DISCLAIMER: Own my OCs…not Code Lyoko…
A/N: Here's Part II of the CHIMERA arc, and I promise, there is more to come now that I am settled into college. Please don't hate me guys…I made you wait and for that I am sorry. Hope I can make t up to you…
Episode 135: CHIMERA, Part II
A moment later, the Skid emerged out of the Access Tunnel, and Aelita quickly flicked on the lights and hit the brakes to slow the Skid to a safe speed. Then, flicking on the autopilot switch, she set the navigation course to the Forest Replika, remembering what Tyler had said…
"If you want the power to rescue Franz…come to the Forest Replika…I'll be waiting…"
"Jacob, are you sure taking the Forest Replika is a good idea?" she asked aloud suddenly, a nervous edge in her voice as Jacob looked up in his NavSkid.
"No," he admitted without hesitation. "But the way I see it, we don't have a choice, now, do we?" he replied as he heard a chuckle in the recesses of his mind.
"That's right, you don't," Tyler grinned as Jacob scowled in irritation.
"Hey, Tyler, why don't you shut up?" he shot back as Aelita maneuvered the Skid into place in front of the Access Gate, Jacob realizing quickly that it was a much shorter distance to this Replika than he remembered as Aelita punched in the security code for the Replika's gate.
"Digital Key, engaged," she murmured softly as the customary beam of blue light shot out from the data port on the pilot's compartment of the Skid. After a moment, the Eye of XANA on the Access Gate blinked in response, and the tunnel opened with a creak.
"Here we go, everybody…" Jacob muttered as the Skid floated silently into the Forest Replika. Aelita navigated through the long tree roots and misty fog underneath the physical land of the Sector, coming to a stop at the nearest Tower as the gang crossed over the nearly invisible ground.
"Ungh!" Ulrich yelled as the lights in his NavSkid flickered and he was thrown to the far side of his compartment.
"We're under siege here!" Hunter screeched as he looked outside and saw a small legion of Tarantulas, led by Ari riding on the back of the Scorpion.
"I know! Docking," Aelita hissed as the Skid shuddered violently under the brunt of the attack. Immediately her fingers flew over the keys and she screeched "Energize!" as the Warriors were violently zapped out of the Skid to the base of the Tower, which they took cover behind for a brief moment as laser fire erupted all around them.
"I knew this wouldn't be easy!" Jacob hissed amidst the fray around them. "William, you and Aelita come with me! Ulrich, Hunter, Yumi, protect the Skid at all costs!" Jacob emphasized as they nodded.
"We'll do what we have to, just go!" Hunter screamed as he leapt around the Tower and summoned his shield while blasting fire pulses at the Tarantulas. Jacob nodded and summoned his Overwheel and Jeremy called up Aelita's Overwing and William's Overdisc. The trio looked back and saw Ulrich already engaged in a one-on-one sword duel with Ari and Yumi dancing around trying to avoid the Scorpion's tail swipes as she attempted to fight it. Jacob just sighed grimly as he took off at breakneck speed from behind the Tower, Aelita and William in hot pursuit as the purple-clad Warrior darted through trees and fog, sensing exactly where the Way Tower was located as he avoided obstacle after obstacle until…
"Jacob, LOOK OUT!" Aelita screeched as a storm of razor-sharp petals came screaming at his Overwheel. The telepath's eyes snapped open at the last moment and he dove up off of his vehicle, Taelia's barrage slicing it to digital bits as he flipped forward and landed safely on the forest floor below, Aelita and William diving off of their own vehicles as Jacob turned to face Taelia. The three Warriors had her surrounded on the single straight pathway, and William's sword crackled with energy as he drew it from the large sheath on his back.
"Jacob, go," William emphasized. "Aelita and I can handle this nuisance," he growled as she grinned.
