Chapter 11; Operation Rescue
That morning in the cafeteria, Keifer was telling his friends about what had happened in his mind the night prior.
"Had it not been for you guys, I might've died, or worse..." he let the sentence trail off, not daring to finish the thought as he ate his toast.
"Who would've thought those gems could cause something like that" Jeremie thought aloud as he finished his orange juice.
"It wasn't the gems themselves" Keifer said to him. "And also, we need a name for them, not just 'gems' or 'stones' anymore" he added to the group.
"You said the monster's name was Chaos, right?" Aelita asked him.
"Yeah, and it seems that using my dark form was what allowed him to escape the gems" he added.
"So how about Chaos Emeralds?" Odd suggested, finishing his fourth piece of toast. "You know, as a reminder not to go dark" he added, his teeth covered in bread crumbs.
"He's got a point" Yumi spoke up. "You almost lost your mind because of what the dark side of the Emeralds did to you"
"Alright then, Chaos Emeralds it is" Keifer concluded. "And I never intend to transform into my dark form anymore. I also think that Hyper Form in my mind was a one time thing thanks to all of you" he added.
"Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say we're glad you're back to your old self" William said with a smile as they got up to leave, but then something struck him odd. "Wait, how have you been going Super, Dark, and Hyper without your ring?"
"I was just thinking that myself" Keifer said in response to him, the searing memory of Jade and Metal getting away with his object of power still in his mind.
"I think the Chaos Emeralds use you yourself now, or it could be the fact that you've used them so much" Jeremie theorized.
"Then I want them separated from my body" Keifer said, much to the shock of the others. "I know they've saved us countless times, but I can't risk going Dark and losing my mind" he said to them all. "That's to say if they can even BE separated from my body at this point, and god knows where they actually are" he added with a slight shiver.
"I'll talk to Franz about it after class today" Jeremie said as they entered Science class. "But there is no guarantee that we can get them removed from your body" he added as they looked in shock at who was at the teacher's desk. Instead of Mrs. Hertz, it was Franz Hopper.
"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Aelita asked him as the gang sat in the front instead of the back for once.
"Simple; I got my old job back" he replied to her with a smile. "Your old teacher was more than happy to retire, so after a long conversation with Delmas, I got my old job back" he concluded.
"That's great, now science ought to be a lot easier" Odd said with a smile as he kicked back while Franz begun explaining to the class what they would be doing for the second half of the year.
"You should still pay attention though" Jeremie said to him as Franz begun writing on the Chalk Board.
"Okay, yeesh Einstein, I get the idea" Odd replied with a huff as for once, he begun taking notes. About an hour later, class ended and they went over to gym class, which proved to be a challenge.
"Before you complain about the weather today during your lap around the track, let me say this; I've been through worse" he said to the children, who were lined up in front of him and freezing from the morning snow-storm. "First up is Odd, Keifer and Ulrich. Show us what you got!" he yelled, blowing his whistle. Odd and Ulrich begun running, but Keifer just stood there and begun tapping his foot. He then looked at his wrist as if he had a watch when Ulrich and Odd had reached the first corner and begun running the half circle at the front of the track. "What are you doing? RUN!" Jim yelled at Keifer, who just smirked before charging a peel out, his sneakers making a big, fast moving figure eight where his feet should have been. Everyone in the crowd gasped except for Jeremie, Aelita, and Peter, who had grown accustomed to his speed. He took off in a blue blur, clearing his lap plus nine more in fifteen seconds flat, not even breaking a sweat as Jim just gaped at him.
"What was that about me needing to run?" Keifer asked Jim jokingly as Ulrich and Odd finished their lap, freezing and covered in snow.
"You know what, you're good for the rest of the week, so go get some cocoa and some rest" Jim said, his mind failing to process how one boy could run so fast. He thought to himself that it was because of his hairstyle, but he was horribly wrong. Keifer realizing that his friends might be a little jealous, decided to quickly act.
"Erm Jim, may I bring my friends with me? I sometimes became very light headed when I'm alone and I could pass out" he quickly lied.
"Oh alright, but only because of your skills!" he stated in his booming voice as Keifer, Ulrich, Odd, Peter, Jeremie, and Aelita all walked off.
"Thanks for the save" Jeremie chuckled as they went to the vending machines, the cold and snow biting at their bodies.
"Oh, no problem" Keifer said, getting them a round of hot cocoa. He then checked his watch and realized it would be lunch time soon. "You guys wanna go ahead and head to the cafeteria?" he asked them.
"Sure, why not" Peter said as they all headed in that direction, the storm getting seemingly worse. Once they entered though, the cold subsided from their bodies as they got in line to be greeted by a smiling Rosa.
