SCENE THREE
ELLIE'S TRANSITION CARD (again, we see only her two-dimensional appearance, and she is not alone – instead, she is pictured standing back to back with YUMI. However, only Ellie's name appears on the card.)
EXT. FACTORY – BRIDGE – LATE AFTERNOON
A long shot, establishing. Cut to the sewer hatch directly in front of the bridge, which opens to let Ellie out.
Ellie looks around, spots the Factory and, with a nod, begins walking towards it.
With a steadfast but slightly guilty demeanor, Ellie crosses the bridge and enters the Factory. Music plays – soft, but threatening.
INT. FACTORY – ENTRY FLOOR – LATE AFTERNOON
She slides down the ropes and walks through the large, empty room. At one wall, the elevator stands invitingly open.
INT. FACTORY - ELEVATOR
Looking about furtively, Ellie steps in. It immediately begins to sink. She gasps, then whirls around, but it's too late to jump out now. The idea that this might be dangerous occurs to Ellie for the first time now – we see it flash across her face, and she begins punching elevator buttons at random. This has no discernable effect.
INT. FACTORY – COMPUTER ROOM
The elevator doors open. The point of view is behind Ellie, so she is silhouetted against the computer room. Her shoulders tense, then drop as she takes in the incredible sight.
The computer room is darker then it was in Jeremie's day. The holographic map and most of the screens are turned off; the only light comes from the central computer monitor, which is fizzing with 'snow,' interference static.
Come around to see Ellie's face, where curiosity is warring with good sense. Curiosity wins.
New angle as Ellie steps out of the elevator and walks over to the main screen. The elevator doors close behind her, but she doesn't notice. She places one hand on the headrest of the computer chair. The other drops the flashlight she is still holding next to the keyboard.
Suddenly, the static snaps off. Ellie jerks, then leans closer. The picture on the screen is a headshot of JEREMIE.
Zoom in until the computer screen fills our screen.
Jeremie is speaking feverishly but somewhat awkwardly, as though even a dire emergency can't completely overcome stage fright. Behind him, the doors of the elevator and other bits of the computer room are dimly visible.
JEREMIE: Uh, hi. I'm Jeremie. Um… look, if you're listening to this recording, the world is in serious danger. The whole world. Because it won't activate unless XANA…
AELITA (from off screen, breathless): Jeremie, Ulrich can't hold them off much longer!
Jeremie glances quickly backward, towards where Aelita's voice originated, then turns back to the computer screen with renewed intensity.
JEREMIE: Right. There's no time to explain. Go into the elevator and press the button at the bottom. That will take you to the scanner rooms. When you get there, step into the tubes. The fate of the world…
He is interrupted by the sound of lasers being fired. Once again, he glances quickly away from the screen
JEREMIE (CONT'D): Yumi, get Aelita down to the scanners now! (He turns back to the computer screen and finishes all in one breath) Just do it!
Snow once again covers the screen. Long shot. Ellie is now sitting in the chair in front of the computer. She cocks her head to one side, trying to absorb what she just saw. After a moment, she taps the enter key on the keyboard. No effect. She tries a few more buttons – still nothing. Frustrated, she slams her palm against the keyboard and pushes the chair back, away from the desk.
New angle, from the back of the computer room. The monitors are dark squares. We can see Ellie behind them, lolling in her seat; we can also see the doors of the elevator, which open to reveal Derrik and Brooke. Derrik is still carrying several books, and Brook is holding her backpack by one strap.
DERRIK (striding out of the elevator): El-lie, what were you – huh?
He is cut off as the computer screen resolves and begins to play the same recording again. The shot is now from one side; Brooke drops her backpack by the elevator and walks across the room to stand in front of the monitors.
BROOKE (over Jeremie's voice): What's this?
ELLIE: It started playing when I walked in.
DERRIK (to Brooke): What is this place?
BROOKE: The Factory, I think. I've never heard any other name used. It's supposed to have been abandoned for years.
ELLIE (never looking away from the screen): I think we should do what it says.
BROOKE (shaking her head): Nah, things like that aren't meant for us mere mortals.
