DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Code Lyoko…wish I did…own my OCs…
A/N: To all my readers…I don't even know if I can apologize enough for making you wait so long on this. Between high school finals, graduation, and starting college, I just have not had time to write anything here of late, and for that, I am so sorry. I owe you all big-time, and I hope this is only the beginning. This got so big so fast when I finally had time to start writing it that I (thankfully, actually) had to split CHIMERA into two parts. I probably don't deserve it for making you wait so long, but read and review please…I would like the feedback. Again guys…I am so sorry. Please enjoy the action as it returns now. Here is CHIMERA, Part I!
Episode 134: CHIMERA, Part I
The following morning…
"What's up, gang?" Jacob asked, in a strangely good mood as he joined the gang at the crossroads. He sounded like he had been running, and Aelita laughed at his slightly disheveled appearance as she reached a hand up to smooth his hair.
"You look like you just rode five miles in a convertible," she chuckled as Ulrich grinned.
"Yeah, or went two rounds in the spin cycle," he laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, I woke up late this morning and you can tell…" he shot back with a sarcastic playfulness as he reached over to punch the brunette lightly in the shoulder. Ulrich feigned pain before jumping slightly and turning around when he heard Jeremy and Hunter's footsteps behind him.
"Sheesh, Einstein; a little warning next time?" he scowled playfully as Hunter laughed.
"What, the big bad samurai doesn't know when someone's sneaking up on him?" Hunter mocked as he and Ulrich got into a scuffle. Jacob laughed before reaching over and separating the two.
"Calm down, you two; we don't need you laid up before tonight," he chuckled as Hunter and Ulrich both stood up and shot Jacob their best puppy-dog looks. "Not gonna work," he added with a grin as Aelita chuckled. "Speaking of which, Einstein, do we have a plan?" he asked as Jeremy scoffed, his glasses glaring in the early-sunlight as he turned to the brunette.
"Are you kidding?" he asked with a wry laugh. "We've never launched something this sophisticated before; I don't even have an escape plan yet!"
"Well, that's reassuring…" Jacob shot back as Jeremy laughed.
"Would I ever send you guys in without a plan?" he asked as Aelita laughed. "Don't answer that," he remarked playfully as Jacob punched him in the arm before watching the School Gates intently as William and Yumi came up to join them.
"Morning, all," William said, in a slightly cheery tone as Hunter nodded.
"Morning, guys," he replied as the rest of the group agreed in mumbled and scattered remarks.
"So, what's the plan?" Yumi asked as Ulrich groaned.
"Get through the day," he replied with a smirk as suddenly, the bell rang signifying the start of classes. "Ugh…we have English this morning with Ms. Miles…" he said as all of the ninth graders groaned in reply.
"We've heard stories; have fun with that!" William shot back as the two tenth graders departed from the gang and headed to their Chemistry class with Mrs. Hertz. The others began walking towards the main class building and Jacob dropped back, seeing Joey not too far behind them.
"Morning, bro," he said with a slight smile as the younger boy looked up and let the faintest of smiles ghost across his lips.
"Hey…" he said softly as his eyes flickered. Jacob furrowed his brow at that look, and stopped when Joey's footsteps faltered slightly. "Joey…what's wrong?" he asked hesitantly as the younger boy just looked up hollowly at him.
"Just rough…" he said as the two walked the rest of the way to their classes in silence; the whole time Jacob was worrying and wondering if there was anything he could do to help…
"It's almost time…" XANA whispered as he looked up from his throne out to the shadows enveloping the obsidian walls of his castle. "Tyler!" he called sharply as the boy appeared a moment later, a splash of white and blue against the darkness.
"Yes, Master?" he asked as he bowed his head.
"You and I both know that the band of brats won't stop until I am powerless and destroyed. And you know as well as I do that we cannot stop Jacob without help…simply because his powers are far too strong and I am still in a hindered state. You asked me before about getting inside his head? I think it's time for the mind games to begin…" the program hissed darkly as an evil grin lit up Tyler's face.
