DISCLAIMER: I still do not own Code Lyoko! I do own Jacob and the other OCs though.
A/N: OMGsh a HUUUUUGE thanks to Amber0639, without whom this chapter would NEVER have been completed at this point! Hit a major roadblock and she helped me work through it! And again, I APOLOGIZE for the lack of "action", but I need to build the suspense and give myself something to work on later…I have big plans, don't worry about that! Read and REVIEW! DON'T MAKE ME BEG!
Episode 126: Mind Games
"Hunh!" Jacob gasped as he bolted up out of bed from a fitful sleep. It was the third time in a week he had been plagued with the nightmares, and he had gotten maybe three hours of sleep in the last three nights because of them. He let out a deep sigh as he slowly sat up in his bed. His eyes were bloodshot and weary, and he moved very slowly to get out of bed, cursing himself that he had classes today as he gathered his things to get ready for the coming day…
In the cafeteria…
"Morning guys; can I join you?" Hunter asked as he approached the Warriors' table with his breakfast tray.
"Of course, Hunter; please sit," Yumi said with a faint smile as Hunter sat down next to Ulrich and began to ravenously chow into his food.
"Wow, Hunter, you eat almost as fast as Odd does!" William chuckled as Hunter scoffed through a mouthful of hash browns.
"Not usually; I was just hungry this morning! Yesterday took a lot out of me!" he laughed as he continued to chow and Odd laughed. Aelita though looked around quickly, noticing instantly that they were one member short again this morning…
"Guys, has anyone seen Jacob at all? He wasn't around last night, and now he's not here this morning." Jeremy just touched her shoulder gently to try and calm her nerves.
"I'm sure he's okay, Princess…" Odd said softly. "He's probably working on something, like Einstein when he gets so inspired! You can't get either one of them to show their faces!" he laughed as Aelita nodded slowly.
"You're probably right…" she said softly as she met Hunter's eyes with a concerned gaze and he just returned her gaze with a knowing glance that told her there was more to this than she knew…
Jacob sighed as he sat down against the cool metal of the school gates and propped his head in his hands, rubbing his temples as his head pounded in frustration. He sighed deeply as his thoughts raced inside his head, not even noticing a pair of footsteps come up behind him as Joey sat down silently next to him.
"I know you…when you disappear like this, something's up…" he said as Jacob looked up slowly before scoffing at his remark and shaking his head.
"I'm that predictable?" he asked cynically in response as Joey laughed and shook his head.
"No, I've just known you long enough to know," he smiled. "You haven't talked to anyone since you came back to your dorm yesterday…hey, look at me," Joey said suddenly as he lifted Jacob's chin and looked into his eyes. "I can see it in your eyes…something's got you scared, man…" he said softly as Jacob flinched. "Talk to me, man…please…" he said as a tear rolled out of Jacob's eye. Jake stood up quickly as he blinked, trying to clear the tears but only succeeding to cry harder.
"I can't, Joey…I'm sorry…" he whispered in a choked sob as he ran off towards the woods.
"Jake, come back!" Joey cried futilely as he took a step to follow, but it was too late. His friend was already gone…
Jacob bolted blindly through the woods, yelping in pain as he was snagged by burrs, thorns, and branches, nicking up his arms and legs with cuts and bruises as he fled. Even though the cuts were there, Jacob didn't feel the physical pain. His emotions were too overpowering right now to even think about the physical ache as he stopped running and realized after a moment he was standing on the bridge to the Factory. He groaned as the burn of the cuts to his legs and arms caught up with him and winced as he realized small drops of blood were dripping from his wounds to the ground next to him. He scowled as he dived for the rope and headed down to the Lab, wincing as the rope burned against his hands. Once he got to the Lab, he quickly ran his fingers over the keyboard to set up a delayed virtualization and then raced down to the Scanners…he needed time to think…and he needed to be alone…
Meanwhile…
"Aelita; you coming?" Jeremy asked as he turned back to see her stopped at the dormitory stairs as the gang made their way towards the Science building for Mrs. Hertz's class. Aelita shook her head quickly as she headed for the steps.
