~Wings~ flying off.
~Wings~ flying back.
Yeah, I forgot to do that in the last chapter. Whoops! Hahah…
Anyway, I just watched another episode of Code Lyoko, and I really don't know what the order (transfer and scanning) is, so I'll just like, make it up or something. Deal.
On with the show!
Deep in the Ice sector, a huge glacier sat in the middle of a large, virtual lake that was deep inside an underground cave, carefully concealed from view. It was well-hidden for a purpose.
Through the thick, misty ice, a smokeless tower stood inside the glacier. And within the tower, a young man lay on a platform bearing the same symbol as the new monsters'. He had spiky white hair tipped with black, which hid his pointed ears, and dark, tanned skin, and his yin-yang-like uniform sported the same emblem—one like XANA's, and yet unlike XANA's.
As soon as Jeremy first reached Lyoko, the young man had stirred, who had been dormant ever since the creation of the virtual world. When XANA had been in action, he had been dimly aware of the many battles that happened between the supercomputer and strangers who had come back to Lyoko every time XANA activated a tower. The whole incident was annoying, and he didn't partake in any fights—after all, he was merely a backup program, in case XANA failed its task.
Which it had. And everything on Lyoko was shut down, including him. When he first awoke from the pulsations unknowingly caused by Jeremy, he knew that that stupid supercomputer had failed. It did not understand the real world and was destroyed in the process. XANA wasn't the only stupid thing he was aware of. His creator was stupid too, making A.I.s and using them only for stepping stones in his grand plan, which was stupid as well. Taking over the world? How cliché can you get? And all this A.I. wanted was a chance at real life. To be able to breathe real air, and see real sites, and eat real food, and walk and talk and move with a real body. He would give up his supernatural powers on Lyoko just to be able to do all those things. But no, his creator forbade it, restricting him. Telling him, through screens in his frozen tower, his only purpose was to destroy any enemies that arrived on Lyoko and he had a whole arsenal of monsters at his disposal.
Well, his creator could go burn in hell. Of course, he didn't tell him that; otherwise, he would risk deprogramming and cease to exist. He wouldn't even be a memory, and the creator could just forget him. The creator even made him a new symbol, similar and different to XANA, the failure. The creator was still bitter about that program. "Damn kids," he would curse, and the A.I. would watch him stomp around his laboratory from his little screen in the tower.
XANA was still a laugh in his mind. Able to put humans into deadly comas with music and neutralize gravity, and yet unable to defeat five or six children. XANA wanted world domination as well. He couldn't understand why controlling the world was so important. What's the use of having so much power? Enslave the humans? Ha! When hell freezes over! The supercomputer couldn't keep control over a mouse, let alone a world!
Yes, all the A.I. wanted was a normal existence, to just breathe and eat and…live. But how would he do that? As he thought, the symbol underneath him began to glow white and the ice around the tower cracked and shattered, and an icy path appeared from the tower to the banks of the lake. Power began to flow through him as he stood up and slowly walked to the entrance. How would he be able to go to the real world? A screen opened up behind him with a soft beep, and he walked back to see what new message his creator sent him after so long. His ice-blue eyes widened as he read: You can do anything once you rule the world.
So if he ruled the world, he would able to come into the real world. He read on: However, there's some fools who are returning to Lyoko once again. They want to stop you so they can have their real world to themselves. They won't let any A.I. in! They are threatening your wish!
They dare take his opportunity to live for real away! His breath quickened and he narrowed his eyes in anger. His blue pupils began to flash with his new symbol. As long as you do your duty, taking the world is in your hands. Your abilities are open and available, to fight against them. To fight for your wish. But you must do what I say in order to accomplish your goal.
The message ended there, but he didn't care. To think that humans could be so greedy! He shouldn't be surprised, now that he thought about it, as he thought of his stupid creator. But a plan began to form in his mind. In order to fulfill his wish, he had to fight the threats and take control of the world, which was his creator's original intention. He was being used; he knew that. But for now, it'll be a win-win situation. He'll fight the enemies threatening his desire, which were enemies to his creator. He'll help take over the world. But when that happens, he'll throw away and destroy his creator, and take the world all for himself. It would be brilliant. A smile appeared on his dark face and he ran his fingers through his spiky hair. And as he passed through the entrance of the tower and looked around the Ice sector, his eyes reflections of the frozen wasteland, his first spoken word escaped his lips. His name.
