eliminated…permanently…" he said softly as all of a sudden, a smoke orb came an inch from impacting Franz, who floated out of the way in a hurry. "Aelita, he's coming! I have to go! Be safe, my darling!" Franz said as he flew off and disappeared into the Digital Sea, leaving Aelita to sink to her knees as her vision swam with tears. All of a sudden, everything was cast into a dark haze as she heard XANA whisper, "I will find him…and then I'll destroy all of you…" before everything went black again…
"Ungh!" Aelita groaned as she shot up straight, her eyes burning as she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a ragged breath as she looked around to try and ascertain where she was. As her vision slowly came into focus, she saw the walls of the infirmary around her, and she looked down to see a white sheet over her legs. She sighed shakily as she realized it had all been a dream… "But it seemed so real…" she thought to herself as she saw a flicker of movement from a chair in the corner of the room, and she squinted through the darkness to make out the rumpled hair and purple jacket that told her Jacob was sitting in the chair, fast asleep. She smiled as she tried to shift under the sheets, but the bed creaked, and she froze in surprise as she saw Jacob's head shoot up and his eyes blink right open. "He is a light sleeper…" she thought as he looked blearily at her.
"I was worried about you…" he said softly as he got up and pulled the chair over to the side of her bed. "You passed out in class this morning…" he murmured softly as Aelita remembered bits and pieces of what had happened in Mrs. Hertz's class.
"Was it embarrassing…?" she asked in a whisper, with the faintest tinge of a blush on her cheeks as Jacob laughed quietly.
"No, we were all just really worried about you…" he replied softly as he laid a hand on top of Aelita's. "What happened?" he asked as she sighed deeply.
"I…it's weird, last night was the first night I've slept peacefully since I came to Earth…and today I kept having all these weird visions…"
"Did they have anything to do with that new kid?" he asked suddenly as Aelita nodded after a moment.
"Yes…it's so weird…he reminds me so much of someone I used to know…from my childhood…" she added after a moment as Jacob's eyes flashed in surprise. "An old friend…" she said slowly as Jacob squeezed her hand gently.
"Are you sure?" he asked as she shook her head, her thoughts clouded by everything that had gone on…
"No…I'm not sure…" she whispered softly… "I don't know if I'm sure about anything right now…" she said softly as Jacob sighed and hugged her.
"Calm down, Princess…It'll be okay…" he murmured as she shivered in his arms. He straightened back up and looked at her with concern in his eyes. "For now, I suggest you try and avoid this Maverick guy…"
"He said his name was Hunter, didn't he?" Aelita asked as Jacob scoffed.
"Whatever he wants to call himself. Anyways, he seems really taken, or at least intrigued, by you, and I'm looking out for you; Jeremy and I both are. We think that it's best you avoid him until we can learn a little more about him. For your own good, so something like today doesn't happen again…" he said, trailing off as he got up and hugged Aelita again. "Get some rest, if you can," he added. "I'll see you in the morning…" he finished softly as he walked to the door and closed it softly, leaving Aelita to try and fall back to sleep…
The next morning…
Aelita yawned as she woke up in the infirmary and walked over to the window, opening the curtain a hair and letting the sunlight wash over her as she thought about what had gone on yesterday. "There's more to this that I need to know…" she thought to herself as she thanked the Nurse and headed back to her room to clean up and get ready for the day ahead…
She put on her favorite pink top and skirt and walked down to the cafeteria to join the others. Jacob smiled as he scooted over to make room for her between he and Jeremy. She smiled softly and sat down between them, and Odd and Ulrich looked at her with worry in their eyes.
"Princess, you doing okay?" Odd asked as she nodded slowly and smiled faintly. "You gave us all quite a scare yesterday…" he added as she smiled and brushed a hand in front of her face.
"It's over now; I'm fine," she smiled. "Just some weird headache, that's all," she answered as Jacob turned around and saw Hunter passing by, his gaze fixed squarely on Aelita's back as Jacob looked up and glared at him. Hunter's ice-blue eyes caught this glare, and he quickly snapped his head around and kept walking, though Jacob could sense that his focus was still on the pinkette as he walked over to another table and sat down, choosing to eat alone. Jacob just shook his head as he turned back around to rejoin the conversation. Just as he did, the bell rang, and he jumped in surprise.