"And I know exactly how to play them…" he replied as he closed his eyes and melted away into the shadows. "This is going to be fun…" he thought with a maniacal laugh as he willed his way out of the Network and towards one thought in particular. Home…
In the ninth-grade English class…
"Now, class, if you would turn to page 72 in Heart of Darkness…" Jacob instantly let himself zone out; he had no need to listen to the lesson because he was days ahead of everyone else. "Sometimes there are perks to being the top of your class…" he thought to himself with a faint chuckle as he lost himself in the recesses of his mind, mulling over the mission they had planned tonight and the beginning of their quest to rescue Franz once and for all…
"How sweet…it's actually pleasant in your head sometimes…" Tyler said with a cynical jab as Jacob's eyes bolted open, causing Ms. Miles to look at him funny before he slowly nodded and mumbled he was fine. He turned to Jeremy, trying to indistinctly sign to him that there was a problem, but the blond took no notice as Jacob turned his attention back to Tyler with a growl.
"Get OUT of my head!" he hissed with a flare of anger as the boy laughed heartily, as if the idea was no more than a joke to him.
"But what fun would that be?" he asked mockingly as Jacob just growled in utter frustration, his emotion threatening to boil over as he forced himself to calm down long enough to listen to what Tyler had to say.
"What the hell do you want?" Jacob hissed as Tyler laughed in mock humor.
"Now, now, calm down…I don't respond well to anger…" he mocked as Jacob struggled to control his fury.
"And I don't respond well to a traitor; now, get OUT!" Jacob screeched mentally. Tyler just cackled in amusement as Jacob growled before he grated out his next sentence. "You have five seconds…say what you need to…"
"Oh, goody, you do see things my way!" he said with an evil grin and a pleased chuckle. "Now…listen close, because I'm only going to say this one time. You're going to come to Lyoko alone; you're going to get the Skid, and you're going to come to me. And then, we're going to finish the conversation we started over two years ago."
"There's a reason I didn't speak to you after what you did! You betrayed my family!"
"I did what I had to," he said simply. "Come, and I'll explain everything to you; I swear on my life."
"Why should I believe any word you have to say?" Jacob hissed.
"Because you have something to lose," he replied as Jacob froze for a moment.
"And if I don't come…?" the brunette asked as Tyler scoffed so softly that Jacob had to strain to hear it.
"Then I will make sure you lose everything that is dear to you…" he hissed as he put images in Jacob's head of Aelita and Jeremy being tortured, of the rest of the gang fighting XANA and slowly being pulled into the shadows, and of…
"ENOUGH!" Jacob shrieked, not realizing he had spoken aloud until everyone in the class turned to stare at him with wide eyes. He immediately gasped and looked up at Ms. Miles, his gaze shaking as she looked at him in concern.
"Jacob…?" she said after a long moment of shocked silence. "Is everything okay…?" He slowly looked at her with glittering eyes and shook his head sharply before she nodded sympathetically and allowed him to gather his things and head for the infirmary. As he walked out, Jeremy and Aelita cast worried looks his direction, but he did not stop to acknowledge them as he silently slipped out of the room. However, he did not walk down towards the Nurse's office; instead, he slipped through the shadows until he reached a back entrance to the Gym locker rooms. He slowly opened the door and silently slipped inside, closing the door behind him as he dashed for the Boiler Room entrance. Once inside, he made his way to the main tunnel and stopped when he heard an eerie chuckle resonate in his head again…
"I knew you would see things my way…" Tyler whispered as he let out a faint snarl.
"Shut up, Tyler," Jacob growled in reply as he came to the ladder leading to the Factory Bridge…
Meanwhile…
"We're finished, Ms. Miles," Jeremy, Aelita and Hunter said simultaneously as they handed her their assignments and then left the room with their things, waiting a few minutes at the end of the hall before Ulrich joined them, his eyes refocusing as he looked at the three of them.
"Well, that was fun…" he said sarcastically as Jeremy's laptop suddenly started going off with more alarms than he could comprehend as he lunged in his bag for his laptop and scanned the Alert messages hastily as his eyes widened.
"Hunter, call William and Yumi! It looks like we're starting the Chimera mission now! Jacob's gone to Lyoko alone!"