XERO.
Far off in the Forest sector, the complete opposite of XERO's, another boy stirred in another smokeless tower in another secluded area, covered completely with virtual leaves and surrounded by a thick forest of trees. His dark red hair hung past his olive eyes as he pushed himself up. He knew he had been unconscious for a long time, even longer than XERO, and he knew his older sister was gone as well. He had felt her disappearance from Lyoko several times and was completely baffled. But his sister was all he could remember. He didn't even know if she was his sister, but his broken memory told him so. He was vaguely aware of her presence, as well as a few others later on. But those were strange, foreign. Not part of Lyoko. But they helped his sister deactivate towers that were activated by XANA, the evil supercomputer, so he stayed in his tower. He didn't know why he didn't reveal himself to her; maybe he couldn't. He never tried.
But now her existence was gone. Extinguished. Like she never existed. Gone, like the others. But she was the last to go. But with her disappearance came the disappearance of XANA. Sacrifice. So beautiful and yet so ugly. He hated it. Hated. He wanted his sister.
And then there were new pulsations, bad, evil ones. Just now. They woke him up. And then he heard a name, whispered across sectors and time. XERO. A new threat. Ugly. He hated ugly things. Ugly and bad and evil things. And with that new name, he felt something else. No. More than one thing. One, two, three, four. Four things. Four presences. Four existences. Vague and faint, barely alive. But hanging on, as if they were trying to come back from wherever they came from. Four things. His sister and three other presences. Were they still alive?
His mind was still groggy and messy. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't think full thoughts and sentences. Who could, after being asleep for so many years? Were they years? Were they months, or days, or weeks, or seconds? What did it matter? Maybe it did. But not to him. Not yet.
But was his sister still alive? Yes, she was. Barely. Sleeping, like he had. But not a good sleep. Bad. Like death. And so were the others. One, two, three. Three others. There were three others, who fought to protect her. They helped her through to the activated towers as they fought the monsters, sometimes getting killed. No, they weren't killed, they were devirtualized. Gone. But they came back. For his sister. Sometimes, his sister went with them. But how?
He didn't know exactly what he was. An artificial intelligence? Probably. But he remembered that he was directly related to his sister. Like, by blood. Were they twins? He thought so. Maybe. Younger or older? No. That doesn't matter right now. But his sister used to be confined on Lyoko, the virtual world. He also remembered that. His sister and Lyoko. But then his sister left, for real. She was human. Just stuck on Lyoko. So was he human too? He should be. Just stuck on Lyoko. Forever? No. His sister wasn't, so why him?
Now, before XERO, the ugly thing, and after he woke up, he felt other pulsations. Not bad. But were they good? They seemed good. They felt foreign. Like his sister's friends. Like aliens. But they weren't his sister's friends. One felt the same. But different. Like a sibling. The other he recognized. He had been on Lyoko before. But he had been possessed. And here he was now. He was okay. With the sibling. They didn't do anything. They just killed some monsters and left. Okay. Weird. But okay.
And he heard a voice, like the voice when his sister was alive. No, existed. The owner of the voice tried to come to Lyoko. The first time, he was trapped. He tried again. He came. And then he left. No fighting. No battles. Just here and then not here. Okay. But he heard that voice, after so long. Older. But the same owner. That voice had helped his sister leave. That voice was there when she died. No. She didn't die. But she was gone. For a while. Maybe that voice is trying to find her. With new friends. Two others. Will there be another? So there'll be three. Like before. Him and them. Four. Maybe five. He doesn't know. But maybe that voice will help him. Help him go to the real world. He doesn't know why he wants to go: maybe an instinct? Maybe he was originally from the real world. Like his sister. But he was so hidden. How will he be found?
He sat up, pushing back his dark red hair and tucking it behind his elf-like ears. Stupid move. Hair fell back in his eyes. Whatever. His clothes were similar to his sister's. White. But with dark red. Like his hair. And a dim, dusky green Like his eyes. No ribbons. Similar but different. Boyish. He picked at his shirt and examined his shoes. What. No time. He had to go. He had to go find the others. But be careful of XERO! He felt power surging through him as his mind slowly began to clear. Good. He was beginning to think straight. And outside, the leaves began to fall and vanish, and trees were disappearing and reappearing elsewhere, leaving a clearing on which he could walk on. He began to step towards the entrance. And then he stopped.