"But…"
"GO!" William howled, cutting Jacob off as he launched at Taelia, who just laughed in that annoying, high-pitched squeal of hers, leaping deftly to her left and flinging her whip at the silver blur. William barely had time to lift his sword to parry the blow as Jacob stared on helplessly. He turned and looked off into the distance, knowing that the Way Tower was still ahead of him, and whispered a near-silent, "Be careful…" as he blinked tears that should not have been there away, plunging blindly into the fog towards the Way Tower…
Meanwhile…
"Hunh!" Hunter grimaced as he caught a laser from one of the Tarantulas in the side, his chest heaving as sparks danced around his stomach. He whipped around and flung a mighty spear of fire from his right hand and caught the attacking Tarantula square in the Eye on its head, glaring as it shrieked and exploded.
"Hiyahh!" Yumi shrieked as she flung her fans at the Scorpion's head, back-flipping away as it blasted a bolt of electricity from its mouth at the spot where she had stood only moments ago. She panted as her fans returned to her and she barely had time to snatch them out of the air before she had to dive out of the way of another tail swipe.
"This is gonna be harder than I thought!" she hissed as she used her Telekinesis to fling a boulder between herself and a barrage of lightning bolts being fired from the Scorpion. The stone shattered upon the impact of the electric pulses, and Yumi dove through the cloud of dust, barely landing a blow on the Eye on the Scorpion's chest before having to go back on defense…
"Had enough yet?" Ulrich hissed as he used one of his sabres to parry Ari's obsidian blade while slicing the second one towards his exposed neck. The boy laughed in that distorted, XANA-riddled tone as he leaned out of the way, Ulrich's katana coming within a paper's width of his neck as Ari leaped backwards and fired a quick lightning pulse from his palm, the golden orb impacting Ulrich square in the chest and knocking him backwards to the edge of the Sector floor as his chest danced with electricity.
"Never!" Ari hissed as Ulrich panted with exhaustion, his vision beginning to dance with blackness as he raised his swords again for what could be a final stand…
As Jacob approached the Way Tower, he let out a deep exhale, knowing why Taelia had appeared when she did as a deep navy, almost black, fog, began to cover the ground at his feet. He steeled his nerves as he ran forward, stopping about thirty feet from the Tower as Tyler appeared from the mist, standing between him and the Tower.
"This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?" he asked knowingly as Tyler began to chuckle menacingly.
"Now what would ever give you that idea?" he asked cynically as he lashed his hand out in front of him, releasing a shower of energy shards that Jacob summoned his barrier to absorb before drawing his Energy Blade out of thin air a moment later. Tyler just laughed and drew his navy dagger from the sheath on his hip, the two rivals sizing one another up as Jacob's eyes flickered for the briefest of moments, and the minute Tyler saw that hesitation, he smirked and charged forward, releasing a barrage of energy shards ahead of him as Jacob's eyes steeled and he let out a menacing growl before flipping backwards…
"Wha…?" Tyler gasped as he sliced upwards with his dagger to find empty space where Jacob had stood, watching as his energy shards fizzled out after failing to impact anything. He looked around, dumbfounded as below him, Jacob used the grip spikes he had recently installed in his gloves to cling to the underside of the Sector floor. Tyler just shook his head and looked around again before turning around to face the Tower, and while the younger boy's back was turned, Jacob silently climbed back onto the forest floor, an Energy Field fizzling in his hand as he took aim at Tyler's back…
"Why…won't…you…die?!" Taelia shrieked as she battled in the sky with Aelita, the dueling pinkettes locked in hand-to-hand combat as Aelita's eyes sparkled with determination.