"Ungh…" Jacob grunted as he softly landed on the Arena floor and turned towards the tunnel, which opened after a moment and allowed him to dash through towards the Core Zone. He summoned his Overwheel and jumped onto it mid-stride as he bolted through the Core Zone mazes. Strangely enough, everything was quiet as he reached the edge of the Core Zone and the elevator for the Skid hangar. As the elevator soared up from below, Jacob dove forward off of his Overwheel, flipping forward and landing on the elevator as it continued on its track. "I am good…" he chuckled to himself as the elevator slowed and came to a stop at the path leading down to the hanger. He got off and dashed forward into the main hangar, but before he could step on the pilot's Teleport pad, he was stopped by a blue haze in front of him, and a moment later, Tyler materialized in front of him, a wide grin on his face as he began to slowly and sarcastically applaud the brunette's effort.
"Well, well…you decided to show up…" Tyler said with a merciless chuckle as he laid his glowing brown eyes on Jacob, who tensed as he glared ferociously back at his younger foe…
Tyler Ross was tall for his age, standing almost a head taller than Jacob, with auburn brown hair and empty brown eyes that held a layer of ice and fury in them unrivaled by anyone in France. He also held an air of arrogant confidence that made many who opposed him shudder when they faced him. On Earth, he had been a star basketball player at his middle school before he had been pulled into his parents' life, and that was still somewhat evidenced in his Lyoko appearance. He was wearing a long-sleeved, form-fitting white shirt with long blue pants that appeared as if they were made of nylon, although Jacob knew virtually, that wasn't the case. He held a mysterious blue aura around his hands, and a sapphire-colored dagger rested in a sheath on his waist. Oddly missing from his attire, however; was the Eye of XANA, which Jacob immediately noticed as he looked closely at his former friend.
"What, XANA wasn't feeling possessive enough to mark you as his?" he scoffed as Tyler growled menacingly in reply.
"No, that just shows that I'm serving him willingly. If I wanted to, I could show the Eye, but I feel it's not necessary. In the end, you all know which side I'm on…" he muttered, trailing off and creating an air of unease in the room as Jacob shifted nervously on his feet before speaking again.
"What do you want from me, Tyler…?" he asked slowly as the brunette looked at him with a maniacal glint creeping into his gaze. He began to chuckle before bursting out into a dark cackle that echoed off the walls as he looked his foe in the eyes before replying.
"What I've always wanted. Vengeance for what you did to me…" he hissed as Jacob's eyes flashed before the purple-clad Warrior lashed out an almost instantaneous reply.
"You liar!" he screeched as Tyler took a step back in shock. "I never did anything to you, and if you searched your heart long enough you would realize that!" At this, Tyler's gaze burned in absolute fury at his former friend contradicting him like that, and his hands began to glow as his emotion began to overflow.
"Shut up!" Tyler screeched, his voice breaking as he shot his hand across his chest, sending a shower of energy shards towards Jacob, who raised a hand nonchalantly and summoned his energy shield to stop the barrage.
"I don't…want to fight you, Tyler…" Jacob said wearily as all the pain that he had kept back for years came to the surface. The taller brunette stared emotionlessly for a few moments before a spark returned to his eyes and his shoulders slumped slightly, his sudden outburst of anger seemingly over as he spoke again.
"Then come quietly…" he nearly whispered as Jacob's eyes widened.
"Never…" the elder brunette hissed. "And you say I was manipulative… Why…am I here?" he asked in a grated tone as Tyler's eyes began to flash again.
"I already told you. You're here because it's time I had my revenge… But more importantly, you're here because you present a threat to XANA, and for that I have to stop you. Not to mention I kind of want to…" he added with a crazed grin as Jacob's eyes glittered in shock. The Warrior looked up into the eyes of his former friend, and simply searched them for a long time. He looked into the heart of that gaze…and found nothing but pain…and anger…and hatred. And above it all, he saw a lust for power and revenge that he knew was driving Tyler to unimaginable levels. Nowhere in that stare did he see a trace of the friend he once knew. And in that moment, Jacob's heart lost all sympathy for the boy he once called an ally and a companion, and he allowed his gaze to harden in cold finality.
"If you want to seek revenge, then so be it. But in that case, you have made an enemy of me, as well as the rest of my friends. I thought maybe by coming, I could open your eyes to what you were doing. I didn't want to come," Jacob admitted, "because I didn't want to face you again. But now…" he trailed off for a moment, gathering his words, "I realize something. That it's not you that I'm facing. Not anymore…"
"And yet, it is me, Jacob. You can't see that?" Tyler asked almost innocently as Jacob's fury flared again.
