Code Lyoko:

The Diitto Generation

Part Two:

Frantic Scurrying

Author's Note: I can't remember, did I explain the rating for this story anywhere? This section is when the story starts to earn its 'T' rating with language. Just a warning, though I don't consider the language my characters use to be too strong. And they only tend to curse when being attacked by Xana or when very unhappy. I'll also say that the story is only rated T for language (at least for now.) I stand by making this an Action/Friendship fic, since I do plan to test the friendship of my characters in the end. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Matthias (Section 2.4)

After falling on his butt for a second time upon being virtualized, Matthias hastily stood and glanced around. The arctic sector was overwhelmingly white, the only traces of color being the pale gray of the large rocks that dotted the landscape in clusters, and though it was dark and night-like Matthias felt as though the dark colors on his Diitto costume would be a disadvantage. Once again, Franz's costume had changed colors to match the terrain. It was now completely white. A twinge of envy flashed through Matthias - why did Franz get the costume that adapted to each sector?

"Valentina, are you okay?"

Matthias spun around, following Franz's gaze. The American girl was lying crumpled on the ground - she had landed badly as well. Her Diitto costume was quite different from everyone else's. It was a pale blue, though her underside seemed white, and covered every part of her (except for her head, from which a pair of furry ears sprouted) as a well-fitting body suit. Her hands and feet had been transformed into large paws, and she had a bushy, wolf-like tail on her backside.

"That was strange . . ." mumbled the American girl, struggling onto her feet. She looked awkward, as a wolf would look if it attempted to walk on its hind legs, but didn't stumble or anything.

"I was able to land this time - you'll be able to next time as well," Franz said. As Matthias began to wonder how Franz had remembered to land on his second trip to Diitto, Valentina shook her head.

"No. The feeling I had a moment ago was strange. I was . . ." Finding it difficult to articulate in French, Valentina switched to English. "I was in a forest, and a ball of white light flew into my chest. It was a strange feeling . . ."

"Katja, what did she say?" Matthias asked, not understanding more than a word or two. Foreign languages were not his strong point, and Matthias had always rued the fact that Kadic required its students to take English and one additional foreign language.

"She . . . just described how Yumi's digital essence entered Kokoro yesterday - from Kokoro's point of view, too." Katja paused, then switched to English. "Valentina, how did you know that?"

"I don't know - it just came to me!" Valentina squeaked in English, sounding timid.

Franz switched back to French as he spoke. "We have to get to the tower as soon as possible! According to my mom, Xana has less influence on Diitto now than he used to have on Lyoko. If her theory is correct, his attack will get stronger as it goes on, so our best bet for adverting disaster is to act quickly."

"How do you know that?" Matthias asked. It irked him that he had to take Franz's word for everything related to Diitto. His father was trapped, too - the previous day all he had been able to do was watch as Franz, his brother, and his mother glanced at computer coding on their respective computers.

Franz hesitated, as if wondering whether it was worth his time to explain further. "My mom believes that Xana somehow wasn't destroyed completely by my dad's multi-agent program all those years ago, and that he was cloistered in some remote computer system not connected to the Internet as the program was released - essentially giving himself a fail-safe if anything happened to him. But, wherever he was all these years, he didn't just sit still - seconds after Diitto was activated he invaded. He had programs ready to cut our parents off from the system, and to create monsters of his own. Unlike he was originally with Lyoko, though, Xana is not connected to Diitto. In fact, he's barely here at all - though that could change with time. I mean, compared to some of the attacks our parents told us about, three rabid eagles is nothing . . . but Xana can't do much else yet. However, there is a chance that with each successive attack he might gain the ability to mount progressively more dangerous attacks on the real world. Individual attacks, by the same logic, would become stronger as they went on as well."

"So, he's got a slow-start embedded into his program?" came Katja's voice from somewhere in the sky.

"We could say that, at least for now," Franz said. He glanced over his shoulder. "Come on, guys, we don't have time to waste! The tower is due north!"

Franz began to run, and Valentina hesitated but hastily began her pursuit. As she ran, she tripped and then fell onto her hands, muttering what sounded like a string of English curse words by her tone as she began to streak across the snow on fours.

