Hey guys. Yeah, I suck. I know. Sorry about that. Here's an early Christmas present for you though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. That should be obvious by now. I just own the things which clearly weren't part of the shows...like this story line and Harmony.
Shooting out of the tower as though fired from a cannon, Harmony immediately folded her wings and plummeted into the cloud cover coating the mountain region. A loud buzzing overhead informed her that the monsters had, for the moment, lost her. Skimming just below the clouds, she weaved expertly between the peaks.
"Mantas on your tail and you're heading straight for two mega-tanks," Harmony sighs in response, but nevertheless continues on.
"Well, whatever else he does, at least Xana's consistent in one thing."
"What?
"Simple. He knows I cannot out fly and hate Mantas. So he sends Mantas after me…a lot." Silence answered her and she soon came into sight of the waiting bowling balls.
"Harmony, there's another monster around! I don't know what it is!" Jeremy's startled explanation caused her to smile faintly, and she laughed.
"Good. I was hoping she would be here."
"Who?" She ignored his question, focusing instead on the mega-tanks and trusting to luck that she was still out of range of the Mantas. Both tanks opened, but neither managed to fire as a small throwing knife took one, and a large cat-like creature pounced on the other and clawed its target to shreds.
With the path now clear, girl and beast both sped into a crack in the side of one of the mountains so narrow that the cat's fur brushed the walls on either side and she was forced to fly sideways. "Harmony? Where are you? You're off the map."
"Home," comes her simple response as she hovers in the middle of the mountains base. She begins to rise sedately towards the summit of the immense, hollow peak as the Mantas frustrated cries echo from behind her. The cat raced about the circumference, taking advantage of the narrow pathway leading up the sides. Approximately three-quarters of the way up rested a large platform, hanging in the center of the cone and held in place by massive pathways of stone connecting to the mountain's sides. She floated over the side in time to see the cat dispatch the last of those monsters Xana had set to guard the tower.
Landing lightly on the platform, she lightly stroked the creature's head. Resembling a mountain lion, the creature was colored the same light grey as the mountains themselves. It more closely resembled its model than any other Lyoko creature, and seemed not to possess any of the usual trappings such as guns or lasers. The target rested between its shoulder blades, in a place that would be near impossible to hit unless you were above it.
"Good girl," she murmurs quietly. The cat gives a rumbling purr, before stepping back as Harmony entered the tower.
X-X-X
"Jeremy, how's it looking up there?" The fight was going badly. While the original tower guards had been easy enough to destroy, then the tarantulas that were chasing them had caught up and were joined by a mega-tank. The warriors were hard pressed and faring badly. Odd and William each had only ten lifepoints left. Ulrich had thirty, Yumi had thirty-five, and Aelita was faring best of all at fifty lifepoints.
I'm trying!" Comes Jeremy's stressed rejoinder as he tries frantically to do something, anything, about the scanners. There'd been no sign of any help from Harmony.
"Odd!" He glances up at Yumi's cry, just in time to see Odd's card disappear. His stomach clenches in fear, and then something in another window catches his attention. The scanner program was being re-written. The bugs Xana had placed were being systematically removed. He watches in fascination for a second, before a voice sounds over the speakers,
"Sorry I took so long. I should have this fixed in ten minutes at the maximum. What did I miss?"
"Odd's been devirtualized!"
"…damn it Xana. I'll work on that later. What about the others?"
"Hanging on," Jeremy chews his lip worriedly as he waits, and prays that they'll make it.
X-X-X
Brow furrowed in concentration, Harmony sorts quickly through the information on the interface. Shed almost finished debugging the scanners, despite Xana's fighting her every step of the way. It was not going to do her much good though, if the kids could not deactivate the tower.
Her tower was different from the others. The walls shown with a gentle purple light, and the platforms were a lighter blue that was normal; the symbol inscribed on them the same ice-purple as her eyes. While the walls were still covered in random panels of data, it did not serve to process data as the other ones did. It was a database, and there were quite a few surprises she had stored in here. Finally locating what she was searching for, her hands pause for a moment as a map of Lyoko fills the interface. A victorious smile touches her lips and she could not help but feel a hint of excitement. "Oh, this will be fun."
X-X-X
The kids fought doggedly, but they might as well have been fish in a barrel. Jeremy had told them that the scanners were back up, but so far they hadn't needed them. They were barely managing to avoid being hit, and were only succeeding thanks to a few small patches of color on the platform. The monsters were on the other side of the bridge, the tarantulas firing at them while the mega-tank waited for someone so unwise as to stick their head out. The tower was only a few feet away, but it might as well have been on the other side of an abyss for all they could reach it. They were stuck in a stalemate, with no way to break it.
"Unidentified monsters heading your way fast. Keep an eye out."
"Just what we need," grumbles William. A few more tense minutes pass before the sound of an explosion causes them to look out. Several bird-like monsters were attacking Xana's monsters, who were responding in kind. Not bothering to question their luck, Aelita runs into the tower and soon after they're on their way to the past.
I warn you now, the next chapter's going to be the longest yet. It's going to be explaining some of the back story of this thing, so hopefully you like it.
Please review.