"No! What I see is a hollow shell of the person I once knew! I see someone who is so consumed by the past and by desires of vengeance and power that he can't look beyond himself and see that there is goodness, that there is hope…beyond the darkness. I don't see you, Tyler. Not now. All I see when I look at you is XANA. And because of that…I'm not afraid of you anymore," he said defiantly as a faint glow began to creep into his eyes. "And I won't come quietly, not with you, and not to XANA's clutches. If you want your revenge, you'll have to take it. You wanted a war…well, now you've got one…" the brunette finished as something snapped inside Tyler. All of the fury and resentment that had been bubbling inside him finally erupted, and as his eyes blasted up to meet Jacob's defiant gaze, he let out a crazed scream, creating a raging blue aura that engulfed his entire body. Jacob cried out as he was thrown backwards, and as he struggled to his feet, he gasped in shock, watching as the white in Tyler's Lyoko outfit melted away and turned jet-black. The light began to engulf the boy until Jacob could no longer see him, and Jacob covered his eyes until the blinding glow began to dim…
"Let's move, you guys!" Jeremy snapped as he started up the virtualization protocols…
When Jacob finally opened his eyes, he gaped at the sight before him. No longer in front of him was a representation of the Tyler Ross he had known for so many years. Now, Tyler's outfit was composed of a black top with blue trim on the sleeves and a blue Eye of XANA on his chest. His pants were now black with silver and blue embellishments, and his blue basketball shoes were now jet-black. He had a black war streak below each eye, and his usually tidy brown hair was now messy and ruffled. But the most striking change was his eyes. Once soft brown and layered slightly with pain and anguish, the only feature you could see in them now was rage, even though he did not exhibit the Eye of XANA in his pupils. After a long, silent moment, Tyler finally lifted his head and met Jacob's horrified gaze, letting out a manic chuckle as he lifted his hand.
"Now you see what I've become… I thought we could do this the easy way…but obviously I was wrong…" Tyler said in an eerie growl as he let out a distorted cry. "Come, my beast!" he hissed as a seam in the wall opened behind him, and Jacob gasped as the Scyphozoa silently floated out in front of him. "If you won't come quietly, I have no choice but to force you to come…" Tyler said in a slightly distorted voice as the Scyphozoa moved towards Jacob…
"Not happening!" William howled as an energy pulse blasted over Jacob's head and sliced straight through the Scyphozoa's tentacles, causing it to shriek and retreat back to Tyler's side. Jacob then just raised his hand and released an Energy Field that impacted the Eye on the Scyphozoa's head, causing it to disintegrate as Tyler's eyes widened in shock. The rest of the Warriors ran up and joined on either side of Jacob, ready for battle as Tyler's gaze flitted from end to end of the line, trying to come up with a plan of attack as Jacob took a step forward.
"Tyler, just give it up…you can't fight all of us…" Jacob said wearily as Tyler glared defiantly back at the Warriors.
"Not here, I can't," he retorted. "I know your plans. If you want to start gaining the power to rescue Franz, you're going to have to go through us…" he whispered, referencing Taelia and Ari as his body began to fade into the shadows that were now surrounding him. "Come to the Forest Replika…I'll be waiting…" he said simply as he disappeared into the darkness. A moment later, the hangar's lights began to flicker back on as Jeremy prepped the Skid for travel. The gang moved onto their Teleport Pads as Aelita turned to Jacob, who looked troubled by everything that had just occurred.
"Jacob…why did you come?" she asked softly. "Why not wait for us?"
"He threatened me," Jacob said simply, and Aelita saw in his eyes that she would not get any more information out of him as his gaze gained a layer of finality to it.
"Are you guys ready?" Jeremy asked over the com-link.
"Roger," Aelita said as Jeremy typed the command code.
"Energize," he said simply as the Warriors vanished in a flash and appeared in their NavSkids a moment later. Aelita took the controls immediately and did not hesitate to start the castoff procedures no more everyone was safely inside.
"Power, online. Shields, online. Thrusters, online. Cast off! Full steam ahead!" she said over the com-link as she moved the throttle to full speed, activating the thrusters and powering the Skid up out of the North Pole of Sector Five. She deftly maneuvered the Skid until it was vertical over the Digital Sea, paused for the briefest of moments, and then dove at top speed into the calm waters…