"Matthias, get going!" came Katja's voice. "The screen shows some red circles up ahead - Xana has three monsters waiting to intercept you!"

Groaning, Matthias began to run. Franz and Valentina had disappeared from sight, climbing a huge snowdrift onto a plateau. A laser flew past him as he burst onto level ground, instantly summoning his sword to his side and running up to a large block-like creature. As he approached, the creature's head seemed to spin around in a circle, focusing on him and aiming a beam of ice toward his feet. Matthias jumped in place, rotating in the air to avoid the attack and watching as a small pile of ice formed where he had been standing moments before. He landed behind the creature and then quickly struck it with his sword, destroying it instantly. As it exploded into a thousand pieces, Matthias straightened and then glanced around to see what had become of Franz and Valentina.

Franz was doing his best to dodge the lasers from the two remaining monsters while Valentina stood petrified a few paces away, eyes widened in disbelief at the sight. Wondering what was wrong with her, Matthias sprung into action, charging one of the block-monsters. But before he could reach it, the creatures spun in place, targeting him. One shot a laser, which Matthias sidestepped to avoid, inadvertently brushing against the beam of ice that the other one aimed at his feet.

"Oh, this is just effing awesome - aack!"

One of the creatures struck him with a laser, and Matthias felt a momentary spasm of the pseudo-pain that always followed being struck by a laser on Diitto. Through narrowed eyes, he watched as Franz took aim at a monster, while Katja simultaneously called out to him.

"Careful, Matthias, you just lost twenty life points when that block hit you!"

"I'm kind of immobilized right now!" hissed Matthias in response, beginning to hack away at the ice around his foot with the tip of his sword. He was shot again by the third block as Franz de-virtualized the second. At the rate he was losing life points, he would be back in the bunker before Franz even caught sight of the tower. And what was Valentina doing anyway? Matthias felt a flash of disappointment upon realizing that she was probably one of those girls that was all flashy when flirting but otherwise nothing more than deadweight. She'd seemed cool enough when she first entered his room, but after that the blank, confused expression on her face had just annoyed him.

Matthias managed to block the next laser the last monster sent in his direction before Franz finally shot and destroyed it. "Come on," the blond boy said, glancing north.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm stuck!" Matthias said through gritted teeth, continuing to hack away at the ice on his foot.

Valentina appeared at his side, purple eyes wide with shock and confusion. She placed a forepaw on Matthias's frozen foot, flexed what seemed to be claws, and then dug into the ice. It shattered instantly, freeing the boy.

"Thanks," Matthias muttered, thinking that it was about time that the American did something useful. Valentina said nothing in response, merely turning and then beginning to dart after Franz in the direction of the tower. Matthias followed, slinging his sword over his shoulder as he ran.

"Franz, Matthias, Valentina?"

"Mom?" Franz asked, stopping and glancing skyward. Aelita's voice had just filled the sector - Mrs. Belpois had made it to the bunker at last!

"Yes, I'm here, and I'm going to send Ulrich and Katja to Diitto now," Aelita replied. "Did you pick up Odd, yet?"

Franz adopted a blank expression. "No . . . we just got here a few minutes ago and had to fight off some blocks. Matthias lost forty life points. We set our course for the tower-"

"Odd's digital essence is in the sylvan sector, Franz!" Aelita said, taking a harsh tone with her son. Normally Matthias would have been highly amused by the scene, but a nagging feeling of worry was creeping through his chest. It had seemed most logical to deactivate the tower and then go look for Odd to see if he would jump into Valentina in the same way that his father had jumped into him. However, Aelita seemed to think otherwise. "Valentina needs to get him as soon as possible - according to the data here most of the power being drawn from the activated tower in the arctic region is being used to generate two groups of monsters. Up ahead there are a dozen surrounding the tower, while back in the sylvan region the tower that was closest to you yesterday is being attacked by two additional monsters. It won't hold up much longer!"

"I - I didn't realize . . ." Franz stammered, turning to Valentina, green eyes soft with sorry. "We'll go to the sylvan sector right away-"

"No, you have to get to the activated tower - I'll take her to the sylvan sector," Matthias said. Only after closing his mouth did he realize what he had just volunteered to do.

