CHAPTER 6: BEAST'S CASTLE

Ulrich sat up slowly and looked his father straight in the eyes. Harold had always been a sociopathic monster, but now Ulrich was sure he hated him.
As he looked at from across the disgusting metal table the old man had strapped him to, he had one thought racing through his mind, "Why?"

"Why, what?" Harold looked at his son as though he was some sort of disgusting vermin that he was forced to get rid of.

"Why did you take us, Yumi and me and the others, what did you have to gain from us?"

Harold turned his back away from his son,

"Lord Agram has some experiments in mind, Ulrich, and we need you and your friends to make them work."

"Thanks for the early wake up call, dumbass." Jaina complained as the Lyoko Warriors stumbled onto the Sea Falcon's deck.

"What early wake up call?" Obi-wan yawned.

"Don't play dumb." Jaina threw up her hands, "You're the one who called of us up."

Obi-wan looked at Larana, at Aelita, at Jeremy, at Aang, at Katara, at Charlie, at Olivia, at Tony, at Edien, at Jared, at Will, at Sora and at Kairi.

"Okay, whose idea was this?" He asked no one in particular. The others shrugged. No one knew who had sent out the wake-up call. There were still stars in the sky. It must be sometime early in the morning, three maybe four o'clock. Suddenly the stars began glow brighter and slowly traveled through the sky and danced down to the deck. The door of the nearest porthole opened and Goofy, Donald, Threepio and Artoo walked out onto the deck. The Light suddenly formed before the Lyoko Warrior and Qui-gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi stood there as though this was their ship and they had been waiting for the Lyoko Warriors to appear.

Obi-wan held his breath, "What the heck is going on here?"

Qui-gon waved his hand, "You do not know, young Skywalker? You do not know what the purpose for your own journey is?"

"Our purpose is to stop the Sith." Obi-wan explained, "And to save our friends and the children they've captured."

"Then that is why we are here." Kenobi gave a long sorrowful look to his young namesake, "To help you in your quest."

"What are you?" Jeremy asked.

"And who sent you?" Tony demanded, "Why are you here?"

"The Lights sent us children." Shmi looked out over the ocean, "They sent us to guide you on your way."

"And speaking of which," Qui-gon said softly, "We are about to land. You'll be with friends soon." And then the spirits disappeared.

There was a blast of thunder and the Lyoko Warriors found themselves on a small beach at the edge of a river.

"Where's the world map?" Donald wondered aloud.

"Lemme see" said Goofy, shambling below.

"Did we go back in time?" Ty Lee was wearing a red dress with a thin corset.

"Back in time?" Azula threw her hands up, "No, Ty Lee, we're in another world."

She turned to Aelita, "We are aren't we?" Aelita looked at herself and Larana and all of the other girls. They were all dressed the same in long colonial dresses with thick petticoats and corsets in the place of bras. The boys wore suspenders or petticoats, along with knee socks and boots, there were even ponytails in the place of Padawan braids.

"Let's hope so." Aelita answered, though she honestly didn't know. There was repeated crashing from below.

"Screw it." Obi-wan said, "Let's figure it out on our own."

They walked into a small village that looked almost like it was part of colonial America. People were going about their business, bakers carrying loaves of bread, farmers selling chickens and eggs, mothers fussing over children. A peaceful village. A normal one. Stopping a heavy set man with long black hair and ridiculously large biceps, Obi-wan called out the following statements,

"What year is it?"

"How should I know?" The man looked like he was going to hit Obi-wan, "What's your problem, Pipsqueak."

Azula came right up to him and held him by the shirt, "Look we have to find our friends so if you don't grow up and give us some help, then I'll roast you like a pig."

"Well, sweetheart." The man said, "Maybe we could discuss it. Over dinner."

"Gaston." The Lyoko Warriors turned, it was a short squat old man with a bald head and watery blue eyes, "That's enough."

"Oh, come on, Maurice." Gaston grinned as though it was some sort of brilliant joke, "I'm just having some fun."

"I'm sure you are," Maurice threw up his hands, "Having fun with every girl in town and then when my daughter comes home from work you propose to her as though you've been waiting for her all your life."

"Just because Belle and I will be married doesn't mean I can't enjoy a little now and then. I mean a man has to have his hobbies."

"Then you can keep hunting," Maurice said tersely, "And Belle's already told you 'no' several times."

"I'll wait." Gaston answered, "Now if you excuse me I have a deer to bring down."

"I hope its antlers impale you," Maurice said to Gaston's back then he turned to the Lyoko Warriors as though he had just realized they were there, "You would be Belle's friends, then."