"Jacob, it's just the bell…calm down!" Marth chuckled as the gang parted ways with Yumi and William at the crossroads and headed to their next class, Math (ugh)…
As they approached the Math building, Aelita felt a buzzing in her bag, and paused as Jeremy, Jacob, and the others kept walking, not noticing that she had stopped. She pulled her laptop out of her bag and ducked into the shadows, opening it and scrolling quickly through the screens until she came to the SuperScan. She barely even needed to look at it, already knowing what she would find as she scanned its contents.
"Crap…activated Tower…" she grunted under her breath as she ducked through the shadows and into the woods, making her way to the park sewer entrance… "No one else needs to know…" she thought as she ran through the trees…
From a distance, Hunter watched all of this take place with knowing curiosity, and as Aelita took off quietly for the woods, he waited a moment before following her. "I can follow her without being discovered if I'm careful…" he thought to himself as he went through the path in his mind…
In the Math class, Jeremy took his seat, and looked at the empty seat next to him in puzzlement. "Aelita's never late for class…and she was right there with us…" he thought as the Math Teacher came in and began taking attendance while the rest of the gang got out their notebooks.
"Stones?" he said when he came to Aelita's name.
"Uh…she's not here, sir…she…had to go back to the infirmary," Jeremy said quickly, breathing a mental sigh of relief. "Where in the world could she be…?" he thought as the math teacher continued to take attendance.
"Hunter?" he asked when he came to Maverick's name. Jeremy's head shot up and he looked around, expecting to see the flash of blue and black hair in the classroom, but it was not there. "Crap…" Jeremy thought, now beginning to worry. "He's trying to find her again…"
Aelita panted as she lifted the manhole cover off of the sewer entrance and ducked down into the tunnel, closing the hole behind her as she climbed down the ladder. She looked around, having this strange prickling in her stomach that something wasn't quite right as she grabbed her scooter from the side of the pathway and beginning to roll along the tunnels. She followed the path that they always took to get to the Factory, and was soon upon the ladder that led up to the Factory Bridge. She slowly climbed it, getting to the top and running along the bridge and through the gaping doorway of the Factory. She paused; as none of the Warriors had set foot in the place for three months…and looked down to see a set of fresh footprints in the dust on the concrete floor. "This is getting really, really weird…" she thought as she felt that same uncanny sensation that she was being watched prick the back of her neck again. She brushed it aside and headed for the elevator, but stopped when she thought of the fact that someone could already be in the Factory. "I'll take the stairs…" she thought to herself as she made her way towards the central stairwell…
It took a couple minutes longer, but Aelita finally made it down the stairwell and to the corridor that led into the Computer Lab. She ran quietly forward and came into the glow of the screens, but she stopped cold when she saw someone already sitting in the Supercomputer chair…
Hunter finished tapping a command code into the Supercomputer, and then turned around as Aelita watched the alert for the activated Tower disappear from the screen. He saw this out of the corner of his eye, and smiled softly as he shook his messy black hair out of his eyes and cast his transfixing gaze on Aelita. She looked at him, dumbfounded first at how he had found the Factory, and second at his knowledge of the Supercomputer. And yet, she could not look away as she looked into his eyes, the eyes that she felt she knew as the memory flashes invaded her consciousness again. The end of her nightmares, the arrival of a new student who looked so much like her childhood friend, and now is knowledge of Lyoko and deactivating the Tower… "That settles it," Aelita thought before opening her mouth and saying one word, maybe out of shock or instinct, she wasn't sure which…
"Hunter…" she said softly to the dark-haired boy, who got up and smiled knowingly as he faced her for the first time…
LW94: And so Season 6 has officially begun…I do have to apologize about the lack of action, but I promise, I'm only getting warmed up here! Read and Review!
Next time:
Episode 124: An Old Friend (2)
As Hunter's appearance is explained, XANA returns with a bang, and a plot to wipe out the whole gang, next time, on Code Lyoko: Unleashed…