What was his name? Hell, what was his sister's name? He stopped right in front of the wall, although it really was the exit, or entrance, in disguise. And then it came to him. Just like that, as if it were waiting for him to remember it.
Alphonse. But that was it. And as he walked out of the tower, he remembered another name.
"I'm coming for you, Aelita."
Lily slowly opened her eyes. Her head was spinning like a top and throbbed painfully. Eventually, the throb faded and the world was beginning to right itself. Jeremy and William were watching her, worried.
"Lily? Are you alright?" asked Jeremy.
"Yeah, my head hurts a bit but I'm okay." She sat herself up and glanced at the clock. 18:30.
"Oh shit! My mom's going to be worried sick about me!" Lily began to get out of the bed, but William stopped her.
"It's okay. Jeremy called her and said you were going to be a little late. So just relax and recover; you used up a lot of your energy on Lyoko."
"Speaking of Lyoko," Lily said, "was that all real? Like, it wasn't just…an illusion or anything?"
"Nah, it wasn't an illusion. You didn't imagine it, although it was just your conscious going to Lyoko. So, did you like it?"
Lily blinked and grinned. "No, I loved it! It felt like a real video game! But the costume was kind of weird. Like those glove things? I don't think I even felt my fingers!"
William chuckled. "You're a little flower fairy, you know?"
"Hey!"
Jeremy watched the two joke around and smiled. He hadn't felt so relaxed since the Incident and here he was, smiling as if it never happened. He supposed that he was so stiff and isolated as sort of a penance for surviving that explosion when his best friends had died…or something. He wasn't even sure they were dead anymore. He didn't want to believe their deaths; just that they were in limbo.
"Well," he said, standing up. William and Lily glanced at the blond young man in confusion. "I think it's time for Miss Lily to go home now. She needs proper rest and food." As Lily began to protest, he added, "And you can visit any time you'd like. In the afternoon, at least, since we all have school."
"I'll take her home, then," offered William. Still pouting, Lily nodded her consent, and the two of them left the infirmary. After they vanished from sight, Jeremy began to leave himself, thanking the nurse and walking back to his dorm. But when he got there, he saw a young Japanese man standing in front of his room with a slip of paper in his hand and a suitcase by his feet. He looked up, startled, but his expression remained impassive, as it had been for the past ten years. Like Jeremy, he had broken inside himself, but in a different way than Jeremy. While Jeremy had simply melted, he himself ended up like a broken bone mended wrong: distorted.
"Hiroki?"
The drive was long and boring, but easy. That's how he liked it. Endless miles of ugly, gray road were stretched out in front of him for four hours. He longed to reach for his Game Boy and lose himself within it, but if he did, he would die. Like his sister and her friends. Only two survived, and he often had wished that she and Ulrich were the ones to survive. That way, he could go on teasing her about her 'lover' until they actually got married or something. Or something.
Hiroki drummed his slender fingers against the steering wheel when he came to a red light after finally turning away from the highway. Five…four…three…two…one…The traffic light flashed a bright, cheerful green, and he stepped harder on the accelerator, lunging forward and away from the light. Yes, he knew he was depressed. He had been in denial as soon as his sister's death was confirmed, and he never recovered. At least, not yet. He secretly hoped for an excuse to stop mourning for his sister so that he could turn over a new leaf and just…be himself again. But not yet.
He never hated his sister; in fact, he didn't even know why he always teased her like he did ten years ago. Maybe it was just instinct, an instinct of a younger brother to an older sister. But now, of course, he regretted it with all his heart. He never got to tell her that he loved her, as a sibling, and he didn't even know if she really loved him, under all that teasing. So now, he was living without that knowledge. And she was dead with that knowledge. And because he had hurt her without ever apologizing to her, he had locked his heart away. Suffering and mourning every single day. He never had true fun for ten years, and he wasn't about to any time soon.
A tear began to form in his eye, and he quickly brushed it away before it could continue its journey down his face. But right after that, another tear rushed down his cheek, and before he could do anything else, a cascade of them spilled over and he ended up sobbing. He quickly parked in an empty parking lot and cried.
