Chapter 10; Rising Darkness, Crushing Light

For hours, everyone tried to cheer Keifer up, but to no avail. He had stopped crying, but he wouldn't talk to anyone or eat anything, not even the big meal Franz had prepared for them before they had to return to school the following day. Finally, as they all got up to return to Kadic, he seemed responsive, but only short answers or just nodding. As they were walking back, Jeremie's laptop begun beeping through his computer bag.

"Oh great, it's you-know-who" he said to them. Peter looked curious before everyone filled him in on the situation, and the problem they had been dealing with for ages.

"Sounds tough" he said as they ran for the factory, cutting straight through the woods on Kadic grounds.

"It's a living hell" Keifer deadpanned as they reached the bridge. While the others used the ropes as many times before, Keifer just jumped with a huff and they descended down into the room of the Super Computer. Jeremie ran towards the big machine and the others went down to the scanners.

"It's the core that they're attacking" he called down to them, virtualizing them all three at a time, sending Peter in last. Unlike the rest of them, Peter face-planted on the floor of Sector Five, groaning as he got up. His outfit was similar to Ulrich's but red, and he had a lightly flaming Katana.

"Not bad" he smirked at the blade before he followed the others through the sector and to the elevator before exiting the dome. Keifer realized that there wasn't room for him on the vehicles and decided to go Super so he could fly.

"I hate this now" he muttered, seeing the Mantas as they hatched. But there were nine now instead of the usual three. "You guys go ahead, I'll kill these idiots" he said before charging all of them at once. Before the others had even entered the Core's chamber, Keifer had destroyed the nine Mantas and had even caught up.

"Not bad" Odd commented with a smile as they jumped off their vehicles and hit the all but too familiar key, summoning the stairs to the top, which revealed to have nearly twenty Creepers and at least a dozen Manta's attacking it.

"Guys, you need to be quick, these monsters appear to be twice as strong due to the-"

"Power Ring" Kefier growled, smashing past everyone as he hurled himself in ball form at the hgihest up smallest group of Creeper's, killing them off quickly.

"Keifer, it isn't your fault!" William called out to him, using his Super Smoke to get on a Manta before stabbing it, turning it into a cloud of pixels.

"He's right, you had no choice!" Peter added, slashing out a beam of fire at his sword without knowing that went right through three Creepers. "I can do that?" he bewildered, but by stopping he took laser blast to the back, knocking him down.

"That took thirty life points Peter!" Jeremie warned him, seeing his card on the computer screen. Peter simply nodded in reply and went to launch a beam again, but it didn't work.

"Great" he muttered under his breath before jumping on the back of a Manta, all whilst Odd was running around and firing his arrows, along with Aelita launching a few energy fields.

"What're you doing Yumi?" Ulrich asked her as he realized she had her eyes closed, only to notice he was floating up to another group of Creepers. "Triplicate!" he yelled, making two clones of himself before they slashed away the monsters.

"Guys, the second shield can't take much more!" Jeremie warned them.

"Well it doesn't have to" Keifer replied, speeding around the core like a golden bullet, until a new shield surrounded it, pulsating yellow. But when he finished, Keifer's form faded, causing him to fall down to the floor all the way below, face first. He wasn't moving, but eery time the new shield was fired at, his body seemed to be in pain.

"Guys, Keifer's life energy is what's sustaining the shield! If it falls, he might completely die!"

"All the more reason for us to hurry up!" William yelled back to him, spinning around with his sword and finishing off the last few Creepers, while Odd killed off the last Manta.

"Great job guys!" Jeremie said to them, his tone now relaxed. "I'll bring you all back in now" he added, typing away at his computer as everyone was revirtualized into the real world. Peter, being his first return trip, just stumbled out as he and Keifer were the last ones brought in, but Keifer simply fell out in front of everyone, who failed to catch him. He just sighed as he came to and walked over to the elevator without saying a word. They went up a floor, got Jeremie, and returned to the surface.

"So how was Lyoko Peter?" Jeremie asked him as they entered the freezing night.

"Scary, but cool" he admitted. "And I promise to keep by lips sealed" he added to him. Jeremie nodded and looked to Keifer, but he was just staring at the ground. For a split second, he thought he saw Keifer's eyes glowing red, but he just brushed it off as tiredness. "Well, I think once we get to the dorms, I'm going to be for the night" he spoke, breaking the silence.

"I think that's what we're all gonna do" Yumi said as they reached the dorm wing back on Kadic grounds.

"See you guys tomorrow" Aelita said as she and Yumi ran ahead to go up to their room, leaving Odd, Ulrich, Peter, William, Keifer, and Jeremie.

"Well, g'night guys" Peter said to them, heading to his and William's room.

"See ya tomorrow" Odd said as he went to his room, Ulrich following him and William heading after Peter.

"I'll be heading up to the dorm" Jeremie said to Keifer cautiously. He got a nod in response before realizing Keifer ran ahead oh him and went straight to bed. He was asleep by the time Jeremie got to the dorm. Keifer thought that maybe for once, he wasn't going to have nightmares, but he was wrong.