Maurice had a small cottage at the edge of the village.

"It's small." He explained, "And it's not much, but it's home. Why have to you come?"

All eyes turned to the Lyoko Warriors' leaders. After a brief moment they all started talking at once and then everyone started talking at once. It took a while, but Maurice eventually understood.

"I knew this day would come." He pulled a small lever behind his cupboard which then sprung into an elaborate set of star maps and charts.

"After Belle's mother died, I started to notice something odd about my daughter."

"The nightmares." Said Kairi.

"And the voices." That was Olivia.

"And the magic." Aelita looked over the chart, "But what does this have to with."

"I met with a Gypsy woman in Paris." Maurice explained, "she told me that the best thing I could do for my child was to get her out of the city and be quick about, but also to contact a group of people know as the 'Jedi Order'."

"That's us." Said Obi-wan.

Maurice nodded, "They noticed that was I an inventor and tasked me with studying the astrological anomalies that seemed to plague both worlds. During my research I discovered something I can only assume that all Jedi are well aware of. The thing they call 'the Force' is not merely a magical power given to a select few individuals, but a living breathing thing. A balance if you will. But there is something I discovered that I can only assume that most don't know."

"And that is?" Obi-wan asked.

Maurice took out a star chart, "The two forms of the Force and of Magic, of good and evil and of light and darkness, are themselves living breathing forces of nature always at war with one another. The Lights and the Darkness. The Lights want to make things grow and to heal, but the Darkness." He shook his head, "The Darkness wants to destroy. To kill or to enslave."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. It was Jeremy that broke the silence.

"Do the Sith know this?"

His question was followed by 100 others.

"Did the council know this?"

"Where do the kids they've kidnapped come in?"

"Where's the bathroom in here?"

"Kids?" Maurice asked picking on only one of the many questions, "What kids?"

Aelita reached into her backpack and produced the newspaper.

"Children have going missing all over our world." She said, "We suspect that the Sith are behind but we don't have any proof."

Maurice examined the paper, "I came upon something like this in my studies. It is fabled that there are special Force Sensitive Magical children who have powers linked directly to the Lights and Darkness. They call them Children of the Lights."

"Anyone else think that we should talk to Belle about this?" asked Aang innocently.

The trip through the woods was long and nobody talked much during it.

Except Maurice.

"I really think that we should break the news to everyone slowly." He threw up his hands, "I mean this is life-changing. No one will believe it."

"We believe it." Obi-wan reminded him, "We're on your side. Do us a favor and don't forget that."

"I know." Maurice said. He stopped for a moment by the woods.

"I haven't been here in…quite a while."

"Oh yeah," Sora said, "Didn't Belle take your place as a…prisoner?"

"It was my fault." Was all Maurice could say, "I couldn't protect her, but that…but the Beast could."

"He's a good man." Jeremy assured him.

"Yes." Maurice said, "He's a good man and I'm a weak man."

"Good." Said a voice, "Weak man break."

Standing before them was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. Tall for his age. Close cropped dark brown hair. Black cloak. Lightsaber with a metal blade shining with black light. Long metal arm. The entire left half of his face scarred. Deep orange eyes. It was Darth Adolphus. It the man who had killed King Triton, Fa Zhou and the Sultan. Not Ulrich. It was XANA.

"You know why I'm here."
The Lyoko Warriors moved around Maurice.

"Step off." Obi-wan said, "We won't give him to you."

Adolfus sharpened his sword against a stone.

"In that case you'd normally be really lucky that I prefer the hard way." He looked at his sword in distaste, "But I have orders."

He held up his hand and muttered something in coherent.

"Say that again, Jerk Face." Obi-wan snarled.

"Darkness comes from the night. It is stronger than the light. Love will always die by the righteous hand of hate. Good is weak and flimsy will crush under evil's weight. We are the chosen few. The pure of blood. The black of hue. We only and we alone shall rule all the worlds. Even Death shall follow. Our banner unfurled."

Adolfus grinned evilly and everything went black.

Worlds away, Ulrich Stern cried out in his cell. He felt pain. Both emotional and physical pain. It burned him from within and his stomach twisted with guilt.

Harold was standing over him.

"What did you do?"

"Don't be foolish, Ulrich."

"Don't give me that, old man!" Ulrich threw his hands up, "What did you MAKE ME DO?!"

"You still feel what me does." Harold was writing something down on a notepad, "Interesting. I didn't make Darth Adolfus do anything. Our Adolfus has always had his own way of doing things."