It could have been five minutes, or twenty minutes, or even an hour. Hiroki didn't care. His eyes were red and his skin was blotchy, and he was beginning to hiccup. Flipping down the visor, he checked his reflection in the mirror and saw his twelve-year old face under all the tears and redness, his hair short and not long enough to tie back, like now. "Strange," he murmured. Suddenly, he gasped; in the background, he saw the face of his sister, who was still the same age as she died. Hiroki whipped his head around but no one was there. He must be hallucinating. Sighing, he turned back to the mirror, but she was still there, flickering faintly like an old TV screen. He held his breath as she came closer and closer, until her face was right by his own twelve-year old face in the mirror. Hiroki shut his eyes, tears leaking out from under the lids. "I'm sorry," he murmured under his breath. "I know it was all my fault, and if I didn't—"He opened his eyes again and saw his sister's face right by his twelve-year old face in the mirror. She smiled and kissed his tear-stained cheek. It's okay, I love you. He heard a buzz and she flickered again. "No!" he cried. "Please don't go!" Yumi smiled again. I'm always with you, Hiroki. And then she flickered out of existence.
Sobs racked his body once more; he didn't know whether to believe his sudden vision. Was it real? Or was it just his imagination that created a manifestation of his sister in his mind? She was dead, and yet he could still feel her kiss on his cheek and hear the words in his ears. So she isn't dead? But how could that be? She was missing for so long! And then, he remembered her friends, the live ones. William. Jeremy. He was sharing a room with Jeremy. He could ask him, then! Talk to him about this. He'll know what to do! His impassive mask cracking, he sped away from the empty lot, on his way to the college.
"Hiroki?"
Jeremy walked closer to the young Japanese man, who stared at him back. He looked the same, in Jeremy's eyes, but he soon noticed something…off about him. It was not a bad thing, though. In fact, it was as if he was somehow recovering from the Incident, returning to his old self.
"Oh, Jeremy. I'm your new roommate, but I forgot my key…"
Even his tone of voice was different. Hiroki coughed and retied his ponytail.
"Ah, here." Jeremy hurried forward and the door swung open with a click. His room was small, yes, and could not possible fit another person, but there was another door within his room that led to another room. Like a hotel suite. Jeremy never used that room.
"There is another door from the hallway to your room, so you don't have to keep coming in through here," Jeremy said, gesturing around the bedroom. It was a carbon copy of Jeremy's own dorm, but flipped.
To Jeremy's amazement, Hiroki gave a small smile. "Thanks."
Then, Hiroki's expression changed to a more serious look. "Jeremy, there's something I need to talk to you about. It's about Yumi."
Jeremy stiffened, but then relaxed. He had to be strong. For her. For them. For Aelita.
"Sure, Hiroki. What do you need?"
Hiroki sat on his bed, looking troubled. "When I was driving here, I was thinking about the Incident, you know? And…" He looked embarrassed. "I started…crying, so I stopped by in a parking lot to calm down. And I opened the visor to see my reflection, but I looked twelve. And then I saw Yumi in the background." Jeremy's eyes widened.
"You saw Yumi? But…" He was stopped by Hiroki. "Let me finish," he said. His eyes were beginning to water.
"I saw her and she came closer to me. And then she smiled and kissed me, on the cheek. And she said that she was always there for me, and that she…she loved me. That it was okay that I teased her and hurt her and said all those things to her." Hiroki began to cry again, and Jeremy instinctively draped an arm around him. But inside, he was thinking.
"I heard her, and I felt her, but I don't know if it was real or not—"
"Hiroki. Was she flickering?"
"What?" he asked. He looked bewildered.
"Well? Was she?"
"Now that you mention it…yeah, she was. Like a TV screen with bad cable. It was weird."
"And her eyes; were they normal? Like, did you see any weird sign in her pupils, flashing?"
"No, she looked normal, and her eyes were, too—"
But Hiroki stopped talking as he watched Jeremy's reaction to his words. A series of expressions flew across his face: surprise, confusion, understanding, happiness. Pure joy. Suddenly, he jumped up and grabbed Hiroki's hands, a grin spreading on his lips. "Hiroki! Do you know what this means? That means that they're all alive! Alive for real! Nothing created that image; it could have been Aelita who helped her send that message to you! They…they…" Jeremy began to cry himself, but this time, they were of happiness.