"Thank you, Matthias. Even with only sixty life points left, you should still be able to get Valentina close enough to the tower to save Odd," Aelita said. "Head to the nearest waytower now - southeast of your position. I'm going to begin Ulrich and Katja's transfer now, so Franz won't be left alone for long."

"Right," Matthias said, turning in place. He glanced at Valentina, shouting "Come on" as he began to head southeast. Matthias didn't look back to see if Valentina had begun to follow. If she had an ounce of sense in her she would have.

"What is 'waytower' in English?" came a question in French. Valentina had caught up to Matthias, glancing up at him every few paces as she ran at his side on all four of her paws.

"No idea," Matthias replied. "I don't speak much English," he told her. "My old school did not make its students take it, so I just started two years ago. I can't understand anything you say in English, really."

"I stopped understanding you after the word 'school.' You slur your words too much, so I can't understand you, either," Valentina replied, also in French, her tone slightly singsong to show that she had lightened the situation. Matthias noted that her French wasn't bad - it was just heavily accented and simplistic – as he noticed that the side of Valentina that he had first met slowly seemed to be returning.

"There!" Matthias said, pointing with his left hand as he ran. A tower had appeared in the distance, mounted on a snowy cliff-side made of exposed rock. The two eighth-graders stopped before the cliff, looking up at the tower above them. Matthias narrowed his eyes, welcoming the challenge. He could jump from rock to rock and . . .

Valentina sprung forward, gripping a large rock with her claws. For a moment Matthias seized, worried that she would fall, but instead Valentina began to walk up the side of the cliff. Her claws seemed to allow her to defy gravity - that, or they could cling onto anything, even rock. Snorting resentfully, Matthias began to jump from rock to rock, making use of the fact that he seemed to be able to seek out all of the thin ledges and footholds instinctively as he wondered why everyone else seemed to have a cooler Diitto costume and abilities. He had a sword that could spit electricity. That was all.

Once atop the cliff, Matthias bolted into the tower, running straight into the smaller circle in the mark of Diitto and beginning to scan each of the points for a flash of the trees that made up the sylvan sector. A few moments later, Valentina timidly crept into the tower, making a point to stand normally as she looked around, eyes wide with awe.

"This is a waytower," Matthias said, finding the point that led to the sylvan region. He stood before it with his arms outstretched as he had first seen Ulrich do the day before when they had switched sectors. "Follow me." Without a second glance at the American girl, Matthias leaned forward, plummeting into the stream of white panels and coding. A tickling sensation greeted him as he landed upright in a second waytower. Spinning, Matthias turned just in time to see Valentina appear in the star point next to him. She looked beyond confused.

"Follow me, we have to go get Odd," Matthias said, hurrying from the tower. The sylvan region was just as he remembered it. He found himself in a familiar area - the arctic sector had sent him to the waytower he had used the previous day. That meant that the tower where Odd's digital essence was taking refuge in was north of his present position.

"What do I have to do?" Valentina asked, dropping onto her paws as she ran alongside Matthias.

"I assume you just need to get close enough to the tower for Odd to see you, and then hope you share enough DNA to allow him to jump inside you for safety reasons," Matthias mused, not really sure if he was telling Valentina the right thing. Surprisingly, he found he didn't care all that much.

The look on Valentina's face betrayed the fact that she hadn't caught much of what Matthias had told her - another thing Matthias found that he didn't actually care about. He watched as the tower that had been just beyond the clearing he'd originally been virtualized in appeared, growing in size as he approached. Finally, when the tower was no more than one hundred feet away, Matthias slowed and held out his hand to signal Valentina to the same.

In the distance, two of the strangest monsters, creatures Matthias couldn't even think of a name for, were each balanced on one . . . knee, perhaps . . . while shooting at the tower. The smooth, spidery look of the monsters made him very conscious of the fact that he only had sixty life points remaining.

"Mrs. Belpois?"

"Yes, Matthias?"

"The two monsters guarding the tower are unfamiliar to me. And they don't look as if they could be charged. How close to the tower does Valentina have to be?"