"What'll it be today?" she asked them. "Thanks to the new budget, I've got a ton of variety" she said, pointing to a menu that was now on the counter.
"Oh this is so hard!" Odd whined, all of his favorite things listed on the menu. "I guess I'll take... Meatballs and Gravy" he said, making his choice.
"Hmm, same here" Ulrich said, sipping his cocoa.
"I'll take two doggies with the works, pal" Keifer said with a smile.
"Spahgetti sounds nice" Jeremie said.
"I agree with you" Aelita added.
"I think I'll take what Keifer's getting" Peter said. Rosa nodded and returned to the kitchen. They stood there for a bit and about three minutes later, Rosa returned with their food, placing it on their trays.
"Thanks!" Odd said happily after getting his. He ran to the table and begun digging in and was already halfway done by the time the others had gotten to him.
"Okay wow, did Rosa go to college and get a masters in cooking over Christmas?" Jeremie asked aloud, finishing his Pizza rather quickly when he noticed how good it was. "I mean, I know she got an increased budget again, but dang, she knows how to cook"
"I can't agree more" Keifer said with a smile, finishing his first Chili dog and grabbing the second.
"Hey guys" William said as he and Yumi came in and sat down with their meals as other kids begun flooding into the cafeteria. "How was Gym with Jim?" he joked, starting on his ramen noodles, which Yumi convinced him to try.
"It was rather good, actually" Keifer spoke, putting his chili dog down. "Jim got impressed with my running, so he decided to let me have the rest of class off, but I convinced him to let the others come with" he explained to them.
"Nice" Yumi said, finishing her meal along with the others, who were all getting up to leave before Jeremie got a call from Franz.
"Wait, really?" the blond seemed to be excited about something. "All right, I'l ltell the others and we'll be there ASAP!"
"What's going on?" Aelita asked him as they all took off out of the cafeteria and started heading in the direction of the factory.
"Your father managed to localize your mother on a replika made by Tyron!" he said excitedly as they kept running, the cold hitting them like daggers.
"Wait, really?" she asked him as they reached their hidden sewer entrance.
"Yep, and he also told me that the Skid has been upgraded to accommodate you all" he added as they descended into the sewer. They all hopped on to their methods of transport, except for Keifer, who ran on the sewer water without a worry.
"Then let's hurry!" Aelita exclaimed as they reached the exit and hoped out onto the bridge to the factory, the storm picking up even more. They ran into the factory, but that's when trouble struck. There had been some ice near the ropes that none of them had noticed. Odd, unfortunately being up front now, had slipped and started falling to the ground.
"ODD!" everyone cried out as he fell, but was suddenly caught by Keifer, who had literally ran down and managed to catch him last second.
"You okay?" he asked his friend as they all went to the elevator.
"Never been better" he said sarcastically as they went down to the lab to meet with Franz.
"Am I glad that you're here" he said to them. "Listen, I'll be sending you all in to Sector 5 and from there, I'll energize you all into the Skid 2.0" he said to them.
"Good luck guys!" Jeremie said to them as he waved while the elevator descended another floor. Odd, William and Ulrich went first, followed by Yumi Aelita and Peter, then Keifer last. But right as he entered his scanner and the process started, the computer begun flashing a warning symbol.
"This isn't good!" Franz warned as Keifer was sent through. As he landed, he realized that he wasn't in Sector 5.
"Umm, guys, where am I?" he asked very nervously, taking in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a large, gray room, with several platforms moving around, rising from the ground and moving in and out of the walls.
"I wish we could answer that question" Jeremie said to him, connecting his own laptop to the Super Computer. "Guys, Keifer was sent to a weird place somewhere on the network I think. Just head to the Skid and don't worry" he informed his friends, who nodded and took off, while Keifer begun walking around the room.
"Why does this feel so... familiar?" he wondered to himself as he got to the middle of the room. Before he could go further, a large, red transparent sphere rose up out of the floor and immobilized him. "AAAAGH!" he roared in pain as red electricity begun circling through his body before he was slammed o the ground. He looked up and realized that the Chaos Emeralds were floating around a familiar figure. "Jade...!" he said, coming to realization as he jumped up and stared at the girl who had taken the Power Ring from him.
"So many things this little thing can do!" she said evilly, flashing the Power Ring at him. "My father was right, you shouldn't have had this, ever!"
"Look" Keifer said, getting out of his fighting stance. "I don't wanna hit a girl, I've got enough respect to not do that. So if you could just hand me the rin- OOF!" Keifer was thrown back a few feet as Metal Sonic punched him dead in the chest, all the while his friend were now back in the Network and heading for the Replika that would get them t Aelita's mother.