Nevertheless, she watches the computer screen, brow furrowed. She's realizing she has seen Jeremie's face before, but she hasn't quite matched it to the sketch in the hallway or the photos she's seen in the newspaper archives yet.
The recording comes to an end, and is again replaced by static.
DERRIK: We should probably get back to school now.
ELLIE (sulky): Well, I'm going to do it.
DERRIK (sounding almost paternal): You're already in enough trouble. Don't push it.
ELLIE (with her nose in the air): Fine, then, don't come.
She presses the elevator button; the doors slide open, and she steps in.
BROOKE: I must admit, I'm a bit curious myself.
Brooke grabs her backpack and follows Ellie into the elevator. Both girls regard Derrik with expectant expressions. He fumes, but can't argue any further.
DERRIK: Fine. Just a quick look.
As the doors close behind them, the recording begins to play again to the empty computer room.
INT. FACTORY – ELEVATOR
The elevator doors, which come open. The three inside have adopted various poses of impatience.
INT. FACTORY – SCANNER ROOM
Cut to behind the three explorers. We see they are silhouetted against the glow of the scanner room, which has not changed. All three scanners are open.
New angle. Brooke, not Ellie, is the first to step out. She gazes around the room, gives a what-the-heck shrug, drops her backpack again, and steps into the middle scanner.
DERRIK (still in the elevator): Nothing happened. Happy?
Ellie skips out of the elevator, a close up of her sneakers as she steps into the scanner on the right, then her face as she closes her eyes.
ELLIE: You have to get in too, Derrik. There's three, see?
Derrik, sighing heavily, drops his books next to Brooke's bag and slouches over into the final scanner. With a startling suddenness, all three slam shut.
We flick through the three scanners as they power up. Derrik slumps against the back wall, shaking his head in desolate resignation as the lights come on. Ellie stares at the doors in wide-eyed, tight-mouthed terror; as the updraft grabs her and makes her hair stand on end, she lets out a little shriek and begins pounding on the doors. Brooke merely lays one hand on the doors and looks up at the camera.
Fast zoom into her eye, and suddenly a series of images from the original Lyoko show are flicking past at subliminal speed: the original Lyoko gang posing for a group photo, Jeremie at his computer, krabs in the real world firing madly, Jeremie in class, Jeremie in the cafeteria, Aelita's Lyoko form on a laptop screen, a cell phone being flicked open, Jeremie graffiti-ing a wall of the school, a suit of samurai armor attacking, a rubix cube clicking into order, Aelita giving Jeremie a kiss, a wave of red-eyed rats, an activated Tower on a laptop screen, and others, all to the theme of Jeremie.
As quickly as it began, the onslaught ends – with an image of Jeremie stepping into a scanner and turning towards us, wearing a resolute expression, as the doors close on him. We get a moment to catch our breath, then the image blurrs, and we're back in the present. The three scanners open in succession.
Brooke tumbles out, collapsing to the floor in a heap.
Derrik steps out blinking, dazed.
Ellie is the last to emerge. There is something different about her; the way she stands, the set of her brow, indicates simultaneously greater confidence and greater bewilderment.
ELLIE: Jeremie, is something wrong?
Her voice is different, too. Although it's clearly still the same person speaking, a great deal of the shrillness is gone.
ELLIE (CONT'D): I'm supposed to be in Lyo…
She trails off as her hardened gaze takes in the collapsed Brooke, then rises and settles on Derrik.
ELLIE (CONT'D): You're not Ulrich. What's going on?
Close on Derrik, looking confused.
Off on Ellie's glare.
SCENE FOUR
EXT. LYOKO – MOUNTAIN SECTOR
Floating islands, whisps of cloud, stunted trees. XANA's music plays.
The long shot slowly zooms in on a single thick cable arching up from the ground. It pulses red.
The camera follows the pulsations from a few feet above ground, racing along the rocks, picking up speed as it travels. Suddenly, it halts, panning up to frame a Tower. There is a pause of less then a second – then the Tower blinks, as though someone has flicked a switch, from white to faintly luminous red.
END ACT ONE