"Tell Mrs. Hertz I'll be along. I'm going to check on Jacob," she murmured softly as she dashed up the stairs, not giving Jeremy time to react as he sighed softly and turned to walk to class…
Aelita walked slowly down the hall towards Jacob's room, and sighed as she pondered what was going on. "Something's not right with him…hasn't been ever since we got back from Lyoko…something's happened, I just wish I knew what…" she thought to herself as she came up on Jacob's door and realized it wasn't latched. Her eyes widened as she pushed on the door, and it swung open without resistance as her eyes met a deserted room, and Jacob's laptop left on the desk next to his bed. "He would NEVER leave his laptop if he were going somewhere for an extended period…never!" she yelled in her head as her thoughts swam with worry that something serious had happened to him…or that wherever he was, he didn't want to be found. She let out a choked cough in shock as a tear dripped out of her eye. After all this…he still couldn't trust them…his friends…her…to help him?
"Oh, Jacob…please come back…we can help if you tell us where you are…" she whispered as a tear ran down her face, knowing how pointless saying that really was as inside, she worried no end about her missing friend. At that point, she did the only logical thing she could think of. She picked up her phone. "Jeremy? Jacob's missing. I'm going to go search for him," she said matter-of-factly, letting him know that he wasn't going to stop her as she bolted out of the Dorm building and headed for the Hermitage…
Jacob landed with a cool thump in the Arena of Sector Five, waiting impatiently as the room stopped swirling and the corridor opened itself to him. He raced down the long passageway and summoned his Overwheel as he ran, hopping onto it midstride as he zoomed off through the winding maze of the Core Zone, eventually coming to the Data Interface on the outside of the sphere and seeing nothing but data streams and open space around him. He whirled around and zoomed straight down, heading for the South Pole of the Sector faster than the elevators could even think to take him there. "That is, if they could think…" he chuckled wryly to himself as he paused for a moment to await the opening of the Pole before zipping through the gap and jumping off his vehicle, landing safely on a platform in front of a huge winding staircase leading slowly upwards to the Core. He scoffed as he hit the Key on the wall next to him, activating the gaps in the staircase and then hopping on his vehicle to fly up to the Core platform. He arrived just as the last gaps in the stairs were filled and the long path leading out to the Core Interface began to extend. He leaped off the Overwheel and landed gracefully on the blue path below him, taking a knee as he steadied himself before walking out to the Core itself. He stopped a few steps from the edge of the barrier, slowly sitting down cross-legged as he gazed up into the intoxicating, transfixing, and swirling glow of the Heart of Lyoko. "It truly is a thing of beauty," he mused as he watched the miniature Lyoko swirl in its light for several moments before speaking aloud a single sentence in a fragile, defeated voice, one that he knew would help him to get the advice he so desperately needed…
"Franz…if you can hear me…I need your advice…your help. Please…"
Back at the Academy…
"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Hertz…" Aelita panted as she popped into the Science Lab. "I was…"
"Trying to find Jacob? Yes, I was told, and thank you for the effort, dear," Mrs. Hertz said in a slightly concerned tone as she looked around again. "Has anyone seen Jacob today?" she asked again as the class shook their heads. She sighed and cast her worry aside as she went back to her lesson on chemical equations. Meanwhile, Aelita took her seat next to Jeremy, who immediately turned to her with fear in his eyes.
"You still haven't found him?" he hissed in a whisper as Aelita shook her head in defeat.
"No…I haven't…" she replied. "I checked at the Hermitage, too. I don't think he wants to be found…" she whispered in a low voice as Jeremy grunted in frustration.