"Keifer, you need to be careful!" Franz warned him as Jeremie was giving the others coordinates. Franz was watching a visual on his screen of what was happening in the Alternating room.
"I should've known you'd come back" Keifer said, standing up, but wincing from the pain of the punch.
"Metal, I think it's time!" Jade called to the robot. She tossed him the Power Ring and the Chaos Emeralds begun swirling around him. Keifer ignored the robot and went right for Jade, who simply dissapeared. "Bye bye for now!" he could hear her say, Metal still transforming behind him. "I'd love to stay and watch you get ripped to bloody pieces, but I have to stop your friends! So have fun dealing with Metal!" she said in a dark, evil voice. Keifer turned around to see that Metal had finished transforming. (Cue Rival Battle; Metal Sonic theme from Sonic Generations)
"LET'S SEE WHO THE REAL SPEED KING IS" the robot said in a deep, metallic voice. His form was slightly taller now, and his robotic parts were more reinforced. His claws were also bigger.
"Finally, a real challenge!" Keifer said sarcastically as he collided with Super Metal Sonic, who was glowing gray, while the others entered the Ice Sector Replika.
"Okay guys, get hooked up to the Tower. I'll send Aelita, Peter, and Yumi in, while Ulrich, Odd, and William guard the Skid" he said to them.
"I can only hope this all ends well" Franz muttered as he saw the battle between the Invincible Robot and Keifer ensue.
"Take... THIS!" Keifer yelled, passing the robot and kicking him from behind down into the ground.
"IMPRESSIVE" Metal Sonic said, slightly annoyed as he got up. "BUT CAN YOU HANDLE THIS?" he raised both of his hands into the air and the room begun falling apart and falling into the digital sea below. Keifer took off ahead as he realized that the falling ground was being turned into curving pathways almost like a speedway ahead. While he begun charging ahead of Metal Sonic, his friends weren't doing so well.
"Is that..."
"Jade?" Ulrich finished Odd's sentence as Jade appeared before them in what appeared to be a ninja suit, dyed in dark greens and grays. She charged at them and the two of them, Including William begun to fight as the others were energized back on Earth outside of a large laboratory in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere.
"Inside there, Athena is being held" Franz told them, getting a visual from his daughter. "You'll need to find a way in without triggering Tyron's alarms" he explained to them.
"He's gonna get it for kidnapping my mom!" Aelita said angrily as they found a vent-shaft. Peter sliced it open with his fire katana and they proceeded to enter it.
"First we find your mm" Yumi said to her. "Then, if we run into him, we'll deal with Tyron"
"You're too slow!" Keifer yelled jeeringly at Metal Sonic as he was racing around on the constantly changing pathway.
"ENOUGH!" the robot screeched as it charged itself in a ball of red electricity before charging at Keifer, who barely jumped over it as the robot begun sparking slightly from using so much power. Keifer took it as his chance and jumped hard on the robot, causing it to crash to the ground and fall off the platform before flying up again.
"You can't hope to beat me!" Jade sneered at the boys as she managed to avoid all three of them attacking them. "I'm better than you in every way!"
"Jeremie, I need more Arrows soon!" Odd warned him.
"On it!" the blond said as Aelita and her small group begun to hear voices in a vent opening ahead of them. They listened closer as they heard voices coming from the room below.
"- They'll save us, I'm sure of it" an old, male voice said as he paced around what appeared to be a locked room. "We can count on my nephew"
"I hope you're right" a voice familiar to Aelita spoke. She peered through to see her mom speaking to a man slightly shorter than her who appeared to be somewhere in his late fifties, maybe even early sixties. He had dark brown hair and had a small gray mustache along with a pair of glasses nestled on his nose. Before the group could make themselves known, the door to the room opened, revealing none other than Tyron himself.
"That's it. They've gone too far, and I won't let them win!" he barked, pulling out something that looked exactly like the weapon Ivo had and the one Keifer had described to them. "So I'm gonna end this game now" he said, priming the gun as Aelita and the man shielded themselves.
"NOT TODAY!" Peter cried, jumping out of the vent exit and into the room. He tackled down Tyron as Aelita and Yumi hopped into the room much to the surprise of Athena ad the man.
"Mommy!" Aelita cried as she ran and hugged her mother, who smiled and embraced her with her loving arms. But their moment was broke when they heard Tyron screaming in agony. Peter was atop him and holding the cell splitter while kicking the evil man in the stomach. He stopped abruptly only to point the weapon at his face.