Of course, Hiroki was completely and utterly confused. "Jeremy, what are you talking about?"
Turning to Hiroki, Jeremy began to explain.
And like Lily, Hiroki looked incredulous by Jeremy's words.
"Hiroki, you've got to believe me. You have to! I'm not lying at all."
Hiroki raised an eyebrow. "Can you prove it to me, then?"
Jeremy looked at the clock. 19:15. "It's a bit late, but I guess I can." He called William over as well.
A quick walk later, the three men arrived at the computer lab. Hiroki's eyes widened in amazement when he saw the strange box and the helmets.
"So, you two put on those helmets and you'll be there in Lyoko." Jeremy popped the microphone in his ear and sat down on his chair.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" muttered Hiroki as he dubiously examined the beeping helmets. The letter 'E' glowed brilliantly in the front.
"Lily went too, you know. Lily Della Robbia," added William.
"Lily did?"
"Yeah. You scared or what?" teased William.
Hiroki's face flushed and he snapped back, "No, I just don't know whether this is really going to work or not—"
"Chicken!" William sang and placed the helmet over his head. "Chiiiiiicken!"
"Oh, I am so going to kill you there!" Hiroki angrily jammed his own headpiece on his head and Jeremy chuckled. Hiroki was beginning to come back to himself. And Jeremy was slowly coming back to himself as well. He had told William about what Hiroki saw as well, and Yumi's appearance became a flicker of hope for the three of them. Maybe Jeremy was right, and they could really bring the Lyoko warriors back.
He shook his head and began to speak.
"Transfer: William. Transfer: Hiroki."
Two cards appeared on the screen.
"Scanner: William. Scanner: Hiroki."
The helmets began to glow. The 'E' began to fade, while the 'L' began to light up.
"Virtualization!"
This time, William managed to land on his feet, but Hiroki was not so lucky.
"Oof!" he exclaimed as he hit the ground with a thud.
William shifted his blade to his shoulder and looked down at him. "You alright?" he asked with a grin. Hiroki glared in response and got up.
Hiroki was basically a samurai, like Ulrich, but more traditional like Yumi. He wore a white, torn cloak and a dark grey kimono, tied with a white cloth. Bandages wrapped around his lower arms and legs, and two large shoulder pads were tied down on his shoulders. Two long samurai blades hung at his sides and his shoulder-length hair was tied back.
He looked around him in amazement. Again, they had landed in the Forest sector, and tall, slender trees decorated the thin path on which they stood. But the tranquility didn't last for long.
"Kankrelats!" warned Jeremy. His voice came out of nowhere.
Immediately, seven, tiny, strange monsters darted over to where he and William were standing. Their red lasers were absorbed into William's blade, and he grabbed Hiroki's arm and ran behind a small grove of trees.
"Use your swords," William hissed before running out and swinging his own sword. A slash of dark blue energy flew out from the steel and struck three of the Kankrelats, which all exploded quickly. A stray laser hit William's arm and he yelped in pain.
"Careful!" said Jeremy. "You lost thirty life points, and you only have forty left! That's still more than when you first got here, but one more strike and it's game-over for you!"
William winced and dashed back to the tree, where Hiroki had just run out from. He stared as Hiroki drew his swords.
"Hiiiiiiiyah!" Hiroki cried, and suddenly, he disappeared. He reappeared behind one of the Kankrelats which had strayed far from its group and destroyed it, then vanished and reappeared behind two more. They blew up and Hiroki disappeared again. The remaining Kankrelat appeared to be panicking, turning in circles and aiming its lasers everywhere. And then, Hiroki appeared above the monster and jammed his sword into its 'eye'. A light shone from the puncture mark and it exploded.
William gaped open-mouthed. Hiroki grinned at his dumb-founded expression and at his own new ability.
"Teleportation," he laughed.
"Wow," said Jeremy, "that's pretty impressive, Hiroki! Can you teleport with other people?"
"Let me try." He walked over to William, who recovered quickly. He clapped his hands on the older man's shoulders and closed his eyes. He vanished—but William was still there.