"There're only so many places he could be, Aelita…" he reassured her. "We will find him. Don't worry," he finished with false confidence that he wasn't sure he could really muster at this point…
Jacob blinked as the Core's light suddenly brightened, and he had to look away as the rotation of the mini-Lyoko within its confines increased a hundredfold. When the light finally began to die down, Jacob slowly turned towards the Core again, and saw nothing different than he had before, but when he went to walk away, a voice in his head stopped him.
"You wanted to talk to me, Jacob?" Franz asked as his older, rumbling voice echoed clearly in Jacob's head, and the Warrior yelped and whirled around as the guttural laugh rang in his mind. When Jacob had had a chance to catch his breath, he looked up as he rose fully to his feet again and nodded slowly.
"I think we might have a problem…" Jacob said slowly as he could almost see Franz tilt his head to the side, waiting for a response. "XANA's found the one way to get inside my head. He brought me down during a routine Mission in the Ice Sector and…I don't know if I can stop him…"
"What happened…?" Franz asked with concern as Jacob sighed deeply and prepared to bring up memories he never wanted to relive…
"He's gotten to my emotions…and I think he may have recruited or stolen someone else for his side…that's what worries me so bad, because we still have numbers, but it's who he's found that worries me. He's got the key to my emotions…he broke me down, Franz…" Jacob said, the last words almost dissolving into tears as he dropped to his knees. From within the Core, he could feel Franz's soft gaze on him, reassuring him that everything would be okay as he shuddered and sat down again where he had began.
"Who is it that could possibly have that kind of power over you…?" Franz asked as Jacob looked up with near-sparkling eyes.
"The fourth…" he said simply as he felt a wave of fury and apprehension pulse from the Core. Franz had not been expecting that one… "I think XANA's got control of him, and he's using the pain that was inflicted on me to wreak havoc with me…and the worst part about it is…I can't stop it…I just can't…the pain's driven too deep…" Jacob said softly, choking back tears as Franz sighed…well, as much as he could sigh for being stuck in the Core with no way out…
"Oh, my boy…you've endured so much…" Franz said as Jacob just shook with heart-wrenching sobs, but didn't allow himself to cry as he let his frustration finally spill out…
Aelita and Jeremy could not have been happier to hear the last bell ring for the day as they sprinted out of the Science building to meet Yumi and William with the rest of the gang in tow. When all of the Warriors were gathered at the Crossroads, Jeremy sat down on the bench to assess the situation.
"Any news, Einstein?" Yumi asked immediately as Jeremy shook his head.
"No…" he muttered softly. "It's almost as if he doesn't want to be found," he said as Aelita nodded in agreement.
"What do we do, then?" Ulrich asked in frustration. "He's not on campus anywhere; we've all searched!"
"Well…" Hunter said as everyone stopped to look at him. "His laptop's here, but there is the obvious," he suggested quickly as Jeremy nodded.
"Then let's head to the Factory," he said firmly as the gang dashed for the woods…
Meanwhile…
"I'm sorry, Franz…" Jacob coughed as he shakily stood up and faced the Core again. "I should be stronger than this…" he said in a choked whisper as Franz scoffed at him.
"For what? You did nothing wrong, my boy. And if you believe that you did, then you're letting XANA have control over you that he does not deserve and should not have had in the first place. Be strong, Jacob…" Franz said as he stopped and Jacob whirled around at the sound of footsteps approaching the Core Room. As he turned to speak to Franz again, Jacob saw that the glow from the Core had gone out, and he knew in that moment that Franz was gone. He turned back to face what was coming, and as the figure came into view, Jake was floored for the second time in as many days as his vision faded to black and he dropped to the ground screaming as nothing but mixed echoes of maniacal laughing and pained screeches could be heard throughout the entirety of Sector Five…
As the gang arrived in the Computer Lab, Jeremy looked around and immediately saw the thin trail of blood leading to the computer chair. His eyes widened in shock as he choked, "He's here…" Aelita gasped in shock and said, "I'm going!" as she raced back to the elevator, followed closely by Hunter and Ulrich. "We'll bring him home, Jeremy," Hunter said solemnly as the elevator doors closed, leaving Odd, Yumi, William, and Marth in the Lab with Jeremy.