"Close enough for Odd to sense her presence, I assume," Aelita replied. "Can you describe the monsters to me?" she then asked.

"Err . . . they are sitting on their knees and shooting lasers with their arms. They look like they are covered in smooth metal."

"Hmm . . ." Aelita paused, and Matthias counted the seconds until she spoke again. "I think the monsters by the tower are tarantulas, but I cannot be sure without a visual. Be careful - those creatures always gave us the most trouble in the past."

"Great . . ." muttered Matthias. "How close is Franz to deactivating the tower? Since Xana has no connection to Diitto's systems, won't his monsters disappear as soon as the energy he gets from the power is cut?"

"They will disappear when he deactivates the tower, but Franz and the others have twenty hornets to contend with at the moment. They are still nowhere near the tower."

Letting out a groan, Matthias turned to address Valentina. "You need to get as close to the tower as you can," he said, speaking slowly and making a point to fully pronounce each word so that she had a chance of understanding his French. "But those tarantulas are dangerous. Do not let them hit you with their lasers. I'm going to try and distract them while you run. Do you understand me?"

"For only taking French for sixteen months, I think I'm doing pretty well," Valentina said, smirking. She glanced at the tarantulas, then lifted a paw and unsheathed and sheathed her claws. "Should I give you a head start?"

Not bothering to answer, Matthias bolted, holding out his sword and charging the tarantulas. He made twenty feet before they noticed him, rotated, and then began to fire. Instantly Matthias was hit, but then he managed to block the next half a dozen lasers fired at him with his sword.

"Be careful, Matthias! You only have thirty life points left! One more hit and you will be de-virtualized!"

"I know!" Matthias hissed, slowly making his way forward while he continued to block the tarantula's lasers with his sword. "Valentina, get going!" he called, glancing back and seeing the girl was exactly where he had left her.

Valentina seemed to squeak and then began to move. Matthias looked away to focus on the tarantulas once more, struggling to think of a way to attack from a distance. There was still a good fifty feet between him and the monsters. The only way he knew how to attack from a distance was with his electric snake, but to use that he needed something to carry the current . . .

Whirling in place, Matthias sliced clean through the nearest tree. He kicked it with one foot, ensuring it fell in the direction of the tower, and watched as it fell to the forest floor with a deafening crash. Matthias then jumped into the air, raising his sword and shouting "Electric snake!" moments before landing and striking the trunk of the fallen tree with his sword. As expected, a snake launched from his weapon, one side dying instantly as it hit the edge of the tree while the other side gathered speed, formed the head of a snake, and wound its way along the tree in the direction of the tower. It struck one of the tarantulas, jumping from the tree to the monster when it was close enough, but the creature did not de-virtualize.

"Damn, no!" Matthias said, quickly raising his sword to begin deflecting the resumed volley of attacks. One laser narrowly missed the side of his head. He had no idea where Valentina was, but hoped that Aelita would say something if she successfully managed to rescue Odd.

Then, one of the monsters exploded. Bewildered, Matthias looked around and saw that Valentina was directly facing the remaining monster. "Ice ray!" she said in English, keeping her mouth open as a beam of ice similar to what the blocks had been shooting earlier flew in the direction of the second tarantula. She hit it, but it did not de-virtualize, not already being weakened. But, it did stop firing at Matthias as it turned to face the American girl . . .

"No - Valentina, run! Leave the tarantula - go rescue Odd!"

Valentina moved immediately, darting away from the creature and heading in the direction of the tower. Matthias charged the tarantula, screaming as loud as he could with the attention of drawing its attention. For the most part, his tactic worked. The tarantula turned to face him, and began to shoot lasers in his direction once more. Matthias began to block the volley, out of the corner of his eye watching as Valentina made it to the side of the tower. A small, glowing ball of light emerged, streaking toward her-

A laser hit Matthias, and as he was shot backwards and his feet became nothing more than white panels, he watched the ball of light fuse with Valentina.

Author's Note: The next update will be on the 6th, and then I'll have to take another little break to wrap up Part 3. (I'm writing as much as I can - don't hate me! There's only so much free time a girl has between her college homework assignments!)