"Because we're on a mission. And we don't lose," Aelita retorted, cool as ice as she pushed back from Taelia's grip, doing an aerial backflip as she fired an Energy Field at the menacing harpie. Taelia deftly rolled out of the way, and then out of the corner of her eye spied William about to fire an Energy Pulse from his sword. She grinned as she threw her whip at the silver swordsman, immediately following up with a razor petal storm as William dropped his sword in time to deflect the whip which had come flying at him, but was shredded by the petals which he had no chance of avoiding…
"Unh!" William screamed as the force of the petal storm was enough to throw him against the side of the Scanner upon his materialization. He slumped to the floor in pain before opening his eyes slowly, his gaze marred with anger and the throbbing pain in his shoulder and back. "I will… kill her…"
Tyler barely caught the movement out of the corner of his gaze, but he grinned widely as he suddenly whipped around and fired a black energy beam from his hand, the laser hitting Jacob square in the chest as he flew straight backwards, landing on the path that jutted out away from the Tower's platform. He groaned as he staggered to his feet, black and blue sparks intermixing on his body suit as he attempted to blink the darkness from the edges of his vision.
"You really think you're gonna fool me that easily?" the darker brunette smirked as he charged another orb of black energy in his hand, watching with mild amusement as Jacob summoned a shaky Energy Field in his right hand. "Come on…just give up," Tyler coaxed with a growl. "You barely have enough strength to stand. Besides, if you do, I might let your friends leave here in one piece…" he hissed as Jacob's eyes suddenly stabilized and hardened in fury.
"NEVER!" the defiant Warrior screamed as he drew his Energy Blade, Tyler just shaking his head in amusement as he lengthened his dagger into a full-size blade and ran at Jacob, the two swords impacting with a heavy metallic thunk and sending a shower of purple and blue sparks cascading around the two adversaries, neither wanting to give an inch as both of their blades began to crack under the stress of battle…
"Agh!" Yumi screamed as she was caught by the Scorpion's tail. It wrapped around her left ankle and yanked her to the ground, pulling her in for the kill as Ulrich saw the movement out of the corner of his eye.
"YUMI! NO!" Ulrich cried as he flung his sabre at the Eye on the Scorpion's head, the blade impacting just before it was able to fire a lightning burst into Yumi's head. "Agh!" Ulrich spluttered as his cry was cut into a choking gasp. He looked down and saw Ari's blade punch through his stomach, and was devirtualized before he ever hit his knees. Yumi, by this time, had dove to her feet and faced Ari as the Scorpion exploded behind her into a pile of golden sinew and wires. Her eyes flickered as she looked Ari in the eye, and as she launched straight up and began to fling her fans at the golden ninja, he just smiled and shot a single bolt of electricity at her, using his sword to deflect the oncoming fans as his lightning bolt hit Yumi in the stomach, blasting her backwards into the rock face behind her and devirtualizing her before she could make a sound…
"Hungh…" Jacob hissed as he continued to force his blade against the navy blade of his former friend and now adversary. Tyler's eyes glistened with similar grit, albeit much darker, as suddenly, a mixed navy and purple beam of light shot up from the point where the two blades met and a moment later, a massive explosion sounded, enveloping the entire platform, including the Tower, in a cloud of smoke. Sparks crackled around the makeshift arena as the smoke slowly cleared, and once it had, anyone watching would have seen both boys on their feet, albeit barely, as both brunettes were shaking just trying to stay on their feet as they panted harshly and raggedly. As Tyler gazed at his target, his gaze suddenly began to go black, and as he lurched forward and stutter-stepped to stay on his feet, he never saw Jacob's hand shoot out from his waist, and by the time he realized what had happened, the warrior of XANA already had a violet dagger buried to the hilt in his chest, and his jaw fell open in a silent scream as he flew backwards, almost, it felt like, in slow motion, and vanished in a puff of black smoke a moment later. Jacob just grimaced as he straightened up, all pain from the battle forgotten as he dashed into the Way Tower. The rings below his feet lit as he dashed to the center of the platform, letting his head roll back as he levitated slowly up to the upper level. His feet touched the second platform with a soft scuff as he walked forward and placed his hand on the screen when it appeared.