"I guess you can only transport yourself, then," said Jeremy with a hint of disappointment. "That's alright though."
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Hiroki.
"Yeah, well, time to come back, guys," said Jeremy.
"Aww, can't we stay here longer?" asked Hiroki.
"No. It's late, and we've got to get ready for our next classes. Devirtualization."
A few minutes later, Hiroki and the others walked back to the dormitory, talking amiably.
There. Alphonse watched the two young men destroy XERO's monsters with interest. They were relatively weak, but strong enough to defeat those monsters. They'll get stronger, strong enough to rescue his sister and her friends.
He had been exploring all of the different sectors, trying to pinpoint their location. But he was unsuccessful; wherever they were, they weren't anywhere accessible to him, at least not yet. He was frustrated, but he was still hopeful. He saw with his own green eyes the strangers that could help him, and heard with his own pointed ears the voice that had been there ten years ago. Alphonse was disappointed when they vanished, but he knew they would come again. They would come back to fight more monsters. Suddenly, as he began to hop back to his tower, several red lasers were shot at his feet. He danced back, alarmed, and his slender fingers automatically curled into fists and pressed against his body. Two Kankrelats were aiming at him. Instinctively, he slammed his fists against the ground and a rocky path opened up, snaking towards the two monsters and rising out of the earth, crushing the two in a deadly embrace. Shaking, he drew his hands away from the ground and the upturned rocks faded, leaving a smooth, unmarked floor, as if his attack never happened.
Alphonse turned back to his tower when he heard a low chuckle.
"Impressive."
He whipped around to find another man standing several yards away. He looked older and yet was still young, although in Lyoko, their ages were impossible to guess. Alphonse had never seen this man in his life, but he knew who he was: XERO.
XERO raised his hands and said, "I'm not here to fight you, Alphonse. I just want some answers." His voice was was like poisoned honey.
"What kind of answers?" he replied, his fists returning to his sides.
"I have a certain…goal in mind. Because, see, all I want is to go to the real world and just be real. Not a virtual creature or anything like that. I have feelings, not like some random A.I. So I have to take control of the world so I can go on it, you know?"
Alphonse's eyes narrowed. "No, I don't know."
"Oh, Alphonse, we are the same. You and I. Both man-made creations used as stepping stones for the humans, for their own greedy desires. So we must turn against them, show them we are just as human as they are! We are the same, artificial intelligences, but so much more intelligent than they expected."
Alphonse's gaze softened for a moment, but then he steeled his heart. "No, XERO, we are not the same. We are not the same at all."
With those words, he turned and ran into his tower. There were two types of towers on Lyoko: the towers that can be activated and Alphonse's neutral towers. Alphonse can enter both types of towers, but XERO cannot enter Alphonse's towers. It was a defense mechanism built into the foundation of the towers.
But XERO did not seem angry. In fact, he looked almost pleased. His dark skin wrinkled as he allowed himself a smile, a malicious, evil grin.
"You are denying the truth, Alphonse…but you will soon see the light of my plan."
He stepped backwards and a black portal opened up behind him. It was like a tear in the virtual world, like a mistake. Like a glitch. It swallowed him up and vanished, like it had never been there.
Wow. This has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written. *Checks*. Yep. 5,000+ words! Accomplishment!
So now we see two more characters on Lyoko: XERO, our new antagonist, and Alphonse, our new Lyoko resident. What sorts of adventures will be in store for the gang next? Only the authoress knows, so look forward to it!
Yeah, Hiroki seems a bit bipolar here, but he just went through a major epiphany or something, hence the massive personality change. Well, a bit of background info- we all know Hiroki used to be the normal little brother, annoying and whatnot. But then Yumi disappeared, and he sort of buried his true personality as some sort of penance for treating her like he did when she was still around. And now, he realized she is still out there, and that he's forgiven, so his true personality came back. So, he's all better now. He may go back to his 'mask', and he may not. Oh, the suspense. Anyway.
Special thanks to Kaykat for all her help…XERO's last line was inspired by her!
To the reviewers: You guys mean the world to me! Kaykat, Wonton22496, Erik-Silver, hi (anonymous), sora12212, Dragonfly996, and Traveler7 (anonymous)!
~Wings~ flying off.