"DAMN. YOU. TO HELL!" In Keifer's dream, he was ripping apart metal again, his body still glowing from his dark form. He kept ripping apart the robot but this time, he shattered it into pieces as it rebuilt itself from Keifer's blood. Keifer laughed demonically as the robot began pleading in a robotic voice for him to stop, but he wouldn' as his mind was drowned with darkness. His dream shifted to show him over Jade, wielding a sword.

"Please, stop! I'm s torry!" she pleaded as Keifer laughed his dark laugh and stabbed down right into Jade's heart.

"NO!" Keifer snapped awake, sweat trickling down from his head. He then felt an agonizing pain flooding his mind as he collapsed to the floor on his knees. "Help... ME!" he cried out as the pain kept getting worse. He begun to feel his mind slipping from him being replaced with dark thoughts and pure evilness. He hadn't realized the dark aura around him until Jeremie begun calling out his name.

"Keifer!" he yelled, shocked at the scene before him. Keifer kept clutching his head in pain and fear as the aura grew darker and darker, his mind close to shattering.

"Help me..." he whispered out, his voice almost sounding like it didn't belong to him, but rather, something trying to take his body.

"Fight it Keifer, fight it!" Jeremie begun shaking him wildly. "What ever it is, fight it!" Keifer stared him in the eyes as he said this, then his mind flooded with memories from his childhood, all the good times he had with his Uncle, heck, even with Franz and Aelita on a few occasions. He felt his mind slowly returning, but then he heard a new voice screeching from the back of his head, nearly destroying his mind right then and there.

"You can NOT WIN!" it hissed darkly as it begun to spiral up. Keifer realized he was now in his mind, but he didn't like the looks of it. He was standing on a slightly elevated piece of broken road as the street below was flooded except for some destroyed cars and other pieces of road scattered near by. There were also buildings around him, all of them destroyed or barely standing. He then realized he was looking at a destroyed Kadic Academy and the town around it. "You will cause all of this once I take your mind" the evil voice said. Keifer realized it had taken form at the center of the destruction, and it looked like a large water monster.

"What's happening?" Ulrich asked as he and Odd busted through the door and into the room, followed by William and Peter.

"I don't know!" Jeremie cried as the aura around Keifer stopped growing darker. "He woke up in pain and this aura, the one from his dark form starting appearing around him and now... he isn't responding!"

"Keifer, you've gotta beat it back!" William said to his friend, who he realized was shaking. They all gasped as a small golden aura begun flickering through the dark one.

"What ever you are, I'll beat you!" Keifer said to the large creature. He then heard his friends speaking.

"You can do it!" Odd said, clapping his back.

"What ever is messing with you, you can stop it!" Peter declared.

"No matter how strong the foe, you'll best them!" William called to his friend. Keifer, who was still in his mind, nodded to himself, feeling a new surge of unknown power from his friends, who were still rooting for him. He then realized what the monster was.

"You're going down, Chaos!" he yelled bravely as he felt the Emeralds swirl around him. They somehow seemed... bigger. Keifer smirked as he felt the power within them surge through hsi body, but yet, it felt stronger than before. He floated up as his form changed, but it wasn't his Super one. He was glowing white and a light gray.

"You can't hope to beat me!" the beast screeched. It lunged it's dark glowing water tentacles at him but Keifer intercepted with a spin-dash, cutting them in half, causing the top parts to fall in the water, but only to grow into bigger tentacles.

"Guys, look!" Odd exclaimed as more of the golden aura begun shining through the darkness swirling Keifer. "You can do it man!" he cheered him on, giving Keifer in his mind more strength.

"HYPER DASH!" Keifer roared, blasting forward towards Chaos, instantly covering half the distance between them as a tidal wave rose up and crashed down on him, taking him under as Chaos wrapped his tentacles around him tightly and begun squeezing him.

"Your hopeless" the beast said to him darkly. "Give your mind to me... and I might spare your world this destruction"

"Guys, the lights fading!" Jeremie cried as Aelita and a groggy Yumi walked in, having gotten an SOS from Ulrich. He filled them in quickly as Jeremie panicked while somehow, even in his new form, Keifer could feel himself drowning in the inky darkness.

"Keifer, you can do this!" Yumi assured him, along with Aelitia who then spoke,

"You can't give up, not now!" In his mind, Keifer begun feeling more renewed strength.

"I can't give up, not now!" he yelled as he broke free of the monsters grip and broke the surface of the water, flying back up and giving the death glare to Chaos, his aura returning to his body outside his mind, nearly breaking the darkness into nothing. "CHAOS! You're done for!" he yelled, charging his energy up. Chaos tried to wrap his again, but to no avail. The beast watched in shock as Keifer's entire form was glowing white, his body begun surrounding itself in energy until he was a large orb.

"DO IT!" everyone outside of Keifer's mind yelled as the light begun finishing the dark aura.

"FINAL LIGHT... SONIC BOOM!" Keifer roared as his light form dashed forward and through Chaos, incinerating the evil being of darkness. He watched as what remained of the city begun fading from his vision before his eyes fluttered open to reveal his concerned friends.

"Yes!" he yelled, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air as he felt the darkness get expelled from his body, any trace of his dark form fading permanently, his mind and happiness being restored.