"All we can do now is wait," Yumi whispered.
"And hope…" Marth agreed as Odd sighed slowly and began to pace…
"Here we go, you three," Jeremy said as they stepped into the Scanners. "Find him…" "Before it's too late…" he added silently as the Scanner doors closed…
Transfer Ulrich, Transfer Aelita, Transfer Hunter!
Scanner Ulrich, Scanner Aelita, Scanner Hunter!
Virtualization!
The trio landed in the Arena a few moments later, and hit the ground running as they dashed through the corridor leading to the Core Zone. As they entered the first room, Aelita froze as she heard a strange echoing sound bouncing off the walls, and Hunter's eyes widened as he immediately recognized what the sound was…
"It's Jacob," he said without hesitation. "Jeremy, we've got to hurry!" he snapped as Jeremy's head shot up and he raced his fingers across the keys.
"Vehicles on the way!" he shot back as the Overbike, Overbolt, and Aelita's Overwing virtualized after a few seconds' pause. The three Warriors jumped on them without a second glance and zoomed off at warp speed to navigate the twisting maze of the Core Zone. Aelita took the lead as she tried to follow the sounds of Jacob's screams, and yelped as a laser streaked by her head. She rolled to avoid the shots, and Ulrich whirled around to face the Creepers who had managed to catch up to them.
"I got them, Aelita; you two go on!" he growled as he jumped off of the Overbike and drew his twin sabres. "Now, let's get down to business…" he hissed as he deflected a laser blast from one of the Creepers and gritted his teeth as he tensed up, waiting to make his move…
Aelita and Hunter continued on until they reached the Data Interface, and Aelita immediately looked over the edge of the platform and breathed sharply as she heard the screams intensify. "Jeremy! Check the Core Room! I think he may be there!" Jeremy's fingers flew over the keys as he entered the scan and he shook his head as it came up negative.
"I don't get it, Aelita," he replied, "There's nobody in there! Unless his signal is being blocked somehow he's not there!"
"He's there!" she said through gritted teeth as she zoomed off the platform and headed for the South Pole. "We can hear the screams…" she said as she held back tears… "Hunter, let's go!" she hissed as she blasted downward and headed for the Pole's entrance. As they approached the South Pole, the screams echoing from inside grew louder, and Aelita shrieked as she held back tears. She gritted her teeth, and muttered, "We're coming, Jacob…" as she blasted up through the South Pole entrance when it opened and landed on the platform where the Core Zone door was located. She hit the Key to open the giant doorway without hesitation, and the moment the door was open, she sprinted through it and activated her wings to fly up towards the Core platform. She blasted upward towards Jacob's intensifying shrieks, and Hunter screamed, "Aelita, wait!" But there was no stopping her. She soared up and a few moments later she landed on the Core platform with an audible "thud!" unable to believe what she saw…
A figure was kneeling by Jacob's side, with a hand laid almost caringly on his shoulder, and Jacob thrashed under the touch as if he were being scalded with a hot iron. Aelita's eyes widened as she took a step forward and screamed, "Get away from him!" The figure whirled around in shock and utter surprise as he was revealed to be a younger boy, about the same age as the Warriors. He was wearing a white body suit with blue stripes down the sides and as his eyes met Aelita, she saw a transfixing amber gaze that held more fury and anguish than she had ever seen in a human being as his eyes widened, and before she could even move to stop him from running, the boy flipped off the side of the platform into the Digital Sea... Aelita just gaped as he disappeared from view, and then dived forward to Jacob's side, trying to soothe him as she murmured softly into his ear. "Shh...shh Jake...it's okay...I'm here..." she whispered as he screeched and shivered in her arms...