JACOB
CODE:
CHIMERA
ACTION CONFIRMED. PROCEED WITH REPLIKA TAKEOVER?
Jacob nodded to himself as he watched the screens around him behave exactly as he had programmed them to, and once the load screen was a hundred percent ready, he hovered over the Yes button for a fraction of a second before placing his finger on the button and watching it glow bright blue under his touch.
CHIMERA PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY INITIATED.
COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN.
05:00…04:59…04:58…
"Hold on, just a little longer, guys… It's almost done…" Jacob thought, trying to telepathically transmit the plea to his friends as he gazed at the rapidly changing numbers on the countdown clock…
"Oh no…" Hunter moaned as he tried to back up further and felt his back touch the metal surface of the Skid. He looked at his feet, and then looked up as he watched Ari charge sparks around his blade, the two Tarantulas flanking him raising their cannons for an execution barrage…
04:02…04:01…04:00…
As Jacob sat inside the Way Tower, waiting for the five minute countdown to subside, a pair of Megatanks, one at the front of the Tower and one at the back, had arrived and were lined up to try and stop the process from completing. They opened their shells and charged their lasers, firing a moment later and rocking the Tower violently as the blue aura that had been generated around it when the countdown began started to flicker, threatening to change back to white as Jacob was jolted to the floor inside the Tower.
"Oh, great…" Jacob hissed. "XANA sent the bouncers and I can't do a thing about it…"
02:30…02:29…02:28…
"Ungh…"Hunter sighed as Ari flicked his blade and gave the signal, the pair of Tarantulas ripping more holes in him than a slice of Swiss cheese as they battered him with an execution-style firing barrage…
01:15…01:14…01:13…
"Ungh!" Jacob screamed as the Tower rocked again under the stress of another blow from the pair of Megatanks, the aura now flickering dangerously between blue and white as the countdown screen began to flicker in and out of static in front of Jacob's horrified eyes…
01:00…00:59…00:58…
"Fire!" Ari screamed as the Tarantulas unleashed a volley of laser blasts at the Skid. The shields flickered into action, but as Ari himself began to fire lightning pulses at the Skid, the shields rapidly depleted and began to crack under the continued stress of the attacks…
00:30…00:29…00:28…
"Gyahh!" Aelita screeched as she hit the ground, a volley of razor petals pinning her arms and legs to the Sector floor as Taelia grinned evilly, walking over to stand in front of the pinkette. She raised her whip, preparing to bring it down for the finishing blow…
00:10…00:09…00:08…
"Come on, come on, come on!" Jacob hissed as the Tower took another blow which nearly caused the screens around Jacob to wink out, but they returned after a long, nearly heart-stopping moment. "One more blow and…"
00:05…
"So this is how it all ends…" Aelita thought silently as Taelia prepared to lower her whip down across Aelita's chest…
00:04…00:03…
The Megatanks charged their lasers…preparing for one last blow…
00:02…
"It can't end like this!" Jeremy screeched from the Lab as Ulrich, Yumi, William and Hunter watched on in horror…
00:01…
Aelita closed her eyes as she prepared to feel nothingness, while the Megatanks glowed, ready to fire…
00:00. COUNTDOWN COMPLETE. INITIATING REPLIKA PURGE. PLEASE STAND BY.
Jacob's ice-blue eyes snapped open as he heard the beep that signified the countdown was complete, and a smirk crept onto his face as his eyes glittered.
"It's showtime…" he said in triumph.
Outside, the Tower began to glow bright blue as the aura solidified into a shell around the Tower, encasing it for a brief moment before blasting out in a massive pulse that vaporized the Megatanks instantaneously. The blue energy bubble continued to expand out from the Tower, and as it swept through the Replika, any monster of XANA's left was paralyzed, and then incinerated by the blue wave a moment later as it reached the brutes…
Taelia began to bring her whip down, but suddenly stopped, as if something was holding her back. Her eyes widened as she heard the distant shrieks, and Aelita turned her head just enough to see the oncoming blue bubble and grinned widely.