"No one. Messes, With. My. FRIENDS!" he yelled, hitting him in the face with the weapon, knocking him out. He threw the weapon on the floor and crushed it with his feet before looking at the others.
"Let's just get out of here!" Yumi said quickly as she decided she'd rather not question Peter about what he had done.
"I'm going to bring you directly back, starting with Athena and..." Franz's voice faltered as he recognized the man who was in there with them. "Chuck Charles?"
"YOU CAN NOT HOPE TO BEAT ME!" Metal screeched as he formed another shield of electricity, but Keifer ignored him. He had to end the fight somehow, and he looked down to see how somehow, the Digital Sea below seemed to be showing the Ice Sector. A plan formed in his mind as he sidestepped Metal.
"It's now or never!" he yelled tackling the robot and hanging on as he threw them off the side of the breaking floor and through the fake Digital Sea. They both landed on the Ice Sector replika as the boys kept trying to subdue Jade, but they were failing and were pushed closer to the edge of the Sector. Keifer landed before Metal, having let go of him while they were falling into the Sector. He took this as his chance and jumped up with all of hi power before kicking the robot dead in the center piece, the force being so hard it knocked the Power Ring out of his body. Keifer caught it and he felt a familiar surge of strength as he spin dashed into the robot, knocking the Chaos Emeralds out of him.
"NO!" Jade cried out, realizing that Metal Sonic was done for. William took this as his chance and sliced her in the back, but it didn't seem to affect Jade as she spun around and charged at them.
"Franz Hopper?" Chuck said unbelieving at his old friends voice. He didn't have time to react though, as he, Athena, and Aelita dissapeared before appearing in the Scanners back in the factory, followed by Peter and Yumi.
"It's time you all DIE!" Jade screamed with a surge of dark, XANA-fied energy as she blasted Ulrich and Odd, causing them to fall off the Sector.
"NO!" William cried out as the two of them begun falling. Keifer ran up, completely ignoring Jade, who was laughing evilly. He was powerless as the Power Ring was drained. Out of anger, he turned around and with a rush of adrenaline, he threw Jade off the Sector, who was immediately devirtualized. He watched in horror as Odd and Ulrich were literally inches away from falling into the Digital Sea, when suddenly a dark blue blur caught them both and begun flying up.
"Unbelievable!" Jeremie gasped at the sight in his Visual. Metal Sonic, who was broken in some places, was lifting Odd and Ulrich up. They were both equally surprised as the three of them landed safely on the Sector.
"DELETING TERMINATION MODE" the Robot said, his voice sounding some-what human as the group stared at it. "NORMAL MODE RESTORED. NEW FUNCTION; WORK WITH HALF-HUMAN, HALF SPEED KING KEIFER"
"Well, I'll be darned" Keifer said, walking up to the damaged robot, who was slowly repairing itself.
"Great job everyone" Franz said to them through his mic as he heard the elevator start up. "I've set the Skid to pilot itself back to Lyoko, so I'll bring you all back in" he said as he typed in the re-materialization code, bringing in Odd, Ulrich and William first, followed by Keifer and a fully repaired Metal Sonic.
"Looks like the elevator is gone" William said, pointing to the empty space ahead of them.
"SECOND PATHWAY FOUND" Metal Sonic said, whirring as he pointed to the ladder.
"Thanks" Ulrich said to the robot. Everyone already knew it was there, but he didn't want the robot to boot back into Kill mode. Heck, it still surprised him that the robot was being nice at all. As they ascended the ladder, they found Aelita, Franz and Athena all locked in a group hug as Yumi, Jeremie and Peter looked on, confirming that their mission had been successful, when a familiar voice that only Keifer knew spoke.
"Keifer...?" the boy turned to see in the flesh, his Uncle, standing there with his arms outstretched. Keifer's eyes welled up as he hugged his Uncle so tightly to the point of knocking the breath out of him.
"You're alive!" Keifer cried tears of joy into his shoulder, not letting go of his Uncle, afraid of losing him. "But... how?" he asked, finally letting go so his Uncle could breath.
"Ivo had made a decoy of me somehow and kidnapped me rather than killed me" he explained to his nephew. "But man, is it good to be back!" he said, stretching as all the small reunions died down, everyone not knowing what to do.
"So... what should we do now?" Peter asked finally, breaking the silence.
"MY SENSES INDICATE THAT YOU WOULD ALL ENJOY GETTING TOGETHER AND PARTYING" Metal suggested to them, much to almost everyone's shock who hadn't had the revelation that he was on their side now. But he was right; everyone wanted to kick back and celebrate their biggest victory yet.