"It's happening again...I never thought...I never...he was never supposed to find me again..." As Aelita heard these words, even though she didn't know the extent of the story, she knew that the boy she had seen was the one who had been tormenting Jacob's thoughts, and who had obviously hurt him so badly before. In that moment, she knew she had to help her friend heal, and she laid him softly on the ground in front of her as she rolled up onto her knees and laid a hand on each of Jake's temples. She opened her mouth and began to sing, the soothing sound echoing throughout the Sector as Hunter ran up to the scene and froze, watching as a faint pink glow enveloped both Aelita and Jacob. The latter's eyes slowly fluttered shut as Aelita focused on the shadows she could feel in his head; the broken thoughts and images; the dark memories and all the pain in his heart. She focused on pulling all of it out and helping him to heal as she looked at his face and softly whispered, "Forget..." as she used her Creativity and energy from her set of Lyoko Keys to wipe Jacob's memory clean of all the heartache and fear, and she sighed in relief as she felt him relax in her arms and saw his expression change from one of fear to one of calm as she felt him go limp, exhausted and spent from everything that happened. Hunter just marveled at the extent of Aelita's abilities as she sighed and shook from the effort of cleansing her friend's memory. She slowly stood up as she laid his head down onto the cool block surface and turned her head to the foggy ceiling above. "Jeremy," she said softly, nearly spent herself as she continued, "A return trip would be the best thing for everybody at this point, especially for Jacob..." she finished as she cast her soft gaze again onto her friend.
"Copy that, Aelita," Jeremy said as he punched in the code without a second thought. "Return to the Past NOW!" he said confidently as the white bubble quickly enveloped the planet and reversed the chaos of the hours that had just gone by...
"Unh..." Jacob muttered as he slowly stirred and woke up from what must have been at least a restful night's sleep. He slowly sat up and shook his head to clear it and wake up as he stood up and looked in the mirror. His reflection gazed back at him, and he saw for once in his life, peace. He could remember nothing of the day that had been erased, and that was all for the best. He slowly slipped into his clothes and combed his hair before heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast. On the way down, he stopped as Aelita met him on the stairs, smiling as he waited on her to catch up before the pair walked down towards the cafeteria.
"Morning, Jacob. Are you feeling all right this morning? We didn't see you last night and I was worried..."
"Yeah, Princess...I am feeling okay. In fact...I feel at peace for some reason..." he said softly as he looked into her eyes, and Aelita knew that, at least for now, he would not have to worry again; that he did not have the paralyzing fear that she had seen consuming him anymore...
"You were not able to destroy the boy, nor did you manage to lure Franz Hopper out of his hiding place. I'm disappointed in you, my servant..." XANA hissed in a staticky growl as the mysterious boy gazed out of the shadows at him. Surrounding them was a strangely shimmering obsidian castle, and if you could have looked outside, you would have seen nothing but wilted trees, cracked and dusty ground, and dusky purplish-black skies giving the area the appearance of a wasteland. The boy looked back with a steely gaze at the program who had become his ally, and spoke softly but firmly in response.
"I apologize, Master XANA, but I promise you, Jacob will fall to us. It's only a matter of time before he gives in to his heart and comes searching for me. I may have caused him pain in the past, but I saw his eyes as I cared for him in Sector Five. He still cares about me, and he is still concerned for me. And when the time comes, I will bring him here, and then he will be ours once and for all. Even his will won't be strong enough this time. Let the mind games begin, my friend..."
LW94: And so the gauntlet is laid… I WANT YOUR INPUT! What do you think is coming up? Stay tuned for more…
Next time:
Episode 127: Dry Spell
As Jacob recovers from his bout on Lyoko with no memory of what really happened, the Lyoko Warriors continue on into the new school year and XANA begins to reveal that he has gained back more strength than anyone originally thought when he launches an attack from the Desert Replika. Will the Warriors be able to stop it, and what role will this Replika play into the fight to rescue Franz? Find out, next time…on Code Lyoko: Unleashed…