"Bye bye, little fairy," Aelita said singsongingly as Taelia shrieked and darted away, trying to fly fast enough to outrun the energy pulse, but a moment later, she was swept up in the blue light and screamed as she vanished in a puff of black and pink smoke…
At the Skid, the shields had just failed and Ari was lining his sword up to deliver the finishing blow when he heard the crackle of the oncoming energy pulse and turned just in time to be thrown against the Skid by the oncoming light, crying out in pain as he vanished in a puff of gold smoke a moment later along with the pair of Tarantulas, which exploded in a crackle of blue light…
"YES!" Jeremy shrieked as he leapt out of his chair and hugged Ulrich in celebration. "It's working!"
As the light reached the edge of the Sector and slowly fizzled out, the blue aura faded from around the Way Tower and its traditional white aura returned, changing after a moment to bright green as Jeremy took remote control of the Forest Replika's Supercomputer.
"Accessing power supply…and done! Jacob, finish the job!" Einstein said with a wide grin as Jacob walked to the control screen once more.
REPLIKA PURGE COMPLETE.
PLEASE PROVIDE VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY TO COMPLETE REPLIKA ACQUISITION.
Jacob placed his hand again in the center of the screen.
JACOB
PROCESSING…IDENTIFIED. REPLIKA ACQUISITION COMPLETE.
"It's done, Jeremy!" Jacob grinned as the auras of every Tower in the Replika began to glow green after a moment. "Bring us home!" he crowed as Jeremy's fingers raced over the keyboard.
"You got it!" the blonde replied. "Materialization!"
That night…
"Well, it took us a while, but Stage One of Operation: Free Franz was a complete success today!" Jeremy said triumphantly as he raised a glass of soda to make a toast. "Cheers to us!" he grinned as Jacob nodded, but Hunter, sitting on the opposite side of the room, glowered.
"We may have won the battle today, but the war is far from over…" he said darkly. "Now that XANA knows we can win, he'll be even more wary and assertive in his efforts to stop us. He doesn't like losing, and now that we've stripped some of his power away, he'll likely be even more dangerous…"
"We'll be ready though…" Aelita said softly, yet with all the finality in the world as she sipped her own celebratory soda. "Because I won't rest until we bring my father home."
"Nor will we," Ulrich agreed.
"Right," Jacob said with a solemn nod. "One down, and ten more to go…"
Within XANA's castle…
"Ungh…" the program hissed as he clutched his side, in pain after having one of his Replikas ripped away and weakened somewhat, but not anywhere near defeated. "So they've won one round. There will be more. And I will be ready for them…" he hissed as he reached out a hand to summon a shadowy blob of energy up from the floor in front of him. It shifted and morphed for several seconds before solidifying into a humanoid shape with white markings down its legs arms, and across its chest. The monster was greenish-black, and held a pair of swords, one emerald blade in each hand. Glowing from within its translucent black head, which was just a molded blob extending from its torso, was a sphere of white light with the Eye of XANA floating in the center of the sphere. The monster faced the throne and knelt down, bowing its featureless head to XANA as the shadowy boy smiled.
"My creature…I have created you to stop the annoying brats who call themselves the Lyoko Warriors… When next they appear…stop them from gaining ground. Do whatever you have to… They cannot win…and I will find a way to make sure they don't…" the program growled as he faded back into the darkness…
LW94: I still can't apologize enough. A new monster and new Replikas. What does it all mean? I'll tell the story soon. Sooner than soon. ASAP. I promise. I owe you all. I really do.
Next time…
Episode 136: Seeing Gold
As the Warriors continue their quest to rescue Franz, they prepare to visit the Mountain Replika in hopes of stealing additional power away from XANA, while one member of the group comes across a horrifying scene in the real world…next time…on Code Lyoko: Unleashed…